There are many paths that enter
into, or exit from our original Display Garden at Buchholz Nursery. The famous
baseball legend Yogi Berra, noted for his humorous observations, once advised
that “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.” I feel that way
about my garden, and with others I admire, that the many forks amount to many decisions
for the visitor, so that when one chooses a certain path, the pilgrim is also
accompanied with a regret, or an agitation at least...until the other fork is
eventually traversed. Even the act of reversing course on the same path becomes
a new route due to a shift in perspective.
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| Reuben Hatch with Paeonia 'Joseph Rock' |
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| Robert Frost |
My best friend, the late Reuben
Hatch, had visited the nursery a couple of hundred times I suppose, and the
best possible compliment was bestowed a couple of years ago when he commented
that with each visit he found something new and interesting. In that sense I
took the poet Robert Frost's approach to take the road less traveled: to
create and maintain an arboretum full of beauty and curiosity, with the nursery
business – the capitalistic endeavor – subservient to the tree collection.
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| Rhodo. orbiculare 'Edinburgh' and Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost' in the Display Garden |
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| Rhododendron orbiculare 'Edinburgh' |
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| Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost' |
A few days ago I walked from the
office with the intention of writing up a pine candle-pruning list in the Lower
Containers. I got diverted, lured into the Display Garden with the flowering of
Rhododendron orbiculare 'Edinburgh', and the original tree of Acer palmatum
'Purple Ghost' in its background. With its fresh spring leaves the maple
illuminated the garden, and though I have walked the same route a few thousand
times before, at that particular moment I was drawn into the dream. The 'Purple
Ghost' originated as a seedling from the mother tree of Acer palmatum 'Kasagi
yama' sometime in the 1980s, then was planted into the garden in 1992. It was
temporarily identified as 'Kasag DG 92', and in fact grafts were sold as such
in the early years. Now, of course, I regret ever selling the tree with a code
name, especially when one customer opined that he didn't want to order 'Purple
Ghost' because he found 'Kasag DG 92' to be “far superior.” Since it was
pointless to straighten him out, I concurred that 'Kasag DG 92' was "hard
to beat."
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| Rhododendron orbiculare 'Exbury' |
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| Rhododendron orbiculare 'Exbury' |
We grow two forms of Rhododendron
orbiculare in the Flora Wonder Arboretum – 'Exbury' and 'Edinburgh' – and
though we single-quote them as if they were official cultivars, it's really
just an indication of their source. Rhododendron species – as well as with all
plants – vary in the wild. Plant hunters of yore were always keen to discover a
new species, but certain collectors were particularly interested to find the
best form of the species. The R. orbiculare from Exbury features deep
pink campanulate blossoms, but I don't know when the 200 acre Rothschild estate
acquired their start. Likewise, I don't know the origin of the 'Edinburgh'
form, except that my source was the RHS Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland. The
species itself was introduced by E.H. Wilson in 1904 from Sichuan, China. It
was so-named by French botanist Joseph Decaisne due to its rounded,
heart-shaped leaves (green above and glaucous beneath) which are held
horizontally in spring and summer. Even with little care from the gardener, R.
orbiculare forms a neat, dome-shaped bush, wonderful whether it is in bloom or
not.
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| Rhododendron williamsianum |
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| Rhododendron williamsianum |
A green blob beneath the R.
orbiculare is a young plant of Rhododendron williamsianum, which in a nutshell
is a miniature version of R. orbiculare. It too was introduced by E.H. Wilson
from Sichuan, China, but the difference being that Wilson discovered R.
orbiculare while working for Veitch Nursery in England and the R. williamsianum
while he labored under the auspices of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, USA in
1908. My start came from the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal
Way, Washington, and it is described as “One of the finest, easiest and most
attractive of all species.” The RSBG form is from the collection at
Caerhays Castle in southern England, and the proprietor there was J.C. Williams
(1861-1939) – hence the specific epithet – a passionate gardener who
contributed greatly to the plant-hunting expeditions of George Forrest and
others in the early 1900s.
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| Rhododendron williamsianum |
A 2015 blog from the American
Rhododendron Society, posted by Brenda Macdonald, sings the praises of R.
williamsianum: “Its unique combination of almost orbicular, mid-green
leaves, spreading and somewhat rounded or dome-shaped habit, and
disproportionately large, candy-pink, campanulate flowers make it easy to
recognize and well-adapted to gardens both large and small.” Wow – I'm
impressed with her description which employs more commas and dashes than even I
normally use. Ms. Macdonald follows that tribute with an interesting
furtherance: “Its densely mounded shape often has a somewhat brooding
appearance, a bit like having a very large toadstool in the garden...but its
solid presence makes a good anchor to a plant grouping, and can provide an
effective screen, if needed.” Absolutely I, and other gardeners, would
propose that R. williamsianum makes an acceptable inclusion into a rock garden;
however the RSBG created just that, but after 30-40 years of age the
“miniatures” are now about 4' tall by 6' wide and they almost block the path
through them. My solo specimen won't crowd anything in my lifetime, but
probably some of my younger employees will grumble in the future about my
unfathomable placements.
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| Acer palmatum 'Mikazuki' in the Display Garden |
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| Acer palmatum 'Mikazuki' at Flora Farm |
OK, now the “fork in the road”
conundrum: Umm...let's take the left path after passing the aforementioned
Rhododendron species and the 'Purple Ghost' maple, for a different color hue
awaits us with a lovely wide-spreading specimen of Acer palmatum 'Mikazuki'. I
used to lament that my Display Garden was devoid of adequate shade, that all
plants in the garden (including the gardener himself) would benefit from PM
shade, especially when our temperatures reach near to or above 100 F every
summer. Now, however, the garden produces an abundance – or an indulgence – of
shade, maybe even too much for best maple foliage color. 'Mikazuki' is pink in
the crowded, shaded Display Garden, but a specimen in full sun at Flora Farm is
more of a solid red at this time of year, plus the full-sun tree is at least
twice the size at the same age.
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| Sciadopitys verticillata 'Gold Rush' |
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| Sciadopitys verticillata 'Gold Rush' (middle) |
In between the maples 'Purple
Ghost' and 'Mikazuki' is a skinny “Umbrella pine” with yellow foliage.
Sciadopitys verticillata 'Gold Rush' is the cultivar, but its narrow form and washed-out
yellow-green foliage is the result of too much shade. Every time I pass it I'm
urged to transplant the wimp, but I always walk away knowing it will never
happen today, and before you know it, three or four years have
passed. 'Gold Rush' is a catchy cultivar tag, but we already have other plants
so-named: an Edgeworthia chrysantha, a Hosta and a Metasequoia
glyptostroboides. The Sciadopitys 'Gold Rush' was selected from seedlings in
1991 at Wittboldt-Muller Nursery, Germany, where a group looked happy when I saw
them ten years later. The cultivar is sometimes known as 'Golden Rush',
but in any case it competes in appearance and sales with others such as
'Goldammer', 'Gold Star' and 'Ossorio Gold'. We had a 6' tall 'Gold Rush'
growing in full sun in one of our irrigated gardens, and to my amazement the
foliage withstood our 116 F heat dome three years ago without burn, who would
have thought? The following spring, however, it looked a little off, and sure
enough by the end of summer it was dead. We have never propagated the golden umbrellas
from rooted cuttings, as we do with some of the green cultivars. Instead we
root a green variety such as 'Wintergreen', then about two years later we use
that as understock for grafting 'Gold Rush'.
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| Sciadopitys verticillata in Forest Grove, Oregon |
I have been to Japan a number of
times but I have never seen the Sciadopitys species in the wild, which I would
like to accomplish in the near future. I don't have a far future.
Actually the largest Umbrella pine I have ever seen is growing in Forest Grove (on Ash Street),
Oregon, just five blocks away from where I grew up as a child. It was planted
in 1910, according to a city arbor survey, but the history of where it came
from is lost in time. Sadly it is planted* in front of a beater house, and hopefully the future property owners will realize they have a
famous tree, maybe even the largest in Oregon, so don't go local and cut
it down to make way for a new porch.
*…or, more likely, the tree's
existence predated the beater house.
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| Rhododendron yuefengense |
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| Rhododendron yuefengense |
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| Rhododendron yuefengense |
We're still wandering in the
original Display Garden and now we discover a relatively new planting of
Rhododendron yuefengense which looks like a hopped-up R. orbiculare. As with
the others discussed in this blog, R. yuefengense is in the Subgenus Hymenanthes,
subsection Fortunea, all with the rounded leaves. My source for the R.
yuef. was the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and I consider my $16.00
pot an excellent investment. I only grow the very choicest of Rhododendron
species and cultivars as I must be selective due to limited space. We propagate
a few by grafting but finding good rootstock is not easy since most Rhodo
producers pinch and prune their young starts to achieve a full body, but for us
we just want a single straight stem, on a hardy disease-resistant rootstock.
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| Leucothoe keiskei |
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| Leucothoe keiskei |
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| Keisuke Ito |
My Rhododendron yuefengense loves
its place in the shade, as does a nearby Leucothoe keiskei. Both are incredible
foliage plants, the former from Guangxi, China and the latter from Japan.
Leucothoe is an ericaceous genus as is Rhododendron, and both genera thrive
under the same cultural conditions. The genus name Leucothoe honors one
of Apollo's lovers, while the specific epithet keiskei was named for the
Japanese physician and botanist Keisuke Ito (1803-1901). As a doctor the
venerable Ito developed a vaccine against small pox, but was equally
accomplished as a botanist who studied the Japanese flora and fauna with
Philipp von Siebold. Besides the Leucothoe we also grow Rhododendron keiskei, a
dwarf, upright bush (var. keiskei) and the extremely prostrate
ground-hugger (var. ozawae) which includes the garden gem 'Yaku Fairy'.
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| Stewartia x henryae 'Skyrocket' |
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| Stewartia henryae |
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| Stewartia henryae |
On the same path, and also crammed
in the shade is Stewartia x henryae 'Skyrocket'. The hybrid is a cross
of S. monadelpha and S. pseudocamellia and is notable for great
orange-to-red-to-purple fall color and a patchwork of tan and brown exfoliating
bark on mature specimens. The hybrid x henryae was named for the
Pennsylvania botanist Mrs. J. Norman Henry who first made the cross.
'Skyrocket', as you would suppose, lifts-off with a narrow, upright form. It
originated from seed in 1959 at the Polly Hill Arboretum and in 1991 when it
was over thirty years old it was 30' tall by 10' wide with a straight trunk and
a vase shape. My specimen in the Display Garden is even more narrow as it
stretches for the light.
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| Acer palmatum 'Shojo nomura' |
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| Acer palmatum 'Shojo nomura' |
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| Acer palmatum 'Shojo nomura' |
The Stewartia x henryae
receives its shade from a nearby Acer palmatum 'Shojo nomura', a forty-year-old
specimen which I purchased from the late J.D. Vertrees of Maplewood Nursery. I
remember being overwhelmed at that time with the multitude of red-upright
Japanese maples that were simultaneously vying for commercial prominence. The
debate was always, "Which is the best," meaning which cultivar would
best hold its red foliage throughout the summer. Vertrees gave a nod towards
'Shojo nomura', though he stopped short of claiming it was "better"
than 'Bloodgood', 'Moonfire' and some others more established in the trade. I
think he was championing 'Shojo nomura' because it wasn't the best, but
still pretty nice, and it was an old cultivar that should be honored, not
dismissed. The Japanese name translates as "beautiful red-faced monkey"
for reasons unknown to me, but then I've never seen such a creature.
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| Thuja plicata 'Filifera Nana' |
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| Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' |
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| Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' |
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| Original Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' at Drake's Crossing Nursery |
Somewhat out of place in this shady
garden is an old specimen of Thuja plicata 'Filifera Nana', a dwarf
thread-branch form of the "Western Red Cedar." The thread shoots are
dark green and look luxurious from being in shade, but the beast will eventually
outgrow its site. Oh well, we have a better, larger specimen in the Blue Forest
which is about 8' tall by 25' wide in 40 years. Visitors assume it is the
mother of all Thuja plicata 'Whipcord', a similar cultivar that has been in the
trade for just a couple of decades. But not so; 'Whipcord' was found as a
seedling at Drake's Crossing Nursery near Silverton, Oregon, and probably never
should have been named since 'Filifera Nana' takes precedence by at least a
century. Admittedly the cultivar 'Whipcord' is far more commercially named than
the old Latin 'Filifera Nana', and we discontinued the latter because of that,
but they are not synonymous as many conifer mongers assume. Actually the
names are confusing because many cultivars in the Cupressaceae family feature
thread-like foliage, and more-or-less look alike, such as Thuja occidentalis
'Filifera Nana', 'Thuja orientalis 'Filiformis Nana' and the similar 'Franky
Boy', 'Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Nana' and probably others I can't think
of now. Buchholz Nursery has propagated and sold many thousands of 'Whipcord',
and nurseries larger than mine are also active in the fray, but in my entire
career, I doubt if I have sold even a couple hundred of 'Filifera Nana'. The
point is that a good plant name is extremely important for commercial success,
while a poor name can doom a good plant forever.
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| Adiantum venustum |
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| Adiantum venustum |
I ventured into ferns about 15
years ago, figuring that since my company was renowned for maples and dwarf
conifers, that a selection of hardy ferns would complement our product line.
But what should have succeeded did not; it's pointless to question why…and I
moved on to other plants.
Fern-time was fun-time for me
personally though, and I don't regret making (spending) for the acquaintance
with many wonderful species and cultivars. I incorporated a number of them into
the landscape which I continue to appreciate, so all was not lost. Adiantum
venustum is one of my favorites, a delicate-looking, low-spreading evergreen
that's hardy to USDA zone 5, or -20 F. It is commonly called the
"Himalayan maidenhair," and who wouldn't want such a soft creature
creeping under maples and amongst your conifers? As Sue Olsen poetically
describes it in The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns: "The broadly
triangular, tripinnate blades emerge in early spring with a flush of
salmon-colored frothy feathers and are unaffected by late frosts."
Frothy feathers indeed! I'll add that the thin black stems (stipes)
provide a nice complement with the light yellow-green foliage. With Adiantum
venustum and some other species, my foray into ferns has added a beautiful and
educational chapter to my horticultural biography, though I'm still a novice with the ferns.
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| Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Miss Grace' |
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| Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Miss Grace' |
Hovering over the sweet maidenhair
is one of the greatest introductions of recent times – Metasequoia glyptostroboides
'Miss Grace'. Our weeping "Dawn redwood" is one of four original
grafts from a prostrate witch's broom discovered in New York state. It was
staked in its early years, and now rises to 10' tall with an 8' base spread, and the
stout trunk is nearly 12" in caliper at 26 years of age. Hillier describes
it as "A small, elegant cultivar with a compact habit and weeping
branches clothed with grey-green foliage that turns vibrant orange in autumn."
If Hillier saw my hefty original he would probably revise his "small,
elegant" description. My old specimen sits at the beginning (or end) of
the path, depending on which way you go. Between the R. orbiculare
'Edinburgh'/Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost' beginning…to the Metasequoia 'Miss
Grace' finale, I could have taken quite a number of "forks in the
road." In my mere acre-size labyrinth one could probably take a couple of
million unique routes, back and forth, up and down, 'round and around, in and
out, left-right-straight ahead etc. It's probably more statistically possible
to win the lottery than to accomplish all of my garden path combinations but my
jackpot of floral treasures is surely greater than a bagful of lottery cash.
So, what started out as a
purposeful nursery project – pine candle-pruning – turned into an hour of
wonderful wanderment, which is the main purpose of my tree collection anyway. A
wiry Scotsman with reddish hair and a soiled kilt once described his visit in
our Display Garden: "I meeandered with mee thoughts above mee head."
Bonny right!
