Trees in parks and gardens 2010

[TheOnionMan]

I've always fancied having one of these, but mainly for its reputed sorrel tasting leaves (have you tried them, Mark - probably young ones are best) - no doubt it would have been a pot plant as it's probably not hardy enough and I suppose it likes acid soil (ericaceae)? I've tried it from seed twice, but both times the plants have just stopped after transplanting (the second time with ericaceous compost). probably your comment about the tap root is the clue, probably resenting being moved?

Stephen, I can confirm that the tree does not like transplanting or major root disturbance, although a potted tree should move just fine when planted out into a final position.  This tree should be hardy, but since it ranges from northern US States all the way down to the southern most States, I wonder if some forms are hardier than others.  In the years I've grown this (approx 16 yrs) I've never found any die-back that I would consider winter-kill, just the normal smaller twigs and minor internal branches that die off (self-pruning) that most trees do as the outer canopy increases and shades the internal branching.  I have experienced young trees that didn't overwinter, I think they're susceptible to winter kill until they've "tapped in" and become firmly established.

I haven't tried the "sorrel tasting leaves", I wonder if the leaves are loaded with oxylates as true sorrel is, which I make a point to avoid being that I've had kidney stones in the past.

[TheOnionMan]

Correction!!I have just walked round the garden between showers and much to my amazement I have flower-buds all over my Abizzia.I am truly elated and surprised and happy to be proved wrong in my assumption and cannot wait to see the flowers as I have only previously seen Paddy's picture.

John, show us pictures when the flowers open!

[TheOnionMan]

Stephen,

Another North American tree I have always wanted to grown, and have tried from seed a few times, is Sassafras albidum. I love its odd leaf shape and, of course, I could have made my own root beer in time.

Paddy

Yes, Sassafras is notoriously difficult to move and I've failed in the past, but this year I finally planted out one in the garden (very carefully). I've been a bit in doubt as to of it's the real thing as the leaves have so far been plain shaped, but now (picture) a few of them have an irregular indented shape and they are also aromatic, so maybe it is - just hope it will make it through its first winter...

I have never thought of even trying Sassafras; I suppose it is one of those trees that grows everywhere around here, so one doesn't bother trying to cultivate them.  There are none on my property, but there are some trees down the street a few hundred feet away.  They are notorious suckering plants, not always making the best specimens.  But after being featured on this thread, and reading up on Sassafras on Wikipedia and other sites, it's a fascinating plant in terms of the chemicals and compounds found in parts of the tree, and its many uses.

[Paddy Tobin]

Mark,

I have always found the Sassafras a fascinating plant mainly because of the uses made of it by people in N. America. Also, I realise it is not the most beautiful of trees but it is interesting nonetheless.

John, how fabulous that the albizia is going to flower. Brilliant! Photographs in due time.

Paddy

[TheOnionMan]

Mark,

I have always found the Sassafras a fascinating plant mainly because of the uses made of it by people in N. America. Also, I realise it is not the most beautiful of trees but it is interesting nonetheless.

Paddy

I agree Sassafras is a fascinating plant.  Just the simple fact alone that a tree can have three leaf forms (I like the single-lobed "mitten" shape best) is intriguing.  And the fall color, outstanding.  I guess what I was saying, that the discussion in the forum opens my eyes to things that I take for granted because this plant is common and found all around me.  By the way, a friend of mine who gardens about 18 miles north of me in Southern New Hampshire has Sassafras all over his property, and he selected one years ago, pruned and nurtured as a single trunk specimen and given room to develop, and it's a fine specimen indeed, much better than the smaller sapling-sized shoots one sees in crowded mixed deciduous-evergreen woodlands in our area.

http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Sass_alb.html

[Paddy Tobin]

A plate of jambalaya would be nice now.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

For once I'm not that hungry.... this, on the other hand, brings back lots of memories.... My late Mother was a great fan of Hank Williams .....

 but out of kindness to David Nicholson, here's Emmylou..
 

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

I think I'll stick to the food - chicken and prawn jambalaya, please.

Paddy

[Stephenb]

Another tree that surprised me with its hardiness (and I don't think it has been mentioned before) I saw first in a botanical garden in Hawaii, the Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. Surely a tree commonly grown for its bark fiber in the Pacific Islands would survive my Norwegian winter - sounded absurd... Well, I found a seed source and thought I would try it as a pot plant as it has really interesting foliage. They germinated, but I left the plant in the garden one winter. Miraculously, it survived! I later discovered that the tree actually originated in northern China, hence its hardiness. I had it for 6 years, it flowered at about 1-2m high but died that winter which wasn't that extreme. I had had 2 trees originally and after my discovery gave one to the botanics here. Luckily, they still had it and they took cuttings for me and returned the tree to me. The last time I had it for 5 years, but it now seems to have died again in this hard winter. A couple of pictures of the leaves below, the last one from a tree at Kruidtuin, Leuven in Belgium:
  

I wrote about my Broussonetia in the spring and told you that it was probably dead. That was a bit premature as part of the tree did pull through and is now growing strongly. Here are a couple of leaf pictures today. Like Sassafras, it has various leaf forms:

 

[David Nicholson]

For once I'm not that hungry.... this, on the other hand, brings back lots of memories.... My late Mother was a great fan of Hank Williams .....

 but out of kindness to David Nicholson, here's Emmylou..
 

Cor. I'd missed this one, one of my favourite ladies.

Apologies to Stephen for mucking up his thread but.......... here's my favourite lady with one of my all time favourite songs. The guy who wrote it, Rodney Crowell, is the tall guitarist on the right of Emmylou.


and, as it's such a good song (well in my view anyway) here's Albert Lee's version as a bonus

[Maggi Young]

For once I'm not that hungry.... this, on the other hand, brings back lots of memories.... My late Mother was a great fan of Hank Williams .....

 but out of kindness to David Nicholson, here's Emmylou..
 

Cor. I'd missed this one, one of my favourite ladies.

Apologies to Stephen for mucking up his thread but.......... here's my favourite lady with one of my all time favourite songs. The guy who wrote it, Rodney Crowell, is the tall guitarist on the right of Emmylou.


and, as it's such a good song (well in my view anyway) here's Albert Lee's version as a bonus

Big fans of Albert Lee here, as it happens!

nice to sit under a good tree and have some fine music, isn't it? 

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

My son is out for your head. He's a bit of a music snob - anything that he doesn't like is rubbish. So, your posting above of a few days ago started me off humming and singing and that started Mary on the same and he was almost ready to leave home - I simply sang louder and hoped but he stayed.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

I'll come and stay to sing for a few days, Paddy... that'll shift him! 

[Stephenb]

Apologies to Stephen for mucking up his thread but.......... here's my favourite lady with one of my all time favourite songs. The guy who wrote it, Rodney Crowell, is the tall guitarist on the right of Emmylou.


and, as it's such a good song (well in my view anyway) here's Albert Lee's version as a bonus

No problem, love to see Albert Lee play and have been lucky enough to have seen him live several times myself, going way back to Heads, Hands and Feet in the 70s and in recent years in Trondheim (3 or 4 times)!

[cohan]

One of our favourite trees is the Mexican Hawthorn which is partly (?mostly?) deciduous and is adorned with golden fruit till it falls in mid winter. For some reason the birds don't attack it the way they demolish most other fruits!
cheers
fermi

i like this one!