Trees in parks and gardens 2010

[TheOnionMan]

Fantastic Acacia Fermi, if only they were hardy here  Is the shrub sweetly scented? It is of similar look and "essence" to our ubiquitous Forsythia bushes each spring, only the Acacia is way nicer! The grass is always greener on....

One in bloom for the last couple weeks making quite a spectacle of itself is Lespedeza thunbergii 'Gibraltar', smothered in red-violet pea flowers.  A friend gave it to me, so I gave it about 8' x 8' of room, but it has grown to about 10' across in both directions, and 6' tall, although it weeps to looks a bit lower.  I like it so much, I have been tolerating it's overly large size.

1.     Budded up in early September, it has a fine textured appearance.
2-3   The ends of some branches will fasciate, looking like striated ribbons up to 3 cm wide, sprouting an extra abundance of buds.
        Not sure how normal this is.  Often the fasciated stems coil at the end.
4      In full flower
5-6   close-up of flowers

I'm pleased, oh so pleased, to announce that this shrub is now drooping and beaten down by two days of non-stop rain... at long last our near 4 month drought is over.

[Paddy Tobin]

Wonderful display, Mark.
Paddy

[TheOnionMan]

Thanks Paddy,

Keeping with a purple theme, for nearly a month I've been enjoying the berries on Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai', but now it's at that stage where leaves start turning yellow, adding some drama.  With our drought in August, looking at this shrub you would've written it off as a "goner" for this year; completely wilted, but I started watering it with a watering can and lo and behold, it resurrected itself and looks fine.  Lots of seedling plants around the parent are getting sizable, must move some around.  This is the only Callicarpa I grow, but would like to get some other ones with white and pink fruits.  Searching the web, there are some outstanding species and cultivars

[Paddy Tobin]

Mark,
The colour hasn't reached the same intensity on my shrub of Callicarpa here as it is on yours. Also, the leaves of mine are all splattered white as I have a bird feeder hanging directly above it. Purple berries with white-splashed leave, now that's an odd combination.
Paddy

[TheOnionMan]

Mark,
The colour hasn't reached the same intensity on my shrub of Callicarpa here as it is on yours. Also, the leaves of mine are all splattered white as I have a bird feeder hanging directly above it. Purple berries with white-splashed leave, now that's an odd combination.
Paddy

Paddy, do you think you're uniquely variegated Callicarpa will come true from seed?

[Paddy Tobin]

Now, that would be an interesting development. I could patent the plant and sell it with birds included. A novel approach to garden planting for wildlife.
Paddy

[ranunculus]

Now, that would be an interesting development. I could patent the plant and sell it with birds included. A novel approach to garden planting for wildlife.
Paddy

Though it wouldn't be cheep Paddy!   

[Paddy Tobin]

Oooooooooooooooooh Cliff!

Paddy

[Onion]

Mark,

nice to see the berries of Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai'. In my area we only see the flowers. No berries. When the foliage turn yellow Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai' is in full flower.

[TheOnionMan]

Mark,

nice to see the berries of Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai'. In my area we only see the flowers. No berries. When the foliage turn yellow Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai' is in full flower.

Uli, I wonder why the berries don't appear in your area, not the right pollinators around, or what could it be?

[Onion]

Mark,

pollinators we have, because the Callicarpa japonica and Callicarpa 'Profusion' have the berries.
We think it is the cold, wet wheather we have in autumn.

[TheOnionMan]

This year some of the purple berries on Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai' are turning from blue-purple to rose-purple, still putting on a good show, but with a color twist.

[TheOnionMan]

Heptacodium miconioides is done flowering, but now begins the real show with flower-like sepals that change from green to hot pink or red, and expand in size to be much larger than the small white flowers.  Shown are a few photos of the calyx display in the early stages, it gets better and more showy at full expression.

[Onion]

Mark,

my Heptacodium is now in full bloom with the white flowers. Hope to see the pink sepals in two weeks.

[TheOnionMan]

Mark,

my Heptacodium is now in full bloom with the white flowers. Hope to see the pink sepals in two weeks.

Uli, let's hope you season lasts well into the autumn to see those colorful sepals.  How old is your tree, and how large?  Do you get a good show with the sepals most years?

I'm surprised this tree isn't being heralded by the nursery trade; it's quick growing, indifferent to poor soils, drought resistant, very easy to strike from cuttings, no bugs seem to bother the foliage, pretty flowers with fragrance that appear very late when few other trees are booming, peeling bark, bone hardy, and the bonus display of enlarged colorful calyxes in autumn.  How common is this tree in the UK and in Europe in general?