Good answers from Kenny S., Jimbo, Joe Schalk and Diana! You were all skirting about the phenomenon of thigmomorphogenesis – or touch-induced change (also discussed in Jeff’s post of January 7. The tests in the GP’s class are cumulative!). In this case, the touch is wind. Edge trees (or corn stalks) are more exposed and receive more wind, resulting in stunted heights and increased trunk diameter (you can’t see this last characteristic in the Friday photo). … Continue reading this article “Short tree syndrome solved!”
Category: Diversions
Friday quiz time
Here’s an interesting phenomenon you can see in any group of plants – it’s what we call the edge effect:
Today’s question: why are the trees in the foreground so much shorter than those just a few feet farther from the edge? Answer on Monday!
Green mystery disk identified!
Initially I was disappointed that no one answered the question…then Paul W. emailed to say that the post wasn’t accepting comments. We’re not sure why that happened, but Paul and perhaps many of you knew this was part of the flower of Sarracenia flava – the yellow pitcher plant:
I think this is a stunning flower whose floral structure promotes cross-pollination. Insects crawl in between the long yellow petals and the green "umbrella" to enter the flower and reach the pollen:
Before they reach the anthers, however, their backs rub up against the stigma, which are five tiny points at the "spokes" of the umbrella. … Continue reading this article “Green mystery disk identified!”
Friday’s “disk of mystery”
What is this "green disk of mystery?" It’s about 2" in diameter:
Answer on Monday – have a great weekend!
Friday puzzle untangled
A few of you bravely hazarded guesses about this plant, and while it is a contorted specimen, it’s actually Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’, otherwise known as Camperdown elm. Here’s a photo of a lovely example at Marymoor Park near Seattle:
As plant geeks already know, this odd tree was propagated from a mutant branch discovered on the Earl of Camperdown’s estate in Scotland in the 1800s. All Camperdown elms are grown from cuttings originating from this single tree grafted onto a Ulmus spp.… Continue reading this article “Friday puzzle untangled”
Friday puzzlement
On a recent spring day, I photographed this Medusa-like structure:
But rather than snakes, these are branches – and they are typical of a particular type of tree commonly used in landscapes. What is it?
Answer and fun facts on Monday!
A Dangerous Game
Every once in awhile I become infatuated with some idea and can’t stop for looking for information on it. It usually starts when I want to find a good quote for a particular article or column that I’m writing and then ends up swallowing two or three days. Well, it happened to me again yesterday and spilled over into today. I’m currently finishing up a project with an old friend of mine from college who happens to be a political science professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. … Continue reading this article “A Dangerous Game”
Friday geography answer
As several of our astute readers knew, the photo from Friday was taken on the west coast of the Salton Sea in California. Specifically, it’s at Salton Sea Beach, a nearly deserted region that I managed to make more picturesque through careful photography. Here’s another picture of the same beach:
There were few plants at Salton Sea Beach – a palm tree here and there – and only a few waterfowl like these pelicans:
The Salton Sea is really the Salton Sink – it’s a low area that has occasionally and naturally filled with water. … Continue reading this article “Friday geography answer”
Friday geography quiz!
Like last week’s, today’s quiz is a little different. (I haven’t forgotten about last week’s question – just haven’t gotten a good answer yet! Never fear!) In any case, you know I spent some time in Palm Desert CA last week. On one of our day trips, I took the following picture (we are looking east):
So here’s the question: where are we? (It was a day trip, so not terribly far from Palm Desert.) You can ask questions that I may or may not answer. … Continue reading this article “Friday geography quiz!”
Oh, Deer…
More from our Ornamental Plant Production class tour across the state. One of our stops was James River Nurseries, Inc. Owner Mike Hildebrand has a built a unique and diverse business – they not only grow but do landscape design-build-install, all in the huge market of central and northern Virginia and beyond.
Here’s some arborvitae that spent the past few weeks at one of their job sites north of Richmond, waiting to be planting. They’re now back at the nursery. … Continue reading this article “Oh, Deer…”