Bamboo shooting! The season has begun

31 March 2012
bamboo shoots

Spring is bamboo shooting season for most temperate bamboo, and I have been looking for the first pointy shoot poking through the soil. Today I saw several beautiful bamboo shoots poking out of the ground. For the next month new shoots will appear daily. I harvested a few wayward shoots and tonight they were sauteed......

Canned Won't Do: Spring Brings Fresh Bamboo Shoots
by LAURA MCCANDLISH

 Black Bamboo shoots are
poking out of the ground

About Black Bamboo...

The Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) is an attractive bamboo, with black stems, and a running habit. Black Bamboo can grow to heights of 15 to 20 feet tall and can grow to 35 feet with 1" diameter canes. New shoots are bright green and turn black over a year and a half. A culm will grow to its full size within a month  and will never grow larger. Newly planted rhizomes will produce some tiny culms the first year. Then each year the culms grow taller and have a larger diameter. New culms are very soft and can be easily cut or crushed by hand, but it will grow tougher with time. 

 This is Phylostachys nigra  'Black Bamboo' 

Tom Barton: Home again: Bamboo Farm reclaims part of its past from Smithsonian

Posted: March 15, 2012 
Savannah Morning News

Romantic and Nostalgic

Chinese Wisteria
Wisteria sinensis

pendulous clusters of fragrant
eye-pleasing flowers

Grandfather's Beard
Chinese wisteria

Wisteria is a member of the Pea family
Fabaceae (formerly Leguminoseae)

A popular ornamental vine with twisted, gnarled stems, arching leaves, and pendant violet to white blossoms.

Misho bonsai
Flowers on this
Grandfather's Beard Wisteria
 are white

Wisteria is a deciduous plant that any one could grow.The Wisteria is a vine, but with training will grow upright to resemble a tree. Wisteria needs regular hard pruning and wants sun and more sun. Don’t over-fertilize. Wisteria has a nitrogen fixing capability, so plants may benefit from added potassium and phosphate, but not nitrogen. Nitrogen (or even too much balanced fertilizer) can give you lots of leaves but no flowers. Main shoots can be cut back severely just after the bloom is finished. Root pruning done in late fall can stimulate young plants to bloom. New buds form in late summer for the following spring's show. Wisterias like well-drained acid soil and need a lot of water in summer when they can be placed in a tray of water and will suck the tray dry before any root rot can begin. 

After 3 months in the refrigerator
Wisteria seed sprout
Feb 22, 2009

Leaves form on newly germinated
Feb 27, 2009

3/27/2009
After one month

3/27/ 2012
Third year

The best way to control wisteria
is to put them in little tiny pots
and turn them into bonsai

 One of the most popular flowering vines for home gardens
can become an invasive species in some areas

 

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New USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

The 2012 U. S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.  One can enter one's zip code to find the local planting zone.

U. S. Department of Agriculture map is available as an interactive GIS-based map
 Enter a zip code to find the planting zone.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

2012 Spring Garden and Art Festival



Banana Grove

 See you at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm- Spring 
Garden and Art Festival
Saturday

March 26, 2012
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Bamboo Farm & Coastal Gardens | UGA Cooperative Extension

The Strawberry Fields
 are open for picking!



For a family friendly outdoor activity this spring onme should plan to visit the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm Spring Garden and Art Festival. The 50 acre Bamboo Farm is one of Savannah’s horticultural treasures. One will find display gardens, bamboo groves, pick-your-own strawberries and blackberries in season, places to picnic and to walk and a Banana grove. The Strawberry Fields are open for picking! Monday - Friday 9AM-4PM and Saturday 9AM until Noon



Go Bananas!



Nationally known for the bamboo collection and palm collection, the farm is now developing an extensive camellia garden with the help of the Southeast Camellia Society. The Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm is located at the intersection of U. S. 17 South and Canebrake Road.



Banana Flowers





Each stalk produces one huge flower cluster and then dies. 
New stalks then grow from the rhizome.

Tom Barton: Home again:
Bamboo Farm reclaims part of its past from Smithsonian

Posted: March 15, 2012 
Savannah Morning News

Great spring weather grows cash for bamboo farm
Posted: March 21, 2010 - 12:16am

Savannah Morning News

Become a

Friend of Coastal Gardens

  

A handful of “bonsai seeds”

can become a forest! 

Choose the seed of a tree that has the desirable attributes of a good bonsai-- small leaves, proportionate flowers and a woody trunk. The planting of a 'forest' begins with a scattering of seed in a long nursery tray. The seedlings were allowed to grow tall to help develop the trunks. Then the trees are cut short! Any trees that do not fit into the arrangement are culled. Then manage the forest. The creation of a bonsai from a seed is very rewarding.

Japanese Maple seedlings
allowed to grow tall for
two seasons to develop
the trunks.

Many poke fun at the idea of starting a bonsai from a seed. “Look how old I am. I don't have time". If not now, when?

Japanese Maple

Irohamomiji 

Acer palmatum

Then the trees are shortened

 Any trees that do not fit into
the arrangement are culled.

  Manage the forest as the years go by
The creation of a bonsai from a seed is very rewarding.

Tsukamiyose:

A way to plant several to several dozen seedlings by lump in a pot. Since the roots of seedlings are planted with all of them attached to one another, they come closer together and develop into multiple trunks having an interesting flavor to them.

Misho:

Bonsai tree grown from seed. It refers to planting seeds and cultivating them. This way of cultivation does not require great care and is suitable for beginners. The method is advantageous in that a tree can be grown as a bonsai plant from the start and that its ''nebari'' surface roots develop sufficiently. However, it takes a great deal of time to grow a tree into a finished one, and the method may cause a transubstantiation phenomenon that makes a tree species unstable, disadvantageous points for the ''misho'' cultivation method. The method is applicable for most tree species. Among ''shohaku'' evergreen pines, it is often used for ''goyomatsu'' (Japanese White Pine) and ''kuromatsu'' (Japanese Black Pine) trees. ''Momiji'' (Japanese Maple), ''keyaki'' (Japanese Zelkova), ''kaede'' (Maple) and ''soro'' (Japanese Zelkova) are among ''zoki'' deciduous trees to which the ''misho'' cultivation method is applied.

Hataagemono

The term refers to a bonsai tree that is transplanted into a pot after being grown in the field. Such trees grow in a short period of time and are traded at relatively low prices despite their large size. They are easily obtainable and popular. But it cannot be denied that such trees look less gorgeous than products grown in containers for a long time. What is important is to completely wipe off field soil from the tree before putting it into a pot.

Chinese Elm- tough, durable, forgiving........

Ulmus parvifolia



Lacebark Elm
Chinese Elm

Popular Urban Tree
the natural shape is a "broom".  

 Chinese elms are durable,  deciduous, semi-deciduous  semi-evergreen tree trees with small leaves, a large trunk base, balanced root spread, and an evenly tapered trunk.Chinese Elm is native to China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

Seed ripen in late summer

Lacebark Elm
 flaky bark with mottled grays, tans and reds

 A very forgiving Tree

Ulmus parvifolia  tolerates a wide range of temperatures, light, and humidity conditions and makes  an excellent bonsai species, and is widely available. It is a good choice for beginners because of its high tolerance of pruning and benign neglect. 

“Bonsai Beginner” friendly 

Ulmus Parvifoliafine growth at the tips of the branches

Chinese Elm /Ulmus parvifolia

Keep Outdoors in a sunny location. 

Temperate trees that are fully frost hardy.

Check the compost daily but only water when necessary.

 Never allow the soil to dry out, keep it evenly moist.

In spring when the plant sports lots of new growth water more frequently to keep the soil moist. 

Allow shoots to extend 3 or 4 nodes then prune back to 1 or 2 leaves, to maintain shape

Frequent pruning can create good branch ramification.

Repot in spring before the buds begin to extend 

Fertilize at one-third strength during the growing season. 

There is no need to feed when the tree is dormant.

A great tree for beginners.

Popular choice as a bonsai species
Root over Rock

During summer Chinese Elm bonsai need some protection from extreme sun and heat. move them into a semi-shaded area. Also during the coldest months of winter it is best to protect them from severe freezing. Move them into a cold greenhouse or cover them with a plant blanket. 

 Root over Chert
Savannah River Agate

 Ulmus parvifolia  bonsai is mass produced  and imported from Chinese nurseries. The "S" shaped trunk can be seen in many big box stores. They can have a nice graceful movement and can develop into very nice Bonsai, Pensai, or Penjing. Frequent pruning can create good branch ramification. 

Wind on the Mountain is a Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) Penjing
on display at the North Carolina Arboretum.

 An ideal tree for any Bonsai Beginner

Chinese Elm
Ulmus parvifolia

Lacebark Elm
 mottled grays, tans and reds

Ulmus parvifolia 'Frosty'

'Frosty' fringe on the leaves

Chinese Elm is easily Air-layered 

 Collected seedlings found growing under an Elm

Chinese elm seeds can be sown in late fall for early spring germination. As with most species, growing a tree from seed, will reproduce a generic Chinese elm. A new tree from cuttings will reproduce the exact same genetic set as the parent plant.

The seed have a high germination rate

. 

 Collected seedlings planted in bonsai soil

Chinese elm cultivars:

• Ulmus parvifolia ‘Catlin’
• Ulmus parvifolia ‘Corticosa’
• Ulmus parvifolia ‘Hokkaido’
• Ulmus parvifolia ‘Seiju’
• Ulmus parvifolia 'Yatsubusa'
• Ulmus parvifolia 'Drake'
• Ulmus parvifolia 'Frosty'
• Ulmus parvifolia 'Nire-keyaki'
• Ulmus parvifolia 'Emer I' or 'Emerald Isle' (Athena)
• Ulmus parvifolia 'Emer II' or 'Emerald Vase' (Allee)
• Ulmus parvifolia 'Matthew'

Bald Cypress germination begins

Taxodium distichum

Bald Cypress
Feather Pine
Care

Bald Cypress is a "deciduous conifer"- it has cones and sheds its feather-like foliage in the Autumn. These seed were collected in November 2011, stored through the winter in a bucket of water then planted in a wet-muck seedbed in February 2012. 

Broken Bald Cypress cones expose the seed
 Feather-like foliage 

 Germination takes place on a wet-muck seedbed
Bald Cypress seed sprout

Taxodium distichum  seedlings

Seeds are produced annually and good seed production occurs about every 3 years.  Seeds are dispersed more frequently by flood waters.  Under swamp conditions, the best seed germination generally takes place on a sphagnum moss or a wet-muck seedbed.  On better drained soils, Bald Cypress seed usually fail to germinate due to lack of surface water.  Soil saturated for 1 to 3 months after seed-fall is required for germination. Seedlings require light for good growth, thus control of competing vegetation is necessary.

Old-growth bald cypress
 form a flattened crown.




Altamaha River

Bald Cypress tree is an excellent choice for someone who is just getting started with bonsai. Seeds and small trees are easily collected in this area, now is the time to find trees with cones and watch for them to turn brown so that the seed can be collected just before the cones open. The best digging time for cypress is from mid-­December to late February. Bald cypress bud back easily and will produce vigorous sprouts from the stumps. Taxodium distichum are frequently planted in groups in a single container, forming a Bonsai forest. Japanese term for growing a bonsai from seed is Misho.

Taxodium distichum cones

Ron Martin bonsai forest Workshop

Green Bald Cypress cones

Bald Cypress 
bonsai prefer to
 live outdoors.

Other deciduous conifers are: 

• Larch- Larix
• Golden Larch- Pseudolarix amabilis
• Chinese Swamp Cypress- Glyptostrobus pensilis
• Dawn Redwood- Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

Taxodium distichum along the Altamaha River

Bald cypress and pond cypress are in the Taxodiaceae family. Bald cypress can be easily confused with pond cypress (Taxodium distichum var. nutans). Pond cypress has smaller, scale-like leaves pressed on the twigs. A twig of pressed pond cypress leaves resembles a pine needle pointing up or out from the stem. Bald cypress leaves are linear and feather-like  and the twigs hang down looking more pendulous than pond cypress twigs and leaves. Also, pond cypress tends to occur in still-water wetlands rather than flowing-water wetlands. Bald Cypress are not true cypress. True cypress are in the Cupressus family and are not native to the southeastern United States.

Bald cypress are found in  wetland habitats

Bald cypress is a wetland species that grows along rivers, streams, and creeks as well as in swamps with slow moving water.  It is a legendary tree of the Deep South known for its "knees," moss-draped crown, and buttressed trunk. Taxodium distichum  can live up to 600 years old.  Taxodium distichum is native to the coastal plains along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and north up through the Mississippi River Valley. The heartwood of old growth bald cypress is very resistant to rot.  This is not true with younger second growth trees. 

Bonsai in Autumn
Bald cypress with knees 

Cypress knees are woody projections sent above the normal water level function is unknown Lowland or swamp-grown cypresses found in flooded or flood-prone areas tend to be buttressed and "kneed," as opposed to cypresses grown on higher ground which may grow with very little taper.

Bald cypress
with roots submerged in water
and branches draped in
Spanish moss
Tillandsia usneoides

Pond Cypress
Taxodium distichum var. nutans
in still-water wetlands
SE Georgia