Why I Oughta...

It is finally time to call a couple of dead trees:  Three Japanese Maples didn't come back this Spring.  They tried - leaf'd out from the graft - but now...they are foliage-free.  Two of them are from Mr. Maple - the upright Seiryu Japanese Maple and First Ghost - back by the firepit.  Both...are now on the LOST TREES list.  The Seiryu is one that I really was keen to see grow as I planted it in the shadow of the dying Flowering Cherry Tree.  That tree died last year, and now the JM is gone, too.  That leaves a big empty opportunity for a shade-tolerant tree.    The last one was the Inaba Shadire high-grafted tree.  Below are a couple of photos showing the skeletons of these Japanese Maples.  First the Seiryu followed by First Ghost.   Sadly...these are the fourth Japanese Maples that didn't make it just this year - with the unknown laceleaf tree from the orange big box store was pulled and replaced by an Emperor 1 earl...

This post deposits two things into the [garden diary]:   the loss of a Japanese Maple and the planting of a different one.  First, the loss.  Last Summer, I planted a 2-gallon Japanese Maple that was mis-marked.  It was labeled as an Emperor 1, but was had dissectum or laceleaf foliage .  I marked it as an 'unknown' Japanese Maple - likely a Takukeyama.  That tree was purchased on May 12, 2023, so I had a decision to make.  By May 11th (this past weekend), the tree was not leaf'ing out.  The scratch test showed that the trunk was still alive, but no buds had opened up.  With the one-year warranty running out, I opted to yank it out and get the store credit.   This marks the second loss of trees this year - the first being the Silver Maple that I removed earlier this Spring .  Two trees lost, zero planted.  But, that is about to change thanks to the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale.  A few days ago, I posted about the ...

Planted early this year - with MUCH fanfare - my Columnar Scotch Pine tree is dead.  I yanked it out and returned it for a store credit.   Earlier this Fall, I noticed that it was *really* struggling, so I decided to do something pretty drastic:  transplanting it.   I also decided - as part of the transplant process - to lop-off all the dead parts.  I thought that maybe it wanted more sun, so I put it by the boardwalk.  Here's what it looked like when I transplanted it in September:  some green needles, but not doing well: Six weeks later, it was gone.  Below is what it looked like before I dug it out:  no more green needles. I've talked about how I haven't, historically done enough with conifers.  But, part of the reason for that negligence is because I've had such bad luck with them.  This is another lost conifer in a long-line of them.  Have I made up for things with my new Conifer Garden?  Maybe.  But, ...

Back in the dark, stay-at-home days of early COVID, I bought a series of eight tiny, various apple trees and proceeded to plant them 24" apart and lop them off at 18" tall .  Hoping that I'd - one day - have a diamond-pattern Belgian Fence espalier along the northern side of our property (facing south on the fence, though).  By August of that same year (2020), three of the trees had been lost .  And there was VERY little sense of the diamond pattern showing up just yet.   This Spring, I came across two suitable crabapple trees (I needed three!) and planted them.  Suitable in this case means:  on the Honeycrisp pollinator list, cost less than $10 a piece and disease resistant or recommended.  They went into the #1 slot on the left.  And the #6 slot from the left .  Leaving slot #5 open.   I have spent a little time out there pruning up the trees and wiring up the new growth this Summer.  The last time I posted a photo of th...

Earlier this month, I posted some photos about our first Japanese Maple tree - a Tamukeyama Maple - and mentioned that it was the 54th tree that I've planted over the five growing/planting seasons we've been in Downers Grove.  I also mentioned that I wasn't sure my math was totally right.  We had have some trees die that I don't think I've posted updates on.  This post is my attempt to get current with the situation we have as of May 2021. First, I CAN say that I've planted 54 trees. 2017: 9 trees 2018: 17 trees 2019: 9 trees 2020: 17 trees 2021: 2 trees I've also documented 12 trees that failed. 3 Planted in 2017: Chanticleer Pear, Dawn Redwood, Corkscrew Willow 3 Planted in 2018: Weeping Cedar, Fraser Fir, Canadian Hemlock 4 Planted in 2019: Three of the six Canadian Hemlocks, Dappled Willow 2 Planted in 2020: Lombardy Popular, Horstman Recursive Larch. That would mean that we have 42 trees alive and well.  But, there are even more that have died t...