Elderberry going to Flower

Last year I took a course at the Mt. Cuba Center about growing our native Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis, which was very informative. They went over the folk lore, how to grow them, how to make jam/jelly out of the berries, lunch was served featuring Elderberry jam, and best of all everyone got to take home a plant. Truly I'm annoyed that I can't find such wonderful classes anywhere else in my area.

So here's the plant I took home today. And to my delight, it's going to flower on at least four stems. Now one of the things I learned is that this is a very vigorous growing shrub. They push out multiple 6' stems in a year, form that perfect V shape sought after in so many shrubs for landscaping purposes. Their only real issue is they can spread a little, mostly by new stems coming up on the lower trunk and adjacent roots, however one friend told me that their plants sucker out much farther away from the plant. But I have to say of all the plants I've seen, I've never found this plant growing in a colony or grove that such root suckering would create. Something brought up at the class were plants that look like Elderberry and there's a surprising number of plants with the same leaf structure such as Poison Sumac, Sumac Trees in general, and a few others too. Also it's not uncommon for Elderberries to reseed themselves naturally anywhere that birds perch. They also root well from cuttings which I think I'll experiment with as they only only live ~20 years or so before they peter out. 

Some Native Berry Plants

I'm giving Lingonberries, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, another try. Years ago I planted some next to the Gooseberry/Currant shrubs but the area proved to be too dry over the summer time and they were dead within the year. They were just four plants that came in 4" pots but were obviously recent cuttings that had rooted because it was just one little stem poking out of the ground. So I decided to try them again, and somehow or other I ended up buying 18 of them! This is excessive even for me and my plant spending habits, though I want to say the bill was something like $60 in total so that's at least an okay deal. The plants arrived in 4" pots (from a different nursery) and looked like very healthy Box Wood-like plants. So I'm very happy with what I got in the mail. From planting them I see they spread some by underground runners so they might eventually pay for themselves. I've planted them into two groups, one is sunny and damp, while the other is shaded, slightly dryer, and also right next to the garden hose. Their flowers are very much like the white bells we see on blueberries, but with earthy orange and red pollen inside. 

Lingonberries are native to the US, despite how prized they are in Scandinavia. Though I'm sure some variation of them must occur in northern Europe and Asia. Basically they're like a cranberry and I'm told with a similar flavor. Unlike cranberries though, these should flower twice a year and produce two crops of berries each year! I had thought this was universal but I notice it's not listed for all varieties making me think it could have been bread out of some cultivars or not a trait in all species, hmm.... 

My Blueberry shrubs are also flowering, though I don't believe I'll be getting as many berries as I got last year. One of the six plants actually died. The ones that remain have dead limbs on them that I believe I should prune off. For as much as I love blueberries, I sure wish I could grow them better. I do add acidity to the soil each spring and autumn, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Hopefully it's just them establishing their first year.

The Gooseberry/Currants flowered too. I think this is one of the western varieties I bought a few years ago. They really took their sweet time just growing to be waist high, but are now flowering at pretty much everywhere that pushed out a leaf. They're very productive plants when they get going.   

One variety that was supposed to be 'Pixwell' but clearly isn't, is already puffing up its berries. These turn into bright red orbs like Red Currant if I recall right. I'm reasonably sure this is Red Currant, which is probably one of the few plants I complain about the most. Their berries are very tart and sometimes bitter, and yet they're addictive. In other words the perfect plant for your masochistic grandmother.

It's Like Christmas Time

Boxes keep arriving full of plants for me to plant. Since I wrote my own book on "Native Plants for Honeybees" I figured I'd take my own advice and install so real treasures. That's not to say I didn't research at all, but I personally haven't some of them, and many of the good ones sadly I don't have photographs of. 


These all just arrived from Shooting Star Nursery:

Basswood, Tilia americana, also called American Linden Tree. This is actually a common street tree in some neighborhoods, but I haven't seen any of it growing around here. I know someone who planted one but it didn't make it through the winter which is odd because they are hardy. This is one of those great summer nectar sources for honeybees to enjoy. The flowers are said to have a sweet distinctive scent (see Mitchell and Webb).
Fall Color is Red.
 
Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum, is another good summer-ish nectar plant. The flowers are bell shaped, like those of blueberries and heathers, and occur along horizontal "strands" almost like exploding fireworks which bees have fairly easy access to. It's said to be a high quality honey.
Fall Color is Red, with lines of yellow or blond seed pods all over.

Black Tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica, is a massive tree that grows in the bog and wetlands down south. This species, I've read, can tolerate growing in average moisture and should be somewhat drought tolerant onces it's established. Tupelo honey is said to be one of the best tasting in the world, and while I doubt one tree will be enough to get that pure tupelo honey, I look forward to adding it's flavor to the typical wildflower mix my bees produce. Great nectar plant.
Fall Color is Red.

Clove Currant, Ribes odoratum, which I believe is a synonymy with Ribes aureum. Anywho it's an early blooming shrub with wonderful fragrant yellow flowers. Honeybees use it for both nectar and pollen, however it does have seperate male and female plants so you don't necessarily get both on one plant. Females that get pollinated will make berries that I read are tasty both for humans and the birds. 

Purple Flowering Raspberry, Rudus odoratus, which has brilliant 2" red/magenta/purple flowers worthy of any rose garden, that go on to produce edible raspberries. I'm scratching the back of my head wondering why this isn't planted more often? And why isn't is more widely available? What's more, why haven't growers gone nuts breeding the flower traits into other varieties? At the very least you'd expect them to breed in the lack of prickers along the stem wouldn't you? Raspberries are good nectar and pollen plants for honeybees.

Prairie Rose, Rosa setigera, is a climbing or tailing rose with a vigorous growing habit. Native roses are often labeled as aggressive spreading both by seeds and by runner/root suckers. Well I can't argue the seed aspect but that's easily solved by dead heading. As for sending out new stems along the root system, in truth this varies from plant to plant and can even be bread out of them. Roses only produce pollen for honeybees, and if the bee doesn't have to dredge a labyrinth of 50+ petals all the better.

Blood Root, Sanguinaria canadensis, which is a native wildflower that only produced pollen. It's also one that I went a little nuts with and apparently ordered it from several other nurseries as well.

Tiny-Headed Blazing Star, Liatris microcephala, which is just to add to my collection of Liatris species. Liatris produce okay amounts of nectar but I don't believe it's ever collected in high enough quantities for it's only honey type. I find this strange though because I know honeybees love this plant, and there are defiantly fiends that are glowing with Liatris when they bloom. I suspect there's too much else flowering in the same fields when they are to narrow it down.

Some Early Blooming Trees

Of the four Native Plum Trees, Prunus americana, I have planted, this one seems to be flowering the best. Two others seen to be susceptible to biannual blooming which also happens in Apple trees, and I'm sure others as well. Generally the flowers from one year release a chemical that tells the tree to produce fewer of them next year. The solution is simply to remove half the buds and this should even things out. Whatever the case, it seems I won't be getting the crazy yields I got last year. The fourth tree had never been good at flowering and I might remove it entirely in favor of another Prunus species.

Viburnum trilobum, is called Highbush Cranberry, though it's not a cranberry at all; it's a viburnum. Apparently the berries to all viburnums are edible, but whether or not they're palatable is yet to be discovered. It seems this year I'm going to find out. My little plant here it only a knee high stick in the ground and yet it's flowering. I've had it for four years I think, and sadly had to transplant it once, and the spot it's in now isn't what I'd call ideal as it gets pretty dry and shady there. I'll have to take care of it some I think. V. trilobum is sold and marketed as an edible berry producing plant that "tastes good" but they also said that about Red Current, and frankly I don't find true Cranberries all that appealing to eat. Some of my friends are disgusted by Blueberries though so I guess it's all a matter of taste.

The Gooseberry Bushes, Ribes species, are also flowering too. An issue though is that these were sold to me as the cultivar 'Pixwell' which are supposed to be big and green to a red-brown color berries. But last year they produced tiny red pearl sized berries that were more like Red Current without some of the bitterness. I'm not sure what to call them but they're at least in the genus and I can eat them, so that's a plus.  

Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis, is budding now and will be flowering in a week or so. I love this tree. This was a sapling I got from the Arbor Day Foundation as a 10 pack with other trees too. It took about 4 years to start flowering for me and might be something to look into for those seeking ideas on celebrating Earth Day (April 22) this year.

A trait I love about Redbuds is that they eventually flower in random locations all along the trunk. And these go on to produce seed pods as the other flowers do as well. As the tree grows and gets a larger trunk, these flowering patches expand and in some cases the flowers almost look like a magenta lichen or moss growing up along the trunk. Most of the flowers do occur at growth points as seen in most other trees, but I always found this random flowering to be a striking feature.

The Plant List So Far

Unfortunately Prairie Moon Nursery seem to be sold out for the year. I'm assuming their greenhouse plugs must have been effected by the drought. They're still selling seeds but that's what I'm wanting to try this year. As they were one of my main sources for native plants I've been forced to look elsewhere, and I'm happy with the nursery that I found. Shooting Star Nursery seems to have a wide selection of woody shrubs I've been looking everywhere for. Wild Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, is a small tree with fragrant white flowers in the spring time. The berries are devoured by birds over the summer or they can be used to make jam. Doug Tallamy praises this plant more than any other for the abundance of Lepidoptera that use it which include the eastern Tiger Swallowtail. I've always seen these shrubs growing around the neighborhood but could never find anywhere that sells them.
Indigo Bush, Amorpha fruticosa, is a very uncommonly sold plant. It's a nitrogen fixer which is good for the soil and has very interesting looking flowers. It's a host plant to the Silver Spotted Skipper, the Southern Dogface Sulphur, the California Sulphur, the Gray Hairstreak, and Hoary Edge butterfly.
Paw Paw, Asimina triloba, is a native food plant that I've been trying to establish for a few years now. I have one sapling established and growing but I've read they don't really flower or produce fruit until they're around 10 years old. Worse yet I've read they either have to cross pollinate with anther tree or are self pollinating but benefit from a second tree around. Zebra Swallowtails use it as a host plant. I'm actually out of their range but so is a college up in northern New Jersey where I'm told a population of Zebra Swallowtails flies around the paw paw trees growing on campus there.
Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, is another native shrub I should plant more of. I've had one for a few years but it was planted in too dry of a location and wasn't expanding at all. Last year I moved it to a wetter location where it's established now and should start putting out more growth. It's the host plant of the Spicebush Swallowtail which I've found in my yard! However I don't think one shrub is enough for them to establish so I'm opting to plant more of them.
Wafer-ash, Ptelea trifoliata, is the host plant to the Giant Swallowtail. I've been so mistaken on the range of this butterfly because most of their host plants are in the citrus family, I would have never expected them to be found in Canada. Wafer Ash is also called Hoptree because it used to be used instead of Hops. The flowers in the spring time are fragrant and it's also a host plant to the eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
Prairie Willow, Salix humilis microphyllus. I'm not sure on the microphyllus subspecies but Salix humilis is one I've been looking everywhere for! This is one of the shortest growing shrugs of the willow family. They flower early in the year, bees love them, and they're a host plant to the Viceroy Butterfly.