Flowering Pears Provide Good Spring and Autumn Colors

An early flowering tree is the Flowering Pear (Pyrus calleyrana). The tree is not a small tree and can easily grow to 30 or 40 feet. The Flowering Pear has three specific seasonal characteristics, which make it a favorite for landscaping. The seasonal characteristics are the tree’s flowers, attractive summer leaves, and reliable good fall leaf color.

In the spring, the Flowering Pear is covered with white flowers. The tree is in bloom when the magnolias, serviceberries and cherries are also blooming. My personal experience has been that the tree’s flowers persist longer for up to two weeks.

In the summer, the tree has clean glossy green leaves. In the fall, and depending on the variety of Flowering Pear, there are ranges of autumn leaf colors of brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds. Though the fall colors can be great, often times, the tree changes colors after the majority of the other trees have already dropped their leaves. Sometimes the leaves will persist well into mid November. The persistence of the Flowering Pear’s leaves into November can be a problem should an early snowfall occur and the weighted snow on the leaves will cause some large branches to break off.
　
Flowering pear trees produce a large pea size fruit. After fall frosts or winter freezing, the fruit is softened which allows for birds clean the fruit off the tree. Flowering Pear seeds are dispersed in the bird droppings, which can account for the tree becoming a pest in some parts of the country.

Four varieties of Flowering Pears to consider for the home landscape are:

‘Cleveland Select’ which is drought resistant, grows to 40 feet, has thick branches which can withstand the weight of snow, and has a deep purple fall color

‘Aristocrat’, grows to 40 feet, has a natural pyramidal shape, and dark red or purple fall color

‘Autumn Blaze’, grows up to 30 feet and has the traditional fall foliage colors of red and orange

‘Bradford’ grows 40 feet, has a rounded shape with branches pointing upward, has a yellow fall color, and often times break during wind and snowstorms.
　
In the landscape, the Flowering Pear can be used as a single specimen tree or a mass planting of 3 or more trees of the same variety.

Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry a Good Small Tree for the Home Landscape

Three flowering trees blooming at the same as the magnolias are the Serviceberry Trees (Amelanchier); Flowering Pear (Pyrus) and Flowering Cherries (Prunus).
　
The flowers on these trees are not individually photogenic as perhaps the magnolia or dogwood flowers, but collectively on a tree branch these trees provide a great sight site in the landscape. The flowering serviceberries and pears all have white flowers whereas the cherries can be white, red, or pink and come in a greater variety of tree forms.

This blog and the following two blogs will be devoted to these three trees.
　
When employed in the garden center business and while taking courses at Ohio State’s Agricultural Institute, the serviceberry tree was being promoted as an alternative to the flowering dogwood. The serviceberry tree was an almost guaranteed spring bloomer, had small leaves, leafing and generally provided a good fall color.

Serviceberry species were so named as they were one of the earliest trees / shrubs  blooming in the mountains and their small white flowers could be used in funeral services when no other trees were in bloom.

Serviceberry trees could be maintained as a multi-stemmed tree or pruned to be a single trunk tree.
Because my customers wanted a guaranteed spring blooming tree, I promoted and used the tree in landscape designs. However, admittedly, I was soon to realize that not all serviceberry varieties would meet the needs equally in the home and commercial landscape and I now have some regrets on some of my recommendations.
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The variety of serviceberry tree that I would highly recommend would be the "Autumn Brilliance" Serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance.’) This variety grows naturally as a multi-stemmed tree or can be easily maintained as a single stemmed tree. Autumn Brilliance has an almost guaranteed blooming period of white flowers, presents an airy silhouette in the landscape because of its small leaves, provides edible small berries for the birds, and has a reliable great orange-red-yellow fall color.


In Akron, Ohio, some of the streets have been lined with single trunk Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry trees for their very effective spring, summer, and fall coloration. Because of the tree’s small leaves and berries cleaned up by the birds or just shriveling up on the branches, the tree is not a messy tree in the home or commercial landscape.

　

Magnolias: Great Flowering Trees for the Garden

The top flowering trees sought out in Ohio garden center and nurseries are:

• Saucer and Star Magnolias
• Flowering Dogwoods
• Ornamental Flowering Cherry Trees
• Flowering Pear Trees
• Flowering Crabapples

Each of these tree varieties not only bring spring color to the garden with their flowers, but after blooming, the leaf colors and textures, shapes, and fruits of these trees provide  additional color and landscape interest long after they have finished blooming.
　
Let us  begin our discussion about  the Magnolia.

There are many varieties of magnolia available to Ohio gardeners, but the two most widely available in Ohio nurseries are the Star (Magnolia stellata) and Saucer (Magnolia x soulangiana) Magnolias and their exceptional cultivars. When in bloom, these two magnolias are covered with flowers and provide quite a dramatic splash of spring color.

Other magnolias, Southern (Magnolia grandiflora) and Sweet Bay (Magnolia virginiana) have very fragrant flowers which appear after the trees have leafed out. Though scenting the air with a great fragrance, the Southern and Sweet Bay Magnolia flower displays are not as dramatic as the Star and Saucer Magnolias.

Star Magnolia is an early bloomer and is considered a small tree due to its mature height of 10-15 feet. Because of the tree's dramatic white flowers, in the landscape, the tree is used either as a multi-stemmed single specimen plant or can be used in a mass planting of more than one tree.

The Saucer Magnolia is a far larger multi-stemmed tree and can reach a height of 20-30 feet with an equally large spread. Saucer magnolia flowers appear like large tulips and have the color of a light white and pink tips.

Because the Saucer magnolia grows large, this tree is not planted close to building foundation and is more suited to be planted where the tree can grow and branch out with no restrictions.

The Southern Magnolia is not suited to being grown in northeast Ohio, but is hardy to growing zones 6, which would as the more southern states of Virginia and North Carolina. The Southern Magnolia is a large tree and can reach a height of 60-70 feet. The tree is semi-evergreen and the flowers are large white and offer an exceptional fragrance in the landscape.

The Sweet Bay Magnolia is catching on in popularity for Ohio gardeners. Like the Southern Magnolia, the flower display is not spectacular, but when in bloom the flowers provide a very noticeable perfumed fragrance to the air. The Sweet Bay Magnolia, in the northern climates, can grow 15-20 feet and is generally place in the landscape as near a patio or deck, where its fragrant flowers can be appreciated for well over a month.

Understanding a Fertilizer Bag is Needed for Successful Gardening

Plant fertilizer is one of those topics that every gardener needs to review when planting a flower / vegetable garden or maintaining the lawn, trees and shrubs in the landscape.

There are many blogs and articles about the composition of fertilizers and hopefully this explanation will assist you when you are looking for products at your local nursery and garden centers.

This very basic description is applicable whether you choose to use chemicals or non-chemical soil additives to your  garden or home landscape.

There are major mineral elements needed for plant growth. The top three often forgotten are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) and are absolutely necessary for any plant growth to occur. Obviously they are only obtained by air and water and cannot be packaged in a chemical fertilizer.

Besides carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, biologists have determined that there are essentially 6 additional macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S), which are required by plants in large amounts to thrive.

The other nutrients are referred to as trace elements (micronutrients) which are essential for some plants to grow and may be not quite so essential for  other plant varieties.  

All these mineral elements can be obtained naturally in varying quantities, however since the earliest days when man started to cultivate plants, he has been trying to achieve optimum plant growth by adding soil additives with higher percentages of both macro and micro elements. With today’s commercial horticulture, (farms,  tree nurseries, green houses, golf courses,  small garden plots, houseplants etc.) soil additives in the form of fertilizers are added to achieve optimum plant growth.

The top three nutrients in fertilizers are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) and are collectively known as N-P-K. The N-P-K composition of a bag chemical fertilizer is listed on the outside of the fertilizer bag in are listed in the exact order of N-P-K.

Briefly:

Nitrogen (N) is a major factor in stem and leaf growth.  Too much nitrogen can delay a plant's flowering and fruiting. Deficiencies can  reduce  crop yields, or cause the  yellowing of  leaves and stunted plant  growth.

Phosphorus (P) is essential for flower and fruit formation. Phosphorus is applied close to the plant's roots in order for the plant to utilize it.

Potassium (K) is necessary for the formation of plant sugars, starches, carbohydrates, as well as plant root and leaf growth.   Potassium enhances the flavor and color on fruit and vegetable crops and is important for leafy crops.
　

With some fertilizers, you may find a description of the additional elements of calcium, magnesium, and sulfur which have been added. 　
　
　
The N-P-K combination is determined on the type of plants you wish to grow and that will be the discussion of the next blog.
　
　
　
　

Red Maple Tree Flowers Are Starting to Emerge

The red maple, Acer rubrum, and its cultivars are one of the most popular trees for residential and commercial landscaping.

Allowed to grow in the woods, the red maple can become a large tree with a mature height of 50 ft. The red maple's  flowers, petioles, new growth, and seeds all are red to varying degrees and can be quite showy when first emerging in the spring. After the spring colors, the red maple's clean cut leaves emerge.

The red  maple tree however, is best known for its fall colors which range  from deep scarlets to reddish oranges.   

The fall color (generally a 1-2 week event) is the major reason homeowners select a red maple tree. However, the other remaining weeks of the year are equally as important when selecting this tree.

The young commercially cultivated red maple varieties  appear to maintain somewhat of a  manicured  look with either an oval or upright oval appearance. In the summer, red maple leaves are smaller than other maple varieties and contrast nicely with the silvery white trunk of a younger tree. By no means a small tree, recommendations would be to plant the tree a minimum of 30-40 away from any structures.

There are many cultivars of red maples, which are available at garden centers. Four varieties  I would recommend are:

'October Brilliance'
Slow to leaf out in spring, has a tight crown and deep red fall color
'October Glory'
Rounded oval crown with late developing intense red fall foliage. Though the fall color is brilliant, when other trees have already peaked in their fall coloration, the ‘October Glory," is often times much later in its coloration. 
'Red Sunset'
Heat tolerant, upright growth habit, drought tolerant, upright habit, orange-red fall color, and is also a rapid and vigorous grower.
'Autumn Blaze'
Rounded oval form with leaves that resemble silver maple. The fall color is orange red and persists longer than usual


An effective use of the red maple is to plant only one tree in the landscape as a  specimen tree.  Another use is to plant  a  mass planting  (three or more trees of the same variety) in the landscape.  Due to the different growth habits and the timing of fall coloration,  when doing a mass planting of red maples,  use the same variety for a much more effective look.

　
　
　

Maple Tree Species Bring a Variety of Sizes, Shapes, and Leaf Colors to the Landscape

Today is an absolutely dreary day in Ohio.

As I was coming up to the house, I noticed that my neighbors had tapped the maple trees on their property for maple syrup production. A far more clever person than I am, my neighbor is an engineer by trade who not only makes his own maple syrup, but also carves his own wood to make some great furniture and wood bowls.
　
This site of the white buckets hanging from the tree help provide for the idea of this column: the landscape value of the maple tree. Right up there with the oak tree, the maple tree species is one of my favorite trees.

There are at least one hundred species of maple in the world. Fourteen of these are native to the United States. The following four species and their cultivars are used quite extensively in the landscape trade:

• Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
• Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
• Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
• Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
• Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

For many reasons the maple tree species makes a great addition to the landscape. Depending on the species of maple tree and the species' cultivar (a cultivated variety of a plant that has been deliberately selected for its desirability) there are many reasons the maple tree species is very popular.

Unlike the oak tree species, which generally consists of large trees without any remarkable varied seasonal characteristics, the maple species has varieties, which vary in size with many different shapes and leaf colors.

Some species of maple trees may be large shade trees as the fast growing Silver Maple. Other species as the Japanese Maple grows small (20’ or less) and can be successfully trimmed to remain small. The smaller sized Japanese Maple and its cultivars offer many different landscape shapes and different leaf color foliage and textures for the landscape. Tree cultivars of the Norway Maple not only have green leaves, but many Norway Maple cultivars have permanent summer foliage colors of red; yellow, or variegated. The Red Maple is a medium sized shade tree in most landscapes and many of its cultivars are selected for their fall colors of yellows, orange-reds, and very deep reds.
　
In the next several blogs, I will be discussing more specifics regarding the landscape value of particular maple tree species for home and business landscapes.

The Pin Oak Tree --- A Great Shade Tree for the Yard

As you become familiar with my writing style for most of the trees and shrubs, I will be looking at the following basic characteristics when describing a plant’s uses.

• Plant Growth Habit
• Plant Hardiness
• Landscape Use

My favorite variety of trees is the oaks. Some form of oak species exists in most areas of the United States. In plant zones 4 and 5, we have the pleasure of having red oaks, white oaks, and pin oaks.

When my parents started adding shade trees to their home, they added two pin oaks. After over 40 years the trees are doing well, are over 60 feet in height, and tower over their home. This early introduction to the pin oak made the tree a must have in my yard and the tree has always been a great seller in Ohio garden centers.
　

The pin oak’s growth shape is best described as pyramidal as a young tree. When you think of a pyramidal shape envision a triangular shaped object. If not pruned the tree limbs will reach down and touch the ground further accentuating the pyramidal shape. For most of us, we need to trim the lower branches so we can mow under the tree.

The pin oaks leaves are pointed and dark gloss green and persist on the tree through the winter months as a very brown color. The fall color of the pin oak can be a mottled yellow-brown color and in color though I have seen some great reddish brown coloration.

As the tree matures great crops of acorns are produced.

The tree is generally very hardy though galls (growths caused by insects) and iron chlorosis can be problems. The most destructive insect can be the gypsy moth, though fortunately through area management; there have not been major infestations in the area we live.

The pin oak becomes a large tree (60-70’ in height with a 25-40’). So the best location for this tree in the home landscape is sufficient distance from the house. I would recommend a minimum of 20 feet from the house---though further would be best! 
　
　
　
　
　

Some Basic Knowledge Can Help When Selecting Trees or Shrubs

My goal is to increase your knowledge about the very different trees and shrubs available to gardeners in primarily the northeastern region of the country. However, the basic principles of landscaping design can be applied to all regions of the United States.

So, let’s begin.

As I stated when I began this blog there are many different opinions on landscape designing. But for me, when evaluating trees or shrubs for a landscape use, these basic characteristics I consider when recommending a tree or shrub for the landscape.

Mature Size of the Plant.
Generally, plant tags in a garden center will under state the mature size of the tree or shrub. Even the landscape designer or landscape installer will understate the plant’s ultimate size.

Often times the home or business owner wants a mature landscape immediately. This overcrowding of plant material is most noticeable around commercial sites, which generally need to up and ready to service the visiting customers.

That small little lilac bush will grow into a bush 6-8 foot unpruned. An oak tree planted too close to a house or building will overwhelm the structure of the house. A flowering crabapple, when small can be quite manageable, but if not pruned the small flowering tree on the end of the house can crowd out the corner of the house and all other plant material growing near it.

So the maturity of the plant needs to be taken into consideration when purchasing a plant.

Plant Habit.
The ultimate shape of the plant should be considered. Some possible plant habits may be weeping; pyramidal, low growing prostate, and upright. A plants' seasonal characteristics can be included in this discussion. In the northeast, with four distinct seasons, many plants can provide some interest in each season.

Plant Hardiness.
I like plant material that does not require a great deal of work to keep it thriving.

If you have to protect the plant every winter or spray the plant for diseases or insects then that plant may not be one you would enjoy.

Tea roses in Ohio can be very temperamental (winter kill, insect damage, fungus problems), but a shrub rose may prove to be more hardy. A hydrangea may bloom profusely in the southern part of the state or in the microclimates of New York City. , But in the colder parts of the state (as my yard) the gardener may have intermittent periods of heavy blooming and has a plant with large green leaves and not the mass of blue flowers as promised.

A reputable garden center should only sell plant material hardy to the growing area the garden center is located and if some plants are difficult to grow, provides the homeowner some warning.

Landscape Use.

Keeping it simple: plant material should accentuate the design of the house or building. A building is not being designed around the plant or water fountain.

Personally, I think the front of a home can be a bit more formal and organized whereas the backyard can be less formal.

Plants can be planted as an individual plant (specimen) or in a group (mass planting).

As I write this blog, I will attempt to address these issues when describing plant choices for the landscape.
　
　
　
　
　

Time to Think About Transplanting

Over the years I have been adding trees to our property. When I look outside of my office window into our field I have tried to make each tree visible to enjoy each tree’s unique foliage and shape.
　
Three years ago, I planted a pin oak tree and realized the tree is starting to obscure the view of the other trees. So in the next week when the ground starts to thaw, I will be digging the tree and transplanting it to a new location to allow the tree to grow to its large size without obscuring the view of the other trees.

The tree I will be moving has a caliper (diameter) of 2" so the tree is small and easy for moving.

The transplanting strategy for all trees and shrubs regardless of their size is generally:

• Assemble the equipment needed for the move. Generally a good sharp shovel, pruners, an old blanket, sheet, or tarp to move the tree; and a garden hose.

• Don't start digging right at the base of an established tree or shrub. Rather, start digging about 3' out from the base, all along the perimeter.

• Use that sharp shovel and pruners to make a good clean cut into the roots. You will never get the entire root system, but you want to keep the rootball (soil and roots) intact as much as possible.

• After making the cut, gently lift the rootball and tree with your shovel and gently start sliding that old sheet under the ball. After the old sheet has been positioned under the ball, lift the sheet and tree and drag the tree on the sheet to the new hole.

• The width of the new hole should be twice that of the rootball and a bit shallower than the hole the tree was removed from.

• After you set the tree in the hole, as you replace the soil around the tree, start tamping the ground with your feet to remove all air pockets. During this time of tamping, you can be straightening the tree. The newly transplanted tree should be sitting a few inches higher than the tree’s original hole.

• Provide mulch around the new tree and keep the tree well watered during the summer months.

The best time to transplant most deciduous trees and shrubs is late winter or early spring. The second best time is in the fall. Avoid summer transplanting as the temperature is way too hot and much moisture will be lost through the leaves of the newly transplanted tree.
　
　
　
　
　

As with religion and politics, there are many opinions on how to grow a tomato plant.

Just walked into the house and am reinvigorated by this first day of March.

Those of you who garden or work outside can definitely discern the changes in seasons. Though not a meteorologist, I have maintained the snowfalls in March are different than those in January and December.

The March snowfall is almost refreshing---and most certainly does not linger on the ground for long!
　
Hametownshoppes Gardening will about how to enjoy the outdoor living areas that we live, work, and play in. I am very lucky as a writer as there is an endless of topics about gardening.  Generally not as  controversial as a discussion about religion, sports,  and politics--though there are zillions of different gardening opinions as for example how to successfully grow "the world’s best tomato."
　
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and attended Ohio State’s Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster Ohio. Having been employed either full time or part-time in the garden center industry for over 20 years, I bring some credibility to some of my many observations about growing lawns, gardening, and landscape design.

Through my years of experience, other than the most complicated scientific discussion regarding plant materials or engineering design, there are many opinions as to how grow the most successful rose bush, largest pumpkin, or how to design the most perfect patio.

With gardening, there are hundreds of authorities.  No one person has all the answers.

Gardeners like to share ideas.  That is the goal of this blog; that the blog becomes an exchanging of ideas and tips how we can maximize our gardening enjoyment.