Have you ever noticed that some things go full circle?  You start somewhere, wander here and there, and then years later you end up back where you started?  Well, I can say that about our love affair with fruit research at SFA Gardens.

BLUEBERRIES

At SFA, I began a career working with blueberries way back in 1978.  Fresh out of Texas A & M University, a PhD on the wall, I was young, fearless and optimistic.  I had studied under Dr. Hollis Bowen and J.B. Storey and I thought I knew a thing or two about fruit. The blueberry arena was wide open and the acid soils and climate of East Texas was perfect.  I thought, heck, there’s nothing but blue skies ahead.  Like everything in Horticulture, things get complicated.  The first blueberry fields came into bearing in the 1980s.  A marketing cooperative sprang into action.  Realities like freezes, floods, oppressive droughts, heat waves, and other acts of God taught me that nothing is easy in Agriculture.  Still, the industry survives to this day.  Nacogdoches was named the blueberry capitol of Texas and a festival was born that exists to this day.  It wasn’t long before blueberry plants were a nursery item in the mass markets as well as the small retail outlets.  Blueberries have become part of the backyard garden world in East Texas.  All along the way, collaborations with local producers helped SFA make a mark in variety evaluation, frost protection strategies, soil/plant/water studies, pruning practices, and techniques to improve postharvest performance.  With thirty years, we have experience.  In 2016, we’ve come full circle – we brought our blueberry work back on campus.  Our blueberry plots are located at the north end of the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, open to the public and every plant is labeled.  The collection of 70+ varieties (multiples of each) includes the recommended standards, but also includes exciting advanced selections from Dr. Steven Stringer’s program at the USDA station at Poplarville, Mississippi. The following is our variety and selection list, usually three plants of each.

MUSCADINE GRAPES

Now if that wasn’t enough, in the last year we have created a small drip irrigated vineyard of muscadine grapes, Vitis rotundifolia.  Our goal is to display as wide a collection of the species as possible. This new planting is located at the north end of the Pineywoods Native Plant Center at Jimmy Hinds Park.  Jimmy Hinds was the first Agriculture teacher at Stephen F. Austin State University and actually farmed with students where this planting now calls home.  Jimmy had a penchant for fruit trees and vines, vegetable gardens and he is considered as the father of modern poultry farming in East Texas. The effort to create the collection led our program to collaborate with Dr. Justin Scheiner, grape viticulturist at TAMU, College Station, Texas – and one of our former students.   It’s that full circle again.  Working with Justin, other universities and a few specialty nurseries we’ve reached 54 varieties of muscadine grapes in the collection.  They are cheerful in the bottomland soils of LaNana creek.  Because of space issues, only one plant per variety is planted, and again, every plant is labelled.

Muscadine Varieties Feb 2020

FIGS

OK, it’s not over yet. We’re into figs!  Working with Dr. Allen Owings, LSU, Hammond, we have planted a fig orchard at SFA.  The planting includes over 70 varieties at a standard commercial spacing on drip irrigation.  Because of space issues, we have one plant per variety.  The list below is a bit premature.  Allen Owings just dropped off another ten varieties we did not have!

Fig varieties at the SFA Gardens, December 2016

KIWIFRUIT

Finally, Kiwifruit came to SFA Gardens in 2011 and good crops of the golden kiwi (Actinidia chinensis) has got everyone excited in our region about the potential.  This is not just new to SFA, it’s new to the South.  A collaboration with Auburn University allowed us to test ‘Golden Dragon’, ‘Golden Sunshine’, and ‘Au-Fitzgerald’ (a green A. decliciosa variety)  – – and a collection of male plants.  A good crop in 2014 was followed by a great crop in 2015 which was followed by a modest crop this year in 2016.  This has led us to expand the project and we’ve begun a collaboration with my alma mater, TAMU at College Station, Texas.  It’s that full circle again.  Work with Tim Hartmann at College Station we’re hoping to embark on a long term study to find the best varieties and learn how to grow them in Texas.  It’s an exciting time for kiwifruit in Texas.

CONCLUSIONS

In the land grant (Texas A & M University in Texas) or private university system there are few variety evaluation programs for blueberries, muscadines, figs or kiwis in Texas or Louisiana.  There is a fig variety plot at LSU Hammond under the direction of Dr. Allen Owings and we work closely with that program, sharing germplasm, ideas and results. Dr. Justin Scheiner, TAMU Viticulture, is building a collection of muscadine grapes and we work closely with him.  Mr. Tim Hartmann, TAMU Extension, has planted a first kiwifruit plantation at College Station, Texas in the bottomland of the Brazos river.  In spite of the low profile of research in Texas and Louisiana, there’s great interest in the farming and gardening community about the potential of alternative fruits.  SFA Gardens is a 128 acre resource that has primarily focused on woody and herbaceous ornamentals.  However, with the interest in edible landscapes, small market gardeners, and local grown produce, there’s every reason for SFA Gardens to capitalize on the good soils, full sun and high quality irrigation water to create a foundation for fruit studies.  Finding the best varieties and the best strategies to grow them is a noble goal.  With blueberries, muscadines, figs, and kiwifruit, our goal is simple.  We’re going to develop a platform as a germplasm repository second to none – and working with our colleagues in Texas and Louisiana we’re here to find the best strategies for their production.  It’s all about planning and planting for a better Texas.

Figs are old, odd and other worldly. It’s a big genus.  Depending on your source, there are 1000+ Ficus species.  Figs around humans are an old story and predate the fossil record of wheat, barley and rye.  Enthusiasts think they are the first record of Agriculture.  The worst of this lot are convinced that it was a fig that Eve used to seduce Adam, not an apple.  After all, apples weren’t common in the ancient paths near Jericho.  Figs were.  Shouldn’t we all agree that Eve and Adam covered their shame with fig leaves?

Most figs are tropical jungle plants but some edge their way into territories that facing freezing temperatures. In the modern world, they are common as houseplants.  From giant banyan trees of Asia to houseplant staples to small leafed groundcovers, Ficus wins. Only two species might be considered major food crops. Ficus sycomoro (a long term fail at SFA Gardens), and then there’s F. carica (the common edible fig).

Fig plots at SFA Gardens

 TYPES OF FIGS:

 Figs are complicated. The fruit we eat is actually a flower inside a structure called a syconium with male flowers above the female with pollen spread by a wasp who enters the structure through a hole called an ostiole.

 Caducous — Smyrna figs: Need to be pollinated to mature fruit. Without pollination the fruit will drop before it matures. Smyrna figs must be grown in the presence of Caprifigs and pollinating insects to bear fruit.

Intermediate — San Pedro figs: Do not need to be pollinated to set a breba (first) crop but do need pollination to set the main crop.

Persistent — common figs: Do not need to be pollinated to bear fruit. This is what is referred to as the common garden fig.

VARIETIES – SFA Gardens is in the early stages of a large variety trial. We are working with Allen Owings at the LSU Hammond station to create a duplicate germplasm repository of varieties and to evaluate their performance over many years.

Fig collection at the SFA Gardens

LSU recommends Brown Turkey, Texas Everbearing, Black mission, Alma, Celeste, Kadota, Blue Giant.

 PLANTING – Choose a well drained site. Spacing at not less than 16’ apart – can have various configurations. While figs appreciate moist soil, waterlogged conditions are not good.  A surface or subsurface drainage system, berms or raised beds may be a good idea.  Plant in the early spring in East Texas.  We like to plant big healthy one to three gallon plants .  After planting, mulch lightly with pine bark, straw or other matierials.

IRRIGATION – Critical to good plant growth in most sites.  We use daily drip, one emitter per plant on young plants, multiples on older plants. Ours are ½ gph emitters and a couple of hours per day and off on rain days.

 FERTILIZATION – In most soils, a complete fertilizer spread lightly every month or two in a circle around the plant, and well away from the crown of the plant is prudent. Young plants respond to Nitrogen.  Soil tests will indicate the need for P, K or other elements.

 PRUNING – We lean to a minimalist approach. Never prune until after the winter when you can see what was knocked back and what is still alive.  Remove the dead wood only, except perhaps to cut back low hangers and on the ground branching which will provide an unobstructed view of the base of the plant – for chemical weed control applications, mainly.

DISEASES/INSECTS – Very sandy well drained soils may be a nematode problem. In some years, rust can be difficult.  Birds, critters and friends can take out a crop quick.

PROPAGATION – Easy by cuttings. June July and Aug cuttings under mist root quickly.  Hardwood cuttings stuck in well drained circumstances and kept moist root well most winters.  I used to tell students that if they couldn’t root a fig they needed to change majors.

FREEZE PROTECTION – Hard winter freezes are the big problem. Single digit events can take figs back to or near the ground.  If just a few trees, packing mulch, pinestraw, and any other insulating materials into a ring around the tree helps.  Homeowners can position trees on the South side of heated buildings to get some relief from low temps.

 

 

This dogwood from Mexico is rarely seen in the U.S. It differs from the common dogwood of the southern USA by having bracts that hold together at their tips, forming a open-sided lantern that protects yet exposes the flower parts.  Unique is the word most often used to describe the bloom.  Our specimen bloomed for the first time in mid to late March, 2006.  While it bloomed profusely and the weather was moderate, flowers failed to set any seed.  Since that time we have made seed and produced young plants for further plantings (Gayla Mize Garden) and for distribution.  While difficult to find in the specialty nursery trade, this small flowering tree is worth the effort.  Implications for breeding are encouraging and we are hoping to conduct some grafting trials to attempt an improvement in plant numbers.  Our original tree was killed in 2015 by excessive flooding in the Ruby Mize Azalea Garden but we have six young trees in the Gayla Mize Garden in better drained soils and part shade.

 

This cloud forest Mexico oak is rarely encountered in the USA. It is native to East and N.E. Mexico, usually found at 800-1800 m. (2625-5905 ft.).  The species reaches 25 m. (82 ft.) tall, but should be smaller in cultivation.  We have two Royal oaks over ten years old and have been distributing acorns to interested nurserymen.

Leaves are lustrous, green, and glabrous, 9-13 cm. (3.5-5.1 in.) long and 3-5 cm. (1.2-2.0 in.) wide. Leaves are persistent or semi-evergreen, oblong to oboval or oblanceolate.  Acorns are large and can be up to 4-5 cm. (1.6-2.0 in.) long and 2-3 cm. (.8-1.2 in.) wide, and single on a short peduncle. Prior to maturing, almost the entire nut is enclosed by a warty, pubescent cup.  Two trees in the SFA Gardens have experienced winter freeze events less than -12^oC (10^oF) with only minor foliage damage.  While wet mountainous forests describe the native habitat, the species appears quite heat and drought tolerant once well established.

Acorns germinate readily for us, quickly forming a vigorous tap root, before sending up a shoot. We have learned over the years that the young plants are very susceptible to overwatering.  We suspect the tree will be hardy in Zones 8 and 9, and deserve testing in colder zones as well.

It is best to harvest acorns while they are still attached to the trees as weevils infest acorns on the ground quickly. The acorn above not ready.  We have also observed vivipary (germination while still attached to the tree).  Acorns should be harvested from tree, not from ground.  Weevils are quick in Texas.  We recommend that they be sown in the fall and the emerging seedling should be protected from freezing temperatures that first winter.  The young seedlings must be grown on the dry side and are prone to damping off if overwatered.

In a well drained mix, a 5 gallon flushing some new Fall growth, 2016

Acorns are perfect chunking size.

 

‘Calina’ is a rarely encountered holly thought to be a hybrid of I. aquifolium x I. cornuta.  While its origin is unknown, this clone is thought to have come from seedlings purchased from LeMac Nursery by W. Edinglob; selected and named around 1938, and the name is thought to be a contradiction of Carolina.

At the SFA Gardens, for two decades we’ve been impressed with this densely branched, upright pyramidal tree.  Time has been a good friend to this tree.  On the North side of the Horticulture facility by the Ag building, this tree is part of a Holly screen that runs along the road to the parking lot.  The key feature is a very heavy berry crop in the Fall that persists into the winter.  In this spot, ‘Calina’ has spent much of her life fighting a Wisteria ‘Sweet Blue Moon’.  There were a few times when the Wisteria was winning.  A little lopper time and things were back to a fair and balanced field.  This clone can be used as a hedge or as a specimen.  Blessed with really clean dark green foliage, ‘Calina’ has never failed to cover itself each fall with a blanket of large vivid-red berries.  ‘Calina’ is reported to be adapted into Zone 7 and has established a reputation for heat tolerance and landscape durability in the southeastern United States.  It’s easy from cuttings in June with intermittent mist and somewhat slow to moderately vigorous growth in the container compared, at least compared to other hybrids that dominate the industry.  In our Zone 8 garden, Calina can be planted in full sun and prefers a well-drained soil, mulch and timely irrigation during the first two or three years.  Once established the tree has been quite durable in our East Texas Zone 8b garden.

 

‘Lord Byron’ is a fascinating hybrid of V. obovatum (Walter’s Viburnum) and V. rufidulum (Rusty Black Haw).  Created by the great plantsman and friend Paul Cox of the San Antonio Botanical Garden, and named after his son, this interesting cross has performed well at SFA Gardens, Nacogdoches, Texas for many years.

Worth further study in a wide range across the south, this plant features pleasing mid-March flowers and is essentially evergreen in our garden.  The plant can make a nice hedge with one annual pruning to keep the plant in tip top shape.  The suckering habit suggests planting where this can be kept in check by mowing, a trail, etc.  In the middle of a lawn that’s frequently mowed is not a bad spot.  Heidi Sheesley has a nice specimen at TreeSearch Farms in Houston, TX., a tree form which takes a little work in the first few years.  Keep in mind that ‘Lord Byron’ alone in a bed alongside other plant friends, well, this fellow tends to win.

The leaves are intermediate between the small leaves of Walter’s Viburnum and Rusty Blackhaw.  In full sun, ‘Lord Byron’ is happiest, never failing to push a cloak of dark green leaves and showy white flowers.  This clone is easy from cuttings taken in June and placed under mist.  Because the plant suckers from the root system, it’s fairly easy to propagate good numbers simply by digging suckers and a portion of the attached root system.  I suspect the plant can be propagated by root cuttings as well.

 

 

Euschapis japonica –

 Flowers: Inconspicuous, creamy-white flowers in late spring.

Foliage: alternate, simple, glossy, and pointed.

Fruit: Showy pink to hot-red fruits (dehiscent follicles) open to expose 2 – 5 blue-black seed.

Exposure: Performs best in full sun to part shade.

Water: Medium.  Water well when young; drought resistant once well established.

Habit: Fifteen to 20 feet high with slightly less spread.

Uses: Specimen, informal hedge, mixed borders, screen.

Now here’s a small tree with great character. JC Raulston heavily promoted this tree in the 1980s.  Key features include a strikingly striated bark, a pink to red fruit display that stands out against the glossy green foliage, one that lasts from the end of summer until the first heavy frosts in early winter in Zone 7 – 8.  The tree makes a statement; The foliage is neat and tiered; the tree delivers a positive impact, particularly if trees are growing under full sun.  While tolerant of part shade, the species achieves greates folige density and the best fruit show in full sun.  Performance is improved in slightly acid soils and the species tolerates wet to dry conditions, clay to sand.

A member of Staphylaceae, Euschapis japonica is the sole species in the genus. Native to China, Japan and Korea, the species performs admirably in Zones 7 to 9.  The SFA Mast Arboretum’s first trees were three clones collected by the 1985 National Arboretum Korean expedition and one clone through Clifford Park of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his work in China.  All have survived well and given us years of experience with seed and cutting propagation.

Branches are glabrous; shoots are stout and pithy, with uniquely striated bark (white webbing on a purple background)  .

Propagation remains complex and seedling growth is slow in the first year. Seeds require a double dormancy; that is, a period cold-moist stratification, followed by warm, moist, and then followed by cold-moist, with three to four months at each stage.  One grower said he normally carries flats of seed in a shade house for two winters and gets good results.  In another story, one batch of seed accidentally left for over a year in the cooler germinated at a high percentage.  At any rate, growers are encouraged to experiment; the tree is worth the effort.   We have had some problem with damping off of seedlings and while some report that seedlings should not be removed or transplanted until they have overwintered in the flat, we have had success transplanting at the one inch stage right out of the seedling flats – if done carefully.  Container plants respond to heavy fertilization.  Asexual propagation is less understood.  While we have rooted the species (50% of hardwood cuttings stuck 1/22/99 rooted within four months with an initial 2500 PPM K-IBA dip).  Again, further experimentation is warranted.  Second year growth in the container is vigorous with young plants reaching three to four feet easily.

 

 

If you’re a plant enthusiast, this is not unlike many other travelogues you’ve encountered here and there. Cool trip.  It’s a faraway place.  Yes, there are amazing plants, botany, and people involved.  What’s different about this story is a very old man.  Let me explain.

Yufeng lamasery is nestled on a pine and mixed forest alpine hillside NW of Lijiang in Yunnan province.  What a magical,  quiet and lonely place this is!  This lamasery was built at the end of the Qing dynasty in the traditional Chinese courtyard design.  Essentially a combination of the architectural styles of Tibetan and Han Buddhism, Taoism and the local Naxi Dongba ethnic group, the Yufeng temple, surrounding grounds, and local citizens make this a very ethereal spot on earth.  The “camellia of ten thousand flowers” was planted in the years of the Chenghua Ming Dynasty, and is thought to have been planted between 1465 to 1487 (there are conflicting ideas here) – anyway, it’s well before the construction of Yufeng temple.   The lamasery is one of the Scarlet Sect lamaseries of Lijiang and lies about ten miles North West of the city at the southern foot Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

This is one of many lonely lamaseries in the alpine highlands of the eastern Himalayas. When we arrived at the base of the lamasery, we were greeted by a short line of stalls with ladies hawking traditional Chinese Arts and crafts.  We were the sole visitors that morning (August 30, 2009) and we soon learned that the Naxi are an independent sort.  According to my Chinese colleagues, they have refused to pay the bribes to Lijiang tourist bus companies and the small row of stalls was now paying a price – no visitors, no customers.

The Naxi are a matriarchal society, and traditionally the women run the show, owning property, running the business, managing the financial resources and taking the lead on all matters family and work.  Hey, that sounds like America!  Just joking.  The men, I was told, spend most of their time “reading, cooking, taking care of children, and hoping not to be turned out by his woman for another man.”  That doesn’t sound like America.  The grounds of Yufeng lamasery are home to several ancient trees, including a pleached 150 year old Michelia yunnanensis and an ancient Magnolia delavayi, both fine specimens in their own right.

As for the camellia, it’s an amazing courtyard tree, trunks and branches twisted together to cover an arbor creating about 600 m² (ft²) of shade.  Off in the corner, I noticed a quiet and demure llama of 93 years sitting quietly on the porch and keeping a watchful eye on our activity.  I learned that he had taken care of the tree for over forty years, and sure enough, under the eaves of the temple were old faded photographs of him as a younger man sitting in front of the tree in full bloom.  While we didn’t find a single bloom on our day to visit, the form and character of the tree left me more or less speechless.  There really wasn’t much to say.  The tree is spiritual.  It reportedly blooms two colors for over one hundred days, and is thought to be comprised of two grafts, a combination of the trunks and branches of the lionhead camellia and Camellia reticulata, both indigenous to the  mixed mountain forest in western and central Yunnan (Jinhu, 1996).  Lion’s head is the most popular cultivated variety among the Yunnan camellias and is often listed as C. hiemalis ‘Shishigashira’ – while others list the plant as C. sasanqua.  I’m not totally sure of this plant’s exact ancient heritage but it’s known to grow fast, grow tall, and be tough as nails.  Most of the 100-year old camellias in the Yunnan are lion’s head.  Lion’s Head flowers are colorful and grow in circles, four or five petals to a circle with about 30 petals total while C. reticulata blooms are smaller and white to pink to rose.  One Chinese source referred to the tree with this award-winning prose, “with the irradiation of the brilliant sunglow and the contrast of the green grassland, the flowering tree looks like burning flames from beyond. It is the real ‘King of the Camellia Trees’.”  Well said.

As we drove away, I kept thinking, “I need to get back here when it’s in bloom.”  For some reason, I felt that old lama will still be tending to the tree and ready to greet us with his quiet charm.  So the next time you’re rummaging around in the garden or in the nursery and you run across a ‘Shishigashira’ or a Yunnan camellia or two, think of the far away high mountains and forests of western China that make up the original home of camellias.

Jinhu, Pang, Feg Zhizhou, Zhu Baohua and Guo Siqin. Camellias of China.  1996. Compiled by the Yunnan Academy of Forestry Science, China Esperanto Press, 160 pp. ISBN: 7-5052-0259-6/J.22

 

 

Name:             Celtis sinensis ‘Green Cascade’ 

Description:    A strongly weeping Chinese hackberry 

Range:             Zone 6-9 

Care:               Quite drought-tolerant, well-drained soil

Sun:                 Part-shade to full sun 

Propagation:   Mist propagation of cuttings taken in late spring, early summer   

Attributes:      Fast-growing, smooth bark, must be staked, easy to train 

There’s one tree in the SFA Mast Arboretum that always makes the “let’s stop-and-talk-about-it” status on our garden tours:  the weeping Chinese hackberry.  Before you scowl, curse, or take on a fighting stance, hear me out.  I know it’s got that “hackberry” label, almost a slur in the South, and I admit that this is a special use tree.  There is no blinding color show, spring or fall.  Yet, this clone is so tragically geotropically-challenged, a real leader in the anti-apical dominant movement, that it deserves some defense for its good characteristics, primarily it strong weeping nature.  Buds produce shoots with one goal: head straight to the center of the earth.  No tendrils, no twining, and no clue for this beast.  Planted on the ground without support and you’ve got a hackberry snake.  Given a high-visibility, full-sun spot – tied, propped, staked, lifted, or draped – and you’ve got a special interest tree sure to draw attention and comment from hundreds of yards around – and always a conversation piece. 

Part of what makes the clone unique is its history.  According to Cliff Parks in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Celtis sinensis ‘Green Cascade’, was originally brought into the U.S. as part of a seed lot in 1983 (accession number 83H47).  This weeping form of the Japanese version of a hackberry is known from only a few trees in Nagano Prefecture in Japan. The tree from which Cliff collected seed (he was not allowed to take cuttings) is a national monument at Suwa Jinja shrine in the village of Kamiyamaguchimura in Nagano Prefecture.  Of ten seedlings produced, a strongly pendulous form was selected and named.  While certainly rare in the South, plants have been distributed to the gardening world by a select crowd of small to large nurseries.  

At SFA Gardens, our largest specimen separated the space between a daylily garden and the herb garden.  The leaves are a glossy green and the smooth, light gray trunk and major limbs are attractively muscled.  The Chinese Hackberry carries with it the reputation of durability and being a survivor under the worst of conditions – under good horticulture in the nursery or garden, growth is vigorous.  Propagation by pencil-sized cuttings is easiest in June (3 to 4” cuttings; avoid apical sections; 2000 PPM K-IBA dip).  Full to part shade container growth has been fast in a well-drained mix.   

This is a special use tree for a designer or landscape contractor looking for something a bit different.  In the right spot and given a little sculpting in the training years, there are few trees-that-want-to-be-vines that make quite as much of a statement as this special clone. Like all of us, it only gets better with age. 

Image of our largest Celtis sinensis at SFA Gardens

 Image of the big Celtis sinensis in Nanjing Botanical Garden, August 2015

Do dwarf Loblollies deserve a fan club?  We think so.  There’s a rarely seen form of loblolly pine – a dwarf – that needs more attention in the nursery and landscape world of the South.  Pinus taeda ‘Nana’ is a class act replacement for a number of pines that find use in the South.  With a little time and the right spot, a dwarf loblolly makes a statement like few other trees.

Let’s face it, pines dominate and define the South.  There are three main Pines in East Texas: Longleaf, Shortleaf, and Loblolly.  Loblolly pines run as far north as New Jersey, down to Florida and then all the way over to East Texas and Oklahoma.  They are everywhere.  They’re survivors, grow fast, and form the foundation of the southern timber industry.  In a good spot, they’re trouble free and low maintenance.  However, there’s a down side.  When houses pop up in their shade it isn’t long until home owners are staring sadly at 100’ towering giants with a well known reputation to fall right over into your living room.  Let’s face it.  Young pines like to lean toward sunlight and they grow fast when they’re favored.  They often are.  A house means a sunlight hole that trees push to fill.  In severe ice storms pines – particularly the long needled species – easily shed thigh-sized branches – making fine work out of anything they land on, or they simply fall over and say goodbye.    A good rule of thumb is to plant loblolly pines about 100 to 150 feet away from the house. 

Or, there’s another solution!  Well,  there are several interesting dwarf forms of Loblolly – rarely found at nurseries – that make fine specimens in time.  While rarely seen and propagated generally only by grafting, they are worth a search.  Doremus Nursery near Warren, Texas, has a stunning row of dwarf loblolly pines.  There are some beautiful trees at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NCSU.  I’ve seen dwarf forms on the east coast.  The late J.C. Raulston long touted the merits of dwarf adapted pines for sensible landscaping.  With a growth rate of about 20’ in twenty years, this is a specimen pine that will never threaten to smash your home, yet it will provide all the positives of a pine.  ‘Nana’ features a strong horizontal branching habit with a tendency to keep lower limbs.  It can be used as a woodland evergreen screen.  The tree form can best be described as dense and round to oval.

The dwarf loblolly is most often created by grafting a witches’ broom on a loblolly pine rootstock.  A witches’ broom is a part of a tree that displays unusually high branching and short stems. It’s often a seductive clump tucked on a branch high up in a tree.  If one can “harvest” that part of the tree (shotgun, climb the tree and cut it out, or just cut down the tree) and then graft scions to a loblolly rootstock, well, you would have a dwarf loblolly.  The root cause of a witches broom is complicated and rests with genetic changes that are often the result of some unique stress (aphids, bacteria, disease, etc.).  The seedlings of a witches broom can be but are not always dwarf.

Witches broom, image by Greg Grant

Isn’t it odd that there are so many cultivars associated with “exotic” pines – an amazing number, really – and so few with our very own natives?  P.  sylvestris, the Scotch pine, has perhaps a hundred varieties in the trade at any one time – a species, by the way, that is impossible across much of the South.  There are several dozen varieties of Japanese black pine, P. thunbergii, another species that seems to perform well here for about ten years before succumbing to one thing or the other.  So, how do exotic pines fare here in the Pineywoods?  Well, not so good.   Tip moth and beetles are the main culprits.  At one point, the SFA Mast Arboretum had 26 species of Pine that whittled down rather quickly to two exotics that survived.  One was the Himalayan pine, P. wallichiana, and the other was the Italian stone pine, P. pinea, which is quite long lived across the South.

When it comes to native pines of the South, we’ve got a long way to go in supply superior cultivars to the public.  As far as I know, the longleaf pine (P.  palustris) has no cultivars available.  The spruce pine (P. glabra) is native to South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida and performs well across much of the South but there are no known cultivars in the trade.  What about Shortleaf pine (P. echinata)?  Well, it’s pretty much the same picture, but we do have a “weeping” form from North Carolina that is slow growing but promises great things with age.  There may be a fastigiate (columnar) form of P. echinata but it is not yet in our collection. The general conclusion here is that Pines are a foundation for Southern landscapes – and when there’s diversity available it should be evaluated and capitalized on.

Culturally, dwarf loblolly can be treated as any other loblolly.  In general, the plant responds well to full sun, a well-drained site, mulch, medium fertilizer, and irrigation during dry spells particularly in the establishment years.  Because of its nature, a dwarf loblolly pine can be recommended for planting quite close to a home or structure.  The down side of dwarf loblolly pines right now is obviously availability (in any sizes) – and their economic sense in the nursery trade.  They are occasionally available at Doremus Nursery, Warren, Texas.  Part of the problem rests in educating the public and landscapers that there are solutions to many landscape projects where dwarf Loblollies are just the right choice.

This is a seedling from a batch of seed taken from a witches broom.  Out of several dozen seedlings we chose six that are dwarf.  I think Dawn named this one ‘Little Whiskers’.