2016 - Robert's adventures in the Northern Sierra Nevada - California

[GordonT]

Robert, your botanizing trips into the mountains are fascinating. I wonder which of the manzanitas might survive here in Nova Scotia. I remember seeing a few species in coastal British Columbia when I lived there (didn't know which species, but I find the bark and general plant habits extremely attractive). I will be anxiously waiting for your return there in the new year... especially to see those Iris fernaldii clumps in full bloom. This year I am testing another Pacific Coast Iris species for winter hardiness here (a pot of Iris munzii seedlings will be heeled into the ground to take what winter brings).

If my geographic memory is still working, Snow Mountain is between the Sacramento valley and Clear Lake?  We have friends living in Clear Lake, and managed to visit there briefly in July.

Thank you so much for your posts, they open a new world for many of us!

[Robert]

Gordon,

Finding the right Arctostaphylos species for the Nova Scotia climate might require some trial and error. I would start with any of the high elevation species from the Sierra Nevada Mountains - A. nevadensis, A. patula. Arctostaphylos canescens would be worth a try too. Many of our species are from relatively low elevations, however I would not let this deter you from giving them a try. You might get surprising results.

One challenge you might encounter is growing the species from seed. This can be very tricky, however I can give you some advice in this regard if you run into difficulties.

I will be very interested in your results with Iris munzii, a species from the foothills in the Southern Sierra Nevada. I hope to be traveling into their territory, perhaps this coming spring. Many of the plants said to be I. munzii are in fact hybrids, so I am very keen on seeing the real thing in its native environment.

Do you grow Iris hartwegii? Some forms grow at fairly high elevations in the Sierra Nevada and could be reasonably cold hardy.

There are a few other Iris species that I might encounter in the Snow Mountain region. Iris tenuissima is one and I am certainly open to the idea that other northern species might extend their range into this area. This is the sort of stuff I investigate.

Snow Mountain is north of the Clear Lake area. The Clear Lake region is another area I would like explore thoroughly. There are many interesting species in this region and I have only explored this area briefly a few times while visiting my friend's ranch in the area. I have always wanted to visit and explore the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness to the north of Snow Mountain. I guess I will be renaming my diary "Robert's Adventures in the Mountains of California".  or maybe "the wild places of California" 

[GordonT]

Robert- the first challenge re- Arctostaphylos for me will be to find seed. Then I fully expect the next hurdle to be to try and get some germination. Will have to start travelling down this road for a while to see where it leads.

So far, I am having some great luck with Pacific Coast Iris. Iris innominata, and Iris tenax seem to be untroubled by our colder winters. I am a bit concerned that munzii will not fare as well, but you never know unless you give it a try. I have a pot of open pollinated Iris hartwegii var australis (garden collected- so they may not be the pure species) that will be among those going out in the garden over winter.

It is too late in the season for me to knock them out of their pots and plant them directly in the landscape without risking death from frost heave in late winter, so I plan to sink the pots up to their rims instead, and transplant survivors in spring when they renew root growth. I have at least one  close to primary hybrid (innominata x tenax) x op, and another one that may be interesting (Orchid Resprite x hartwegii australis). It will be interesting to see how they all do. Iris douglasiana 'Canyon Snow' is one of the latest to go into the ground here. Douglasiana seems to do ok here, though it looks quite tatty coming through the winter. It takes a bit longer to recover from winter burnt foliage.

Have you ever explored Mt Konocti, on the western shore of Clear Lake? I haven't a clue if it would be worth a trek, since it is so close to human habitation. From what I have read about it, it might even be a bit hazardous due to caves and caverns. Our friends there, sold a piece of land they were planning to develop for themselves which had a high panoramic view of the lake and mountain.

[Robert]

Gordon

I have never been to Mount Konocti, however there are a number of sites I would like to check out in the Clear Lake area, Mount Konocti being one of them. Right now I need to focus on the Snow Mountain region. It will receive most, but not all, of my attention in the Northern Coast Range.

[David Nicholson]

Always enjoyable and informative Robert, many thanks.

[Robert]

Always enjoyable and informative Robert, many thanks.

Ah! Thank you David.

I do the best I can to make a brief report, however I see so much more while out in the field - even at this time of year when many plants are dried up. Many plants still leave many clues as to their identity even when dry and beat up.

[Hoy]

Now I have read through your last report twice, Robert! It is interesting to see the forests with different trees and shrubs and the chaparral. The diversity makes it even more exciting.
I have always been fond of trees - I was with my mum and dad into the forests around Oslo from before I could walk. Dad carried me in a special rucksack.

[Robert]

This week's outing was more or less rained out. I did go out, however the driving rain prevented me from getting much done, especially photographs.



My first stop was an attempt to find Arctostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka and A. nissenana on Poho Ridge, El Dorado County, California.

Arctostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka is a burl forming species that will stump sprout after a fire. Most of Poho Ridge was burned over by the King Fire several years ago. Stump sprouting A. mewukka would be easy to spot among the A. viscida. The two species do resemble each other to a certain extent. From the photograph you can see A. viscida had sprouted abundantly. It is very common for the seeds of this species to germinate abundantly after a fire as it is an obligate seeder - i.e. the species will not stump sprout after a fire. I did not find any A. wewukka this day.

Arctostaphylos nissenana, the El Dorado Manzanita, is a local endemic species. There is another isolated population in Tuolumne County, California near the town of Sonora. There is a population of A. nissenana on Slate Mountain not far from Poho Ridge so I thought that there would be a good possibility that I could find the species on Poho Ridge. A. nissenana is interesting in that it is one of the few Arctostaphylos species that does not have red polished bark. The bark of A. nissenana is shredding and gray in color. I did not find any A. nissenana either.



Many trees were stump sprouting after the fire. This is Notholithocarpus densiflorus, most likely the shrubby variety echinoides as the stump did not look like it belonged to a tree.



Beautiful autumn colors getting started on Rosa bridgesii.

At this point it decided to try somewhere else lower on the mountain in a hope that the rain would lighten up.



I did not have any success lower on the mountain, but the rain did stop for awhile. At this point I drove back up the mountain to Peavine Ridge to where there are extremely interesting and diverse populations of Arctostaphylos.

I have one study area where I wanted to gather more information on specific plants.



I started to photograph one of the selected plants when the rain started to pour down again. I was dry in my rain suit, however everything else was getting soaked. It was impossible even to take some basic field notes.

An upright nascent inflorescence on Arctostaphylos viscida is not common, however this characteristic is not rare either. This plant is unusual in that it has very small fruit (unusual for A. viscida) and very small leaves (also unusual).

This study area has many plants that do not fit the type of A. viscida or A. patula both of which grow in mixed stands nearby.

There are many other species of interest in this area, however the driving rain prevented photography. Some of the species seen in this area are Lilium washingtonianum, Fritillaria micrantha, Ceanothus prostratus, Dichelostemma multiflorum, and high elevation forms of Primula (Dodecatheon) hendersonii.

The weather forecast is for rain to continue for the next week or so. I am grateful for the rain, however I will be pleased if there is a pause for an outing next week.

Until the next time......

[Robert]

Trond,

It is interesting that you comment about trees. Of the 25 species of trees I encountered near Snow Mountain, there were only 3 species that I do not find in El Dorado County (where the farm is located), Juniperus californica (shrub    ), Quercus garryana, and Quecus palmeri (a shrub    ). The mix of trees is different in each region, Douglas Fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, being being far more dominant in the Snow Mountain region.

I have found Juniperus californica on the east side of the Sacramento Valley in Tehama County - the far northern end of the Sacramento Valley. The rumor is that Quercus garryana var. garryana is found in El Dorado County. I have serious doubts, but I remain open to the idea. Quercus garryana var. breweri is found in El Dorado County.

Another distribution idiosyncrasy is that of Platanus racemosa, our native Sycamore. Platanus racemosa grows along Little Chico Creek and Big Chico Creeks in and near the town (city) of Chico, California in the Northern Sacramento Valley. I have rarely or never encountered this species in the Northern Sacramento Valley (other than in Chico), however I saw it frequently in the Southern Coast Range of California (many years ago).

My first encounter with Quercus palmeri was near Snow Mountain.

Some species may be extinct from parts of there native range. Juglans hindsii most likely grew near Sacramento. Development has most likely wiped them out. The foothills of the Inner Coast Range on the way to Snow Mountain have very little development and Juglans hindsii is seen frequently in the arroyos.

[Robert]

A mix of Arctostaphylos species under evaluation, A. patula, A. manzanita ssp. manzanita, A nevadensis.



Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. manzanita - An early blooming form with excellent habit from Amador County, California. Gets big.



One of many tiny Arctostaphylos nevadensis seedlings - looking for a good form that will grow well in our garden.



We have had about 5 x average rainfall for the month this October, certainly a record. The garden is a mess from all the stormy weather.

So a few California native plants in containers that look good. A Ribes roezlii seedling waiting to be planted out.



Aspidotis californica

[Robert]

Ceanothus prostratus - no flower buds yet.



Rubus parviflorus - it looks much better than the photograph shows.



Wild Fragaria virginiana from the Van Vleck area. The berries are delicious, however they are best grown in a container so the berries can be protected from the wildlife.

[Hoy]

Nice plants you have there, Robert! Do you feed them with anything special?

I am also pleased to see that life springs back in the fire damaged areas!

[Robert]

Trond,

Yes, fire does, or at least can, renew the landscape here in California. My next outing, tomorrow, a visit to the Feather River Canyon is planned. I hope to visit a site that has been burned over at least twice in the last 10-15 years. The first burn revitalized much of the understory vegetation. There were thousands of Fritillaria recurva blooming the last time I visited this site.

The frequency of the burn cycle can be critical here in California. Some species that are obligate seeders can be harmed if an area burns too frequently - i.e. the newly established plants need to reach flowering size to produce a new seed crop before the next fire cycle. I will be very interested in what I find at the site that has burn twice in this relatively short time frame.

There is also a large serpentine rock area that I want to check on. I have found many interesting species in this area in the past. This time of year many species will be dormant, others just waking up after their summer dormancy, however I am sure this outing will be productive and interesting.

Nice plants you have there, Robert! Do you feed them with anything special?

Yes, I use a time release fertilizer in the potting mix. I have done this for decades and have the system down so that it works out well. I rarely have to take time to feed the potted plants. They grow well and stay very healthy for about a year, sometimes longer, using this method. I generally get the plants in the ground before they need more fertilizer, or at least this is the idea. 

[David Nicholson]

I'm fascinated by your Manzanitas Robert but know nothing about them other than from your posts. I don't know if they are growable in the UK, perhaps others could tell me.

[Robert]

I'm fascinated by your Manzanitas Robert but know nothing about them other than from your posts. I don't know if they are growable in the UK, perhaps others could tell me.

David,

 Very   I am glad that you brought up the subject of Manzanitas and their garden use in the UK and beyond. I feel sure that Manzanitas are not only growable, but are already grown in some locations in the UK. I certain do not know for sure, however this is an intriguing topic.

I have much more I want to comment on concerning this subject. The last days of the week are soooo hectic for me, so this will have to wait. Same with may last outing to the North Fork of the Feather River.....      



An early morning view of the northern Sacramento Valley looking west across the valley toward Snow Mountain (where I traveled two weeks ago).

I will be reporting on the Feather River outing early next week.