Some more fall color

A fine Fothergilla with Abelia mosanensis behind it

The Shadblow Serviceberry

A pitiful Northerner attempt at Sourwood

"Polaris' Blueberry--blueberries deserve more respect as an ornamental!

This message was edited Oct 18, 2006 5:17 PM

Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum', even after I busted it in two by dropping a pear tree on it

Cornus alternifolia 'Golden Shadows'

A Cornus florida, which is not at all common up here--is this normal for fall color???

And last but not least, from one of the Viburnum dentatums that isn't known for fall color, we get this show from 'Little Joe'

Kevin,
Your photo's are awesome I really love your 'Patriot' Blueberry which I am assuming is a high bush variety. Did it berry for you this year and how would you describe the size and flavor of the berry? kt

Kevin, gorgeous pictures, makes Fall leap out in vivid colors. Thanks! ;0)

I've never seen Cornus Florida with fall color like that. Most of them here are scorched by the end of summer, so that pretty much ruins the fall color.

Kneevin,
I'm with you on the blueberry call! I really think they are top-class ornamentals.

I feel your pain on dropping a pear (yeah!) on your full-moon maple (Noooooo!!! Why???) I dropped a maple on my "Louisa" crabapple. Not once, but twice. The first half first, the second half second. I was hopping mad!!! Stupid, stupid, stupid. The crab was not amused, but survived.

I think you are a full week, maybe two ahead of us. Nothing on the fothergillas yet.

I think I might be in the dogwood (color) comfort zone. They usually color up pretty well here.

Scott

And here is my sourwood. First year in the garden. Supposedly a tricky one. We'll see how it does.

Scott

KT--new for me this year. I got it after the fruit was gone. I planted about 8 plants late this fall of various types. I hope to have a good harvest next year. Waters Blueberry Farm sent some large plants for a good price. They have only three varieties, but I picked up others here and there.

Scott--we are lucky to have ANY fall color this year. We have had a string of nights at 28F. We had snow a few days ago. Global warming is a crock of lava.

Kevin...I don't know about your crock of lava... here in New England my tender annuals are still going strong. kt

Oh' I have the same problem with my Sourwood that I do with my dogwood. It looks pretty pitiful right now from sun scorch. In a few more weeks I'm going to transplant it to a partially shaded spot.

Kneevin, how long have you been growing that sourwood? Morton Arb convinced me not to even bother when I looked at their success rate. My Cornus Florida has very similar color, just not yet here in Lombard. That is a shame about the Aureum; as if people here need another reason to bad mouth pears. I really like blueberries too. So do the rabbits and the gardens centers I buy all the sulfur and peat from.

Do you eat your serviceberries or are they for the birds?

Bill

Kevin,

Nice images on the fall color. I really like the fall color on the Golden Shadows. I hadn't expected it to be that nice of a pink. Cornus florida is usually a nice rich red/maroon here in Central IL. Abelia mosenensis has had a good yellow/red fall color. I was ready to ditch the plant from our inventory until I saw a larger one this spring. Someone had the foresight to put it in a large planter and let it grow for several years, unfettered. When it flowered, we sold quite a few. What a great fragrance! With a little selection for compact habit, it would be a truly great plant.

Regards,
Ernie

Bill:

That's three years for that one. I have killed a couple. Oddly enough, when I first moved into this new place, the elderly woman next door motioned for me to come over. Her husband, who has had a stroke, was quite the plant freak in his youth she told me, and I noticed a wide variety of trees over at her place as I walked over. There was a huge Sourwood in her back yard, in full fall glory, about 20' from a large Japanese Maple. She said they bought them out of a magazine years ago and plunked them in the ground--never any special care. Maybe we try too hard??? On the Aureum, this was an eatin' type of pear that was hollow and falling apart, not the Bradford type. As for serviceberries, I get to eat a few, but they are quickly stripped by birds.

Ernie:

I was surpised by that 'Golden Shadows' as well. Same for 'Janine', which was blazing red. They could make for nice trees in time. That Abelia needs selection for something, some kind of better form or??? Great fragrance, great fall color, and one gangly growth habit.

Lots of nice color Kevin. We still have it too even though knocked out some this past week by the rain and premature snow last Thursday. I bought some blueberries today, 3 different cvs on sale. Every one had spectacular color. I wouldn't even care if they never got berries.

I am lucky enough to have quite a few native Cornus florida in my woods. And they all have great fall color, with shades of pink, yellow orange, claret, burgundy. This is a nice one just off my terrace which was moved on site. There are some others that are just getting to their full color. The nice thing about seedling plants is that there is a good range of different colors.

BTW Kevin, where did you find C. alternifulia 'Janine'? I have been looking for that one. A good sized one I saw at the Var. Foliage Nursery in CT (now out of business I think) was a stunning plant -- and quite vigorous for a variegated pagoda dogwood, according to the owner. The only ones I have seen are some 1 gallon size from Klehm for $55

I'll third the ornamental qualities of Blueberries, although I mainly grow them for the tasty & healthy fruit. Like MLK, I also had a dream. Only mine was to have fun and get rich from growing Vaccinium. After reading that you can earn up to $10,000/acre growing Blueberry I decided to try several varieties to see which one's offered the best hope for my well drained & acid (that's good), but thin and dry (that's bad) soils. If things went well, the plan was to expand my plantation to a 1/2 acre and so on until I became filthly stinking rich. For me, the color of money was blue! I purchased five varieties (50 plants) back in 2001 and we finally had our first productive season this year. To make a long (and somewhat dull) story short, I've slowly lost interest in this get rich scheme, and am very content to merely share the fruits of my labor with friends, family and birds.

Patriot produces huge berries, but I'd rate them as only average for taste. They are extremely hardy and all ten that I planted are going strong. I believe they also are more tolerant of heavier/clay soils, but really not an issue for me. The industry standard for highbush is Blueray and Bluecrop, which are heavy producers of very tasty berries. What I find interesting is that the highbush types have actually done better for me than the half-high types, which are hybrids of highbush and lowbush. Are you bored to tears yet?

Before I completely lose you all, is anyone growing Saskatoon Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)? I was browsing (like a deer) at a nursery this summer and came across one that was loaded with fruit. I sampled it and couldn't believe how delicious it was. I proceeded to eat my way through the row of serviceberries until an employee gave me the evil eye. Mmmm, maybe Saskatoon Serviceberry is the ticket for me. I can see it all now....

While we are talking blueberries, Maackia or Kevin, can you give me hints on what they need culturally? I can't recall the 3 cvs I bought but will look at them when I get home. Acid soil is a no-brainer, and I have that, though maybe not quite acid enough (my sandy loam is about 6.0 I think). Sun I would guess too. But how about moisture? Are the plants sold in nurseries selections of V. corymbosum, hybrids? I remember from my botany days that that species is a wetlander, though there are obviously species which grow in dry sandy soils too. How moisture-requiring are they?

Maackia,
You have neglected to consider the profit margin of Serviceberry jelly, wine, pie, I for-see an empire in the making. I have 32 blueberries and I will say Blueray is a big producer but I am not in love with the flavor. I have hit a critical time in their development because my huge lack of understanding the correct pruning techniques has now become evident in lessening berry production. I have read a number of books and stared blankly at the illustrations but I just don't get it. I would appreciate any advise. kt

David,

You're not too far from Blueberry heaven (i.e. east coast of Lake Michigan). I purchased my plants (virus tested, of course) from DeGrandchamp's, which is based in Grand Haven. A few years back my wife had me on one of her wild goose chases for that perfect horse (she's still looking for that elusive equine), and I marveled at the commercial blueberry operations in the area. They grow blueberries like we grow alfalfa. I was told that the sandy, acid soil combined with a high water table were ideal for growing them. A lot of people don't realize that Blueberries need very good drainage, which I've got in spades. OTOH, they do need consistent moisture, which is the biggest problem I've faced growing them. I don't have an irrigation system, which I've decided is a must if I'm ever going to expand my planting.

My ph is about the same as yours (5.9), and I did a slight modification with sulphur to lower it to around 5 using the prescribed formula, which completely escapes me at this critical juncture. I now apply small amounts of acid-loving fertilizer twice per year (once at beginning of bloom and about six weeks later or whenever I remember to do it).

I'm guessing your cultivars are V. corymbosum. I see no point in going with the half-high's, unless you want a smaller growing plant. A few of these are Chippewa, St Cloud, Polaris, and North Blue. They all have excellent fall color. The southern blueberry (think North Carolina) is called Rabbit Eye, but I can't think of the latin name.

BTW, the formula is 24 lbs. of sulphur/1000 sq. feet to lower ph one full point.

Bob

David--I got mine from Klehms. Only other places I have seen bigger size plants offered was at Broken Arrow and VFN. Stan at Variegated Foliage was quite ill this spring, but I talked to him a month or two ago and he was back in business. Great color on those Dogwoods, by the way.

I erred above--that is 'Polaris' and not 'Patriot'--oops. It's one of the hardy half-high types. I think culture is about the same as Rhodies, but even more acid(and full sun vs. shaded, of course). That means consistent moisture and good drainage.

Thanks for the info Kevin and Bob. Well Bob, Michigan is a big state, and the east shore of Lake Michigan (aka the 'Banana belt' in MI because of great growing conditions and relatively mild climate, varying from zone 6a in Traverse City to 6b in Saugatuck) is unfortunately not at all the same as where I live. That is more like zone 5b officially, maybe 6a, but I am colder in my new garden since I am away from urban pavement. More to the point, it is sandy here partly, though the sand is fine and not as acid as in W Michigan.

Anyway....

Just a little fall color from me today too. I am a big sourwood fan and I have a northern provenance tree that I got when I went out to Broken Arrow a few years ago. It has had consistently good fall color but variable, was more orangey red in my old garden. I moved it and it has more pink and rosey-burgundy tones at the new place, in more shade. It is about 8-10' tall and 6-8' across

Close up of the leaves.

This is now growing in high dappled shade, and it definitely does not bloom as well as it did in full sun. But it isn't fully established, having been moved 1 year ago, so maybe it will bloom better. Does anybody know about bloom on sourwoods in full sun vs part sun/high shade?

If I can dig up and old picture I will in bloom since it was really nice.

Sourwoods are definitely marginal in zone 5b depending I think on provenance. I had one in the old place that was killed to the ground in 1993 when the official low was about -24F, coldest ever in Ann Arbor, MI

Here is a fothergilla 'Blue Mist', best color ever on this, and in the back, Hamamelis AP

closer up of blue mist

Often witchhazels have cool kaleidoscope banding on the leaves. My old big AP did, and this littler one does too

Witchhazels look great underplanted with hellebores, not only in late winter when they are a vision of spring, but also in the fall. Hellebores put out their new growth of the season in the fall and have rich beautiful green foliage then, especially if given their annual dose of fertilizer (whixh also promotes flower bud formation for the coming winter)

This isn't my tree, but after driving by it everyday to andfrom work, I finally brought my camera and snapped a pic to share.....

Lovely pics everyone!! I wish my Sourwood was bigger, and showing Fall color so I could post pics of it -- but we are still having 70 and sun with no frosts yet.....really good Fall color is a few weeks off....

KT,

I love that entrepreneurial spirit! You've helped rekindle the dream inside, and I'm thinking of taking out a 2nd mortgage and putting it all in Saskatoon Serviceberry production. My wife will be so thrilled to hear about this new venture. Of course, if it doesn't work out she'll likely ship me off to Saskatoon.

Now, to get right at your pruning question: I have no idea. I've only done some light pruning on mine, but I know this is an important hort practice to maximize production. Lord knows there's no shortage of information on pruning techniques out there, its just making sense of it all. I'm what you'd call a reluctant pruner, which is due to some of the hatchet jobs I've done on other shrubs and small trees. My wife has threatened to confiscate the lopers/pruners on more than one occasion.

You don't like the taste of Blueberries? Good thing you only planted 32 bushes! My odd sister has a strong preferance for raspberries over bluberries, which is in total disagreement with my t-buds.

Glad I could help you with your pruning questions. :>)

Blueberry Bob

David~Delightful corner tableau. I really like seeing not just the shrubs, but also how they are placed, and what they are planted with. You've got some really nice stone work on your house too. Is that corner in shade or part sun?

The pair of Amelanchiers flanking my steps just gets more and more neon as days go by, despite the freezing temps. I have a 'Forest Prince' elsewhere that has the same vibrant color. In the foreground in this pic is Spirea betual 'Tor', one of the Spirea I actually like!

Here's a closer look at Tor. It develops great fall color if given enough time, but the cold weather may cut it short. We'll see. This is how it starts

Be still my heart.

Thanks Prairie Girl. That corner is in pretty full sun but is protected on 3 sides (all but straight north) by the walls of the house and the garage so it is quite protected from wind, and gets some shade in the early morning and late afternoon from sun. Being protected on 3 sides, I noticed in last winter's mild conditions that the soil barely froze here so I am using it as a spot for a late winter vignette with the AP, blue hollies, hellebores, winter aconites, etc. The stone work on the house and the garden walls was all handdone from Michigan limestone. It goes all around the lower half of the house and out on walls in the garden too - pricey and time consuming but worth it.

Here's some more fall color from me -- my other Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium'. The other plant I have colored rich wine red this year but is in full sun and started its color 2 weeks ago. This one is bigger and in high shade in the woods, and got its color much later, just the last couple of days. Even though it was multicolored red in my old garden, it is predominately orange this year. I am sure it is genetically identical to the other plant I have -- they came from the same nursery. But given the different growing conditions, the color is completely different this year.?