There is nothing like a warm night of rain to get your gardening gears turning. During a recent rainfall I shut off my T.V., phone, ipad, and computer, while throwing open all my windows and doors to let in the sounds of raindrops falling outside. It was just the meditation I needed to rejuvenate over a stressful and busy few weeks. It didn’t take long for me to begin thinking about what my garden needed besides a little rainfall. Somehow I always find my way back to soil; it is, after all, the building block of a healthy and functioning garden. I could muse about the benefits of natural and sustainable soil amendments, but what avid gardener hasn’t already started a compost pile?

We all know the advantages, reducing our input to landfills, utilizing the nutrients of our own wasted produce, increasing microbial activity, and limiting our dependence on chemicals. But, admit it! Sometimes it can be a pain to spread and work that compost into the ground. Do your neighbors really want to see a lawn full of compost? I know mine don’t. I have a solution that has all the nutritional benefits of compost, without all the normal back-breaking labor. Compost tea will be your new best friend. It’s simple, effective, and cheap!

Although compost tea does not replace occasional composting, it does help reduce the amount you’ll need to incorporate into your soil. This is a great addition to your garden tool arsenal. Brewing compost tea is delightfully easy. To begin, you need a five gallon bucket, aquarium aerator, water, molasses (bacterial) or kelp powder (fungal), stirring stick, strainer, and of course compost. A great tea can be brewed in as little as 24 hours! I recommend using an aquarium aerator to kick start your microbes into multiplying. Using molasses helps feed the bacterial microbes, while kelp powder helps to feed the fungal microbes. Use only kelp POWDER not kelp liquid, which can contain sulfur or anti-fungal agents. Start your tea in a shady and warm, but not hot or humid location. The cooler the temperatures are, the longer your tea will brew, usually 48 to 72 hours. Your water will turn a rich, deep brown color and will smell earthy. Think of fresh brewed coffee. If your compost begins to smell foul, like rotting meat or fish, start over!

Once your tea is brewed you can fill a clean or new sprayer and begin foliar applications or even use your tea as a soil drench. Use your new homemade fertilizer once or twice a month, or as needed. I know what you’re thinking, I’ve written about this great fertilizer but how do you make it? Well here you are a great recipe to get you under way.

Compost Tea Recipe:

1. Fill your 5-gallon bucket a few inches from the top with water and aerate the water for an hour. This will help remove any existing contaminants.
2. Add up to 4 quarts of compost to your bucket. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of kelp powder or molasses and stir.
3. Allow your compost tea to brew for 24 hours. Make sure the aquarium aerator is running the entire time and is weighted to the bottom.
4. Strain your tea using mesh, a tea towel, window screen, or old noodle strainer.
5. Fill your sprayer and apply generously to your plant material.

There you have it—a sustainable solution to fertilizing: happy gardening!

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White flowering, rounded trees with large panicles are Japanese tree-lilac.  Nice to see how many are used as street trees.  At The Arboretum they can be seen at Stone Gates, Azalea Glen, both west and east of Japanese Garden.  Two oldest specimens in Rare Trees were planted 1951.  Some think flowers have a nice scent but I’ve always gotten the impression they smell like stale balloons.  Not sure how I know how stale balloons smell.

Trees with white flowers with large pointed bracts are Kousa dogwood.  I’ve mentioned ‘Summer Stars’ at Entrance before but I think it looks better now than last week.  Azalea Glen has many selections like Big Apple that has a spreading, mounded form as opposed to rounded or upright like many others.  Radiant Rose has very nice pink flower bracts, their color reminding me of spring flowering trillium fading from white to pink in maturity.

Other trees look like they’re flowering but upon closer inspection it’s actually colorful foliage such as bright red new growth of Wildfire black tupelo, white and green foliage of variegated boxelder, Summer Fun kousa dogwood and Silver King sweetgum.

Daweswood House garden is especially colorful with iris, peony, roses and other assorted perennials in flower.  Nice time for pictures now.

If there were a category of Flowering Shrubs of the Week  winners would be Virginia sweetspire at Entrance, Swamp and near Dawes Lake.  Their white fragrant flowers coverer a really tough native shrub with multiple ornamental characteristics.  Another is Red Prince weigela at Holly Hill parking–talk about a show stopper–WOW!

You may think the Azalea Glen has less interest  since most rhododendron and azalea are finished but don’t believe it.  Enjoy kousa dogwoods next the Auto Tour, but venture deeper into the Glen to see Cumberland azalea, Rhododendron bakeri in beautiful orange-red splendor; enjoy the white cup-like flowers of Oyama magnolia (thought magnolias were done too didn’t you?) face-to-face but also look inside to see the dark purple-red stamens; Japanese snowbell are simply a joy to behold as are the white and dark red flowering respectively, allspice (Sinocalycalycanthus) Venus and Hartlage Wine.

Smokebush flowers are hardly noticeable to begin with but these shrubs are more noticeable now because of colorful hairs developing on flower panicle stems.  West of the Visitor Center is a few selections such as ‘Daydream’ which is simply covered top to bottom, a yellow-foliaged selection called Golden Spirit™ which contrasts nicely with purple leaf forms such as Grace and Nordine.

The post Blooms Journal – 6/3/13 appeared first on Dawes Arboretum.

This is an informal blooming journal from Director of Horticulture Mike Ecker. For specific information on the location mentioned below, please call 740.323.2355 or email us at information@dawesarb.org.

Well, things aren’t as riotous as they have been but don’t let that keep you from touring the grounds!  Still lots to see.  In fact some things from the last couple weeks are still looking good thanks to the cool weather.  Some areas such as the Azalea Glen, Rhododendrons across from Daweswood House and in the North End west of the Memorial are still very pretty.

Coppertina ™ ninebark is nicely shows with its purple and copper highlights, pink flower clusters.

Weigela, however you wish to pronounce it, are very pretty coloring the lower section of Holly Hill.  The dark evergreen hollies make a beautiful backdrop for their flowers!  The Phenology Garden at the Jones House has Red Prince weigela in full bloom, one of my favorites.  This garden’s volunteers are recording and weeding which has greatly improved its looks.

Many around grounds, but especially Entrance, Flowering Shrub collection, Azalea Glen and Visitors Center, kousa dogwood are in full bloom.  Summer Stars at Entrance is a knock out.  In the North End just south and east of the Dawes memorial is a hybrid dogwood called Venus® has especially large flower bracts that are about 4” across – the tree is very young, only 4’ tall.

Along with the KnockOut roses at Center Point, the Daweswood House has Carefree Beauty rose which is another favorite of mine.  It blooms and blooms, takes a break, and then blooms again in fall.  It does what a rose should do.

Still attractive are lilac, viburnum, especially the arrowwood selections, in Flowering Shrub collection.  Oneida viburnum looks nice in flower but so-so in the smell category.  As an olfactory alternative Natchez mock orange is covered top to bottom with flowers that smell great!

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And still lots of color to see – although the landscape there are a lot of different greens to see – but I know most don’t want to look at a color so boringly natural as green so where are the highlights this week?

The Daweswood House has Renaissance Vanhoutte spirea blooming heavily.  And just east of the house is the Park Woods where lots of rhododendron are strutting.

In the North End some flowering dogwood still show colorful bracts but are quickly coming to an end.   Around the Dawes Memorial there are more exclamation points like the golden weeping European beech.  This upright weeper glows like a lighthouse.  Also making color in North End are doublefile viburnum, a 12’ redvein enkianthus (tallest I’ve seen) with cream and pink bell-like flowers.  A hybrid dogwood called Aurora® is in flower east of the memorial as well as a variegated flowering dogwood called Homan’s Golden with yellow and green leaves.

The buckeye and horse-chestnut collection is NOW!  Brilliant pink, red, white flowers spikes on rounded forms.  Quite the view.  A red horse-chestnut (A. x carnea) having more pink than red flowers, at the top of Pershing Avenue brightens this area well.

The Azalea Glen located just south of the Visitor Center is close to peak.  Many colors and hues with lots of opportunity for brilliant close ups or fantastic landscape pictures with rhododendron and azalea.  One azalea blooming now is a bright orange selection called Gibraltar.  There are few who don’t admire it and many ask its name.

Near the parking Japanese Garden parking lot and out in the Magnolia area are small shrubby trees called oriental photinia.  White flowers, small but covered top to bottom.

The flowering shrub collection is spotted throughout with viburnum, lilac, and Winter King one of the better hawthorns.  Top of hill before reaching Pershing Avenue the shiny leaf yellowhorn is still in color showing cool weather is great for flower longevity – just not too cool!

Not flowering  but the foliage of Amur maackia shimmers in the morning light with silver gray leaves. Quite the contrast against all those other boring greens.

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It’s greener than last week, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other colors to see.  A fine viewing example is from Center Point looking down the hill.  Some heirloom apples still in bloom, underline beautiful view to Daweswood House.  Summer House overhead trellis is ablaze with blue flowers of Kentucky wisteria.

Center Point has Tinkerbelle ™ lilac about to burst bloom.  Littleleaf lilac types are better in my opinion than common lilac because not subject to powdery mildew or borer and are every bit as fragrant.  Look & smell down trail leading to Event Terrace – sides adorned full-bloom Burkwood viburnum!

Bottom of hill, grassy flat area, is All Seasons Garden used for events, but color is still rampant with red buckeye, redbuds, Carolina silverbells.  This area has the largest and certainly
most impressive ivy-leaf maples (Acer cissifolium) I’ve ever seen!

For any not familiar with the North End, shame on you!  This section has some of oldest collection trees as well as huge native oak, maple, beech and ash (still) as dominant canopy.  Beneath are rare maples since we’re part of the NAPCC maple group.   Driving North End Auto Tour you’ll see flowering “islands.”   Two now are pearlbush and Carollina silverbell with another being Dawes Memorial.  Pink and white flowering dogwood, Japanese kerria, Japanese maples, bright red azaleas and dark purple European beech leaves make this a spectacular area.

Magnolia flowers at Daweswood House are replaced by yellow flowering Scotch rose and brilliant lavender of Korean azalea, one of my favorites. Rhododendron yedoense var. poukahanense, Korean azalea, is almost as fun to say as it is beautiful to look at.  Also showing are Tina Sargent crab apples on standards lining Bertie’s Garden and a large, light yellow tree peony along the north side of the house.

Speaking of azaleas, the Azalea Glen lives up to its name this time of year—this year no exception.  Yellow, pink, lavender, purple and various shades of red create a color kaleidoscope for your perusing pleasure.

Now’s the time to visit our National collection of buckeyes and horse-chestnuts, most just coming in flower with some still to open.  Continue uphill to visit beech collection.  Beech leaf colors, textures and various plant habits won’t fail to please.  Old buckeye collection is near Rare Tree area and is alive with color as well, not just the buckeyes but Japanese maple interspersed throughout.  Now is the time to see the “17” Ohio buckeyes.

For visual and “scentual” pleasure visit Flowering Shrub area— viburnum, lilac, dogwood and crab apples take the show.  The crab apple collection has petals falling, some faded, but still worth a drive through.  Among most showy now is Chinese snowball viburnum with huge flower heads.

Near Pershing Avenue intersection with short loop connector is a rarely seen but highly desirable small tree saddled with the sad moniker shineyleaf yellowhorn.  White flowers, some with yellow centers, others with red cover.  Literature says they make good cut flowers but I prefer them on the tree.

I’ve always thought the most read label on grounds is Tamarix along road in Magnolias—at least when it’s in flower—as it is now.  The small pink flowers coat this shrubby mass in a cloud which causes cars to stop and someone run to see what the label says.  Someone finally selected this mass for a Legacy label, making it easier for seekers to find.

A native plant with dark purple flowers is paw paw, very pretty especially if back-lighted by early morning sun.  These occur natively in the woods and along trails.  Another U.S. native, chokeberry is flowering now and if you drive through Rare Tree area now you will never question why this plant is high on recommended landscape plant lists!

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I love spring! The Japanese Garden in particular embodies my love of nature and horticulture. The garden is ablaze with various colors of green, red, pink with a freshness only found this time of year. The reflections in the pond during early hours is outstanding and mosses along path are probably at their peak.

Speaking of peak, crab apples are just a couple days away from theirs. The collection is beautiful and with warmer temperature this PM smell should be very noticeable. Dawes Lake is resplendent with mature crabs making their show. And, as predicted, ‘Louisa’ is simply a mound of pink! Of all things – Ottawa forsythia is still in full bloom just north of the lake. Others are gone.

Orchard between History Complex and Visitors Center is also colorful as are two David crab apples that form an arch over trail from Center Point. It’s unfortunate they are susceptible to bacterium that causes fireblight because branches that die seem only those forming arch.

A trip through North End will have one enjoying very nice pink dogwoods around the Dawes Memorial, along with double-flowering kerria called ‘Geisha’. The sugar maples continue their covering of light green flowers and along with them have joined the oaks. Never think of oak as being an ornamental flowering tree but certainly covered this year. The variegated English oak just behind the stone gates is very attractive – even before white and green variegated leaves emerge.

Head to the overlook northwest of the Visitors Center and location of sun dial for a very nice view of pink, white and red crab apples in the foreground of a glacial river bed.

A few outstanding flowering plants by color are – pinks: Rhododendron ‘Pana’ & ‘Olga Mezitt’, the royal azalea (Rhododendron schlippenbachii), Hally Jolivette and Kwanzan Japanese flowering cherries; yellow: Magnolia ‘Maxine Merrill’; white: flowering dogwood (especially in the flowering shrub collection where they have essentially replaced the beautiful flowering of serviceberry); pinkish lavender of redbud where weeping selection Lavender Twist and variegated selection ‘Silver Cloud’ steal the show.

I mentioned smell earlier – lilac shrubs continue their flowering march and their fragrance will soon be joined by that of some of the early viburnum all located near each other in the flowering shrub collection.

Another favorite fragrance of mine each year is yellow flowers of buffalo currant, Ribes odoratum, located along the path from Center Point along with honey scented Fothergilla. Like a ritual, some plants just must be smelled each year.

The post Blooms Journal – 4/30/2013 appeared first on Dawes Arboretum.

Blooming Now – April 25, 2013!

Well, bit of frost over weekend did a number on some of last week’s flower show.

Most magnolias with flowers out are browned at worst, spotted at best. Color nice from the car, but get close to take a picture? Forget it. Good news is those that weren’t open yet will still bloom.

Serviceberry around grounds in full flower – Flowering Shrub Collection on Hawthorn Hill looks wonderful. You can’t miss seeing a beautiful specimen just after passing through the Stone Gates.

Forsythia are mostly still nice. Foliage has emerged on some but Orchard down hill from Visitors Center is still a sea of yellow.

Daweswood House magnolia flowers are mush but nearby PJM rhododendron still making a show and an early spirea, (Grefsheim) is in full bloom. Weeping cherries across pond from Daweswood House still look nice. Shows what a bit of water will do for frost protection. Others around the grounds are toast except those at Dawsewood House and along Dawes Lake.

Not many get excited by sugar maples blooming. Guess I’m odd that way. They are HEAVY in flower and look like light green clouds from a distance. Shantung maple from China also very noticeable in Azalea Glen with yellow-green flowers covering the tree. I even took some pictures.

Flowering dogwood bracts (yes, showy things are bracts and actual flowers small cluster in centers) are beginning to show color. While not full size or color yet, you can tell white ones from red already.

Other cherries & plums now flowering are Hally Jolivette flowering cherry, a plant some could make an argument either way for its being a shrub or a small tree. Light pink flowers with a darker center are quite pretty. Look for these on hillside north of Visitors Center. On Hawthorn Hill is native Mexican plum covered in its white flowers while also cloaked in spring splendor is another native, hortulan plum. This can be seen along the Auto Tour next the Hedge Letters. It is a progeny from a former State Champion that was here at Dawes.

The Callery pear are in flower – unfortunate since seeds of these trees are being spread by birds everywhere. Look along interstates now – white flowering trees you see are Callery pear. Most have not been planted by man.

This is mostly about blooming things but new foliage on Japanese maples in North End, Rare Trees, Azalea Glen, Japanese Garden and near Visitors Center make these trees look as if in bloom. Red, orange, dark reddish purple really stand out now.

Crab apples area posed for a great year. Louisa, a semi-weeping selection southeast corner of Dawes Lake is simply loaded with buds. A few of the early forms, Chilko, Strawberry Parfait, Baskatong and the hybrid micromalus are already in bloom. Next week should be peak for them.

Pieris in aptly named Pieris Collection Area are still looking none-the-worse for wear even with frost. In Flowering Shrub Collection is early lilac Betsy Rose a white flower selection with typical fragrance. And if you are a “fragrance connoisseur” be sure not to miss passing the nose over the flowers of Viburnum x burwoodii selections!

A rarely seen native shrub with bright yellow flowers along stems is swamp-privet (Forestiera acuminata) – NOT a privet however. I think with shearing it could be used for hedges like privet. Another great plant saddled with a lousy common name.

Soon to be making a hit will be the buckeyes and horse-chestnuts. Their small, unopened panicles, while not yet colorful, can be seen sticking upright above the new foliage.

Till next week.

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Blooming Now – April 16, 2013!

• The witch-hazels are done. I guess 4 months of blooming was enough.
• Most cherries are in full bloom – Japanese Garden and Dawes Lake are spectacular now. The large trees in flower at the west end of the Garden are Accolade flowering cherry while the smaller pink ones to the north are Sargent cherries.
• Forsythia is still in full bloom. The Orchard and down hill from the sundial are a fairyland.
• Early rhododendron in the Azalea Glen, around Dawes Memorial and Daweswood house are very colorful.
• Magnolia are in full bloom and outstanding this year! The magnolia area near Rare Tree Collection is very bright and cheery but then magnolias are spotted around the grounds here and there as well. As temperature warms fragrance will be another fabulous feature. Butterflies magnolia is a yellow flowering form on north side of Daweswood House whose buds are swelled but not quite open – but when it does….
• Winter-hazel (Corylopsis) in Witch-hazel area and Azalea Glen are still resplendent.
• The Pieris collection area north of Rare Trees is very nice and most are still in full bloom.
• The redbuds are beginning to emerge and in a few days will be open. A nice tree out toward the Event Terrace and others can be seen as well in near the Entrance, Buckeye collection, Visitors Center and All Season Garden.
• The bright yellow flowers of Cornelian-cherry dogwood are done for another year but the flowering dogwoods are showing buds that will probably be open next week.
• The flowering shrub collection (Hawthorn Hill) is colorful with flowering plum, Okame flowering cherry (darker and almost finished but still pretty). Serviceberry are just about out which will light up that garden’s hillside like a beacon.

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Spring is here—hooray!  No really, March 20th is the first day of spring!  You know, the time of year where temperatures won’t drop below 40 degrees at night and will reach at least 60 degrees daily, right?  Ha, I can dream.  Any Ohioan knows that we should still expect a roller coaster of weather conditions for most of spring.  However, the plants in the gardens are full of activity and need care regardless of whether or not the outdoor conditions are to my liking.

The gardens demand a lot of attention, especially this time of year.  At Dawes, the foliage from perennials that served as winter interest in the garden now looks shaggy and beat.  There are small hints of life emerging at the base of some perennials (fooled by the 70 degrees we experienced in early March, I suspect) which alert me that it’s time to remove the old foliage to make way for the new.

Despite the unpredictability of the weather, this is my favorite season.  My mind is fresh with new ideas and the gardens are getting a fresh start as well.  Some perennials will be divided and moved to different locations, new gardens will be gleaming with the newest perennials on the market and other gardens completely removed. I am especially looking forward to watching the Sensory Garden (behind the Visitor’s Center deck) evolve during its first full growing season.  This garden will have visitors exploring plants with their sense of touch, smell and taste as they stroll through—a treat for children and adults alike!

Finally, in order to stay ahead of the craziness springtime typically brings, I set a number of gardening goals each month that I know need to be done in order to achieve prolific flower beds.  Generally maintenance-oriented, these goals help keep weeds in check and plants healthy and thriving.

My “Garden Goals” for this month: cut down ornamental grasses and spread weed pre-emergent throughout the gardens—must get ahead of that pesky bittercress (see photo), I’ve seen it flowering in some of my gardens already!  Oy vey!

Keep tabs on this blog to find out what gardening goals will be set for April.  I’ll be back soon with more secrets from the garden!

Bittercress picture source: Purdue University Extension

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Grafting is an ancient form of asexual or clonal propagation whereby two distinct plants are joined together to form one unique plant. The lower portion of every graft is termed the rootstock or understock. This usually consists of a seedling grown for this purpose that is botanically similar to the above portion of the graft. The above portion of every graft is referred to as the scion and may originally consist of a tiny, single bud or a stem several inches in length. The point at which the rootstock and scion are joined together is called the graft union. Grafters refer to a successful graft as a “take.” New grafted plants incorporate desirable characteristics of rootstock and scion.

Grafting is a time consuming and expensive method of reproducing plants that requires considerable skill in handling the grafting knife and experience in the aftercare of young grafts. In addition to the expense of labor, rootstock must be grown or purchased and cared for throughout the growing season in preparation for winter grafting. With the exception of bud grafting, grafting is performed during the winter months and into early spring while temperatures are cool and scions remain in a dormant condition. Young grafts, therefore, require a heated structure or greenhouse to maintain a suitable environment for healing and growth of scions.

Because of the expense involved in grafting, grafted plants command a higher market price than plants reproduced through seed or by cuttings. With this mind, grafting is never the most efficacious method or method of choice but is done only when other cheaper and easier methods cannot be employed. For example, virtually all nut species like oaks (Quercus sp.) and beech (Fagus sp.) must still be clonally propagated via grafting.

Prior to advances in the techniques of cutting production beginning with the advent of mist and fog systems and, most recently, the use of micropropagation to reproduce difficult to root taxa, grafting played an integral role in most wholesale nurseries. However, today it plays only a minor role, and only a small number of quality grafters exist worldwide and remain largely employed by specialty nurseries featuring rare and unusual plants. It is truly becoming a lost art form.

Much more will be discussed during the class, and I entreat readers to sign up early and discover the immense satisfaction of performing this relic art of plant propagation.

Rich Larson, Propagator

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