Category: Friday puzzle

Friday puzzle: unhappy rhododendron

Today we have a diagnosis question. Consider this unhappy rhododendron:

While there is more than one problem with this poor thing, the one I’d like you to think about is why the newer leaves are smaller than the old leaves. (They are fully mature.) There are two parts to this question:

1) What is the physiological reason that the leaves are smaller? (In other words, what is directly causing this difference?)
2) Knowing this, what does this tell you about the underlying problem? (This is related to diagnosing what’s happening in the landscape that you could actually see if you knew where to look.)

I hope that’s not too confusing! I’ll monitor the blog over the weekend and add clarification if I need to.

Answer on Monday!

Mystery teeth revealed

Friday’s puzzle was tough!  Several of you were on the right track – this is a carnivorous plant. Right away Deb suggested a pitcher plant (then got sidetracked with chestnuts), but Derek was spot on with his guess of the “spiky bits” on a Nepenthes pitcher:

What the function of these spiky wings are is not clear to me; I did a little checking in the literature but failed to find anything convincing.  It does seem to suggest a close relationship with fly traps.  Perhaps the ancestral type was a fly trap type plant, which eventually evolved to an enclosed pitcher?  (Perhaps someone out there has a better grasp of carnivorous plant evolution than I do?)

And the scientific name?  Nepenthes alata, or “winged Nepenthes.”

Thanks for playing!

Friday mystery teeth

I’ve spent most of this afternoon at the NW Flower and Garden Show.  During my visit, I snapped a photo of this toothy plant part:

So the questions for today are….

What is this plant part?
What plant did it come from?
(And if you know its scientific name, that actually answers both questions at once.)

My husband is convinced this is too small a part of the plant for anyone to figure out the answesr.  I’m sure someone will prove him wrong!

Answer and a larger photo on Monday.

Tree teaser untwisted

Once again you had some great diagnoses!  The popular view was neglected staking material, and you were right:

Peter’s answer was my favorite (I love puns – the worse the better!).  Tom, I hestitate to ask about your previous experience here….

As usual, thanks to all of you for playing our quiz.  I’ll try to be better about doing this every Friday.  Our survey results indicated you like this feature a lot.

Friendly firs follow-up

Looks like I was too easy on you Friday!  Most of the you correctly noted that this “devil’s fork” is most likely the result of topping by a human or nature:

Devil's fork

Given that there are powerlines nearby, and more importantly a view to the water downhill, it’s likely that someone deliberately headed this Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) back.  On the other hand, this species will commonly lose branches, and often their leaders, in a windstorm.

In any case, a tree that’s been topped and not correctively maintained is an invitation to disaster, and indeed this tree has sent up numerous new leaders.  With the proximity of houses, roads, powerlines, etc., it’s a classic hazard tree.  It’s too late to train the tree to a single leader, and the best long-term strategy would be to remove it completely and replace it with a species more appropriate for tiny urban landscapes.

Landscape design – fatal flaw

So many great answers…so many problems with this landscape!  Everyone who made a comment was spot on in their reasoning.  And each of these flaws was completely preventable with good design.  But I’m not sure I would have been able to predict the problem that I now see every week at this location:

his area is the only access point for service vehicles of any persuasion. And sometimes they DO park on top of the planting strip.  Fred’s designation of these ground covers as “Stompus flatii” was perfect!

Lesson to be learned:  sometimes it’s best NOT to have planting strips if they clash with the realities of site use.

Friday quiz – landscape design

Down the street a ways from where we live is a relatively new condo complex wedged between a hill and the street.  A narrow planting strip separates the sidewalk from the street, as shown below:

The driveway at the top of the photo bisects the planting strip and dead ends in the parking area for the condos.  I have photoshopped this a bit, for reasons you’ll see on Monday.  But this is a true representation of the landscape.

I’d originally taken photos of this area for my ongoing “why trees die” collection (since all but one died within 2 years), but there’s something else wrong in this landscape related specifically to the design.  Can you figure out what it is?

Answers and more photos Monday!

Pampas unpuzzled

Great discussion and answers on this one, gang!  Yes indeed, this is a plant out of place – as several of you noted.  But not only has it escaped from an ornamental landscape, it’s decided to grow, quite happily, in the median strip of I-5:

Another odd thing is that the species has not been officially recognized as invasive in Washington State.  It’s been languishing on the “Monitor” weed list for at least two years.  Our climate is a bit chilly for it, which may be part of the reason it looks so bad right now.  We had a very cold week back in November which may have killed this specimen back to the crown.  But never fear.  New growth will emerge this spring.  (Note to Washington State weed control board – maybe it’s time to list this plant as invasive???)

Finally, I do believe this specimen was sprayed last spring, as Jimbo pointed out.  However, it recovered and was able to send up two seed heads…which I’m sure have lavishly sprinkled the surrounding soil.