New Harmony, Indiana, stages the Antique Show also known as the Golden Raintree festival each June when its “Gate Trees” are in bloom! William Maclure, scientist, philanthropist, and joint founder of the second “perfect society” there on the lower Wabash, fell in love with the golden rain tree on one of his world tours. In … Read more
When the George Landis Arboretum was started in 1951, they had three summers of extreme drought. The plantings, all young and susceptible, have served as a compact laboratory in which to observe the ability of many kinds of trees and shrubs to withstand dryness under field conditions. Practical Methods of Spotting Specimens At the same … Read more
No one could fairly call the shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) beautiful. It is a little on the rough-diamond side, with strong, often ungainly limbs that seem to have a variety of individual ideas on where or how to grow. coupled with a determination to carry them out. If shagbarks were human they would probably wear … Read more
Did you know that you can select apple trees to suit the size of your home grounds in much the same way you would choose a thoroughbred puppy? With dogs, the size at maturity goes according to breed, with fruit trees depending on rootstock. Apple Varieties: Rootstocks Apple varieties are grafted on many different rootstocks … Read more
If you could plant a tree in your yard, what tree would you plant, and where would you plant it? #1 – The Maidenhair Tree – Ginkgo biloba This fall, I (Mrs. Hopkins) must start ginkgo or maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) growing by my house—a ginkgo tree that will grow tall and straight and dapple … Read more
Shade trees for lawns or border streets are of major consideration to anyone developing a home landscape. With today’s architectural trend the ultimate size and contour of the selected trees assume added importance. Excellent Lawn Trees Thornless Honey Locust The thornless honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos inermis), possessing as it does many qualities admired in the … Read more
Standard-sized fruit trees are out of the question for many home yards because in time they take up too much space, and their tops cannot be reached with home spraying equipment. Dwarf Fruit Trees But dwarf fruit trees are another story. They are scaled at maturity to suburban properties, and their tallest branches are always … Read more
What is a tree, and what is a shrub? It’s impossible to draw an arbitrary line separating the two because some species fall into both classifications. Loosely, a shrub is a woody plant with three or more stems eventually growing to a height of not more than 10’ feet—some say 8’ feet. A tree has … Read more
Blueberries of a special brilliance, hardly approached by those of any other hardy plant, make the sapphire berry particularly well named. This display is at its best in many sections of the country in September, although it may start somewhat earlier in the southern states. The effect of a well-grown specimen, with its branchlets arching … Read more
One by one, our children have lost the simple, inexpensive pleasures of years gone by. Going nutting was one of these pleasures. Nothing gave the youth of an earlier day more delight than excursions to gather chestnuts, black walnuts, or hickory nuts. The loss of our countless chestnut trees through blight and the constant spread … Read more