Paulownia Obsession

Paulownia tomentosa

It think it must have been at least fifteen years ago that I first glimpsed a remarkable tree called Royal Paulownia, or Empress Tree.  I have been chasing Paulownia tomentosa ever since.  It's a rather tropical looking thing, sometimes with very large leaves, preceded by clusters of large blooms in the spring as it leafs out.  

Kentville, NS

 I was amazed and pleased to see it growing here in Nova Scotia a few years ago... at the Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal.  (Check out the Historic Gardens Blog here and here for more on this.)  As you see from the photos below, it started out small but grew quickly.  

Annapolis Royal 2003

Annapolis Royal 2004

 Its hardiness I had wondered about, and even when I saw this one growing at the other end of the Annapolis Valley, I wondered if it would ever bloom.  The flower buds are formed in the fall, and stick out precariously all winter through the cold and wind. I managed to start my own plants from seed, in 2008.  I wintered three little twigs that survived in my living room windowsill.  

Spring 2009

Spring 2009

  In early spring I moved them to the greenhouse just in time for them to bud out and flourish!  They got planted in the ground, and two of them did very well.

Summer 2009

This one, at the house, did not survive the next winter!  The one at the cottage did, and keeps on keeping on.  It is just leafing out now. Don't have a photo yet of that.  It is still only a foot and a half high.  I'm waiting for its growth spurt.  They are known for a couple metres of growth a season, when young.  But mine does not yet look like these below, which I sought out a few years ago in Quebec.

Botanical Gardens, Montreal

 So yesterday I took some shots in Kentville, where a few Paulownia trees are flourishing, and blooming well.

 It was not a great day for photography (for this photographer, at least), but here are the images. 

I have also seen a young specimen blooming in Wolfville.  Paulownia was brought to North America from the Orient, and is a very weedy tree in many parts the USA.  It seeds and grows quickly all over the place, and can be a real problem.  I prefer to expect this beautiful species will not be weedy here.  

The two photos at the start of this post were also taken at the Community College campus yesterday.  I can hardly wait until the year my own specimen blooms at the Cottage! 

Papyrus Propagation

Since we are enjoying some rainy days outside, I thought I'd post about a little indoor plant.  A couple months ago I was visiting someone at his workplace, and noticed a large papyrus plant growing by a desk.  I remembered how, years before, I'd been shown how to take a cutting and start one of my own... so I asked my colleague for a piece of the plant, to try again.  

     It is simply a matter of taking one of the umbrella-like ends, with a bit of stem, and trimming the leaves by about half.  I also trimmed off the floral/seed structures that were growing from this 'branch.'

Cyperus alternifolius

And yes, put it upside-down in a glass of water.  After a while, roots will appear, and little green buds for stems.  This is one of two papyrus species I see grown here in Nova Scotia.  Both need a home indoors to survive the winter.  This one is sometimes called Umbrella Plant.

I neglected to keep track of how long it took to root.  I think I got this cutting in mid-February, so it took about two months to get rooted to this stage.

April 19

 Once it starts to root and sprout, pot it up and keep it very moist.  

April 19

Below you see the little plant now, looking quite happy.  I'm glad we're off to a good start!  I will likely pot this up in a bigger container soon and let it flourish outside on the deck for the summer.

May 29

 Good luck with your own propagating projects.

Pulpit Plants

Long before I aspired to be a preacher, I loved Jack-in-the-Pulpit.  One of the first plants I collected from a narby streamside and planted at home was this.  I see I still have some in my garden at the Cottage.  I think I actually brought this clump from my parent's house a few years ago, so it might be part of those first plants I dug when I was about twelve.

Arisaema triphyllum

In recent years, I have discovered there are many species of Arisaema.  A few years ago I ordered this one (below) in the mail, and as I recall, it was not supposed to like this zone very well, so I intended to dig it up each winter.  I never have.  It still lives... and blooms!

Arisaema griffithii?

I enjoy this exotic critter, so I ordered some seeds this year for other "Jack-in-the-Pulpits":  Arisaema consanguineum, A. ciliatum liubaense, and A. flavum.  The seeds are planted; wish me luck in raising them to adulthood!  

    A. griffithii is dwarfed by a healthy clump of Lords and Ladies.  See A. g. at the bottom of the photo below?  Lords and Ladies (Arum italicum) is another Aroid, Ariods being members of the Araceae  family of plants.  These are know for their interesting floral structures: a spathe (like a leafy petal) surrounding a spadix (a rod with the little flowers on it).

No blooms yet on the Lords and Ladies.  (I'll watch for them, you can be sure.)  And at it's feet is another Aroid: a wee patch of Mouse Plant leafing out.  No sign of blooms yet, which will be cute little mousey things, even with tails.

Arisarum proboscideum

These are my 'pulpit plants,' a little Aroid collection, which I hope will keep growing and prospering.  

     Now, I can't resist a few extra shots, a little coda to today's post...

Cypripedium reginae - Showy Lady's Slipper

Geranium phaeum

The first rose of 'summer' - Rosa 'Therese Bugnet'

Wordless Wednesday: Lilac Season

Trillium luteum? 

Trillium grandiflorum

Junebugs galore!

Centaurea montana 'Amethyst in Snow'

Allium ___

Scilla hispanica, Spanish Bluebells

Giant Water Bug

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - May '12

Primula and Veronica umbrosa (and Lamium, if you look hard enough)

What a difference a month makes.  GBBD in May in Nova Scotia is certainly diverse, compared with April.  Here is a gallery of the latest bloomers.

Anemone blanda - Windflower

Vaccinium corymbosum - High Bush Blueberry

Lamium galeobdolon - Yellow Archangel

Alchemilla mollis - Lady's Mantle

Ccaenomeles speciosa - Flowering Quince and Viola tricolor - Johnny-jump-up

Trillium erectum

My Cottage garden borders the Minas Basin, a salt water bay.  There, I find things are a week later blooming and progressing than just just five kms inland, or deeper into the Annapolis Valley.  The Flowering Crab Apple below, for instance, barely has a couple blossoms opened.  At our house, in Hants County, such flowers are fully out now.  

Malus hybrid - Crabapple

Ribes aureum - Golden Currant

Pulmonaria officinalis - Mary & Joseph

Rhododendron hybrid

Viola sororia 'Freckles'

Asarum europaeum - European Ginger

There are a few other things in bloom just now at the Cottage that are not pictured here:  the Magnolia, a perennial Geranium, Japanese Barberry, Grape Hyacinths, and the last fading bits of Forsythia.  

     O Yes... and don't forget that it is Dandelion season!  Some hate them in the lawn; I only attack them in the flower beds.

Taraxacum officinale

May all your weeds be weak, and your perennials profuse!