Anyone familiar with Amelanchier alnifolia 'Obelisk'
Iowa_Steve
10 years ago
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Embothrium
10 years agoIowa_Steve
10 years agoRelated Discussions
magnolia in northern CO? ! ?
Comments (42)I have a Royal Star Magnolia that I fell in love with at Home Depot and brought home about 10 years ago. Had I done my research I probably would not have purchased it, but I was fairly new to gardening in CO at that time. I ended up moving it to a new (more protected) location after a few years, even though I read that they don't like being moved. Moving it seemed like a better alternative to leaving it in the exposed area where it wasn't thriving though, and it has done better in its current location where it gets wind protection, morning sun, and a later afternoon sun in the summer. It does suffer from some chlorosis and rarely has a lot of blooms in the spring, but it's still a beautiful tree and I don't regret purchasing it. Over the years I've seen plenty of stores (especially the big box ones) sell a lot of trees that don't do well in our climate. There's obviously a market for them. Having grown up back east with a front yard full of dogwood trees, I've come pretty close to purchasing one here when I've seen them for sale in the spring, but have resisted the temptation because I know better....See MoreHelp the birds in my poor yard?
Comments (20)Well any bush or small tree that is spiny (if this is not an issue with young children around) is sure to attract desirable nesting birds such as the Song sparrow. Check if the one or two Berberis species (commonly nammed barberries) that are native to the USA are now clear with your local laws. (They used to be banned because they transmitted wheat rust disease to crops.) An Hawthorne also makes an excellent nesting bush for small birds, but they are slow-growers. Song sparrows and Red cardinals also love any dense thicket of Red cedar (which the waxwings and robins will also devour the fruits from) or arborvitae (White cedar) to nest inside and get cover for sleeping during those nasty winter weather spells... We have two large Sambucus canadensis, fruiting heavily in the sun, two other ones that strive under dense shade(Sort of as an experiment... last year they had sprung from the ground just like a perennial, seemingly dying to the ground in the fall... But this spring the buds are forming higher on the old fall branches, so maybe these two will recover and become full-fledged shady spot shrubs... we'll see). Then we have a specimen of Sambucus pubens, and this other native species indeed grows fast (gotta be careful about root competition at first though) in the shade, flowers in its first couple of years, then fruits almost as soon as it flowers! Fruits are shining bright red in the shade and are a very pretty sight in early summer, but these do disappear fast with the birds!! I am surprised that you seem to have problems finding those plant species at the nurseries. Here in the Montreal area and suburbs, at some points in the season they come almost a dime a dozen! I suggest you shop around a little more. And don't forget that if you buy small potted plants from Internet dealers (search here in the archives to find those reliable dealers), in the case of Sambucus, they grow so fast and easy that this should not be an issue for you....See MoreOrdered Serviceberries By Mail
Comments (43)Serviceberries around here are fruiting heavily. My older Regent Shrubs have so many fruits now, I just can't believe it. The small Regents have fruit too, but not much of course, since I only put them in last year. So far I have seen the Mockingbird, Robin and Orioles eating the Serviceberries. The fruit is much larger than they were last year, I think because the shrubs had time to mature. The fruit on the small shrubs is much smaller. Anyway, there are no Catbirds here this year so I have been able to eat lots of the fruit myself. Last year the Catbirds just about camped out in the Serviceberry Shrubs and would eat the berries all day long as they ripened. Fruit on the Grandiflora is not ripe yet but I did eat some fruit off the Honeywood Serviceberry. It does taste slightly different from the Regent and not quite as big. I like the Regent better. Really, I think Regents are the best of the shrub Serviceberries and they only grow about 6 feet tall so never get too big. They set an amazing amount of fruit and start at an early age....See MoreGood, bad, and slow fails of Summer 2017
Comments (40)Smart Mara, real smart .... lol Bossy, my version of your veggie garden blooper is planting a shade loving plant in a beautiful shady spot in late summer only to realize to my dismay that by late spring the sun is moving across the sky in a completely different place making that same area very sunny. Whoever said we learn best from our mistakes was right! Mara, if you keep on trying you're gonna' get that blue stem grass right. A gardener's motto should be: Never give up!...See MoreEmbothrium
10 years agoIowa_Steve
10 years agoNate Anderson
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