Grandfather Clause, Ginkgo bilboa

I am often talking to a customer at our booth at a market or at the nursery who may be browsing at some of our small trees when they say, "Its no use for me to plant one of those, I would never live long enough to see it get very large". I have heard that more than once and it really has gotten to the point it angers me. First thinking you will die before you would ever be able to enjoy something is not very positive thinking. Second it is very selfish to think of planting a tree where you are the only one to benefit from it. That selfishness really describes many things about our society of recent years, "I want mine, the rest of you be"damned".

Long before humans walked the earth trees were growing. Ginkgo biloba fossils can be found in the fossil record for millions of years. While now it has no close relatives and is only native to China, fossils have been found in North Carolina in such places as the Solite Quarry on the North Carolina-Virginia border. The trees are capable of living for hundreds even a few thousand years. It's branches have almost perfect symmetry. It has a good central leader naturally. The leathery parasol shaped leaves turn a beautiful yellow color in the fall. Most years all leaves drop all at once. The trees are very durable of coure having been on the earth as long as they have. And once they get established and reach head high they bolt to the sky. Ginkgo has in recent years became popular in herbal supplements to treat illnesses such as Alzheimers.

As humans while we cannot control what nature does, we still must continue living. And someone will come after us. I hope those who follow dont look back at us and think of us as the lazy predecessors that would not take five minutes of our lives to plant something they could enjoy with reverence. Plant a tree, you will enjoy it also. And I suppose with millions of years of fossils as evidence, Ginkgo qualifies as native under the "Grandfather" clause.

Fall Foliage Interest

A few years back I wrote about propagating Oak Leaf Hydrangea from seed with success. Since then I have even taken cuttings of some of my seedlings. Many of the seedlings have finished growing out of three gallon containers and are now in many of my customers landscape.

Decidous flowering shrubs have a hard acceptance. Many are beautiful when they bloom in the spring or summer for a few weeks but it takes something special for one of them to reach "Rock Star" status in the plant lovers world. Oak Leaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia is one that has reached that status for some and should be for more folks. Oak Leaf Hydrangea comes as close as a year interest plant as any deciduous shrub. Besides the large elongated white blooms in late spring and early summer fall is a season that the shrub shines as much if not more. The leathery foliage turns shades of garnet with sometimes a hint of scarlet or orange mixed in. With its thick leaves the color and leaves often last on the shrub until January. A southeastern native, Oak Leaf Hydrangea is hardy throughout the South and cold hardy throughout much of the Midwest and the Northeast. Here in North Carolina it can tolerate full sun through most of the day but is better with a half day of sun and shade. Which time of day it receives either exposure does not seem to matter. They can also be happy in almost full shade. If you have never given Oak Leaf Hydrangea a try let me convince you more.