Tree Care and Magnolia breeding: An Education Vacation

As some of you have seen on my Twitter or Facebook accounts, I just recently got back from two days of gardening seminars at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia and J.C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Lewis Ginter lectures focused on the importance of tree diversity and how to increase it, diagnosing tree disorders, and how to successfully transplant established trees. The seminar at J.C. Raulston had to do with propagating and breeding magnolias, particularly the lesser-known cultivars and hybrids of Asian origin. You can find my notes at the following links (I apologize in advance, I had to type quickly to keep up, so pardon the sometimes-messy format)

• Tree Care lecture notes
• Magnolia lecture notes

One of the highlights for me, particularly from the J.C. Raulston seminar, was that one of the speakers, who has worked extensively on hybridizing magnolias, gave out seeds from one of his crosses to the whole audience! Additionally, they had small Magnolia plants for sale out front, of various species that are lesser known (M. cylindrica, M. dawsoniana, M. insignis, M. laevifolia, and others). Anyone who knows me knows that I didn't even need to think once. After getting settled at my seat, I walked briskly back outside and eagerly pried open the wallet. I brought home Magnolia cylindrica and Magnolia dawsoniana, both of which are native to China and facing severe habitat loss and are vulnerable to being endangered.

After the last lecture I had the opportunity to stroll around the arboretum and check out the various gardens and plant collections. It was quite the challenge, trying to be mindful of the time and the need to get back home at a reasonable hour, while each bend and curve in the garden path beckoned me to explore and wander deeper into the gardens, to see that next fascinating plant I hadn't seen before. I took more pictures than was probably necessary; I've posted some to my Instagram page and the rest here.

For those interested in visiting the arboretum sometime, it was fairly easy to get to. I was able to stay on the interstate almost the entire way there, which made it only a 20 minute drive from my hotel on northeast side of Raleigh (closer to Wake Forest); the arboretum is on the west side of Raleigh, next to North Carolina State University.

Don't Buy Mulch...Grow It!

Wishing there was a cheaper way to mulch your garden? Wanting to try something else besides boring old shredded hardwood? I came across this article posted by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange about alternative sources of mulch, including growing your own mulch via cover crops that have the added benefit of building/conditioning your soil.

http://www.southernexposure.com/blog/2018/03/how-to-grow-your-own-mulch/

What to do with cold-injured plants

Much of the country has seen record low temperatures at times this winter. My garden was no exception. Back in mid-January, temperatures dipped below zero several times over the course of two weeks. The result was some major winter burn on even my more cold hardy plants.

You might be wondering, "Is my plant dead? Or can I trim off the brown and it will bounce back?" There's a way to find out. With either your fingernail or the edge of a coin, gently make a small scrape in the bark on a stem of the plant. If you see green, the plant is still alive and will bounce back when it pushes new growth this spring (they would benefit from some pruning and an application of fertilizer; I like the organic fertilizers made by Espoma...HollyTone, TreeTone, GardenTone, etc.) However, if you see no green after checking several areas of bark, then the plant is most likely dead and gone and you can remove and discard the plant.

If the plant is still alive but much of it has suffered winter burn (dry, brown foliage), you can give the plant a hard shearing, or pruning to about 10 to 12 inches (this does not apply to pines, spruces, and firs as they do not grow back well from a hard pruning). Also, if you haven't mulched your plants before, I would recommend a 1 inch layer of natural (not dyed!) shredded hardwood, pine bark, or pine straw to help insulate the roots.

2018 Garden Agenda

Not to brag or anything, but it's been a glorious two weeks here in central Virginia with temperatures running well above normal, in the 70s! Even though we've seen more than our fair share of rain during this time, it's amazing to be able to put the heavy coat and gloves away for a bit. The unusually mild February has me itching to get back out there playing and planting in the dirt again. I've got a hefty stack of seed catalogs and seed packets nearby, and a lengthy garden "to do" list awaiting completion. I've set a rather ambitious agenda for both my edible and ornamental gardens this year:

1. Expand the veggie garden (more of each crop: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, green beans, okra, corn, watermelon, cukes)
2. Set up a drip irrigation system with timer
3. Organize the shed; set up area for plant propagation and potting
4. Propagate shrubs and trees from seed and cuttings
5. Add to our privacy hedge (currently three Nellie Stevens hollies and three Pragense viburnum)
6. Experiment with different weed suppression methods/materials
7. Try planting veggies in straw bales

Yeah...quite the full plate. Ask me in August how far down this list I got.

What's your plan for your garden this year? Leave a comment!

New year, new blog!

Welcome to my new gardening blog! Much like my old "Garden Dude" blog, I'll be posting the goings on in my garden (both on the edible and ornamental sides of things) throughout the year! I'll highlight favorite plants, and share tips for making your garden more successful!

Stay tuned!