Erik's Gardening Tips

spring season bloomers!

The latest of the flowering cherries are now in bloom. Prunus serrulata 'Shirofugen' and P. s. 'Shogetsu'. The first has mid pink double blooms on long hanging flower stalks displayed with coppery bronze new foliage. Tree forms a flat topped crown of branches to 25-30 ft and similar spread. Shogetsu is a small tree, a specimen of 15 feet is very large for this variety. However, it is one of my favorites! Long stalked light pink double flowers resemble a ballerina's tutu and are profuse. This tree will form a spreading flat topped crown with some hanging branches. Both late bloomers, they can still have flowers into late May. (this year is very early for them).
Now we also have tree peonies in all their glorious splendor! They are just spectacular and also very easy care...just plant them and forget them..enjoy the blossoms every year(some get very large...to ver 12" diameter!). They like well drained fertile soil, enrich it at planting time very much and they will reward you for more than 50 years! Each year's blooom increases if you just take a little care of them so that in time(mainly do the soil preparation at the initial planting time), your plant may have 200-300 blooms on it!
The later lilacs are also in full swing, their fragrance floats on the breezes..There are many selections now from which to choose.
Many Syringa vulgaris cvs. in white, pink, lavender to purples, and some reddish shades as well. There is even a yellow ('Primrose' and a picoteed form 'Sensation' purple edged in white) These make long lived big shrubs.
Lilacs are a big group. There are many lesser known types ranging from dwarf, smaller selections to other very large types and some almost unknown species and their forms. (one has pendulous flower clusters (S. reflexa) and others bloom later than the common type.
The mock oranges (philadelphus spp.) are usually known as large white flowering shrubs, many are fragrant! Now there are more from which to choose. Smaller forms, some have grape soda or bubble gum fragrance! (P. microphyllus hybrids, 'Gallahad', 'Desert Snow')
There are variegated foliage forms, singles and doubles, and lower growing cvs.
Easy care, regular water and cut them in bloom or just after since they bloom on old wood produced last year and this will keep their graceful shape. 'Fallbrook' 'Snow Velvet, Snow Dwarf are just a few particularly nice ones.
The deutzias are also wonderful spring bloomers. Mostly whites and pinks, these are easy care of similar culture to the Philadelphus. I like this group very much since they cut so nicely. Fountainous growth with small branches tipped in flower clusters are what these shrubs offer. Again, small to large shrub forms.
D. ningpoensis, G. gracilis, D. Rosalind', D. scabra cvs. D. Pink Pompom, D. 'Magicien'
The Weigelas (wye-gee-la) so often mispronounced! offer voluminous floral displays in white, pinks, and reds. There are also foliage colored forms in yellow, bronze purple, and variegated. arching growth of last year flowers prufusely with tube shaped flowers. Hummers really like this group! They are rather coarse looking when not in bloom, so a more backround/secondary placement in the landscape would suit these shrubs.
W. florida is the old timer, still wonderful, Olympiade/Rubidor yellow leaves, lipstick red flower tubes!, Looymansii aurea yellow leaves, pink flowers, white knight, vanicek, bristol ruby, abel carriere, candida, wine and roses, french lace, variegata are some to try, there are others.
Now comes a very dear favorite of mine, introduced to me originally from a friend/volunteer at Strybing Arboretum years ago (I went to see a vine of it in her garden). This is clematis montana. It looks absolutely dead in winter, but alas! come spring, it transforms itself into one of the truly great spectacles of frangrance in spring! The plant is profusely covered in small white or pink 'anemone' like flowers with the fragrance of vanilla candy. It also cuts wonderfully so you enjoy a spray or two indoors or to share with friends. This blooms on old wood so pruning is easy. Cut in bloom or just after to a lower branching and the plant will renew itself in the growing season, to bloom profusely once again enxt spring. give plenty of water for good growth and also fertilize since they grow very fast with the spring push of growth.
C. montana 'Alexander', Rubens, Tetra rose, wilsonii.
Of special mention are two similar magnolias of smaller status. They grow to shrub status. M. sieboldii and M. wilsonii are just wonderful additions to any landscape. They both flower with the leaves and offer hanging white lanterns of fragrant blooms. Crimson stamens await the close observer to the blossoms. Enrich the soil well with organic matter, good drainage, and then have patience, each year they improve and the flowering season is a long one, it can go on well into summer!
A final note for a special group..the Viburnums. Here are some of my very favorites. V. plicatum tomemtosum cvs. are just spectacular shrubs. They are among the finest ornamentals you can plant AND they are almost ZERO maintenance. Here you will find horizontally branching growth bearing white lace cap or snowball flower clusters in spring, red berries in summer, fall has glorious autumnal colors and then the architectural branching for winter. Regular water, they bloom in sun to shade (more sun=more flowers, but need a bit more water in that exposure as well). Mainly white(there are pinks), they give the impression of white lace on green velvet when in bloom, and some bloom repeatedly through summer, fall. These grow wider than tall and are just SUPERB! I am gathering many to once again form a nice collection. Here are some for you to try/look for for your own gardens.
Fuji, Shasta, Shoshoni, Lanarth, Mariesii, Saint Keverne, Igloo, Summer Snowflake, Fujisanensis, Watanabe, Molly Shroeder' (pink) are all lacecape forms of the doublefile viburnum. The flower clusters are displayed in two ranks(hence doubl file) on the horizonatally growning branches.)
Newport, Kern's Pink, Mary Milton (pink), grandiflorum, rotundifolium, plicatum, Triumph are some of the snowball forms.
With all these and the last of the wisterias coming on(W. f. 'Shiro noda/Longissima Alba), spring is truly a spectacular season! and there is so much more!

warm spring weather

With the very warm temperatures we are having after a pretty cold winter, it is important to keep your plants well watered so they can take advantage of the spring flush of growth. Being dry will stunt that growth and lessen the size of leaves and flowers. It can also shorten bloom time since flowers have a high percentage of water in them.
This will be a very grand spring for us all locally since that cold winter rested plants fully and they got the dormancy they needed to grow vigorously this spring and summer. you will likely see all kinds of flowering trees and shrubs performing unexpectedly well!
Their bloom display and following growth will be very much more than other years when the winter was very mild.
Flowering plums and ornamental pears are now in profuse display. If you have any of the early blooming flowering cherries, their season is well under way and some very early ones have finished, but there are many more to come!
As we wait for the flush of growth in maples, we can expect a lot of great leaf growth with them. All the variegated and unusual sorts will perform amazingly well this year.
SFlowering shrubs like quince and viburnums are already providing us with spectacular blooms.
Now you will see magnoilias galore! Star magnolias in all their variations from shrubs to trees, and strap shaped petalage in whites and pinks. Saucer or tulip shaped blooms of the M. x soulangeana type are well in bloom and other well known favorites such as M. denudata have almost finished.
Pieris are coming into bloom in pinks and whites, and camellias have been blossoming for many months now. In these, do search out the less common sorts such as the black flowered cvs., fragrant cvs., and the species. ALL are just great garden ornamentals!

Go out, take a break from your heavy workload and smell the blooms while strolling in the sun, even for just a few minutes.

exciting blooms now appearing

As the cold is now leaving us and there are signs of an early spring with breaking buds, I wish to call attention to the new developments in camellias.
Much interest has been generated by recent hybridizing efforts with less common species. There are now fragrant varieties, profuse blooming cvs., black flowered cvs., and unusual foliages and growth habits.
The recent cold has delayed bloom for many, but camellia hybrids are now starting to begin their blossom season. The recent work of hybridizers now gives us fragrance in many floral forms. Most often in lighter shades and whites, the color spectrum is expanding with these ornamentals which have fragrance. 'High Fragrance', Koto no Kaori, Nioi Fubuki, Fragrant Girl, Minato no akebono, Minaot no Haru, Scented Sun
Blossom display is also changing. We now can have profuse flowering all along the branch, and also cluster flowering. This abundance of bloom gives the new hybrids much more presence in the bloom time. 'Salute', 'Snowdrop Cascade', Avalon Sunrise
This is very apparent in large flowered forms with C. reticulata in their bloodlines. Now we can have flowers all along the branch as well as in clusters. John Drucker, Noyo Princess, Noyo Chief, among them
The fragrant species give hybrids of lacey texture, most graceful at any time of year, but expecially charming in the blossom season.
Several black flowered hybrids now give special interest. The original C. j. 'Kuro Tsubaki' has been used to give dark flowered hybrids like 'Night Rider', 'Black Magic', 'Black Opal', 'Black Domino', etc.
Now we can also have variegated foliages. Variegated leaf edges, centers, are becoming available. 'Taiyo', 'Reigyoku', Benten Kagura', Kin Sekai', 'Fukurin Ikkyu' and for those of you wishing for an anglisized name 'Debutante Benten'
There are narrow leaf forms like the lily leaf camellia and the weeping peacock camellia.
We also have two contorted forms: 'Unryu' and 'Egao Corkscrew'
I particulalry like the foliage variety. apparent in holly like foliage of 'Holly Bright', 'black Magic', some of the fringed Elegans group, 'Sakura-Ba' (cherry leaf), Hiragi-ba (holly leaf), and 'Ryu Guh'.
Then the special sawtooth leaf camellia 'Nokogiri-ba' gives a wonderfully refreshing change.
and the charming tiny dwarf 'Baby Bear'
The weeping cvs. are fine as well: The older 'Shin Akebono', c. rosaeflora 'Cascade', C. j. 'Hakuhan Kujaku' (weeping peacock camellia), the pedulous C. j. 'Tama Peacock'
Among the species I find incredibly wonderful: C. transnokoensis, C. transarisanensis, C. cuspidata, c. tsaii, C. lutchuensis, C. salicifolia, C. maliflora, C. grisjii, C. assimilis, C. synaptica, to name just a few.
The C. reticulata season will be here soon, usually about midseason and they are the stars of the genus. Huge flowers, ruffled petalage, reds, pinks, white.
and some of the older cvs. with distinct flowers:
Bokuhan/Tinsie red with a white center
Hana Fuki a chalice shaped pink
Kakure Iso deep red with white picoteed margin
Tama no Ura (it has been used to breed a group of wonderful picoteed hybrids) red with white border
Tama Electra brilliant red w/ white border
Tama Vino deep red with white border
Tama Peacock bright red with white border shaped like a shuttlecock
among my favorites here
Look for them, they are obtainable, and if you do not fine them, ask your local nursery to find them for you!