Oh, How I've Longer for You

Baby Sourwood

Many of you know how much I love trees. One tree in particular that I have yearned for, for years, is a Sourwood, Oxydendron arboreum. During autumn these trees really shine. The foliage color ranges from green to various shades of red to peach to salmon. I was able to find some small ones semi-locally via the internet from Mail Order Natives. Theirs are small, about 8 to 12 inches tall, I bought four. Further internet searches lead me to a native plant nursery within an hour and a half drive. After a few messages back and forth with the folks at this nursery we made plans to visit.

Friday we took a drive up to Greer to Southern Heritage Nursery, a perfect day for an afternoon in the mountains. Mary, one of the owners was ready for us when we got there. As my camera was charging at home, I don't have photos of the nursery, but rest assured, we will go back. Photos will come in the future.




Fall through early winter a perfect time to plant in our area. The rainfall in the winter helps establish the root systems while the above ground portions of the plant are dormant. Since we have had some recent rains the soil in the woods/gardens are quite workable. Our soil is clay based, though in the woods there is a layer of leaf litter compost that helps add in nutrients. In addition to the three lovely Sourwood trees I came home with a native Smoke tree, Cotinus obovatus, and a Sassafras albidum. Don't you just love that salmon/peach color of the new trees?

New fall color waiting to be planted

 I already had one Sassafras in the garden, but that little tree is only 6 inches tall. It is a host plant for the Spicebush butterfly caterpillar. My tiny Sassafras has about four or five leaves, hardly enough for more than one cat to enjoy.

Small Sassafras

With rain in the forecast, getting my new plants in the ground was high on my agenda for today. While I had an idea where most of my new trees were going to be planted, minor adjustments were needed when the holes were dug. Rocks and roots make for hard digging. I am happy to say all trees now have new homes in my garden.

One Sassafras and Two Sourwoods (follow the arrows)

The southern exposure is towards the road, so these newly added trees will have full to dappled sunshine all year long.

Doesn't this color glow?

Smoketree

I had researched a Cotinus earlier this year, thinking I wanted one for a newly added garden area in the front yard. I was looking at some of the cultivars that were deeper purple, Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'.  I ended up moving Prunus mume 'Hokkai Bungo', a flowering apricot purchased last February, to that spot. It wasn't happy where it was, so moving it seemed to be the right answer. We shall assess its placement this winter when (and if) it blooms. This variety blooms in January-February time frame and its blooms have a cinnamon fragrance. Back to the Smoke tree, buying the native variety seems to be a better answer. I am such a sucker for red/orange/peach fall colored plants. Stay tuned for updates on the trees as they grow and mature. 

©Copyright 2015 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Tuesday's Trees- Sassafras albidum

A native tree to most of the states, the Sassafras albidum is very recognizable. The kids always knew the tree by the three different leaf shapes. This tree has the oval leaf, a tri-lobed leaf and the one the kids recognized immediately, the mitten leaf.




Do you like root beer? The origins of this soda come from the root of this tree. You can smell the root beer flavor by crushing small twigs or roots. Additionally tea can be made from the root. Are you a fan of gumbo? This Cajun dish has an ingredient called filé. Filé comes from the dried, ground leaves of the sassafras tree. Cherokee, Choctaw and Chippewa have many uses for this tree, from tea to spices flavoring their foods. The Spanish explorers brought the tree back to Europe in the 1500's.


Though this tree has a wide range, zones 4- 9, the tree does better in sunnier locations. The Sassafras sprouts from roots and forms groves, crowding out other trees. There is an allopathic feature that keeps the grove clear of other plant material. It is a dioecious tree and the seed production begins on mature (10 years old) trees and it can live up to 150 years. The seeds mature in one year. Flowers appear in early spring and are quite showy.

This member of the Laurel family will grow to a height of 50 feet; it is a fast grower and has softwood. Deer like the twigs in the winter and the drupes/berries are a good food source for birds. The fall color is a glorious range of yellow to orange to reds. The inner bark is cinnamon in color and outer bark has kind of twisted deep ridges. The growth pattern is irregular, twisting a bit and the twigs form a 60 degree angle with main stem.



Floridata has some good history
MOBOT - some nice photos and good information
NC State- quick reference
Virginia Tech- another quick reference
Forestry Department, Silvics manual—in depth information, no photos
University of Florida - easy to read detailed information
USDA Plant Database- good list of additional web links
Ohio State – succinct information
Remember all photos can be clicked on to enlarge. I am continuing to update previous tree posts with photos of fall color.



Next week's tree- Chinese Pistache