I really miss having the fruiting plants to take the gray edge off winter here.
With the obliterating 2007 Easter freeze back in April, the usual suspects are barren this winter. Malus, Ilex, and Viburnum are typically heavily laden with groups and clusters, but when that vicious cold snap wiped the flower palette clean there were no opportunities for decent berry production this year.
The cardinals, blue jays, and mockingbirds here would like to enjoy your images, however vicariously.
Here's what 'Asian Beauty' viburnum looked like last year, about now.
In flagrante fructifero...
runk:
Good to see you here. And yes, rub it in -- this would have been the first good fruiting year on tea viburnum here at the Valley, as the plants were finally getting big enough. I even had individuals from several different sources to ensure quality cross-pollination. 2008 bodes well, though.
Any holly shots? As I recall, you have several of those going on around your part of the world. This year should bring several Polly Hill winterberry selections into fruit here: Ilex verticillata 'Tiasquam', 'Quitsa', and 'Shortcake' are maturing.
Awaiting more imagery from around others' gardens...
VV,
Sorry to hear about your delayed Tea Viburnum satisfaction, it actually took mine a long time to establish thanks to critters…they may not desire the berries but the new wood has been irresistible. IMO one of the most stunning fall displays is the combination of Tea Viburnam and Oak Leaf Hydrangea. We have had another great berry year so as soon as I am able to slip out of my work shackles I will take a few photos to share. What are the variables that cause more or less fruit from year to year? Or is it all my imagination? Both Quitsa Pond and Tiasquam River (stream) offer everything an Ilex could ever hope for constant moisture and great drainage. kt
What are the variables that cause more or less fruit from year to year?
Solar energy input the previous year (a hot, sunny summer usually means a good crop the following year) is the main factor, then any possible "cancellation" by adverse weather during the flowering (as VV had in 2007!)
In some late-flowering species (e.g. Castanea, Lagerstroemia) the flowering depends on hot weather in the year of flowering rather than the previous year.
Resin
Al:
Thanks for your pictures. Cr@ppy computer competence at home disallows viewing of images in any quality fashion at the moment, so I'm just now appreciating these fruit fully today at work. Is that first one a Celastrus? Not so bad, if it's C. scandens. Those crabapples look just scrumptious. Gotta clone?
Resin:
No fair flaunting Sorbus and Cotoneaster, though I imagine they are all stellar in the kind of climes in which you cavort. Beautiful, just beautiful.
Runk:
I'll unabashedly borrow that combo idea -- I've got some tea viburnum to move around and they might as well have a fun new dance partner. Hydrangea quercifolia it is. Shorter forms like 'Pee Wee' and 'Sikes Dwarf' should generate a flouncy skirt around the knobby knees of V. setigerum.
And someday, I'll get to see these places from whence the names derive.
I agree with Resin to a point on the flowering/fruiting flagrancy. Additional info for on/off seasons could include pollinator levels. If the anecdotal evidence of less bees and other busy bodies is true, then less movement of pollen from flower to flower could well result in less fruit. If one is referring to native populations of plants, then the mixing of males/females (Ilex) is already present. Same for cross-pollination of viburnums and Rosaceae members, for example. In the garden, however, if you are the sole provider of the appropriate pairings, it may be performance of the partner which proves paltry. Thus pronounceth Porky Pig.
In the garden, all the microclimatic manipulations are manifest. Light, aspect, soils, moisture, nutrition -- in addition to the heat of that year's growing season. Ilex species respond tremendously well to additional nitrogen at the beginning of the growing season. Winterberries will reward you with wondrous windfalls if given this kind of boost. Many sage members (not Salvia!) of the Great Rivers Chapter of the Holly Society of America would bring award-winning sprigs to annual meetings, and then modestly remark on the subtle simplicity.
Depending on the clone, many Malus bear better in alternating years. This is a reason for clonal selections for the ornamental landscape, if you want annual accolades.
Drier years many times result in fewer finished fruit; more are shed to accommodate less resources. Light availability often changes with time in a garden, as trees grower taller and wider and cast more shade.
In other words -- it all depends.
VV - the bee problem was primarily limited to honeybees. Don't other varieties work for the viburnums?
Resin & VV,
Thanks for the very complete and enlightening info you are both such talented teachers. It was funny reading your responses made me think that some how I already new some of this information intuitively, much in the same way I can tell the time/season by the sun. I held off in my response hoping to have some photos to post but that will have to wait as our youngest daughter finally will be returning to college next week...are semesters now 6 weeks long or is it my imagination? I have been wanting to report on Ilex 'Rock Garden' one of the few ilex true dwarfs has reached the ripe old age of ten years in my garden and is staying true to it's claim, a dense 1' x 2' beauty of a shrub. I have noted that one of the few places to sell this very special shrub is Forest Farm. kt
runk:
I suppose your daughter has her Ph.D by now. Out with the holly pics.
Brilliance runs so rampant in my family that six months to earn a Phd seems a bit long to me…but heck kids today, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to stretch academic lifestyle out for years.
Sorry for the delayed response all of my free time of late has been spent removing crabapples from my old crabby apple tree, a true mind numbing task.
I think it would be a real blast to photograph Ilex verticillata 'Tiasquam', 'Quitsa' in their namesake environments, and a good excuse for trun and I to do a little exploring. It might be interesting to photo other fruiting plants at this stage of their development, I’ll take the camera out to play tomorrow. kt
I look forward to those images.
As I mentioned way above: this year has brought several Polly Hill winterberry selections into fruit here. My Ilex verticillata 'Tiasquam', 'Quitsa', and 'Shortcake' are maturing and have quite the fruit crop (except where cicadas have "pruned" some upper shoots). All the nascent berries are green, but a moist summer so far should mean good displays come fall ripening.
Wow, VV....those winterberries are beautiful!
Will they grow with average moisture? And do you have to find male/female plants to get those berries?
Hi Cheryl_103:
Thank you, but I just watch while winterberries wow.
They will grow with average moisture, but they excel when it's in excess. I always suggest that Ilex verticillata be sited where water is killing other plants, like near downspouts, drainage swales, or faucets (especially that leaky one you haven't fixed yet).
Otherwise, just remind yourself to watch them during excessive drought periods and give them a booster soak if possible.
You do need male and female plants in order to have the fruiting display you admire. This is not difficult. Read up in PlantFiles (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=ilex&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=verticillata&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=genus&images_prefs=both&Search=Search) about the superlative named female clones and the appropriate males for each.
If you still have questions, you know where we lurk...
Thanks to VV's nudging I went out in my yard and took a peak at my fruiting plants and have happily come to the conclusion that this is going to be a fruitful year in New England. I took way too many photo's as I needed to show off my own prepubescent berries then stopped at Polly Hill Arboretum and took a few snap shots there as well. Kt
Ilex 'Rock Garden' after ten years 1'x2' dense shiney leaves
Ilex glabra, plentiful soon to be black berries.
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