What's new and going on in 2010
New Plants
There are several new plants we have been working to make available in the last few years. Two of the most exciting ones are Dirca palustris, Leatherwood, and Adlumia fungosa, Climbing fumitory (I think a better common name is Climbing bleeding hearts). Leatherwood is an uncommon to rare single stemmed shrub of rich deciduous forests-I usually find them in sugar bushes (Sugar maple groves). Petite yellow flowers are borne in April in the leaf axils, lush, delicate ovoid leaves follow. The branch junctions have a distinct knob to them. Never growing more then 4-5 feet tall this plant makes an outstanding specimen plant for the rich, shade garden. Fall color is a very bright goldenrod yellow. This shrub is one of those "best kept secrets" that those in the know lust for, but finding it in the nursery trade is difficult.
I have been trying to build up some stock plants over the years to serve as a seed source; propagation guru's unanimously agree that cuttings are impossible to root. I purchased 2 shrubs three years ago; they are doing well and finally produced a single seed in 2009, I bought 6 more shrubs in 2010. I have been looking for a local wild source for years; the only wild plant I had ever known had been destroyed by grazing cattle once the sugar bush was turned into a Winter cattle yard. But, in the Fall of 2009, my son and I finally found a large population of about 15-20 individuals, that should serve up enough seeds to get a few plants going for sale. Look for these in the next few years.
As I mentioned in the preceding paragraph, I have been trying to grow Climbing fumitory for many years now. I secured some seeds in the Summer of 2008, and got a few plants germinated and growing in 2009. Maybe in late 2010, some of these may be available for sale. Climbing fumitory has the same lacy compound leaves found on many of the plants in the Fumaraceae, like Dutchmen's breeches, but its unique in the fact that its a climber, growing high and lush. Very rare in Maine, there is only a few known locations; it's more common in the Appalachians, Maine is the extreme northern end of its range. I collected my seeds from a botanical garden in Massachusetts, I have a bad habit of doing that when I visit such places.
I currently have all but one of Maine's native Viburnum species growing, Viburnum edule, or Squashberry. It had been listed on the Maine Natural Areas Program rare plant list for many years, but around 2007 or so it was taken off, due to under-reporting of sites. It is closely related to Cranberry Viburnum (Viburnum opulus var americanum), in terms of some of its morphology, but grows in very different habitats. Squashberry grows near the summits of select 4000 footers (mountains) in western Maine and northern New Hampshire. It is completely absent in cultivation, including botanical gardens, and is not available from any nursery as seed or plant. Last Summer I mounted a largely exploratory expedition for some propagating material, but was ultimately unsuccessful due to a variety of factors. Armed with better knowledge, namely with accessibility of the search area, I am trying again in 2010. Much remains to be seen with this plant; Will it grow well at lower elevations and their associated climates? Being closely related to Cranberry Viburnum and its susceptibility to Viburnum Leaf Beetle, how might Squashberry fare against this pest? Does this plant have any outstanding horticultural qualities, or will it be just a botanical curiosity for plant geeks like me? Hopefully, I will be able to tell you......
Soiless Growing-Hydroponics
Hydroponics has been a fascination of mine for many years, that is, growing plants in soiless media. Nutrients are usually delivered in the water supply in a variety of ways. Media includes bark mulch, sawdust, gravel, sand, and perlite. Hydroponics seems to be more of a curiosity to most, but it has some very practical applications, especially in areas of the world with poor, infertile or no soil, like deserts. This growing method is used primarily in the production of vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers.
After much research and pondering I have concluded that hydroponics has some serious benefits for the production of ornamental plants, especially shrubs and trees. Over the last few years I have been doing some crude, unscientific experiments with overstock I had growing, namely Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa). I planted 1-2 year old plugs in a bed of coarse sand, applied plain old granular fertilizer (10-10-10) on the top and watered in when the sand grew dry-and it worked! The plants put on over a foot of growth during the season, and suffered no obvious problems. This year I am setting up a more controlled system and growing out more of my regular stock. It seems that wetland shrubs would be best served by this method, but uplanders seem to do just as well. It seems like common sense to use hydroponics for plants that are not in a permanent location, like vegetables, especially if selling bare root. When using media like coarse sand you get much less root loss and damage when harvesting plants, especially when comparing to field grown. Why spend the money on expensive bagged media, when you can buy a pick-up load of sand for $20.00?
A New Way to Propagate Hepatica americana
For years now I have been trying to grow Liverwort, Hepatica americana, by seed-with absolutely no success. Many authors report that it is possible (obviously it must be), but then there are many that state that they have had no success either. One year I plucked a leaf, complete with its long petiole (leaf stem), dabbed a bit of rooting hormone on the end, and to my great surprise, had root growth by the end of the season. Overwintering has been a problem though. In 2009, I tried petioles with a bit of root attached and had even better success-especially in terms of root density. I have about a 60% rooting rate with the techniques I am using. What I once thought to be just a random event is looking to be a reliable way to propagate an otherwise difficult plant. I overwintered my 2009 cuttings in a different way, with more insulation, I am hoping this will keep the plants alive through the Winter season.
First published on January 24, 2010