A Wonderful Weekend

 Nobody was at the nursery this past weekend, no employees, visitors or supply companies, and I had the place all to myself. I relish these times and I feel free to do whatever I want, when in contrast my typical business days are spent in the service and organization of others. Alone, I am able to commune with myself, but sometimes that's not good. There are times when I dwell on the negative: the weeds, the newly potted flat of plants without a label, mildew on maple leaves, the dead tree that nobody hauled away, the tool left out etc. When I saw all of the conifer understock I fretted about the task ahead to prune and graft the many thousands, especially with old Buchholz bending and reaching to cut the scions.

Anyway, I like to make work lists on the weekend, such as the one above, where the men get the heavier lifting assignments and the women are given lighter work since their nimble fingers are better suited. I don't care if that's sexist of me, I've been doing it that way for 40 years.

Acer longipes 'Gold Coin'

On my work-list mission, one greenhouse contained my one-and-only pot of Acer longipes 'Gold Coin' which was gifted to me by Carl at Munn's Nursery in Oregon. Acer longipes is a hardy species (USDA zone 5) from Sichuan province, China, and was specifically epithetinized due to its long, pointed lobes. A subspecies of A. longipes is amplum, which is maybe a zone less hardy, but still can survive down to -10F, and if it gets any colder than that, then I'll call it quits. The cultivar 'Gold Coin' is of the amplum subspecies and it was introduced by Esveld of Boskoop, The Netherlands in 1985. I knew that I didn't have a photo of 'Gold Coin' so I dashed back to the office and exchanged my work-list clipboard for my camera to record the beautiful autumn color. Thus, I spent the rest of the afternoon on a happy note, forgetting about work and any negativity, and I wandered from plant to plant to see how they were showing off.

Acer palmatum 'Asayake'

Oh look: another one-of maple is Acer palmatum 'Asayake', and I was given my start by the Nichols boys of MrMaple in North Carolina. I previously didn't understand why the seedling selection was given cultivar status – just another reddish light-green laceleaf when we already have so many. MrMaple describes it a bit differently, saying that it “displays a golden yellow color with a purple spring border when grown in morning sun to full sun.” Hmm, I look forward to observing it next spring with more diligence, because at first I dismissed it as a non-event. Now, in early winter, I find the golden yellow-orange leaves to be delightful, especially as the branches cascade downward. I have had similar experiences with other Acer cultivars, where I detect little of interest initially, but eventually I savor their unique characteristics at a later date...kind of like my reaction to some people I encounter. MrMaple says that the name 'Asayake' means “the colors of sunrise,” while my bilingual 14-year-old explains that asa means “morning” and yake means “burning,” but when combined, asayake means “sunrise.” Sic, then.

Acer palmatum 'Ilarian'

Further along in the greenhouse is Acer palmatum 'Ilarian', named in honor of the highschool Hispanic boy who worked for me 20 years ago. When pruning seedling rootstock he discovered one with variegated leaves, and, somewhat familiar with the myriad of colorful cultivars at Buchholz Nursery, he proudly showed me what he had found at the end of the work day. I praised him for being engaged and observant – an employer's dream really – and I said that we would grow it on, and if it amounted to anything I would name it after him. Well, it did and so I did, and my only regret is that it was christened 'Ilarian' when his name was actually spelled Ilarion, and it was a mindless office lady who mispeled his name for the two or three summers that he worked for me.

Acer palmatum 'Ilarian'

Ilarion with 'Ilarian'

Ilarion went off to college, the first in his family to actually graduate from high school, then from college besides, and we didn't see him for a dozen years. Then one day my wife Haruko bumped into him at a dance recital, for she was involved with my daughter's performance, while Ilarion was escorting his niece, if I remember correctly. Their reunion was fantastic for both, and Il came out to revisit the nursery. To his amazement I kept my word about his maple discovery, and I actually gave him a tree to take home. Now, he has become a man, but he never lost his pleasant boyish smile. The branchlet that I found last Sunday looks like fresh spring growth, but here it has sprouted at the beginning of winter, perhaps caused by a pruning in August. Since we began propagating A.p. 'Ilarian' I suppose we have distributed a couple thousand already, and I know that others are also growing it. What a great find, both the kid and his maple!

Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold'

Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold'

Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' isn't grown much anymore. The supposedly male clone actually produces fruit at an advanced age, so growers are unable to tell if it is male, female, bisexual or transgender...which appears to be the Way these days. Nobody wants a fruit-producer for an ornamental because of the disagreeable vomit-smell of the seed flesh, even though 'Autumn Gold' was originally championed as a fruitless male with a nice form. I have dealt with Ginkgo's murky sexuality expressions before so I won't rehash it now, but I challenge and welcome anyone to put me straight if you can prove that I am mistaken.

Larix kaempferi 'Peve Tunnis'

Larix kaempferi 'Peve Tunnis'

Engelbert Kaempfer

Every so often the rain would stop and the sun supplied its feeble glow in the landscape, so I ventured outside to follow the light. The Larix (true larch) are in transition from summer's needled shoots to naked stems, hopefully to resprout again in April. One of my favorite of the dwarves is L. kaempferi 'Peve Tunnis' with its blue-green foliage and neat, flattened globe shape. There are a number of ornamentals tagged “Peve,” such as Taxodium distichum 'Peve Minaret', Acer palmatums 'Peve Starfish' and 'Peve Multicolor' etc., and it simply means that the selection originated at Piet Vergeldt's nursery in Lottum, The Netherlands, one of the most impressive nurseries in all of Europe. The mutation was discovered on a “Japanese larch” (L. kaempferi) at Saint Anthonis that the locals call Saint (Sint) Tunnis. My crops grow to about 20” wide by 15” tall in 10 years, or a little more slow and compact in the garden. The word Larix has a Latin origin, while larch is from German Lärche, from Old High German larihha. The specific epithet honors Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716), the German physician, naturalist and explorer who travelled in Russia, India and Japan, and who wrote Flora Japonica and History of Japan. While visiting Buddhist monks in Nagasaki, he was the first Westerner to describe Ginkgo biloba, and in fact brought back seeds that were planted in the botanical garden at Utrecht, The Netherlands, and I have seen one such tree in that garden, the oldest in the world outside of Asia.

Rehderodendron macrocarpum

Alfred Rehder

Back in the greenhouse, my solo Rehderodendron macrocarpum was brilliant with rich red autumn color, and I really should get the 10' tree out into the arboretum. This Chinese species was discovered on Emei Shan by botanist Wang in 1931, and introduced by Professor Hu as recent as 1934, but it is still rarely seen in gardens. I first saw a mature specimen at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle, and I propagated by grafting onto Styrax japonicus rootstock, since it is in the Styracaceae family. The grafts took and I sold all, saving just one for myself, but that tree eventually died. Brian Humphrey in The Bench Grafter's Handbook suggests Pterostyrax hispida for rootstock, and comments: “Good takes and short-term compatibility, but long-term compatibility is in doubt.” My one tree that I now have was acquired from the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Washington state, but I don't know if it originated as a seedling or if it was cutting grown. The generic name honors Alfred Rehder (1863-1949), a taxonomist and dendrologist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Rehder produced his Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs Hardy in North America and he also named and systemized many of E.H. Wilson's new introductions from China.

Rhododendron 'Airy Fair'

Rhododendron 'Airy Fairy' in Hatch garden

I propagated a few plants of Rhododendron x 'Airy Fairy' a few years ago after seeing it in bloom at friend R. Hatch's garden. Although horrifically named – I thought Hatch was joking at first – I fell for the cross of R. lutescens x R. mucranulatum 'Cornell' which was achieved by Francis Maloney and introduced in 1976. My few starts bloomed in the greenhouse this past April, and I even planted one out in the garden. For some reason a single flower chose November to appear, and the pink color is set off nicely against the reddish-purple leaves. In the same greenhouse I have Camellias in fat bud, and a few C. williamsii 'Water Lily' are in full flower. The Camellias went from being a recent hobby for me – I didn't have even one on the place 8 years ago – to production of about 10 cultivars now. The greenhouse is kept above freezing which allows me to enjoy two springs, one inside, beginning now, and the second arriving later outside in the garden.

Schima argentea

Schima argentea

Schima argentea

Camellias are in the tea family, Theaceae, and so is Schima argentea, a bushy tree with small, creamy white, fragrant, Camellia-like flowers in late summer. The evergreen leaves are glossy green above with silvery undersides (hence the specific epithet argentea). The Poly Hill Arboretum in Massachusetts claims it to be hardy to USDA zone 5, but I really don't believe that, while the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden suggests 10F, or USDA zone 8, a huge difference. My one tree came from the latter garden, from wild-collected seed; but with a wide range in Asia from Nepal to Taiwan, I suppose individual populations could vary in hardiness. I guess I'll sow some seed, but frankly I hope to not germinate too many, for ultimately I consider it to be a BIO genus (Botanical Interest Only). According to William McNamara of the Quarryhill Botanic Garden in California, Schima is called chilaune by the Nepalese locals and “the leaves and roots are used for fevers and the bark is sometimes used for intestinal worms.” For whatever reason the Latin name Schima is thought to be a modification of Greek skiasma for “shadow,” but honestly I don't see any connection.

Metapanax delavayi in November

Metapanax delavayi in Spring

Another evergreen, a questionably-hardy tree is Nothopanax delavayi and I've had it in the greenhouse for about 12 years, ever since it was gifted to me by Far Reaches Nursery in Washington state. Somewhere along the way the generic name was changed to Metapanax, with meta meaning “akin to,” as in Metasequoia, while notho is from Greek meaning “spurious, illegitimate or false.” In The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs (2019) M. delavayi is described as an elegant species “that forms a large shrub with up to 7 narrow leaflets in a hand-like arrangement,” and that it is native to southwest China and North Vietnam. Metapanax is sometimes referred to as the “pot aralia” due to the leaves resembling the “hippy lettuce” (Marijuana), but in Yunnan, China, the leaves are used as a tea in folk medicine, and perhaps can reduce prostate enlargement. Not surprisingly the word panax is Greek for “all healing” and shares the same origin as panacea. Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is a widely used and acclaimed herb and it is often prized for its human shape, with a body, arms and legs, and I saw well-turned specimens offered in a Beijing “pharmacy” for thousands of dollars in the 1980s. No one could answer the question – back then – of who could afford it.

Hamamelis mollis 'Wisley Supreme'

We planted a Hamamelis mollis 'Wisley Supreme' in the garden a month ago, and since it is new for me, I look forward to the promise of “large, pale yellow, sweetly scented flowers” from December to March, according to Hillier. The leaf photo above is from a greenhouse specimen, so I also look forward to “rich yellow autumn colour.” H. mollis is the “Chinese witch hazel” and it was first introduced by Charles Maries in 1879 while he was collecting for the Veitch Nurseries in England, then later by Augustine Henry and E.H. Wilson. The specific epithet mollis is due to the softly hairy leaves, a word that is the root of mollify, akin to Greek amaldynein, and Sanskrit mrdu for “soft.”

Quercus alnifolia

I have not tried Quercus alnifolia outside, for it is known as the “Golden oak of Cyprus” and so I question its hardiness. The evergreen has relatively small rounded green leaves on the upper surface, but an interesting golden-orange beneath. I have an 8' tree gifted to me by Guy Meacham of PlantMad Nursery a few years ago, and he lifted a leaf for me to show off the color beneath, and now I do the same for my visitors. My one tree has yet to produce acorns, but I hope it does in my lifetime. Q. alnifolia is native to the Troodos Mountains, where I have never been, which is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in the center of the island. Its highest peak is Chionistra at 1952 m (6404 ft). Not far from Cyprus is the island of Rhodes, politically part of Europe, but geographically connected to Asia, and we grow the “Valonia oak,” Q. ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis. The cultivar 'Hemelrijk Silver' has been successful in our outside collection at Flora Farm for the past two years.

Below are a few more images from the nursery that I saw this special weekend.

Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku'

Picea pungens 'Herman Naue'

Picea pungens 'Herman Naue'

Acer palmatum 'Ghost Dancer'

Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Daweswood Tawny Fleece'

Acer palmatum 'Orion'

Cornus florida 'Ragin Red'

Cornus florida 'Ragin Red'

Acer sieboldianum 'Seki no kegon'

Aesculus hippocastanum 'Wisselink'

Acer palmatum 'Japanese Princess'

Acer palmatum

Acer palmatum 'Tiger Rose'

Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun'

Acer pictum 'Usu gumo'

Cornus controversa

Cornus controversa

Acer palmatum 'Peve Starfish'

Sorbus sargentiana

Magnolia macrophylla

Acer pictum 'Naguri nishiki'

Acer palmatum 'Usu midori'

Cercis canadensis 'Black Pearl'

Quercus garryana

Acer japonicum 'Giant Moon'

Acer palmatum 'White Peaches'

Diospyros virginiana 'Magic Fountain'

Diospyros virginiana 'Magic Fountain'

Helwingia chinensis 'BLF' (male)

Aquilegia longiflora

Acer palmatum 'Lileeanne's Jewel'

When I returned home the sun briefly appeared for a last hurrah. The earth was soaked and the empty field looked dreamy. Note the Ginkgo biloba 'Chi Chi' in the foreground; this is the first time they failed to color brilliantly, as they went from green to brown. I suspect that they were troubled by our weeks of toxic smoke caused by the western wildfires.

You know the old saying: Everything is 20/20 in hindsight. I would alter that to say 2020 was terrible in hindsight.