Friday, October 11, 2013

Dayton "Dirt" - October 11, 2013

No doubt that the trees should have adequate moisture for a brilliant fall display but maybe a crisp frost is missing to brighten the leaf colors as it seems the fall season is not as bright as usual. Moving our back stock of trees and shrubs into winter storage houses has begun although covering the huts with white polyethylene won’t occur until about the first week of November as covering too early will prevent the plants from hardening off properly for winter. It’s now digging time for most trees and shrubs as the cool nights and falling leaves lessen the transpiration that would damage or kill the plant with a disturbed root system resulting from digging. One small tree that is noted for its fall show is Franklinia altamaha, also known as the Ben Franklin tree. In late September and October, the Franklin’s trees leaves start changing from a medium green to a mahogany color that contrast nicely with the white flowers with their golden yellow stamens and anthers. Franklinia was found on the banks of the Altamaha River in Georgia before 1790 and strangely enough is winter hardy to climatic zone 5. A search in 1790 for Franklinia yielded no results so that this tree has never been found in the wild since 1790. All existing Franklinias originate from the specimens collected in the late eighteenth century and planted in James Bartrum’s garden in Philadelphia. Mr. Bartrum was a friend of Ben Franklin and hence named the newly discovered tree for Ben. Another small to medium tree of note for fall color is the Serviceberry, or Amelanchier. With colors of yellow, red and orange sometimes mixed on the same tree, the serviceberry stands out in the landscape. In Akron, there is a grouping of these trees at the intersection of W. Market St. and Halifax that seems to glow with a mellow orange hue that’s especially beautiful when the sun reflects off the shimmering leaves. The short days are signaling the poinsettias in the greenhouse to just start setting a hint of color on some of the varieties. I’m anxious to see how some of our new Dummen varieties fare as compared to some of the older types. One of Dummen’s new creations about 4 years ago was ‘Ice Crystals’ that is a peculiar mix of pink, magenta and muted pink overtones that colors up so much better then the older variety called ‘Monet’. Don’t forget to take a soil test of your lawn and garden now so you can correct any irregularities before spring. The kits we sell are from Penn State University and are quite complete in the necessary chemical analysis of the soil. So long for now, Tom

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