creep over the woodland floor, sending up four-inch stems at
lax intervals, each with several spikes packed tightly with
needle-like leaves.
_complanatum_--ground cedar--The stems trail faster and
more sturdily, the erect branches dividing and spreading out to
a lacy green fan.
_lucidulum_--shining club moss--Trailing stems turn upright
at the tips and are covered completely with glassy, dark-green
“needles.”
_obscurum_--ground pine--Christmas trees in miniature about
six inches tall and popping up from stems that creep about
underground.
CARE. Rich, woodsy soil, not especially acid. Shade, moist.
PROPAGATION. Cuttings. Division of roots at joints.
SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, ground cover.
=Mitchella repens= _Rubiaceae_ Partridgeberry
This native creeper bears the popular partridgeberries widely used to
fill “Partridge Bowls” at Christmastime. It has glassy green leaves
which are close to the ground with the berries beneath them. In the
springtime it has fragrant, fuzzy white flowers. (Note to those who
hunt the berries in the woods: pick from the tallest plants and do not
tear up the roots.)
CARE. Rich woodsy soil, not especially acid. Drainage. Shade. Cut back
to encourage branching. Transplants easily.
PROPAGATION. Divide rooting stems.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, terrariums, woodland gardens.
=Mitella= _Saxifragaceae_ Bishop’s Cap
For shady rock and wild gardens here is a saxifrage-like plant with
mounds of heart-shaped leaves and spires of finely fringed flowers on
tall stems.
_breweri_--Pacific Coast native with deep-green leaves and
whiskery yellow-green flowers (in May and June).
_caulescens_--Also from the Pacific Coast. More dainty, and
more difficult.
_diphylla_--East Coast native with eight-inch flower spikes
on taller stems. White flowers (in April and May).
CARE. Rich woodsy soil. Drainage, shade.
PROPAGATION. Seeds.
SPECIAL USES. Rock and wild gardens.
[Illustration:
Garden in the landscape in the finest tradition--it features
_Azalea macrantha basaminæflora_, _Juniperus
radicans_, and Calluna County Wicklow. (_Atlantic Avenue
Nursery, Inc._)]
=Podophyllum peltatum= _Berberidaceae_ May Apple
The May apple, a native of much of the country, is actually too large
for most small wild gardens, but find a place for it if possible. In
spring it is fascinating to watch the stumpy stems push up through the
ground and the foliage slowly unfold to wide flat leaves. Then come
gold-centered white flowers and finally the “apple” in chartreuse and
nearly two inches long. (It is edible only when fully ripe.)
CARE. Rich woodsy soil. Shade, or partial shade.
PROPAGATION. Root division.
SPECIAL USES. Wild-garden planting.
* * * * *
_(Additional plant listings suitable for woodland gardens can be
found in Chapter 15.)_
_CHAPTER 14_
MINIATURE TREES AND SHRUBS
There’s a chamaecyparis that forms a fluffy, green two-inch ball
by the time it’s seven years old; a cone-shaped Norway spruce that
rarely grows more than twelve inches tall; a one-foot rhododendron
with deep-crimson trumpet flowers; a nonfruiting viburnum that makes a
two-foot globe tightly packed with ivy-like leaves. There are junipers
that form plush carpets; ericaceous evergreens with neat mounds of
twinkling flowers over shiny teardrop leaves; deciduous shrubs with
golden blooms, seeds in silky pea pods, and green stems that look leafy
the year round.
That is just a tantalizing hint of the fantastic variety of little
trees and shrubs, and how they can steal the show in the garden. We
have three magnificent pines on Pine Tree Road (it may have been named
for them) but our guests are more likely to comment about the starry
cushions of _Leiophyllum buxifolium_ beside the front walk. We dug
and lugged tons of rock to make beds for our favorite roses, but the
small edging plants draw more attention. When the rock garden is a mass
of flamboyant spring color, we’ll be asked the name of a heather that’s
not even in flower, or the juniper (_Juniperus procumbens nana_)
two inches high that spreads like velvet over a rock.
There are miniatures among all types of trees and shrubs--deciduous
and evergreen, broad-leaved and needle-leaved. Those described in this
chapter are almost all three feet tall or less at maturity, or are so
extremely slow-growing they seldom top that height in twenty years. In
just a few cases, slightly taller varieties are included, which can be
kept to three feet or less with a little pruning. Some low types are
omitted because they spread too rambunctiously to be called miniatures
or to be suitable for small gardens.
These limitations automatically exclude the small, flowering trees and
shrubs, and dwarf fruit trees, that are part of the over-all landscape
plan for small grounds. They’re not really miniature garden items, but
background features around which miniature gardens are planned.
We’ve thought of a dozen different ways to use the really midget trees
and shrubs, and I imagine there must be dozens more. We have a colony
of tiny rhododendrons blooming at the base of a boulder, and another
near an old stump at the edge of the woods. Several sprawly evergreens
and some precious ericaceous gems adorn the rock garden and spots near
the front terrace.
There are plenty of miniature shrubs of varying heights, foliage,
colors and textures, and flowering times to compose a small shrubbery
border, with tiny bulbs to plant along the edge. Small trees and shrubs
can be used as background for mixed borders of small annuals and
perennials; evergreens can make a setting for miniature rose gardens.
Almost any small pool, wall, raised bed, or set of steps provides a
place to plant the right tree or shrub. And, of course, these are
perfect plants for sink and trough gardens, bonsai work, or even for
indoor forcing in the greenhouse.
If you can’t find the varieties you want at your local nursery, you
can order them by mail from reliable suppliers. Either way, plants
that have been transplanted regularly by the grower develop a compact
system of fibrous roots rather than a few long straggly tap-like roots,
will take hold faster and transplant easier, will fit into your garden
quicker. All that will make you a happier gardener.
Don’t be surprised if miniature trees and shrubs cost more than the
regular varieties of the same name. The little fellows take much longer
to reach that size, and require more costly care. Many of them are
difficult to propagate, some even have to be grown from seed.
Your first thought in selecting a miniature tree or shrub, of course,
is the decorative effect it is planned to achieve--whether it should
be formally upright and symmetrical, or irregularly shaped and
naturalistic; whether it is to act as an accent or specimen, or as a
background or blender. Consider the texture of the foliage, the time
and manner of flowering, whether the colors will fight with others in
the garden. Plant deciduous types where they won’t be an eyesore in
winter, or select one with an attractive winter habit and appearance.
Make sure the plant and all its parts are in scale with the setting and
with other plants.
Once you decide that a variety will look right in your garden, make
sure it will also grow right. A plant that needs full sun will not
flower in a shady spot. Acid-loving plants will not flourish in
alkaline soil. Those that like their roots kept cool and moist will
wither where it is hot and dry. Watch for unfavorable factors such
as high walls, drip from overhanging eaves, low, muggy spots where
there is little circulation of fresh air. If the plant requires a lot
of pruning, training, and spraying, make sure you have the time to
take care of its well-being. A healthy, easy-to-care-for barberry is
infinitely more ornamental than a glamorous shrub struggling to stay
alive.
HARDINESS
The main factor that determines whether a plant will live through the
winter in your garden (and it is a factor you can’t control) is minimum
winter temperature. This is the basis for the newest (1960) Plant
Hardiness Zone Map issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Other
uncontrollable factors include: How long the low temperature will last;
how early and suddenly a freak freeze occurs; whether or not winter
provides a beneficial blanket of continuous snow; whether there are
punishing gales with driving sleet and encrusting ice.
But even in severe areas, or with plants of questionable hardiness,
there are some ways we can increase the odds against winter-kill.
Selection of suitable varieties, careful planting in favorable
locations (never in low “pockets” where frost settles, or where
water collects around roots under eaves or around walls), careful
fertilizing, winter protection, prevention of attacks by insects and
disease--all of the cultural principles that promote healthy, thriving
growth, will help to increase winter hardiness. In other words, “The
combined effects of all (climatic and cultural) factors determine the
true plant adaptability.”
Actually, true hardiness means more than mere winter survival. A tree
or shrub is hardy when it can live through many years to maturity,
and when it not only survives but develops normally and completes its
annual growth cycle. For example, in some sections, very late or very
early frosts will kill flower buds on some varieties. Trees and shrubs
that require a period of winter dormancy are not hardy in Florida,
where there is no protracted cold period. In arid areas where summers
are extremely hot, dry, and windy, hardiness may depend on how much
time you have to spare for special care.
If you would avoid disappointment, especially with rather expensive
miniature trees and shrubs, buy the strongest, healthiest plants of the
varieties most suitable to your climate, and do all you can to satisfy
each individual’s cultural needs. Thus, unfavorable weather has two
strikes against it from the start.
PLANTING AND CARE
No matter how careful we are, fall planting is seldom successful for
us in Connecticut. But in spring planting it seems as if we can’t
miss. Once we were given a dozen ornamental shrubs--named varieties of
virburnum, lilac, and two of the supposedly tricky caryopteris--whose
bare roots had been out of the ground for several weeks. The
caryopteris and one invincible lilac even flowered that year!
In early spring, just before they awaken from dormancy (or a little
later when new growth and buds are starting to show), woody plants
have more vitality than at any other time of the year. Vigorous
new roots grow faster. And the plants have a full growing season
to get established before winter sets in. We start planting the
minute the soil dries enough to be workable, sometimes as early as
March. Of course, spring-flowering varieties are safest if they are
container-grown or balled and burlapped.
Early fall planting is fine for milder climates--from the time the
season’s growth has matured on evergreens, or when deciduous varieties
begin to drop their leaves, until the ground freezes. Except for
container-grown plants, winter planting is usually recommended for the
South, when the plants are as nearly dormant as possible.
Bare-root plants (risky for evergreens) should be kept moist until they
are put into the ground. Thoroughly soak the roots, and even the stems,
in a bucket of water. The roots and soil of balled and burlapped plants
should also be kept moist. Either way, protect the transplants against
wind and sun until they’re set out.
Dig a planting hole wide enough for the roots to spread out in without
bending or crowding, with an extra six inches of loosened soil in the
bottom for them to penetrate. This is the time to check on drainage,
one of the most important factors in plant survival. Run some water in
the hole--enough to fill it. If the water seeps away fairly fast, the
drainage is probably good. If it remains for any length of time, you’d
better dig much deeper and remove the subsoil. Fill in with sharp sand
or fine gravel for about six inches.
Enrich or condition the topsoil that you dug out, before you replace
it around the roots. Set trees and shrubs at the same level they
were growing in the nursery, never more than an inch or so deeper.
The burlap around a soil ball doesn’t need to be loosened. It will
rot away rather quickly. Fill in around the roots until the hole is
three-fourths full; flood with water to settle soil in any air pockets;
let it drain; and finish filling the hole until it is just level with
the surface, but don’t mound it up. A raised ridge around the edge of
the hole will form a saucer to hold water until it runs down to the
roots. Water again, slowly and thoroughly, so that the soil in the hole
and some of the surrounding area is thoroughly saturated.
A newly planted tree or shrub is likely to wilt in sun or dry wind
unless you provide some temporary shelter or shading. This is rather
simple to do. An upturned basket over a small shrub, or a screen of
light cheesecloth, or an old window curtain, or a piece of burlap
suspended on stakes will suffice.
_Soil_
What you do to enrich or condition topsoil depends on the existing
soil, and on each plant’s individual preferences. Add sharp sand to
heavy, clay-like soil to improve the drainage. If you have extra-sandy
soil, add moisture-holding peat or leaf mold. Almost any soil is
improved by mixing in liberal amounts of organic matter such as leaf
mold or well-rotted manure. We seldom add fertilizer for miniature
trees and shrubs.
If your soil is alkaline, and you are planting acid-loving varieties,
use liberal quantities of well-rotted cow manure, acid peat, or
woodsy soil from under pine, beech, or oak trees. To neutralize, or
alkalinize, acid soil, use horticultural lime.
_Watering and Mulching_
Transplanted trees and shrubs should be watered with extra care during
their first growing season. Soil should be kept moist constantly,
but not muddy, to the full depth of the roots. Don’t rely on light
rains that moisten only the surface. During hot, dry periods, spray
the foliage with the garden hose as often as possible. A light, airy
mulch--buckwheat hulls, crushed sugar cane, or something similar--will
help keep the soil from drying out and keep it cooler, too.
Established trees and shrubs are kept moist during the spring and
summer growing seasons. But in August and September, when the year’s
new growth is maturing and hardening for the winter, less watering is
needed. Resume watering in October, and keep it up until the ground
freezes. It is particularly vital that evergreens--both needle-leaved
and broad-leaved--should never go into winter with dry soil about the
roots.
_Fertilizing_
Feeding miniature plants too heavily sometimes can cause them to
outgrow miniature size. Actually, they don’t need a rich diet. An
annual top-dressing of well-rotted, or dried, cow manure, or a
light sprinkling of balanced commercial fertilizer, in early spring
is usually sufficient. Fertilizing in late summer or early fall
dangerously promotes soft new growth that is susceptible to winter
damage.
_Pruning_
Most miniature trees and shrubs are best when allowed to keep their
natural habits and shapes, and pruned as little as possible. Of course,
damaged or broken branches should be cut away at planting time, or at
the end of the winter. Unwanted suckers, and any growth that is out of
line, ungainly, or unattractive can be removed at any time. Any other
pruning should be done in earliest spring before new leaves appear.
There is one exception. Spring-flowering varieties that bloom on last
year’s wood are pruned immediately after flowering. Fall pruning of any
type can stimulate new growth that may winter-kill.
Some evergreens, for example the mugho pine, are encouraged to branch
and keep more compact by breaking off half of the partially matured
“candles” at the ends of the branches. Evergreen or deciduous shrubs
sometimes are grown in formal shapes and, like hedges, trimmed
regularly in spring and summer.
Some summer-and fall-flowering shrubs, referred to as “cut-back” or
“die-back” types, are perfectly root-hardy although the tops are likely
to be partly, or completely, killed by winter. But they make new growth
each spring on which normal flowers and fruit are produced. Some of
these may grow too tall and awkward when the branches are killed back
only part way. To keep them small and shapely, cut all stems back to
mere stubs in earliest spring.
_Insects and Diseases_
We’ve never had to hover over our garden constantly with duster and
spray gun, and I hope we never will. It’s a dull, tiresome, unrewarding
occupation--confusing and frustrating, too. There are so many different
kinds of pests, with so many different habits, appetites, and life
cycles, infesting so many different types of plants in so many
different ways, that only an expert such as the county agricultural
agent, or “plant-doctor” Cynthia Westcott, can keep them straight. And
even Miss Westcott asks, “Is this spray necessary?”
Don’t misunderstand. We do have pests and diseases on our garden
plants; and we do fight them; and we’ve been known to mutter about the
injustice of it all. But we try not to let them take all of the joy out
of summer gardening.
Two or three times during the growing season we fill the tank of the
small pressure sprayer with a solution of “all-purpose” garden spray.
Everything in the garden gets the treatment, including shrubs and trees
we can reach without a tall ladder.
We also wage annual war against a few familiar enemies as soon as they
appear. In February we cut off twigs encircled by the brownish egg
bands of tent caterpillars. When the nests appear in spring we wipe
them out with rags or crumpled paper and spray the surrounding area
with DDT. When cankerworms are all over the place (as they were in the
spring of 1961), DDT protects the foliage of small plants, particularly
our precious miniature trees and shrubs. We discovered we couldn’t
possibly cope with the gigantic shade trees of the woods.
We have very few Japanese beetles since we started grub-proofing all
cultivated land. Any time after the ground thaws in spring, and through
October, we spray or dust with chlordane. Five pounds of 5 per cent
chlordane dust will treat a thousand square feet, can be bought for
about two dollars, and can be applied in an hour with a good-sized
duster. This treatment is effective for three years. The few beetles
that start working over the roses in midsummer quickly succumb to DDT.
The infrequent appearances of aphids are met with a dousing of nicotine
sulfate solution, and the same treatment is used for some kinds of
scale, although others require dormant oil spray. During one very hot
summer, mites yellowed some of our evergreens. Aramite, used faithfully
according to label directions, routed them. We do keep either sulfur
or Karathane on hand to combat mildew on plants such as roses where it
really matters. For any more complicated or unidentifiable problems, we
rely on the advice of our friendly county agent and his staff.
_Winter Protection_
Newly transplanted or very young trees and shrubs--or any of
questionable hardiness--need special protection against winter
severities. Our favorite method for small specimens is to pack salt
hay or leaves around them loosely and put an upturned basket on top.
Somewhat taller shrubs may be encircled with evergreen branches, the
ends being stuck in the ground and tied together over the tops. For
groupings of shrubs, we put a burlap barrier on the windward side,
especially for tender types, and sometimes make a tent of sorts.
Evergreens planted where the late winter sun might burn them need shade
of some sort--a lathed frame, snow fence, or the like.
PROPAGATING MINIATURE TREES AND SHRUBS
This is one of my favorite addictions. I can’t resist planting any
seeds that come my way, can’t bear to discard an evergreen or a broken
branch of cotoneaster, can’t resist the impulse to root cuttings. As a
result, our rather small nursery bed is closely populated with small,
young shrubs and trees of all kinds. I doubt that we’ll ever find space
to plant them once they’re grown; and I imagine I could be rather
popular could I ever bring myself to give them away.
Propagating trees and shrubs is predominantly a trial-and-error
proposition because each variety has its own preferred method of
reproducing itself. Some are difficult to raise from seeds, some won’t
propagate any other way; some root readily from cuttings, some take
three years; some are amenable to layering, others are not. For me this
guesswork is a good thing. If _all_ my seeds and cuttings took
root and grew into bushes and trees, there’d be no challenge, no fun,
and no place to put them.
We always keep a propagating box handy--a shallow box or flat with
sides and top of glass or polyethylene. In summer it rests under a
tree; in winter it may be on an unheated porch, in the cold frame, or
in the greenhouse. The propagating medium may be Pelonex or perlite;
a three-way mixture of peat, vermiculite, and perlite; half-and-half
sterilized leaf mold and sharp sand (peat packs too hard for me); or
clean sharp sand alone. The medium is kept constantly moist but not
soggy and is never allowed to dry out. Cuttings are inserted in rows,
and removed for potting as soon as the roots are an inch or so long.
Sometimes seed is sown in part of the box, or we may rig up a second
box when we have a goodly number to plant. The glass, or plastic, sides
and top preserve moisture and keep the air humid.
_Seeds_
Most types of shrubs and trees are rather slow to grow to maturity
from seed. And seeds of miniatures produce all-miniature seedlings
only when the seed-bearing parents are natural species with natural
miniature characteristics. Small varieties of larger species, “sports”
or mutations, can’t always be counted on to produce small offspring.
Seeds vary in the time they take to germinate (three weeks to three
years, depending on the plant) and in germination requirements. Some
need warmth, some cool temperatures, some darkness, some light. And
some need a period of dormancy or “after-ripening” before they are
planted. In a process of “stratification” seeds are stored in moist
sand for several months, usually at about 40 degrees or slightly less.
However, some types (cedar, mugho pine) need to be frozen; a few others
are stratified in warmth. Some seeds that you buy have already been
stratified. The package will tell you so.
Fleshy seeds, such as chestnuts, are usually planted as soon as they
ripen and fall. When seeds are covered with a fruity coat, like holly
berries, for example, the berry should be soaked in water for a few
days until the seeds can be squeezed free of the pulp. Hard-coated
seeds need to be gently cracked, or nicked, to hasten germination,
and can be sown outdoors in the fall to germinate the following
spring, or even the spring after that. Most winged seeds of conifers
need to be stratified (remove the wings) in moist sand all winter at
35 to 40 degrees and are planted in the spring. Fine seeds, as for
rhododendrons, can be harvested from the split pods in fall and stored
cool and dry until spring.
These are, of course, generalizations. When I am in doubt about how to
handle seeds, and if my reference books don’t give me the information I
need, I plant them several different ways. It is surprising how often
they’ll germinate, regardless of method.
There is, of course, one inviolable rule about planting seeds of any
sort--the planting medium should never dry out from the moment of
planting, through germination and up to transplanting time.
_Softwood Cuttings_