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What’s with the double ii?

In 2006 Nintendo introduced its new home video game console called "Wii". Six years earlier the Austrian company Redbull introduced the advertising campaign “Redbull gives you wiiings!" No, “wiiings” is not spelled wrong and it doesn’t really make you fly - my guess is that it mimics its German equivalent “flügel” which has an umlaut above the “u” - or two dots. And it does give you wiiings to soar, if caffeine and taurine work for you. A multi-sensory metaphor unparalleled in its success.

In 1753 Linnaeus introduced his binomial nomenclature system for plants in Species Plantarum. His system consisted of Genus - usually expressed as a noun in the Latin nominative case - and species expressed adjectivally. Simple enough! Then comes along the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature which spells out in rigorous detail its do’s-and-don’t’s.

Carl Linnaeus - Wikipedia

In Division II Rules and Recommendations, Chapter III Nomenclature of Taxa, Section 4 Naming of species, Article 23 it describes in nauseating detail how to describe one plant within a Genus from another. Its awful! But this finally gets me to my point. On more than one occasion (but not many) a contractor has asked me “What’s with the double i?"

You’re probably going to be sorry they asked.

Clematis 'Jackmanii'

Using the Genus Viburnum because it happens frequently there, you will see V. x juddii, V. x burkwoodii, V. x sieboldii, et al. The double “i” is used with proper names of people and places giving credit to them as discoverer, propagator, caretaker, or in honor of. For example, in 1924 William H Judd of the Arnold Arboretum planted his hybrid seedling, observing its first bloom in 1929, and naming it in 1934. Viburnum x burkwoodii was introduced by the Burkwood and Skipworth Nursery in Kingston-on-the-Thames, England in 1924. Philipp Franz von Siebold was a German doctor who went to Nagasaki, Japan in 1823 acting for the Dutch government as physician, botanist, and political spy.

Viburnum x juddii

It is a simple but tedious process to Latinize English names and places. Adding “us” to masculine names converts an English noun to Latin. For species, inserting a long “i” before the “us” can turn a name into an adjective; similarly in English adding an ”y” ( or “ly”) to the word - “bump” becomes “bumpy” and “friend” becomes “friendly.” Finally, the adjectival species name must be in the possessive or genitive case to show ownership or origination which is “i.” Ergo, “us" becomes “ius” which becomes “ii” (which is pronouced long e, long i). In English we would add ”-’s” as in “Judd” which becomes “Judd’s.”

Hopefully that wasn’t too painful!

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsii'

The usuage of “-ii” is so rare in English that it makes us stop and take notice. The advertisers of Redbull probably knew this and Linnaeus, by accident, makes us pause to wonder about some of the great contributors to horticulture and to many of the plants we commonly use but take for granted!

Disbudding Rhododendrons

Rhododendrons are considered among the more difficult plants to trim. Many sources of information about pruning Rhododendron come from the Southern and Western states. The usual complaint about Rhododendron is that they get too large. That is not a big problem in the Midwest.

"Disbudding" refers to two aspects of pruning Rhododendrons. The first is simply removing spent blossoms. I’ve heard arguments over the years that, unless removed, the old flowerbuds will inhibit production of new flowers. I found absolutely no reference to this in my research travels. Also, to me this makes no sense. Mother nature put those flowers there and she can take them off – the shrub will bloom again! The best reason to remove them is one of aesthetics.

New growth comes from just below the flowers

The second aspect of disbudding is pruning a Rhododendron for shape, compactness, and size of planting area allowed. Most pruning recommendations include removing dead or damaged branches as well as removing branches along the ground. These danglers can be more easily affected by fungus and can be a highway for weevils.

Grab spent flower at the base and gently bend the stem until it parts

Now for the tough part – pruning a Rhododendron for shape and size. In essence, any pruning one does is shortening the distance between growth years. You can prune the current year’s growth back by hand right after blooming when the new growth is sticky or by mid-June with pruners when new growth has hardened off a bit. Pruning deeper on bare wood does not usually give good results. That limb will often die back or result in new shoots that may be spindly. One aside is my own observation that some of the newer grafted Rhododendrons are producing growth buds on low, woody branches which may develop if apical branches are damaged or removed.

Old flower removed leaving new growth which can be trimmed if desired

Rhododendrons also include PJM types and Azaleas - both evergreen (kaempferi) and deciduous (Exbury and Northern Lights series). Most of the pruning rules are the same, however, you can prune much deeper into secondary wood and even lightly shear with good results. Compactness for shape is encouraged but avoid the meatball-effect. Also, hard pruning can reduce respiration and recovery.

Pruning aside, the best results for Rhododendron will be had from good soil preparation (i.e. moist, well-drained conditions), the addition of organic matter, and application of acid fertilizers.

“Jupiters & Yous”

Guess what! We sell these! I don’t care how you say ‘em or spell ‘em as long as your check clears. I’m pretty sure my boss would agree with me. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t get contractor lists of hybridized and spell-’em-as-you-hear-’em names. I personally love the challenge! And yes, we do sell junipers - and yews.

In particular, Christensen’s sells a number of species of upright Junipers, the Eastern Redcedar. They are somewhat interchangeable with Arborvitae. Junipers require and tolerate hot, dry, sunny conditions but can have difficulties in poorly drained areas. They can be planted as backdrop accent evergreens or hedged into a living fence. A caveat is to avoid planting them too close to some members of the Rose family such as Crabs, Pears, Hawthorn, and Quince due to host/parasite rust occurrences.

The species of Juniperus that Christensen’s typically stocks are:

J. virginiana

‘Keteleer’ - a soft, green needle with loose habit; often used for native plantings
‘Taylor’ - a newer introduction with a bluish-green, tight habit; similar in form to Thuja occ. ‘Emerald Green’

J. chinensis

‘Blue Point’ - a bluish-green, full habit; often used for topiary
‘Hetz Columnaris’ - green needles with broad, architectual habit; best of the fruiting varieties we stock
‘Spartan’ - a green needled variey with a tight, upright habit

Juniperus chinensis 'Hetzii Columnaris'

J. scopulorum (Rocky Mountain Junipers)

‘Blue Arrow’ - a soft, bluish upright with a very tight form
‘Skyrocket’ -a grayish, green variey similar in form to ‘Blue Arrow’
‘Wichita Blue’ - a broad, very blue form with very soft growth, but a rugged look

Juniperus scopulorum 'Wichita Blue'

Availability for this genus is not quite as reliable as Arborvitae. We usually see periodic waves of uprights appear throughout the season. Junipers do, however, offer a greater range of color when compared to Arborvitae.

Next time you need an upright evergreen, ask to see some of the varieties just mentioned. Exact spelling not required!

Bad Karma

It has always seemed that many things were just meant to be. Peanut butter and jelly, perhaps the greatest love affair of all time. Romeo and Juliet, Desdemona and Othello, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, Ozzie and Harriet, Mork and Mindy, Gertrude and Heathcliffe, Joe and Kirsten, Bonnie and Clyde – the list is endless! But humanity is cursed with its fatal flaws. Peanut butter and jelly – they don’t really mix and the jelly oozes out the side of the bread. Romeo and Juliet are tragic star-crossed lovers. Othello has a serious problem with jealousy. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth get past their pride issues, but eventually the book has to end. Ozzie and Harriet, as well as Mork and Mindy, get cancelled. Joe and Kirsten’s Days of Wine and Roses turns to Brandy Alexanders – not a good finish. And, a life of crime does not pay off for Bonnie and Clyde.

Plants, or combinations of some plants, can have similar tragic results. Some planting designs look great but eventually nature unleashes it’s fatal flaw. The design of some landscapes brings out the worst in some plant varieties. A number of these ill-fated arborial marriages exist but the coexistence of pears and junipers requires our attention.

The ubiquitous Callery Pears, strong and adaptive growers, are increasingly being bothered with Pear or Trellis Rust. To blame are junipers. And vice versa. Together they create a perfect storm scenario for the fungus, Gymnosporiangium fuscum. This is a dark, bare capsule on junipers which explodes with orange, jelly-like fingers during cold, wet springs. These galls cause dieback in junipers and rust colored spots and scabs on the leaves of pears as well as lesions on their branches. Proximate use of these plants is a marriage gone bad; under certain conditions they bring out their worst attributes.

Removal of affected plant material is part of the solution. Putting appropriate distances between host and parasite plants is another. Callery Pears are great trees for parking lots and streets where drier conditions prevent these fungal outbreaks. Systemic fungicide treatments are available. However, both groups of plants are fairly durable and recuperative. No matter how well they might look together their combination is just bad karma.

Plantings of Pears and Junipers are like the tit for tat relationship of Gertrude and Heathcliffe (if you’re not over 50 - look it up!). There is no real fatal flaw, but a lot of bumps and bruises along the way.

Please check out the linked article for more details.

Trellis Rust Management Update by Dr. David Roberts, MSU

Fall Hazard tree lists explained

It’s fall; it’s planting season for trees and evergreens. This time of the year breathes new business, new opportunities, and new money into the landscape industry.

Spring tree supplies have been exhausted in many varieties. So only what is left, is grown in a pot, or can be dug in the fall will be available. Here’s the bad news. The list of tree varieties that can NOT be dug is very long!

Unlike the spring there is a shorter recovery time for trees as soil temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Root reestablishment and elongation cease. This is significant because a tree loses about 75 to 80 percent of its root mass when dug. One source stated that only 2 to 8 percent of the root survives harvesting. This is extremely significant for evergreens and for trees especially as caliper increases. It’s all about moisture! From the moment a tree is dug until it is planted and prepared for its first long winter, moisture is the most important factor.

Desiccation is a killer.

Factors that lead to desiccation or moisture loss are key to which trees are traditionally fall-dug and those that become part of the "fall hazard" lists:

1. Thin-barked Trees

Gleditsia (Honeylocust) is on most nurseries’ hazard lists. If you have handled locusts you know that you can damage its paper-thin bark without any effort (this is strike one for this Genus).

Acer rubrum (Red Maple) also has a thin bark but is regularly dug in the fall because of its very fibrous root system, but usually in smaller caliper. I have seen maples with serious tip dieback after harder winters and for calipers over 3”. Betula (Birch) as well has thin bark - and has at least two more strikes against it.

2. Harvest Time

Spring or fall trees are usually dormant or breaking dormancy when they are dug. We usually think of full dormancy occurring when a tree’s leaves fall off or as trees have set their buds for the next season. These don’t necessarily happen at the same time. We regularly have tree varieties such as Amelanchier, Acer, Malus (Crabapple), Ginkgo, and Tilia (Linden) fall-dug and shipped with some leaves attached but their buds for the new year are set.

Gleditsia are among the first trees to lose their leaves but this does not help (see below). Quercus (Oak) may set their buds but have leaves that hang on very late in the season and in some cases only release in the late winter or early spring. As such they are considered not to be fully dormant until it is too to dig them.

3. Coarse Roots

If you have never handled bare-root stock this may not mean much to you. Acer, Tilia, and Malus to start have very fibrous root systems and dig very well in the fall. Malus actually seem better with fall digging than spring. One assumes their root systems have begun to recover. Gledtisia (again) have few, large, and very coarse root systems.

Many nut-bearing trees such as Quercus have fewer, tap roots. These types of root systems offer little support to the whole tree for moisture. Many of the these tree types do not die but result in varying types of dieback or thinning. Gleditsia will have tip dieback as well as random branch death from the trunk. Quercus will often have severe branch dieback, resprouting only off the main trunk; a very unsightly recovery usually requiring replacement. Betula despite have a fairly fibrous root system has very shallow roots susceptible to drying out and supports a very heavy branch system. Top dieback and branch death usually occur; these trees will take several seasons to recover.

Trees such as Quercus and others can be dug if they have been spring root-pruned in preparation for a fall harvesting. Many nurseries are not that proactive.

Harvesting practices have changed and advanced through the years but the industry is cautious and conservative. Be aware of fall hazard lists. They may save you much grief and even more money. The good news is that the selection of pot-grown trees is increasing every season.

Christensen's Plant Center Fall Hazard list

Water: too much – or too little?

WATER, WATER, EVERY WHERE
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

Some may recognize these verses from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Even if one does not, it is worth noting this work, now approaching 200 years since it was written, was one of the first works advocating a more responsible use of our natural resources. The mariner’s senseless killing of an albatross leads us to question how we use and treat the fauna of this planet. Much of what is written could be applied to the flora as well.

If we remember back to this spring, days of rain created saturated soils and standing water. This did not bode well for some plants. In Coleridge’s story the sailors had no fresh water to drink, but here our trees and evergreens had more than enough fresh water, yet still could not absorb that water. Why not?

Stranded in the equatorial waters of the Pacific all but the ancient mariner eventually die from heat and lack of water.

The overabundance of water and saturation of the soil interfered with a plant’s ability to respirate and to absorb nutrients and water through its roots. The cold, wet spring also encouraged the growth of fungi, like Phytophora, in the soils which can cause lesions on the roots, which, in turn, interferes with a plant’s ability to metabolize whatever it needs. This is called root scald. At first glance some trees looked like they were wilting, in some respect they were, their roots were unable to take in nutrient and moisture causing the plant to collapse. Usually if a plant is dry leaves will wilt, turn yellow from the inner and lower branches, and the plant will begin to drop foliage to compensate.

When a plant is too wet it will begin to wilt only to have the apical branches turn reddish -brown but not separate from the plant.

How can one prepare for weather extremes? First, there is more than one way to plant a tree. Common sense goes a long way! Planting depth, the type of planting media, and choosing plants that will tolerate different soils are basic questions any landscaper should be considering for every site. It isn’t rocket science, but there is a lot more to landscaping than digging a hole and throwing the plant in!

Does the site drain well? If not, should I elevate plants in beds that will cause excessive water to run off? Choosing plants with higher metabolisms, plants with dark, more fibrous roots that can handle periodic or ephemeral flooding and including beneficial mycorrhizae in the planting media to protect root nodes will lead to transplant successes. If your planting losses are over 10%, is it due to lack of planting experience and good practices, or is your company guilty of cutting corners and careless installations? Even if you are not warranting your work, poor workmanship will catch up with any company eventually.

If heavy plant losses are “an albatross around your neck,” be a “sadder and wiser man,” and question practices and losses. Remember “the best gardeners have killed just about everything!” Becoming a more responsible contractor and pursuing best planting practices Will reduce losses and increase the bottom line. It pays to care!

“...but this I tell to thee…
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.

He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.”