- Author: Brenda Altman
I bought this house in May last year. I was excited to see that there were 4 growing fruit trees in the backyard. At that time I knew I would be doing some future tree maintenance.
There were many issues to deal with before I got a chance to really look at my fruit trees. When I finally got settled in and had time to look at my trees, I noticed that there had been wires between the branches. The wires had been used to support the growing branches. The wires had since been cut off between the branches. But the wires around the tree branches were still present and the tree branches had grown around the wires. Look at the picture below and you can see how the tree grew around the wires.
If you tightly tie the tree another object you create at least three issues that result in unhealthy trees: 1) If you are supporting the trunk tightly you don't give the tree the ability to thicken (the tree responds to stress moving back and forth) 2) the tight bonds cuts into the bark giving potential pathogens to enter the tree and 3) if let on the tree long enough the tree will attempt to grow around the wires or rope.
Tying a tree tightly around its trunk can result in its premature death. The living portion of tree lies just beneath the bark. Two layers just under the bark: phloem and xylem transport water, minerals and food up and down the tree. As the tree grows out this living layer meets the wire, rope or string and grows around it cutting the xylem and phloem entirely resulting in premature death. Trees are resilient if the xylem and phloem are not completely cut around the tree will try to heal itself. The best thing to do is remove all dead and decaying bark and wait. Consult an arborist if the tree does not respond.
If you observe a tree with wire or other types of support that are tightly wrapped around the trunk or branches immediately cut them off. If the tree has already started to grow around the wire or strap remove as much of the support as possible, clean up the wound and let the tree heal itself.
If the tree still needs support, support it with arbor tie or a similar soft straps with a ½” to 1” leeway. Don't be cheap and grab the nearest thing handy to strap the tree with, wires and rope are not approved for support. Remember to check the tree in three months to see if the supports need adjusting.
Damage to the tree trunk can also be caused by using a string trimmer near the tree. The string trimmer can cut through the bark and cut the living cambium layer. Never, never use a string trimmer around the tree base.
About ten years ago I removed an old bicycle chain that had been left on a tree I used a bolt cutter to remove as much as the chain that I could. Fortunately the chain had not encircled the entire tree and the tree is still alive! It's located at the front entrance to the Buchanan YMCA in San Francisco.
Enjoy your trees. Take a pruning class to learn how to take proper care of your trees. And you will be rewarded for the fruits of your labor.
- Author: Betty Homer
During Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend in January 2018, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a mushroom camp put on by the Sonoma County Mycological Association (“SOMA”) at the Catholic Charities CYO camp in Occidental, California (I assume SOMA leases the space for the mushroom camp). I had wanted to attend this camp for many years, but was either deterred by cost (it is approximately $375 for the weekend, which includes food, lodging, foray/fieldtrips and lectures) or scheduling conflicts.
In a nutshell, I am so glad that I went, and intend on attending annually for the foreseeable future. As one of the participants at the camp who attends every year, told me, “This is THE mushroom camp of the year for all mushroom geeks” (I do not know enough about mushrooms yet, to count myself as being part of that tribe). From a gardening perspective, I had attended a growing edible mushroom workshop once, dabbled with growing oyster mushrooms and inoculated a mushroom log with limited success, but had no other experience apart from that.
I will report on the various classes I attended in my upcoming blog entries. But for this blog entry's purposes, I will focus on the very first foray (i.e., fieldtrip) I attended while at camp. The title of the foray was appropriately called, “Intro to Mushroom ID,” led by a SOMA member, Fred Salisbury, who I found to be friendly, humble, knowledgeable, approachable, and just plain great.
Fred led us through the CYO campgrounds, collecting a dizzying number of wild mushrooms (mostly inedible and brought back to camp for identification—see pictures below). As Fred explained, there is no harm in picking mushrooms, as they are the fruiting body of fungi which live below the forest floor. In other words, it is the equivalent of picking fruit off of a fruit tree—a tree will continue to produce fruit every season so long as it is alive.
One of my favorites picked on the foray, was/is the Candy Cap mushroom (Lactarius rubidus). It was the first time I had ever seen a fresh one in person (I did not taste it, as it needs to be prepared before ingesting). Fred said that he and his family would collect these when they were/are in season, and make various baked goods out of them. What I found fascinating about the Candy Cap, is that not only is it edible, but that as it becomes dehydrated, it smells increasingly like maple syrup (but was told that it does not taste anything like maple syrup). I did not believe this until I, myself, took a whiff of a dried Candy Cap mushroom. It was a delightful and unexpected surprise.
Fred also cautioned that before eating any known edible mushroom (and never eat a mushroom that you can't confidently identify). you should sample a tiny bit, wait at least 24-48 hours to see if you have any sort of reaction, before consuming more.
If you are interested in learning more about SOMA and its camp, please seehttp://somamushrooms.org/ or “Like” them on Facebook.
- Author: Mike Gunther
- Author: Betsy Buxton
Has anyone beside me noticed that the sun isn't at hot anymore? Actually, truth be known, it's been more than nippy outside lately. It seems as though it was just last week when the temperature was in the 80's and the sweat was dripping into my eyes; today it's under 60 and I wishing I had another sweater on! Will I ever be happy with temperature outside?
Like a lot of you, I ordered my bulbs and new perennials some time ago and now it the time to plant! So far I planted 6 dozen daffodils and grape hyacinths, 3 azaleas, 4 camellias, 12 liriopes, and 12 sword ferns – and that's all that just went into the ground. Another 6 camellias are waiting patiently in their 1-gallon pots, and along them, are 4 pint-sized roses.
However, the 4 5-gallon roses from last year are also still patiently waiting for their “forever” homes in the big rose bed along the side of the house. I haven't gotten to them YET, but the clematis plants are in their intended raised bed and 2 hydrangeas are finally planted under the pergola! (At least those cans are empty!)
Tomorrow is supposed to be pie making day along with the rest of the pre-prep for the holiday, but I still have visions of making to the front yard to clean up the irises, roses, and pink coneflower plant which the harbinger of fall – that plant grow so tall and bloomed so profusely this year and always (!) dies back to a dried up plant when the cold weather comes, so cut it to the ground I will. Also the replacement Dusty Miller from Annie's Annuals took over the front bed, leaving the Geums to try to raise their flowers where they could be seen, so it's time for a lot of judicious pruning there too. The buds of the ‘Star magnolia' are starting to plump now although it put out a branch of new GREEN leaves giving the effect of a mostly dead/dying bush still trying to live. It's kind of fun to give the branches little taps and see the leaves fall to the ground.
At this time I'd like to thanks the wonderful people who manned the Vallejo Farmers' Market booth! It was both fun and informative to work with each and every one of you! A big shout out to Patty for keeping us on track with her weekly reminders AND keeping the schedule up to date! More thanks are due the wonderful “customers” we see every week who keep us on our toes with questions and suggestions to each other during our Saturday visits. People who garden are some of the most generous and thoughtful folks and it does our little hearts glad to speak with you! We have left the market for the year but will return in mid-January. For those Master Gardeners who haven't joined us, please do this next year; for those “customers” and friends who seek us out, please come back – we enjoy talking and discussing with you. For those people who have passed us by in the past, please stop by – we love meeting friends we haven't known before!
Happy Thanksgiving and: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, or any other way of enjoying the season!! Happy New Year!!
- Author: Betty Victor
I have three camellia plants, in my yard. The first one of the three shrubs blooms mid-January. The other two usually late February and March. The early bloomer is Camellia japonica 'Night Rider' just as the name suggests it is a very dark maroon almost black with semi double blossoms. The blossoms are almost 2 to 3 inches across and yet most information classifies the blossom size as miniature to small. This is a very slow growing camellia . It was planted in 2007 and I think it maybe 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, with shiny green foliage. The blossoms look like they have a light cover of way on them making them look artificial. The stamens are purple with yellow tips.
The book 100 Flowers And How They Got Their Names by Diana Wells says that the camellia was named after a Jesuit missionary who study plants and animals in the Philippines.
Because it is the first camellia to bloom in winter, I watch and cut them and bring them into the house to brighten up a winter day.
