Yaupon Holly

[Brian Van Fleet]

Good job, Brian.

Camilias on one side and hollies on the other. You are lucky to have good neighbors. Keep us posted on their growth.

Plan to be back in Bessemer next week.

lee

Thanks, don't know if it's good neighbors or "youth-challenged" neighbors...but I'll keep "helping" them the best I can!:

We have a lot going on this month in AL...Huntsville meeting is Tuesday night and I'll be up there. Kathy Shaner in Huntsville Sat and Sun. Birmingham club meeting is 3/12 and I'm giving a lecture on collecting, then club workshop working on trees in Bham on 3/17. PM me for details on your dates here.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

ang3lfir3...it's shorter, but not my much!

See !! its a sign.... ur supposed to have a tree that big!!!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Got the other two out today. Here is the right one; which is the biggest of the three:


Thought I'd start there, and save the "smallest" one for last. I ended up breaking my saws-all blade trying to get the darn thing out. Here's why (think iceberg)


So after firing up the chainsaw to get the thing flattened out, here it is planted:


We'll see if any of them live...

 

[Dav4]

Great trunks/material, Brian. I spent Saturday afternoon digging out the stump of a virginia pine that came down on my driveway during the storms Friday night...wish I could have been digging trunks like these instead. Good stuff.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Great trunks/material, Brian. I spent Saturday afternoon digging out the stump of a virginia pine that came down on my driveway during the storms Friday night...wish I could have been digging trunks like these instead. Good stuff.

Ugh! We had high winds and ping pong ball sized hail Friday night. I couldn't believe we had no broken windows (or pots). The driveway looks like its been sand blasted.

 

[Ron Dennis]

Call me envious! I know these will all be special trees and am eager to watch the progressions as you work on them.

Questions: In planting in your "grow" bed, did you do anything special? Would now be the time to use the colanders you and Jack talked about in ABS a couple of months ago? How long do you think they will need to stay in the grow bed--a season or more?

 

[berobinson82]

Can anyone point me to an article or magazine issue on Yaupon Hollies?

 

[berobinson82]

So how are these hollies looking?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

So how are these hollies looking?

All three are starting to pop back everywhere...pardon the mess around and behind them...

Just for fun, here's the hawthorn collected in March...going gangbusters!

 

[Poink88]

I collected a few Ilex myself but none those big or nice :O You've got some really excellent materials there.

I love that hawthorn...the fluted base especially. Great score & Congrats!!!

 

[Poink88]

On growing bed vs box...box is better for conifers to stabilize temps, reduce available moisture, and confine roots. I thought this would recover faster in the ground after as much as was removed.

While this is true, you will also subject the tree to yet major shock when you dig it another time in the future. I believe that is worse than a simple re-pot (or pot reduction) later. I would think ground planting is best if you plan on growing/fattening the tree more but that is not the case with these already humongous specimens. Both should work well and have their advantage/dis-advantage. JMHO

 

[Dav4]

Wow, a veritable jungle of great trunks...are all those trees collected or did you sneak some nursery stock or cuttings in there? When you realize you've got too much material to handle down the road, give me a call.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

While this is true, you will also subject the tree to yet major shock when you dig it another time in the future. I believe that is worse than a simple re-pot (or pot reduction) later. I would think ground planting is best if you plan on growing/fattening the tree more but that is not the case with these already humongous specimens. Both should work well and have their advantage/dis-advantage. JMHO

This belief is not consistent with my experience. I would agree its best to start collected conifers in pots, but then it's only to contain the root system and control the moisture level. Yes, most collected trees can go straight to pots, but they do recover more slowly.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Wow, a veritable jungle of great trunks...are all those trees collected or did you sneak some nursery stock or cuttings in there? When you realize you've got too much material to handle down the road, give me a call.

Yeah, some good stuff is hiding there....only about 10 collected, the rest is nursery stock, seedlings, and a bunch of 2-5 year old cuttings of juniper, c. Quince, tridents over rocks, and some pines. The Chinese Quinces are the ones I most excited about. They are one of my faves, and it's all I can do to not dig one up just to get it on the bench!

 

[fore]

Yeah, some good stuff is hiding there....only about 10 collected, the rest is nursery stock, seedlings, and a bunch of 2-5 year old cuttings of juniper, c. Quince, tridents over rocks, and some pines. The Chinese Quinces are the ones I most excited about. They are one of my faves, and it's all I can do to not dig one up just to get it on the bench!

LOL! That's how I feel too about my Chojubai Quince. It's red flowers right now is absolutely gorgeous! And it too is in the ground as the trunk is only as thick as 3/16" hehe It's not going anywhere quick ;-)

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Update

Moved one of the three to a pot today. It's a big one, looking fairly promising, and may just be available...

 

[Poink88]

Very nice.

If I am not swamped with Yaupon...I will hit you up for it.

 

[Dav4]

Cool trunk...lots of carving in its' future. Is it already re-potting time in 'Bama'? It's actually been below freezing here in N. GA the last 3 mornings...first time this year, I think.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Cool trunk...lots of carving in its' future. Is it already re-potting time in 'Bama'? It's actually been below freezing here in N. GA the last 3 mornings...first time this year, I think.

Yes, it's a big 'un, but the trunk is very clean. No, pretty early to repot, but it's supposed to be well above freezing through the 10-day forecast, and since it was pushing growth a little, I thought I'd go for it.

 

[fredtruck]

That looks good, Brian. I bet it's fairly heavy, eh?