Howdy folks-I've peeked in to this forum now and then- but here is a more bold addition (!!)- from my garden two trees that I raised from little babies now blooming and into their teenage years..
Cercis canadensis- american redbud- (we are on the northern edge of hardiness for this tree- but I am so pleased to have some of my Pennsylvania "roots" with me here in NH)
and the halesia- silverbell tree
This message was edited May 26, 2006 10:43 PM
I love the Halesia carolina. I had one here and when a large truck was delivering rocks it ran over it. I miss the June flowers. It always flowers here on my birthday. Ahhhh
It really is pretty- just coming into its own in my garden- I used to think it would be sort of shrub like- but it is a tree, I am discovering! I edited the post because I really am not sure which halesia it is- anyone know for sure? is it H. carolina?
Yes it is. But look out they get pretty big and wide. I was training mine over the deck and planned to have the flowers hang over the BBQ area. Bummer but the truck got stuck and had to do a fast non-stop exit or bury in the spring lawn.
kind of a tragic end.. maybe time to plant another! Luckily I planted this where it can get tall- I've be pruning it a bit each year, and changing my strategy from keeping it bushy to limbing it up a bit so we can walk around it. I'm thinking in zone 5 it won't get quite so big.....
I'm in zone 4B and it thrived but I had it in a location where there wasnt much sun so I planted another favorite there for canopy. Pagoda Dogwood. It loves the shady area! Halesia is going to my next garden area which is going to be shady and have a fire pit underneath.
I planted a redbud (Cercis) in the summer of 2005 and so far it's doing well. I made sure to get one from a more northern source. I'll try to get photos of bloom this year. (I lived in southern OH for a year and fell in love with them.) They have several planted at Plymouth State U. that are growing well, so I think I'll be okay with mine. I've also got a bunch of Halesia that I got liner sized several years ago and planted in various areas around my property to see where they would do well and to add bloom to my woodland edges. The jury is still out on whether many will survive to blooming size.
Babs and Sarah:
I hope both of your gardens and plants are tolerating the recent severe weather and vacillations. 60ºF temperature swings in a day must be brutal on some plants, even if it is only in the -30ºF to +30ºF range (-34.4ºC to -1.1).
Halesia of all stripes are great plants. The plan to be able to walk under them is a perfect way to be able to view those perfect pendulous flowers.
Pardon the poor quality scanned slide...
hello! look at the blossoms on that halesia! bloom time is getting closer, today its almost 50 degrees. southern new hampshire had a strange winter- 50's till into january-i even had a few crocuses bloom- then a very cold past 6 weeks, though really, just a few nights were below 0. when we first moved here 20 years ago, winter nights were standardly below zero- and spring came late....so who's to know... but my redbud has been planted a good 15 years, from a little sprout, and everyone else on my street likes it so much, at least 5 neighbors have planted one too! the halesia seems hardier than some books indicate. I have seen beautiful fully mature ones in gardens near by, the pink flowering one as well. I have to admit, i sort of wish i had planted the pink one, but had read that it wasn't quite as hardy! babs- i think your trees will do fine in concord- for some reason, concord is often a bit warmer than keene.
I envy anyone that can keep a Cercis canadensis going. Here in NW Ohio they all eventually fall prey to either verticillium wilt or canker. You see very few large trees. The battle field area in Gettysburg PA has huge numbers of them. Makes for a spectacular spring.
Snapple,
In SW Ohio we have a ton of them. Hardly any are old, venerable patriarchs. They repeatedly suffer heartrots and dieback. However, they always come back and they grow pretty well for a while and then start the cycle again.
Scott
Decumbent, the tree itself comes back? Or they are replanted? Veticillium persists in the soil but I don't know exactly how long. It's been at least 20yrs. since I've had one. "Forest Pansy" always looks so gorgeous in the catalogues. If I tried one again that would be the one. Of course, not in the same spot. A Cornus kousa "Summer Stars" resides there now.
I recall reading somewhere that Redbud is a pioneer species with a lifespan of only 20-30 years under the best of conditions. I've been growing a few of them for about five years now and while they do OK, growth has been less than robust and flowering sparse. Other than a northern z4 setting, they're growing in what I think would be ideal conditions, and I'm kind of disappointed how slow they've developed, especially reading about growth rates of 3'-4'/year when young. I'd love to hear experience from other frozen fools trying to grow this one. There's a hardy population of them in the southern part of the state and one community touts itself as "The Redbud City" and even has the chutzpah to hold an annual Redbud Festival in early May.
p.s. I really dislike Buckeyes.
I'd really like to try a redbud, and I all ready know I should get a northern type strain. The location I'm thinking of is just to the north of my garage, which pretty heavily shaded - I thought that having it a little cooler would save it from coming out of dormancy too early in the spring. That spot keeps snow pretty late. Is this a good strategy, or should I find a sunnier location?
Oh! Maackia! - Was it something this Buckeye said? I am going to believe that you were referring to Aesculus pavia. I don't have one but there is one in the neighborhood. Nice spring show. Fairly plain after that.
My one and only Cercis canadensis was grown in full sun. There was no scorch and the flowering was good. It succumbed to verticillium wilt at about eight years and fifteen feet. The soil was sandy, Ph 6.5. There are three on my block and every one of them is in decline. They just won't establish here.
Iguess I've been blissfully ignorant to their problems- being from pennsylvania- and yes- the valley forge trees are spectacular...
Snapple,
I think the Buckeyes he despises are the ones that beat Wisconsin this afternoon in basketball. Just a hunch.
Verticilium wilt is bad news for Cercis. Once you've got it in your soil, I think you've got it for the long haul.
Finding a VW resistant redbud would be a very worthwhile effort by some school, nursery, and/or governmental department. Right up there with anthracnose resistant dogwoods.
Scott
Hey Decumbent, thanks for clearing that up. I am, ahem, "sports challenged". With the exception of NASCAR.
I know we had some big rivalry game thing in some bowl game or other that people kept talking about but, really I'm clueless. What was it ? Ohio State and somebody or other? I dunno.
I'll keep admiring the "Forest Pansy" in the catalogues. Sigh.
This message was edited Mar 11, 2007 10:43 PM
One of the 'big box' stores had redbuds last year at less than $20 so I thought I would give it a try in a sheltered location with southern exposure. As we still have about 20" of white stuff on the level, I'm not seeing much spring although have had a couple of days of +50. Maples will be running soon. Ken
I bought a redbud two years ago that was a reject at Wal-Mart. I got it for five bucks and I brought it home and planted it underneath a large pecan tree. It has a few blooms on it now, but it looked pretty bad when I got it. I was afraid to even think about putting it in the sun.
Oh dear! It takes into the halseia teen years to bloom? I may have to donate the ones I have sprouting in the greenhouse to the city park once they're big enough so they can put a plack(sp?) on them that says"in memory of....."
P
I bought a three gallon size Halesia carolina that was about waist high and it bloomed every year after I planted it...
Maybe there's hope I can see mine bloom...'cause I'm not ready to"go" just yet...LOL
P
I have Halesia that I've grown from seed. Definitely less than five years old and blooming.
Scott
its good to keep planting trees regardless of age- keeps us young! the halesia I planted here in NH probably started blooming at age 4, people age- not sure how old it was in tree age.... it's just coming into its stride now, looking less gawky and rather proud of itself..thats why i called it a teenager!
Well,that's good to know.
I grew styrax japonica from seed. They were 4 last year apx.5ft.tall and full of blooms. I'm trying the american variety too but it's only two this year.
I'm hoping the parsley-leaf hawthorn I started from seed last year is a fairly quick grower.
P
parsley leafed hawthorn? sounds unusual... my hawthorne (also started from a sprig) is one of my favorites even with the thorns- the berries are just brilliant till mid february, when they suddenly become edible and the tree fills with flocks of cedar waxwings (i've counted over 60 birds at once)- in a few days all the berries are gone! its such great planning on nature's part...
