5yr Native Tree Challenge: ShadyStump's

ShadyStump

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So, one of the many events catalyzing the infamous Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 involved a stand of wild plums out on the eastern plains of Colorado- then still a territory while the American Civil War raged in the east.
At a small fort- a tiny forward operating base in today's parlance- the company surgeon had begun noticing the first signs of scurvy among the soldiers, and ordered a squad of men to take a wagon out to a stand if plums a few miles off where a young private had mentioned finding some while on patrol once. They were told to eat their fill and bring back every other last fruit to the fort.
However, tensions with the local indigenous tribes were high, and not every member of these tribes was convinced of the efficacy of the peaceful aims if their chiefs. While still some ways from the stand of plums the wagon of soldiers was beset by a small band if renegade indians. The wagon driver immediately turned around, and whipped the horses bloody until they had made it back to the safety of the fort.
The soldiers went plumless, and the scurvy began in ernest. Some months later, similar aggressions by a fistful of renegades eventually culminated in one Colonel John Covington- who had a sometime before successfully led a battalion against an incursion by Confederates working their way west- now leading a company's worth of volunteer militia to a bloody attack on peaceful Cheyenne and Blackfoot indians near Fort Lyons killing 93 men women and children.
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I knew where a small stand was in town, and took some cuttings. The ones on the left and third from the left are not wild American plums- they're just photo bombing. However,there is a third plum in the same room, but I don't want to go looking for that picture right now. I am dead set on having one in our yard AND one in a pot, so I'm comfortable starting the thread before I have something not dead. If nothing else it will be a fun fail thread that lasts five years. ;)
 

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ShadyStump

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Prunus americana - the American plum, is a good one for bonsai, and is steeped in history.

Learned the story above in an American history class in college, and it stuck with me. I haven't seen a healthy stand around my area in years- people keep cutting them out of their yards for some reason- so when I realized that's what was growing by the irrigation ditch near my dad's place I knew I needed one.
 

ShadyStump

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Farm orchards hate the wild plums, they tend to be reservoirs of "Black Knot" disease. A plum specific canker causing fungus that is difficult to treat in commercial plums. Not a big deal for bonsai.
Good to know about black knot. I always love snacking on the plums when I found them as a kid, so we were planning on adding some to the fruit trees we plant around the property. This could be something to contemplate in those regards.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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CHeck your State of Colorado Ag Extension Service. Probably it is part of the Colorado State University Websites. THough it could be independent. The function of the Land Grant University system is to serve as a resource for farmers, agriculture in general and there should be an Extension Service office in every county of Colorado. They should have flyers (or pdfs_ on the pests and diseases of most crops, and what approved treatments are. In Michigan "black knot" is an "emerging problem", in Colorado it may, or may not be a problem. Less than an hour of web surfing you will have all the information you need to keep a small backyard orchard of various fruit pretty much disease free.
 

ShadyStump

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Correct on all counts so far as I've seen. I actually spent a highschool summer working with the USDA service center when I was fifteen. Mostly phones and filing, but an incredible experience.

Though, considering the extent of the plans we've made for new home so far, by the time my family collects, prints, and/or catalogs all the various informational resources we would like to have at our finger tips, we'll have to convert the workshop into a library and have to do our actual labor outside.

What a wonderful problem to have.
 

ShadyStump

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Of the three cuttings I planted back in November the one that was totally a funsies experiment with very low expectations is the only one not completely desiccated. Still allot of play in those branches actually. No other signs of life, however. Though I did notice a spot that looks like it might be diseased- maybe that black knot?
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Will collect more in coming weeks for round two.
 

ShadyStump

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Round 1: total loss. Three of three cuttings dead. I'm assuming their placement in the room was bad. Initially, they were rather close to the heater vent, and got very little direct sunlight.
We've rearranged since then, so both factors are significantly improved.

ROUND TWO!
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This time, more careful collecting, and more selective about what I cut.
 

Forsoothe!

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I don't understand, why are you attempting start cuttings now? Isn't that a spring/summer endeavor? I have never heard of starting them now, even though they can be cut in fall and kept in cold storage building callus until spring. Why would any hardy plant start growing immediately following entering dormancy. What am I missing? Why wouldn't they need 3 or 4 months quiescence? Even if you expect them park and take off when the dormancy period is satisfied you would have to tend to their needs which are hard to do without staying too wet or drying out, both killers.
 

Forsoothe!

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You can't make a baby in a month by getting nine women pregnant. You can't fool plants into thinking it's endless summer by moving them to "good growing" conditions either. There are very few places on Earth where the growing season is the whole year. It gets too cold with low sunlight in some places, and the winds change directions the tropics bringing relative drought. Plants that can live in high sunlight and warmth don't have enough light and warmth all year in temperate zones, and plants that can stand lots of rains can't grow in drought, so in almost all places plants are adapted to not growing in one season or another. Yes, some tropicals make good houseplants and look nice all year, but even they only "grow" in part of the year. That said, not many temperate plants make good houseplants because they absolutely need the quiet period, and only survive because they have a quiet period built-in to their life cycle. There is another consideration. Once a seed starts growing you need to provide the conditions necessary for the duration. Start a tomato seed in November and it will grow to be a monster before you can put it outdoors. Size matters, so we start them ~six weeks early in anticipation of them being some size small enough to keep indoors until the time is right.
 

ShadyStump

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We got our first solid snow storm in October, with freezing temperatures at night since. The trees have very much made their dormancy requirements around here for the year. Local nurseries routinely propagate cuttings starting now, at least the ones with greenhouses. Also, softwood vs hardwood cuttings. Hardwood cuttings are generally done in fall and winter is my understanding, and softwood can be taken in late winter, early spring to get a jump on the season if you have an indoor grow space.

This challenge being my personal first go at propagating from cuttings, I'm doing it all through the cold season for the learning experience.
 

ShadyStump

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Blooming away, and more buds popping. The other cutting from the same tree is doing nothing at all, but I'll wait a little longer.
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On a completely unrelated but still related note, there's an American Elm (a real one this time, not a gross misidentification) growing in the fence. But it's IN the fence, or rather the fence is in it. Only just, but enough to make just digging it up impractical. I'm thinking another entry, but gotta figure out how to collect it.
Just an aside while it was on my mind.
 
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