New at the Nursery
With so much going on around the nursery in every season, we
decided to create a new section on our website to keep you up-to-date--from fabulous
plants in bloom to exciting new arrivals to fascinating upcoming nursery
events. Come and discover New at the Nursery often and see what's new!
New at the Nursery can be found from our home page by clicking
on NURSERY NEWS and then clicking on New
at the Nursery.
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Asian
Longhorned Beetle
By
Jed Duguid
For as long as humans have been
traveling the globe trading goods, they've also been introducing exotic pests
from one locale to another. Rats came on the very first ships from the old
world to the new and quickly flourished. In the mid-nineteenth century, the
gypsy moth escaped and became quite at home throughout North
America, defoliating 12 million acres of trees a year. In the beginning of
the 20th century, chestnut blight wiped out nearly every last
chestnut growing in America, when lumber from Asia came into the country
carrying the fungus that kills the trees. Just two decades later, lumber came
into the United States with a beetle that, by itself, would have been no
problem. But, because that beetle carries a fungus, it nearly wiped out all the
elms of the Elm City (New Haven, CT) before spreading west into the rest of the
United States. Some 2000 insect species and another 2000 plant species have
invaded the United States over the last 500 years.
 There is a new pest that's been sighted
in the United States and Canada that has the potential to do more damage than
all these other pests combined. In shipping crates and palettes from China, the
Asian Longhorned Beetle, Anoplophora
glabripennis, bested U.S. customs officials and started its United States
invasion. In 1996, it came to Brooklyn, NY and three other sites nearby. Two
years later, it entered through a port in Chicago, IL and was later found in
four nearby areas. In 2002, it was found in Jersey City, NJ and in another four
towns by 2004. Southern Massachusetts and Ontario have also had fairly sizable
outbreaks in the last couple of years. Like the gypsy moth, the Asian
Longhorned Beetle (ALB) attacks a wide range of native trees such as ash, horse
chestnut, birch, elm and, perhaps most importantly, maple. It has no natural
enemies in the United States, so it has the potential to multiply fast and
beyond our control.
 ALB
adults feeds on leaves, which wouldn't be so bad, but it also bores deep into
the trees core. Actually, the adult lays its eggs near the surface of the bark
in a shallow, dug out area. The tree will often heal around the eggs that hatch
a couple of weeks later inside the tree. The larvae then tunnel into the tree's
core to feed. The larvae continue feeding and tunneling as they grow, and
ultimately emerge as adults through a 3/8"- to 5/8"- diameter, perfectly round,
hole. This tunneling, when repeated and unchecked, is what ultimately leads to
crown death and subsequently death of the entire tree. The adults themselves
don't often travel far from their host tree, and mating only occurs when a male
and female happen to cross paths. There are no pheromones to attract from long
distances as in many other species of beetles. They may only mate once a year,
but their litter of up to 120 is what helps them grow rapidly in numbers. This
can amount to exponential multiplication and after just three years one couple
could be responsible for over 10,000 beetles.
While
ALB has not yet been seen in Connecticut, it is inevitable that it will find
its way across the border. We need to be vigilant stewards in monitoring, and
you know what they say about an "ounce of prevention." There are two key things
to look for in determining infection: first would be to look for a lot of leaf
damage in the upper canopy of the tree. That by itself, however, is not enough.
You then will need, with the aid of binoculars unless you have Superman vision,
to look for the exit holes; that is the real sign of a possible infestation.
The exit holes are just the perfect size to hold a pen or pencil, if they are
within reach, of course. The boring may cause an accumulation of sawdust-like
"frass" in the crotches of branches. The beetles themselves are 3/4" to 1 1/4"
long. They have very long, striped, segmented antennae that are about 1 1/2 to
2 1/2 times the length of the body. The feet have a bluish tinge, and their
backs are shiny black with white spots. They do look a bit like our native
Whitespotted Pine Sawyer, so if you suspect you may have ALB, it is important
to report sightings to an arborist, or send in a beetle to the one of the
extension stations immediately. The most susceptible trees are Norway maple
(too bad it's not the only one), sugar, red, and silver maples, American elm,
horse chestnut, willows, and birches.
While you may be wondering, "If it's
not in Connecticut, why should we have to worry about it?" the government
estimates that 1.2 billion trees could die if we do not catch it before it
spreads too much. When beetles are found, the host trees are cut down,
double-chipped and burned. The stumps are then ground to well below soil level.
Insecticidal treatments have begun, but they are only effective against the
slow and clumsy adults, not the eggs and larvae and pupae in the tree. Many of
the aforementioned outbreaks are thought to have occurred by the movement of
firewood from one area to another. Therefore, one of the most important things
you can do to help prevent it from coming into the state is to make sure that
if you are buying firewood it does not come from out of state. It is also
important to not transport firewood from here to your winter cottages and ski
chalets in northern New England. Can you imagine New England without maple
syrup? So far, sightings, when reported, have been very helpful in preventing a
major U.S. outbreak. The more educated we all are on this, the more unlikely it
is we will lose massive quantities of trees for no good reason.
For more information you can read about ALB at the USDA
website: www.aphis.usda.gov and at the bottom of the page under
the "hot topics" heading, you'll see links for the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
Photo credits: Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Jersey
Agricultural Experiment Station |
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Brown plants
By
Lori Chips
Although you might suspect
an article on dead plants with a title such as this, or at least one about
seasonally dead foliage left up for winter interest, you'd be mistaken. I actually mean to talk about plants
that are brown.
Last season, as I was
putting together a trough of all brown-leaved plants, it dawned on me: brown,
in foliage, is the new color du jour. Granted, it is rare for a trend to
trickle down into alpine gardening; most rock gardeners are hot for species.
But here it was--a trough I'd planted up with Carex berggrenii, Mazus
radicatus, Leptinella squallida and Muehlenbeckia
axillaris, or wire plant. To be fair, "Gardeners Brown" in leaf color often
can tend toward olives and bronzes; but it can also be chocolate cherry, dry
oak leaf, café con leche, or golden caramel.
All these monochromatic
shades bring up a hazy memory of reading a quote by Harold Nicholson about his
famous wife, Vita Sackville West, who spent years creating their beautiful
garden, Sissinghurst, and obviously, honing and refining her sensibilities.
When Nicholson was asked about his wife's taste in plants, he replied, in
effect, that Vita only liked brown flowers that were very hard to grow. It does
appear that the more "refined" we get, the more subtle we become, too.
One example of this process
of "refinement" is the evolution of the gardeners' preferences in leaf color.
From the safety of green it usually then moves on to an appreciation of silver-
and grey-leaved plants. Some people stop there; others proceed to the next step
which is usually "Gardeners Purple" or "Gardeners Black." These tones live
inside quotation marks because they are very different from the purple or black
one gets out of a tube of paint.
The next two steps in the
evolution really depend on the person and the plant in question--variegation in
all its myriad forms, and /or gold and chartreuse plants. For some, this step
is just too much. For others, it is just the thing to light up the garden, the
chartreuse tones especially becoming great material for color combinations. So
now we have brown, though for troughs the only other candidates I can think of
are the many various, and richly toned, Sempervivums.
 And, what about perennials?
There are some wonderful olive browns and burnt umbers to be found. Eupatorium 'Chocolate'
speaks for itself. There are lovely bronzy, smoky Actaeas (Cimicifuga).
Euphorbia 'Chameleon' is a soft brown that mixes beautifully with
other plants. And don't forget the plethora of yummy Heuchera browns.
Come to think of it, lots of the names for brown plants, and even for the color
itself, are literally "yummy"--being food related or descriptive. Heuchera 'Amber
Waves' has mustard leaves with green tints that sport a plum underside. H.
'Marmalade' varies throughout the season, ranging from tan to orange and
apricot. There is also Heuchera 'Carmel' and H. 'Crème
Brulee' to choose from.
Part of the appeal of these
plants with brown leaves is the way they mix with other plants. It is a bit of
a puzzle sometimes, because the palette is unorthodox; but it is great fun, and
when it clicks, you know it! Every year we have fun with both perennials and
annuals at the foot of the Acer griseum in the fall-focus
garden. If you happen to know the paperbark maple, then you know its rich
cayenne and sienna exfoliating bark. This tree's trunk alone is a glorious
study in all the variations on this theme. Coleus and olive brown
potato vine have been used near it to great effect. Speaking of which, Coleus is
a treasure trove of beautiful earth tones, with so many flavors it would be
hard to list them.
Which gives us a nice segue
into the annual possibilities. In fact, one year in annuals an entire section
was dedicated to chocolates, toffees, rusts, and tans. The most famous brown
annual is probably the "Dead Sedge" Carex buchananii, a stunning
camel color with orange highlights. And don't forget the smoky beauty of
the Phormiums in color combinations.
One captivating new annual
was Rumex flexosus, looking for all the world like a tangle of
cinnamon barbed wire. Uncinia uncinata created a mild furor one
spring, planted in two urns flanking the entrance to the office patio.
Surrounded by the textual Sedum 'Coral Carpet,' this waxy
chestnut bladed grass was petted by nearly everyone who passed by.
Ever since our
Crayola days, we have more often than not treated brown as a neutral color. But
how much more fun it is to celebrate the larger possibilities of its vibrancy.
If a hot new "brown" trend can even be exercised in the tiny theatre of a
trough (which, by the way, sold instantly), then I think it's safe to say we
may be onto something.
Photo credit (Acer griseum): Mike Donnally
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The American Conifer Society
By Jed Duguid
Before the days of blogs, Facebook, and chat groups, people
with common interests would form clubs and societies devoted solely to whatever
said interests were.
The American Conifer Society, or just the Conifer
Society, is one such throwback. It was formed in 1983 by a small group of
collectors, growers, educators and enthusiasts. While it may not have a secret
handshake, whistle, or pattern of knocks (that I'll tell you about) it does
seem to have a language all its own. You'll hear talk of witches broom,
strobili, internodal length, graft compatibility and debates on proper
nomenclature. You may also hear such phrases as: cute, bun, skirt, candles,
ground-hugging and, "It's a really unusual green!" Really it's just an excuse
to be "plant nerdy", and a chance to interact and learn from a diverse group of
amazing gardeners. The Conifer Society is a place where all these
self-proclaimed "conifer nuts" can get together, share their experiences, tour
gardens, share plants and, of course, their wish lists. Membership includes a
quarterly national newsletter, as well as a regional newsletter; both written
by and for members. As well, every year there are the "Collectors Conifers of
the Year" which are always choice selections, one large and one dwarf readily
available to any member who wants them, for a small fee of course. It does
also, by the way, have a great website with tons of information available at
your fingertips including an extensive conifer database, so maybe it's not as
arcane as one might think.
For more information about the American Conifer Society,
visit their website at www.conifersociety.org or contact them at:
American Conifer Society Office
John Martin
175 Charisma Lane
Lewisville, NC 27023-9611
Phone: 336-945-0483
Fax: 336-945-0484
email: nationaloffice@conifersociety.org
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 For more information visit our Web site at www.olivernurseries.com, or call us at 203-259-5609.
Image in header: Detail from Spring, engraving by Bruegel. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dick Fund, 1926.
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