North Carolina 2024, Day 3

Yesterday, Day 2 of our Western North Carolina visit was pleasantly warm, and thankfully not stifling hot, so Haruko and I casually assumed that the following morning we would experience more of the same. We had a big day ahead, beginning with the drive from Asheville to East Flat Rock to the site of another MrMaple Open House, where hundreds of their customers are allowed to roam through greenhouses and pull out plants to purchase. Of course I cheer for the success of the new parent company of Buchholz Nursery, as the more money they can rake in on these mega-maple events, the more they can spend to return Buchholz to its former glory years, with new technology, improved management, and, especially intriguing for me: an infusion of new Acer species and cultivars.

Haruko's Pastry Dream

I awoke pre-dawn on Day 3, on Monday (Memorial Day), anxious to experience Maple Fever, North Carolina style. My first task was to awaken Haruko, which I learned long ago to accomplish by lightly pulling her pillow every few minutes or so…helping her to emerge from her Old European Pastry dreams and from yesterday's other indulgences. Finally she stirred and I opened the heavy drapes. Uhh-Oh, I discovered that my planned "Good Morning Sunshine" greeting was drowned by a howling hurricane outside our hotel cocoon. Rain was pelting sideways, blowing from this direction one minute, then from the opposite the next. A serious storm; we wondered if the MrMaple event would take place at all. Right? Maybe I wouldn't have to give my Buchholz Maple Introductions speech after all.

Despite the weather we encountered a long string of cars parked along the county road near the nursery. Some Maple Maniacs came dressed with serious rain gear and umbrellas, but many chose the au natural style in tee-shirts and shorts and wearing flip-flops. Picture a pretty Carolina girl, thoroughly soaked and with a smudge of dirt on her forehead, but joyously walking to the checkout table with two new trees for her collection. Carolina? – maybe she came from further afield, since the entire southeast region, and all the way from Texas, makes the trip to a MrMaple sale.

Cercis canadensis 'Flame Thrower'

Cercis canadensis 'Carolina Sweetheart'

Cercis canadensis 'Carolina Sweetheart'

Cercis canadensis 'Carolina Sweetheart'

Acer palmatum 'Sister Ghost'

Co-owner Tim Nichols greeted us at arrival and we were assured that the event was still on, but he lamented that the crowd was drastically reduced due to the rains and wind. Indeed, the MrMaple employees and customers grabbed canvas to keep the kiosks anchored lest they blow over the Appalachia and into Tennessee. Even when standing 6' inside any greenhouse, you would still be drenched from the sideways rain, yet the shoppers kept pouring – pun intended – in to seek must-have treasures. Two cultivars of "red bud," Cercis canadensis 'Flame Thrower' and 'Carolina Sweetheart' rivaled the maples for incredible spring foliage, and it appeared that the well-stocked supply of 300-or-so of each would soon be depleted. Whenever I saw a shopper with a Buchholz introduction I would make a big deal about their excellent choice, which was fun because they had no idea who I was.

Another purpose of our Carolina visit was to meet the crew that grows and ships thousands of maples each year, to witness how this relatively small company is able to match product with customers from every state in America. The key to company success is to foster a happy, cooperative environment within the employee ranks, but that is not always so simple to accomplish, even though the goal is obvious, and with owners well-intentioned. Still, we witnessed dozens of yellow-coated MrMaple workers assist the customers with enthusiasm, and the Open House event was only possible because they sacrificed their Memorial Day holiday to deal with the extravaganza.

Norman and Evelyn Nichols, Talon, Tim, Matt

In addition to the industrious employees, Haruko and I were able to meet other members of the extended Nichols clan, like Matt's three children, Tim's wife Carla, a slew of cousins or nieces – I couldn't figure out who they all were – and finally Mother Evelyn Nichols, the matriarch whose positive energy explains the spark that originally fired up her two Maple Sons.

Acer palmatum 'Green Strap'

I was also anxious to see some of the newer maple acquisitions that haven't yet made their way out to Oregon, or if a few have been sent to Buchholz they are not at present in production. An impressive newcomer is Acer palmatum 'Green Strap', a small bushy form – though vigorous – with narrow green lobes, perhaps like a dwarf version of the old A.p. 'Scolopendrifolium'. 'Green Strap' actually originated in Oregon at Ballard Nursery, less than 10 minutes from Buchholz Nursery.

Coincidentally I worked with owner Greg for a couple of years at the Dutchman's nursery where we both had to endure: "If you're not Dutch, you're not much." Funny, but 40 years later the Dutchman is long gone along with his two sons, while we two "Not Mutch" are still in business. 'Green Strap' emerges light green with a reddish purple border in spring, then evolves to solid green by summer, and finally to fiery yellows, oranges and reds in autumn. I will complain about its name, however, since "green strap" is an old horticultural term for any plant with long, green willow-like lobes. It would be better used as a general description than as a cultivar name, since 'Scolopendrifolium', 'Ao shime no uchi', 'Aoyagi gawa', 'Koto no ito' etc. – and even the extremely fine 'Fairy Hair' – can all collectively be grouped as "green straps." But, it's too late now to improve its name.

Urihada Kaede (Melon-skin Maple)

Acer rufinerve 'Sunshine'

Acer rufinerve 'Sunshine'

Our one stock tree of Acer rufinerve 'Sunshine' came to us last autumn from MrMaple. It is luxuriating now in GH11 with a number of other new cultivars, so how it will preform in the Buchholz landscape is of course unknown. Its leaves are remarkably large due to its posh environment, but I wonder how they will hold up if we reach our normal 100 F high later this summer. Leaves will vary in color, as is typical of variegated maples, but I wonder if it's best described as "yellow variegated with green" or "green variegated with yellow?" If 'Sunshine' proves resistant to sun scorch, and if it is not inclined to revert, then I can picture it as a wonderful lawn tree. The rufinerve species, commonly known as "Redvein maple" or "Honshu maple," is native to Japan and is hardy to -20 F (USDA zone 5). A. rufinerve is fairly common on the islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu and is known as urihada kaede, or "melon-skin maple" which refers to the bark pattern.

Acer palmatum 'Mila'

Acer palmatum 'Mila'

Acer palmatum 'Mila' was selected probably a couple of decades ago in Holland by the late Dick Van der Maat, yet it is new to me as of last autumn. I have previously grown other Van der Maat selections but for some reason 'Mila' never made the journey. I was pleased with its appearance this spring with leaves beginning a light pastel-pink before gradually darkening to purple-red; bushy and fast growing besides. I had to chuckle at the English translation of Van der Maat's autobiography De Collection, where 'Mila' is said to grow to "two meters at maturnity."

Acer palmatum 'Arctic Flame'

Acer palmatum 'Arctic Flame'

Acer palmatum 'Arctic Flame'

Acer palmatum 'Arctic Flame'

Acer palmatum 'Arctic Flame' intrigued me this spring, and nearly every day I would wander into GH11 to see how it was looking. How it was looking was every day different, and all photos above were taken from our one and only 3 gal pot. Naturally I wonder how the wispy, pinkish-to-cream white foliage will hold up in Oregon sun, or in any other climate for that matter. Bear in mind that just because the new selection has a name, that doesn't necessarily mean that we will ever propagate it. Probably we will, though, as it's always good to have a backup in case the original is lost. I don't know the seed source responsible for 'Arctic Flame'; but it was a Crispin Silva (from Oregon) discovery, the same plantsman with many outstanding variegated introductions such as Acer palmatum 'Phantom Flame', Davidia involucrata 'Lady Sunshine', Cornus kousa 'Summer Gold', Styrax japonicus 'Frosted Emerald' and others. My only concern is that the cultivar name, 'Arctic Flame', has also been given to a recent Acer pseudosieboldianum introduction – though not a Crispin Silva discovery – so that duplication might cause confusion for the gardening public, and I'm pretty certain the situation will confound the Buchholz staff as well.

Acer palmatum 'Little Red'

There were many dozens of other plant cultivars new to me, and the role of Buchholz Nursery will be to propagate and build up availability as soon as possible. I was impressed with the organization of the MrMaple Open House, how they processed hundreds of gardening geeks with their veritable smorgasbord of old and new cultivars for sale, and I'm sure a large portion of shoppers exceeded the budget that they initially set for themselves. By noon the weather cleared and the wimpier shoppers eventually arrived and they wasted little time purchasing what was still for sale. It's fun to share a Christmas morning with little children; their joy is infectious, even though we know they will crash and burn later at some point. The MrMaple event was Christmas for adults, but their "crash and burn" will come about a month later with their credit card statement.

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I reflected that it was ten years ago (in 2014) that I was last in western North Carolina. At that time I visited Dr. C. whose home and garden is near to the Nichols boys, and it was one of the highlights of the Maple Society tour that year. I looked forward to reconnecting with the good doctor and his lovely wife but they were out of town – indeed out of country (South Africa) – but we were granted permission to visit the estate that contains MrMaple trees as well as many Buchholz Nursery introductions. So Haruko and I escaped the Open House frenzy for the privacy of a collector's garden. I was astounded with the development of the landscape and its individual plants, but then a decade will do that. I roamed around for about an hour, occasionally requesting that Wifey stand next to a particular tree that I remembered from before, but I confess to feeling uneasy to explore someone's plant creation without their company.

I was on the alert for bears because Dr. C.'s garden has been victimized repeatedly, similar to the Gentling folks we visited yesterday. One wonders if the brutes are foraging for food or if they're simply out for mischief. They will pounce on a conifer specimen of great value and crush it just for the sport. Maybe they paw and molest the herbage to…give notice that you're on Alpha Bear's territory.

Picea engelmannii 'Blue Magoo'

Picea engelmannii 'Blue Magoo'

I was delighted to discover a large specimen of Picea engelmannii 'Blue Magoo' that we supplied years ago. It looked healthy and I confess that I sized it up for possible scionwood. We don't have even one at Buchholz Nursery because I quit it in a huff since the species is prone to attack by the bug that kills the tops of some species of spruce. I remember our last 'Blue Magoo' in the field, that when its top became infested we cut it down and burned it. Thanks for the memories. Later, of course, I regretted being so harsh.

Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun'

My good friend, Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun', was well-sited in front of an evergreen backdrop, and its regal glow was evident, especially on this cloudy day. I went up to it and gave a silent blessing; I wanted to protect it from bear attack.

Christina's World

I admit to being initially confused when Haruko was driving up the hill to Dr. C.'s place. "Slow down, slow down!" It just didn't look the same, where previously one looked up the very green hill to a very red house. I mentally composed a photo of Haruko, supine like the woman in Wyeth's Christina's World, but the house was no longer visible from below. I know too from my garden that it is a management process to deal with a tree collection, and there are countless times you want to point the magic wand and command, "Stop Growing, Now!" Cristina would have to crawl through the conifer/maple collection to get to the house now.

From the Dr. C. garden we drove back to MrMaple where I droned on about Buchholz maple introductions for over an hour, then the survivors rushed back to the greenhouses to search for more trees for their already too-full gardens.

Haruko and I would spend one more evening in Asheville, and I'm sure we had fun, though I can't remember what happened.

Bartlett Tree Experts

The Bartlett Arboretum

Tomorrow, Day 4 of North Carolina took place at the Bartlett Arboretum in Charlotte. I've only scratched the surface of that great institution after two visits, but I won't blog about it until I gather more experience. It will be worth the wait.