Sourwood Tree

For a tree that delivers fall color in a spectacular manner, it is hard to top Oxydendrum arboreum (Sourwood Tree).  A native of the eastern U.S., this medium size (20-25 ft) deciduous tree has flowers in the summer with drooping white fragrant flowers in clusters.  In the spring as the new leaves emerge, they have a bronze tint and then turn green.  Then in the fall, the leaves turn red, orange and purple and this color combination can all be on the same tree.  Sourwood needs well drained soil and likes our acidic conditions.  It does not perform well where it has to compete with other plants and is not a good lawn tree.  Give Sourwood its’ own space and you will have year round interest as the bare branches in winter have a slight pendulous appearance and look great with a spot light from the ground showing the silhouette.  The photo shown here was taken one year ago at a garden where I first saw this tree ablaze with color.

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Begonia Bonfire

Here it is mid October and my basket of Begonia ‘Bonfire’ is still looking fantastic.  I planted this in May with three 4-inch pots of Begonia ‘Bonfire’.  There were some blooms on the plants when I bought them and they have continued blooming and have never been without flowers.  Even with the heat we had in August and September, they continued blooming.  This particular planter gets quite a bit of sun and there is no sun burning on the leaves.  Plus the plant continues to be a hummingbird magnet.  Next spring, if you are looking for a red flowering plant that will provide color all summer, consider this one.  I have had a basket of Begonia ‘Bonfire’ every year for past 4-5 years and I have never been disappointed.

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Fall into Gardening, OSU Clackamas County Master Gardeners

Clackamas County Master Gardeners present Fall into Gardening on Saturday, October 13, at the Milwaukie Center, 5440 SE Kellogg Creek Drive, Milwaukie.  The event begins at 9am and continues until 11:30am with free pH testing during this time and a series of classes.  The event is free and open to all.  If you are going to bring soil for pH testing, bring about one cup from 5-6 different locations in your garden with a notation on what plants are growing in each area.  When collecting the soil sample, bring soil dug from 5-6 inches deep as that is where the roots will be growing.  Bring each soil sample in a separate plastic bag.  

Class schedule:

9:00      Fall Vegetable Gardening
9:30      Making Your Own Soil
10:00    Terrific Turf – Growing a "Sustainable" Lawn
10:30    Putting Your Garden to Bed
11:00    Container Planting for Fall and Winter

All classes are free.

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Gossler Farms Nursery

On my program last Saturday (October 6), my guest Roger Gossler discussed the new catalog for Gossler Farms Nursery.  Gossler Farm Nursery is primarily known as a mail order company with an extensive listing of woody shrubs and trees, many of which are not well known and can be hard to find.  A plant I plan to try that was new to me and mentioned by Roger was Decaisnea fargesii, with lime green flowers in spring followed by blue pods.  This is a 10-12 ft shrub with long pinnate leaves which provide good yellow fall color.  He also mentioned Daphne ‘Jim’s Pride’ which has fragrant flowers opening in April and continuing through until about October.  The fragrance is not as strong as Daphne odora, but I think is easier to grow and makes a nice shrub.  You can order the new catalog by calling 541/746-3922.  They also have display gardens open for visitors on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays, other days by appointment.  Their address is 1200 Weaver Road, Springfield, OR.

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