Plant Lovers’ Almanac: Enjoy autumn as it slowly unfolds
Fall colors begin their two-month dominance, from the deepening reds of panicled hydrangeas and purpled rose of Sharon at Secrest Arboretum to the pale pastels of the yellow wild impatiens along the County Line Trail near Rittman. In Wadsworth, kousa dogwoods sport their strawberry-colored knobby round fruits, on the tree and strewn on the ground, a bumper crop.
Along a backroad near Wadsworth, old field succession, a topic I loved as an undergraduate when we did detailed vegetation analysis of small plots at Ohio University, copious goldenrod is paired with the unwelcome invasion of uncountable Callery pear invasive trees. Veils of snowy white clematis adorn both city gardens and hiking trails. And, of course, I notice plant diseases: from elm black spot to Guignardia leaf blotch and blight on horse chestnut.
Forsythia with love
On my afternoon walk at Secrest Arboretum recently I came upon a horticultural curiosity: forsythia blooming along with the start of fall foliage color. Of course, we know of forsythia for its cheery yellow springtime blooms, but in some years it will throw out a few out-of-season blooms, and so it did along with purpling September foliage. Not only on standard forsythia, but on the unusual green-stemmed Korean forsythia, Forsythia viridissima var. koreana ‘Kumson,’ with its attractive net-veined foliage. Glorious.
Forsythias are Asian natives brought back to Europe and England by plant explorers. It is named for William Forsyth, a Scottish botanist. It is in the olive family (Oleaceae) and when first discovered was thought to be a type of lilac (Syringa), another genus in the Oleaceae. Like lilacs and other cousins, such as privet and fringetree, forsythia has four petals. Remember: do not prune forsythia now except if it is growing where it causes a problem or if it is damaged or diseased. It flowers on current season’s growth, so if you prune now, you will prune off the flower buds. Best pruning; July.
After admiring this surprise of the walk, I just had to call Kenny Cochran, former curator of Secrest. He lives in Florida now and it is great to talk to him while rambling through the Arb. He was in good spirits. We chatted about the forsythia, about the electric purple ironweeds that are finishing their season of bloom, which delighted Kenny who had not seen it in years. He is still very active horticulturally, recently touring Disney properties where one of his students at OSU’s Agricultural Technical Institute heads the grounds department. And, yes, we did share our thoughts of the Sept. 16, 2010, tornado that felled over 1,500 large trees at Secrest. Now he dodges hurricanes.
Cleveland Guardeners
Many Cleveland baseball fans wondered a bit at their name change to the Guardians, though tradition-bound naysayers are fading with the ascent of the team’s fortunes in 2022. I like the name change for several reasons. First, I agree with manager Terry Francona, who was clear that it was the right thing for the organization to do from a social justice point of view. It started with the retirement of the Chief Wahoo caricature and now the name. Second, my 3-year-old grandson is a great lover of cars and trucks and construction vehicles, so what could be better than the 1932 art-deco Guardian of Traffic and Transportation figures. Like the statues, he holds his favorite vehicles upright for praise, as do the Guardians.
Third, the stylistic retention of “dians” in the signature of the team name was genius. Fourth, the team’s speedy young players on the base paths are channeling the wings of the Hermes/Mercury gods that the Guardian statues resemble — what a symbol of this team’s strengths. Finally, and after the most important first reason this is my new favorite: It lends itself to a horticultural referent: the “Guardeners” of Cleveland, and instead of the connection of the Argonaut statue over the river Anduin in “The Lord of the Rings,” it could just as well be the tree-like Arbonauts. On the Hope Memorial Bridge, Guardeners of the World Unite!
Name that tree
Merrill Groom, an engineer at Kent State University, recently posed a tree question for the Almanac: He wants to line the front of his property with “some variety of tree but the dilemma is the power lines above and speeding motorists.” His hope is the trees do not exceed 40 feet in height.
So, I pondered, phoned some friends, asked some experts, convened an after-hours group at Giuseppe’s Wine Cellar in Amherst, and reviewed Michael Dirr’s “The Tree Book.” Here are a few suggestions:
Both Mark Hoenigman of Busy Bee Services and Mark Herveck of the city of Rocky River suggested seven-son flower, Heptacodium miconoides. At first, I resisted, leaning back on my impression of this large shrub/small tree as a bit awkward in form. Then I rethought, as I have seen many lovely specimens in recent weeks, standing out in their aspect as well as for their exfoliating bark and for what will be an almost three-month floral display that starts in August and lasts until hard frosts. First come the white petals and then the growing size and intensifying salmon colors of the subtending sepals behind the long-gone petals. Great choice — and those cars might just stop for a look.
Dan Herms, research VP at Davey Tree Expert Co., and I suggest redbud, Cercis canadensis, especially some of the wonderful new cultivars, but for this choice there should be some shade, arborist Nathan Ames of Ames Arboreal Group in Columbus suggests eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, for its toughness even in the face of road salts. Al Shauck, the arborist at Oberlin College, nominates lacebark elm, Ulmus parvifolia, with its lovely bark, which although it will grow taller than 30 feet, will take its time.
Al also suggests the ‘Spear’ series of narrow upright crabapples. Paul Snyder of Secrest Arboretum also suggests crabapples, especially the upright, white flowering ‘Adirondack’ and the spreading ‘Strawberry Parfait,’ possibly in alternation. And more: yellow-flowered magnolia, hardy rubbertree, ‘Purple Robe’ black locust, maackia, and finally yellowwood, Cladrastis kentukea, from Dan Herms, which I thought would be too high, but perhaps Dan, ever the futurist, thought of a future with only buried power lines.
Final advice: Fall is the best for planting most trees, the exception being oaks and others with coarse root systems and hemlocks and a few others. And for all, remember the adage: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is — now.”
Jim Chatfield is a horticulture educator and professor emeritus at Ohio State University Extension. If you have questions about caring for your garden, write to chatfield.1@osu.edu or call 330-466-0270. Please include your phone number if you write.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Enjoy autumn as it slowly unfolds
