quince tree retaining green leaves even in early December (Zone 5b!)
John Kuhn
3 years ago
dear fruit tree enthusiasts:
I have a question. I planted a Russian quince (var. 'Aromatnaya') this past spring in Zone 5b. It mostly thrived--had some beautiful and extremely large quince blossoms early in the year. It did have some foliage damage from Japanese beetle predation in early summer, visible in the lower part of the picture (some leaves became slightly yellow and/or were partially skeletonized). But it bounced back just fine and has gotten much taller. I am hoping for a handful of quinces next year or the following, fingers crossed. I have a question that is more out of puzzled curiosity than worry: it is December 5th here in Central New York and this quince still hasn't lost its leaves! What is going on?
I have a second question for the master pruners: I notice a lot of the growth on this is very upright currently: how would you prune it to encourage more horizontal branching? Thanks!!!
John in Binghamton
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AlexUnder
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Mad Diary of Zone Busting in Zone 3 ...The End is a Long Way Away
Comments (7)Oh my. What is a passionate rose lover like you doing in that glacial hell hole? Reading about your endeavors has exhausted me and I haven't even lifted a shovel. I admire your grit and determination, but would love to see you rewarded with thousands of blooms on your rose bushes for all your hard work. I bet they could use engineers in zones 7 to 10!...See MoreSolid zone 5b Japanese maples?
Comments (4)Almost any of them are okay. That's my conclusion. After much discussion here and experimentation with Acer Palmatums and Acer Japonicums in my yard the past couple of years it seems that the proof is in the planting which after last year's cold, icy conditions did not affect any except by way of being reduced by a desperate rabbit who could not get to their ususal forage because the ground was frozen for three weeks. You can follow many of the discussions we've already had on this topic, but anything I've planted in northern Illinois which does get zone 5a temps at times (but coldest lately -15 degrees) has not been affected. One guy in Chicago south of here, with the handle Dansgarden, pretty much has planted all sorts of less common cultivars too numerous to list here (five years running). My list so far (much less time than his trees) not including the more common ones: AP Nuresagi, AJ Aconitifolium, AP Ki-Hachijo, AP Red Emperor, AP Crimson Queen, AP Hogyoku, AP Red Dragon, AP Seiryu, AS Aureum. AP Villa Taranto survived the cold but not the predators. (By the way, an update on the other trees reduced by rabbits--except for the smallest ones they all came back with new growth and surprisingly are nearly as full as before). Actually, this year's unusual late frost in April following a warm March in the south killed off many trees, but up here the colder conditions in March and April actually did not affect the trees. Almost anyone will tell you that knows these trees that a late frost after the leaves come out in Spring can be the most destructive to these trees as many found out first hand this year. Other than that I think the burden of proof is now on the other foot: that is instead of saying which trees (here I'm only including Japanese Maples) are okay in zone 5, it should now be which trees are not good in zone 5. I think the only one I've heard not good in zone 5 is the AP Sango kaku, sensistive to the cold winds) and perhaps AP Katsura due to early leafing)....See MorePassiflora caerulea in Zone 5b/6a
Comments (11)In my area (GA, z8) passion flowers grow wild. Their branches die out in the winter and regrow from root next year. They are native to south America and like warmth, humidity and sunny location. The ones that grow around here (also I have seen in southwest MO) have beautiful fragrant frower which are about inch and half accross with shades of blu-pink-white. The fruits are the size of a ping pong ball which are green and turn pale green when ripe. Both male and female organs are in each flower and can self polinate, but the bumble bees love them. So no polination problem here. If I remember it correctly, they start blooming in mid-June and contintue till when it gets cold (low 40s, high 30s). If you want to dig one young shoot out and transplant it, must be very patient. Here is how I do it. Start uncovering from the shoot on down, find the root, which is shallow , horizontal. Uncover as much of the root(s) you can, brake it off and plant it in a new location. This better to be done in late fall or very eraly spring. growing from seed is possible and easy but it will take a couple of years to get established....See MoreWill Zephrine Drouhin Rose survive zone 5B
Comments (20)Sandy, we are surrounded by 75 foot pine, oak and maples. We had looked into solar since our house is perfectly oriented south but would have had to remove about 10-15 trees at $2500 a piece. Beyond our modest pocketbooks and worse it would leave no money for roses!! My shade gardens are mostly hydrangeas, especially an old lacecap that flowers in about 2 1/2 hours of early morning sun, Rhodis, astilbes, hostas, hostas, hostas, holly, a beautiful pink laurel bought this spring and other shade loving perennials. The sunniest areas are roses on top of roses(no three to four feet of space between) with fillers scattered throughout. My best roses for these areas are these DA's: Windermere, Queen of Sweden, Desdemona, Olivia, Heritage, Teasing Georgia, The Generous Gardener, Darcy Bussells, Boscabel and Gentle Hermione. Kordes include Summer Romance, Honeymoon, Cream and Lavender Veranda, Polar Express, Summer Memories and Zaide and a scattering of others including Julia Child, Knockouts and Bolero, which is far too tender here but I still love her. I have a Boscabel and Gentle Hermione in probably 4 hours of sun planted practically in sub soil and they're still putting out some buds even though they are extremely neglected so Austins tend to do well in not ideal conditions. It's definitely trial and error, seemingly more error than anything else but when you hit on the right rose that will flower in these conditions... heaven! Sharon...See MoreJohn Kuhn
3 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
Fuad Efendi
3 years agoFuad Efendi
3 years agoEmbothrium
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
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