Umbrella Magnolia.....Magnolia tripetala

Tell me again why they call it the Umbrella Magnolia, oh right. This is a wild plant to stand underneath. The leaves are almost 2 feet long, so the "umbrella" is 4 feet across. Magnolia tripetala is Native to rich moist forests on the slopes of the Appalachians from Pennsylvania to Georgia. The literature, universally describes it as "widespread but uncommon." This plant is in Fern Valley inside the Loop Trail in the Cultivar Area. If you come in the main trail, turn right at the shed taking the little spur, then make an immediate left and look to your right. You will circle the plant because you are on a loop trail. It is most easily seen from the far side (3/4 of the way around the loop). There are no flowers this year but the foliage is incredible. The record tree iis ~50' tall and this one is maybe 10-12'.

The horticultural literature also suggests that it is difficult to use in a garden setting because of its bold texture/large leaves. I would not swear to this, but I seem to be able to trace that idea back to Mike Dirr, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. I certainly don't want to debate the Dean of Woody Plants in North America, (I'm outgunned!), but yes this plant does have character and while it might not either look or perform well sitting in the middle of a grass lawn, that doesn't mean it wouldn't be an incredible addition to many landscapes. Hey, that's what design is about....putting plants in the right places.

The Fern Valley Staff takes it on the road again; Sunday morning we head for the area surrounding Ashville, N.C.. We will be there most of next week, primarily collecting seed of Shortia glacifolia, or Oconee Bells. We will be in North and South Carolina on some wonderful sites. There will be camping involved, so hopefully we will all still be on speaking terms next weekend....just kidding, we're all looking forward to spending time outside in an area so rich in botanical resources. Maybe we will see Magnolia tripetala in the wild; it's like a Brown Pelican in Ocean City, they may not be common, but if they're there, we probably won't miss them.

Globes and Killing...Sustainability and Remediation

We just got this cool globe from the US Botanic Garden, it is the "Green Globe", one of a series of more than 40 globes that are part of an exhibit focused on sustainability: One Planet--Ours!. In case the scale isn''t immediately apparent, this is a big globe. We anticipated its arrival with some trepidation, both because of its weight and size and the fact that it had to fit through the double doors in the background. All went well. I guess! Anyway there it is. We were gifted with this particular globe to reinforce our own exhibit, Power Plants, that will be a walking display of different plants that are potential alternate energy sources. The exhibit is in development now and will officially open June 21 between the Herb Garden and the Friendship Garden.

Today, in our continuing effort to control invasives in non-curated areas, I spent a bit over half the day spraying Triclopyr on woody plants in the wet meadow above Beech Spring Pond. Where the grass is tall and away from tree circles, things are pretty good, but under the trees it is another story; English Ivy, Oriental Bittersweet, Porcelain Berry, Japanese Honeysuckle, Bush Honeysuckle, Callery Pears, Tree-of-Heaven, all invasive aliens, are the major culprits. We control a few natives too, so that the meadow may remain a meadow and not turn into a forest, mainly Black Walnut and Blackberry. I worry sometimes that I am desensitizing any healthy qualms that I may have about broadscale applications of herbicides, but they just work so darn well. Absent dozens of additional employees, they help us keep our heads above water. When all is said and done, I feel good about today. I expect that I killed more than half of the plants we don't want in that meadow, and weakened more. The thing is that I was only able to work on that area because of the generosity of the Fern Valley Curator, who lost 5 hour of labor in her collection but did a good thing for the community. These plants are not called invasive for nothing; if no one gets back within the year, we lose all the gains we have made over the last several years. But I expect someone will get back!