Archive for New Improved Plants – Page 2

Selecting Dwarf Apple Trees for Small City Landscapes

Dwarf Apple Tree (Liberty ) with fruit in Cedar Hills Portland Landscape Design

Dwarf Liberty Apple Tree after pruning with fruit

Selecting Dwarf Apple Trees for Small City Landscapes

Recently I specified apple trees for a client with a small yard. I chose ‘Liberty’ for disease resistance and flavor and ‘Akane’.  Along with the name of the apple I wanted, I also specified which dwarfing root stock.  Why should we care about what root stock my apple tree is grafted on?  The first step to success in selecting dwarf apple trees for small city landscapes is picking the right root stock.  I define success as planting fruit trees that stay small but produce lots of fruit and are easy to care for. I picked an EMLA 26 for the ‘Liberty’ and an EMLA27 for the ‘Akane’ which we put into a container.

Dwarf Apple Tree Selection Tip

Please do not buy an apple tree with a tag that only says dwarf.  If the tag does not identify the specific root stock you have no idea how big the tree will be.  Given the small yards most people have these days….not knowing the size your tree will grow to is a mistake that will cause you grief literally as you remove a tree that you cannot manage just when it’s finally producing lots of fruit.

Why Plant Dwarf Apple Trees?

There are many excellent reasons to plant a dwarf apple tree grown on specialized root stock.

  1. Dwarf trees are compact.  If you are a beginner, you probably are in love with having a garden and want everything, all at once. Dwarf trees give you more room for “everything;” because they don’t use much room in the back yard.  Semi dwarf can be 18′ feet tall or more……..that is not small.
  2. Portland area landscape design with Dwarf Liberty Apple Tree pruned in Cedar Hills Oregon.

    Liberty Apple Tree pruned by homeowner

    Smaller trees make picking and thinning the fruit easier.  Dwarf trees produce lots of easy-to-reach fruit. This is very important, especially during the first few years, when you thin (pick off) half or more of the immature fruit so your tree can develop the strong wood it needs for a long and fruitful life. Some apple varieties require you pick all the flowers off for a couple of years which would be hard to do on a ladder.

  3. Spraying is easier, too.  When you learn how to spray the tree with a dormant oil, it will be so easy to completely coat the stems and the areas where the buds will break because you will be able to reach them. Check out this Spring Spraying of fruit tree coating a [watch video] tree with a dormant oil spray.
  4. Modern dwarf fruit tree rootstocks help you avoid common problems.  Please, please, please, don’t buy a tree with a label that just says “dwarf apple” or “mini pear” on the label.  The impulsive buy may cause you to miss all the fruits of recent horticultural progress.  Some root stocks in addition to dwarfing the size of the tree, allow your tree to thrive in heavy clay, you won’t get that from a non-specified root stock.  Instead, make sure that it tells you which specific rootstock the tree is grafted to. For example the label could say something like “EMLA 27 creates a 4-to-6-foot tall and wide tree, grows well in containers, tolerates clay soils and is resistant to rot and other diseases.”
  5. Espaliered apple tree in Milwaukie Oregon landscape design.Pruning a smaller tree is physically less work. You won’t even need a ladder.  Brainy Garden has a video on pruning dwarf fruit trees.  Pruning is not a no brainer.  Many sources conflict with each other on how much you should prune…..so best is a class from a local nursery or through the Home Orchard Society.  Not pruning promises that your little trees will rip and tear their branches from the weight of too many apples, so get some help.

Resources for Dwarf Apple Trees

This list of modern rootstocks and their characteristics gives you an idea of  how critical (and cool) it is to select the right root stock for your fruit tree.  I could come up with some more reasons, but you can see how dwarf fruit trees are perfect for how most of us live and garden—in smaller yards with less time but no less plant lust.   RainTree Nursery, One Green World or Burnt Ridge Nursery are three sources for special rootstock apple trees and more.

Landscape design includes dwarf apple trees 'Sentinel' take little space planted against the south wall in NE Portland.

Sentinel Apple Trees take little room in this south facing garden.

Don’t want to figure out which rootstock?

Talk to an expert at one of these specialty growers:   RainTree Nursery, One Green World or Burnt Ridge Nursery or The Home Orchard Society.  Portland Nursery (503-231-5050) has a specialist on staff who orders their fruit trees and they will be knowledgeable about root stocks.   Call ahead to be sure their expert is in.

 

Rose City Front Yard Landscaping With No Grass

Rose City residential front yard in need of child friendly landscape design.

Rose City Front Yard Landscaping With No Grass

Here is a classic Rose City Portland bungalow with a tiny front yard. My clients Julia and Bruce wanted a welcoming no lawn entry garden. They were planning to raise their family in this home so they wanted a landscape design for the long term. The front yard had difficult, near hostile growing conditions. Large trees to the south blocked sun and used up water and nutrients leaving little for other plants. Julia and Bruce had dealt with the greedy tree roots by installing raised beds for veggies in the front but then their new “Friends of Trees” street trees had grown to the point the veggies were not getting enough sun. The raised beds created a barrier, and made the walk to the front door too narrow. The raised beds had to go.

Landscape Designers Take

Our landscape design needs to solve these problems.

We need welcoming paths and walk that easily accommodate strollers and for extracting children from car seats. There was no path from the driveway to the front walk. They wanted some colorful plants and also winter interest for the front entry. They were ready to lose the raised beds and wanted to have professionals install the new front yard landscape. They wanted low maintenance in the front so they could focus their yard work efforts in the back where they have fruit trees and some edibles.

Julia and Bruce like and enjoy plants and when they have time, they like to play gardener so our planting plan needed to have spark…….but stay low maintenance in the front so they could focus their yard work efforts in the back.

Our plants need to be able to thrive in a hostile environment so the plants needed to be selected by an experienced garden designer. Our new plants will thrive in difficult light, soil full of greedy tree roots and become able to thrive with less water and little maintenance as they mature. The plants also need to be useful to birds, and insects including bees, providing food over a long period of time. Many plants will have color and interest year round and create a view from inside the house looking out the picture window. The current view was a neighbors driveway and a large number of garbage cans.

Unique Light Situation – Hot Shade

While they are not the only Portlanders who have trees blocking light, I want to point out that south facing yards with deciduous shade trees  require thoughtful planting for success. I call it hot shade. There is no morning light. The afternoon light will fall between the leaves of the neighboring trees and the plants will receive dappled light for intermittent periods of time. Late afternoon the front yard will get a blast of direct hot sun for at least an hour before the street trees leaves filter the summer sun into dapples again. The dappled light will support many kinds of plants nutritionally, (remember plants eat sunlight)  but the blast of full sun will toast deep shade plants leaves. There are not enough hours of  light to support full sun plants. Yep not fair!

In between plants for Rose City residential front yard landscape design.Solving This Dilemma

Internet authorities and plant books have lists of plants for shade and sun primarily but there is an entire universe of what I call “between plants”. For this tough little Portland front yard, I selected “shade” plants that I know will take quite a bit of sun. Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’  is one such plant. The first summer its leaves will scorch and so I always tell clients what to expect so they don’t think I’m off my rocker. The second summer there will be less leaf scorch if proper watering occurs. Not every Brunnera variety will tolerate afternoon sun dappled or not but ‘Jack Frost’ will.

Closer to the sidewalk and more sun, I selected (more “between plants'”) full sun plants that I know will tolerate some shade.  They don’t require 10 hours of direct sun to thrive.  Most black eyed Susan (rudbeckia) are listed as full sun plants but I have used them happily in part shade areas. Those dapples of light make enough food for them.  They are a perfect example of a “between plant’.

The sun was more intense and less dappled closer to the sidewalk so I placed the more sun tolerant plants there, including hens and chicks, summer flowering heather (calluna vulgaris) lavender and the strawberry tree. The strawberry tree was planted on a mound to help it thrive because it needs excellent drainage and this is a flat yard, and also to give it a head start from the big trees greedy roots. When the strawberry tree matures, the lavender will have to be removed as there will be too much shade for them at that point.

Portland hardscape path in Rose City residential front yard landscape design.Hardscape

We installed a path to the front walk from the driveway. There were a few muddy small flagstones there before. We actually walked though the motions of unloading a child from a child seat to sell ourselves on the idea of making the path even wider. When the front yard is so small it can seem wrong, or at least sad, to add more hardscape and take away room for plants; but being able to get kids and their accessories out of the car without contortion is a lovely thing.

The landscape contractor, D & J Landscape Contracting, used large flagstone to create this path and it’s so exactly what my clients wanted. It’s quiet beauty and thoughtful placement of each flagstone enhances the entire entry experience.

Potted dogwood for Rose City Portland landscape design.Foundation Planting Trick – Pot up that Red Twig Dogwood

For a little winter drama we planted a red twig dogwood in an attractive pot for the entry pizzazz. There is enough sun (remember those dapples!) to allow the twigs to go a dark red in the winter and have green and cream leaves for spring through summer and a bit of fall color.  If the twigs are in too much shade, there will not be pretty red twigs in winter and that would not produce the drama we want for winter.

Too often these narrow planting beds next to a house have vine maple or other small trees planted in a 36″ wide bed. This turns out badly because soon it will have to be deeply whacked just so people can use the walkway.  This will happen with my red twig dogwood too unless we cheat.

This is one tough plant and a great performer but it is not a forever carefree solution because it will get too big. They will have to remove the shrub/small tree red twig dogwood from the pot every 3 years and whack at least 1/3rd to 1/2 of the roots off or it will crack a glazed ceramic pot. You can plant it in a plastic pot and not have to root prune it.  Then in perhaps 5 to 7 years you will have to cut the pot off the plant, root prune the plant and put it in a new pot.

Their Google Review of Landscape Design in a Day

‘Listens to what you want (bird habitat, hosting, kids play area, privacy, interior views, etc.) and then draws up plans to fit your needs. Happy to refine the plans until it fits just right.

Great knowledge of plants. Chooses ones to accentuate your favorite season and colors.

Easy to work with. Had great references for contractors and where to source materials for a self completed project.’  Bruce and Julia

Strawberry tree focal point in residential Rose City landscape design.The Plants

Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’   Dwarf Strawberry Tree will become our focal point for the front entry  and our picture window view.

This large shrub or small tree looks wonderful in winter with its red “strawberries” and yes the fruit drop can be a little messy. If you are a neat nik pass on this plant.  My clients loved the color of the bark, color of the berries and are prepared to deal with some fruit drop. Butterflies use this plant for a host so don’t be alarmed if you see a large number of one kind of caterpillar on it. Do nothing and enjoy the show. The berries don’t taste good to people but some birds will eat them if hard pressed.

This tree will have a sinuous cinnamon barked trunk and branches and will become the focal point. Because it is evergreen it will also provide my clients with a view of something other than the  driveway and garbage cans across the street from their picture window. It’s all about the shape of the small tree so I suggest either no pruning or having a pro come and visit every five years. It’s very low water needs and will tolerate the hot sun and reflected heat from the driveway and sidewalk too so it fits our site perfectly.

Plant List

Arbutus Unedo Compacta – Dwarf Strawberry Tree

Azorella Trifurcata ‘Nana’ – Dwarf Cushion Bolax

Brunnera Macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ – Siberian Bug gloss

Azorella t. 'Nana' Cushion Bolax steppable ground cover in Rose City Park landscape design.

Azorella t. ‘Nana’ Cushion Bolax steppable ground cover.

Callunla vulgaris a perfect evergreen groundcover for Portland Oregon residential landscape design.

3″ high cascading textural wonder ground cover (photo from Singing Gardens)

Calluna Vulgaris – Summer Heather

Residential Landscape Design Portland Oregon Ice Dance Carex Grass with Sky Pencil Holly

Ice Dance Carex Grass with Sky Pencil Holly

Carex Morrowii ‘Ice Dance’ – Evergreen Grass

Daphne Odora ‘Marginata’ – Variegated Winter Daphne (existing)

Erica Carnea - Early Spring Flower Color attracts honey bee. Used in Portland residential landscape design.

Erica Carnea

Erica Carnea – Spring Heather

Rudbeckia f. ‘Little Goldstar’ – Dwarf Black Eyed Susan

Sword Fern - Polystichum munitum in Portland SW Hills in residential landscape design.

Sword Fern (Polystichum Munitum)

Polystichum Munitum – Native Sword Fern (existing and new plants)

Saxifraga ‘London’s Pride’ – Groundcover

Sedum ‘Cape Blanco’ – flower food for brown elfin butterfly and groundcover for landscape

Hen and Chicks in Portland residential landscape design

Remember: no mulch over your Hen and Chicks to avoid rot

Sempervirens – Hens and Chicks

Vaccinium Ovatum – Huckleberry (existing) host for brown elfin butterfly

Does this Portland residential project inspire your front yard? Contact me to see how I can help your landscape design.

 

Tips to succeeding with Manzanita in Portland Residential Landscapes 

How to Help Your Manzanita Thrive In St. Johns Portland 

Arctostaphylos in container at Xera Plants for St. Johns Portland

Drought tolerant landscaping in Southeast Portland

Manzanita (called Arctostaplylos – Arc toe staff eye loss) is the new cool darling plant here in Portland. The reasons why are numerous, unique “new” plant, drought tolerance, attractive in winter and all year, and there are now many diverse shapes and sizes to work with that will survive here. Years ago I only used this plant for a plant collector garden because they knew it was a crap shoot as to whether it would survive at all.   

As a Portland landscape designer I want plants that will serve many purposes in my designs. For people who are done with the overuse of Rhododendrons and Azalea and want drought tolerant plants, Manzanita is the perfect plant. Before you fall in love, I want to give you some tips for succeeding with Manzanita in Portland. They have requirements that must be met if you want them to thrive. 

Please see my previous blog “Portland Landscape Designer Advocates use of Manzanita in Xericscapes”.

Tips for succeeding with Manzanita in Portland 

Select the right site, conditions and plant companions 

Most are intolerant of summer water….clients must understand that they cannot coddle these plants, they cannot plant annuals with them for summer color, they cannot fertilize, they cannot water these plants after they are established or they will die.

Enhance Your Manzanita Health’s by Planting on a Berm 

Kinnikinnick is a form of Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) often used in Portland as a groundcover.

Ground cover Manzanita in Raleigh Hills

In many Portland landscapes planting on a berm will be necessary to avoid root rot. You will see bermed soil areas here even in parking strips. Portland parking strips (the 4’ wide ones) are a popular place for many of the new smaller types of Manzanita and for drought tolerant or xeric styled plantings. Most of the Manzanita I am using are too wide for a 30” parking strip.

 

Manzanita Planting Companions

Planting companions must have the same no water requirements because it’s hard to remember not to water one plant and that you must water the one next to it. If any kind of auto irrigation is used the first summer it must be disconnected, dismantled, hell-dismembered so no one accidentally waters that second summer.   

I select companions from Mediterranean or NW native plant palettes. Some mid west native prairie plants also work well with Manzanita. Herbs, ornamental grasses and xeric perennials like Penstemon or ice plant are easy companions and Heather (Calluna Vulgaris types) are one of my favorite for texture contrast.  

Irrigation solution for drought tolerant manzanita in Portland landscape design.

Irrigation drip tube is replaced with solid black pipe to protect manzanita from irrigation water.

Buy small plants 

It’s best to buy small plants (a one or two gallon size) and they will establish faster than a larger plant with a higher survival rate. Large sizes of these plants are not available anyway. Many of these plants will be available in a 4” pot or perhaps a quart sized pot. Smaller plants make more sense in this case but don’t expect them to be inexpensive. You are paying for all the research and extensive work to create these new plants. 

Manzanita has well formed leaves and most flower in winter for St. Johns Portland neighborhood.

Drought tolerant landscape design, Manzanita shrub in North Portland

 

Drought tolerant Manzanita in St Johns Neighborhood Portland Oregon

Austin Griffiths Manzanita in front yard of St. Johns Home – year 5.  It was planted as a  tiny 1 gallon plant 5 years ago.

Select the right Manzanita 

The trial and error approach for picking which one to buy and where to plant it is going to be very frustrating. There are quite a few new plant types to pick from and some grow very fast, some slow. Some may be pruned hard because they have a burl (what’s a burl?) and others would be ruined with such treatment.

Austin Griffiths Manzanita close up of leaf and flower bud is a great drought tolerant plant for St. Johns Portland.

Austin Griffiths is one of the most popular manzanita in Portland landscapes. Here is a close up of the flower buds getting ready to open in late January 2023.

Your Portland landscape designer needs to be an expert or have access to one. If you are on your own, buying from Cistus Nursery or the retail store Xera Plants, Inc. is the best way to get the expertise you need from their very knowledgeable staff.   

I talked to Alana Chau at Cistus Nursery. Here is her list of plants that will be available that I especially liked. 

 Arctostaphylos hookeri ‘Green on Black’  18” high and can handle some clay soil. 

Arctostaphylos × media ‘Martha Ewan’ is a nice size maturing at three feet tall and it can be tip pruned. It gets wide so give it room to be 4 or 5 feet wide. 

Arctostaphylos Stanfordiana ‘Mills’ or A x ‘White Lanterns’ both at 4’ tall 

Arctostaphylos Dr Hurd’ is a curvaceous 8′ to 10’ tall small tree and is planted at the entrance to Cistus Nursery 

Arctostaphylos  mewukka or Arctostaphylos patula can be pruned heavily. (They have a burl and once established they can be pruned back to the burl, for non horticultural nerds just know this means you could plant one of these closer to your walkway than many of the other varieties because the size could be controlled without ruining the appearance of your plant.) 

(We designers get excited about plants who fit into a small landscapes so we might be more excited that this burling option than you are). 

 My manzanita guru, Paul Bonine explains about burls in his article in Pacific Horticulture, Arctostaphylos for Pacific Northwest Gardens “Some Arctostaphylos species develop an enlarged area called a burl at soil level; new shoots emerge from the burl following fire or extreme drought, or from extensive pruning to rejuvenate a plant in the garden.”

Contact us

We love using drought tolerant plantings that meet your environmental standards in our Portland landscape designs.  Contact us and together we will create an attractive low water landscape to enhance the beauty of your home and reduce the water you use to care for your plantings.

Drought Tolerant Landscaping with Manzanita Plants in Portland

Drought Tolerant Landscaping with Manzanita Plants in Portland

Why am I excited about using Manzanita in my Portland landscape designs? 

Flowers for pollinators in winter from snow tipped Arctostaphylos in North Portland

Manzanita shrub in Arbor Lodge landscape. Landscape Design in a Day

It’s the water

To advocate the use of Manzanita is to advocate the use of drought tolerant plants. Happily we landscape designers are encountering more clients these days who want a low water landscape or want a completely drought tolerant yard. I can advise about the site conditions drought tolerant plants require and select attractive plants that meet the curb appeal test in addition to drought tolerance.   

Unique look 

Manzanita flowering in Woodlawn neighborhood of Portland - Garden Design

Manzanita flowering in Woodlawn neighborhood of Portland – Garden Design

It’s a new look for the landscape. My younger clients are done with  rhododendrons and azaleas, which are somewhat over used here. While Manzanita has attractive flowers, it is the whole package, foliage color, shape of plant, bark color and flower that is creating the popularity. I’m especially happy with the boost these plants give to the winter landscape. 

Fusion of modern style with NW Natural  

These plants are too naturalistic for formal landscapes but they look great with modern and craftsmen homes.  Style-wise Manzanita fit nicely with NW natural,  Mediterranean or even a southwestern look.  We get strong foliage contrast with  leaf blades (Yucca or ornamental grass), tiny needles like dwarf conifer,  heather (calluna type), lavender or fat leafed succulents like hens and chicks or sedum palmeri or other sedums.

New kinds of Manzanita to use in landscapes 

Drought tolerant Manzanita in Irvington garden design as foundation plant

Drought tolerant Manzanita in Portland garden design as foundation plant.

The fact that we now have more than one kind of Manzanita we can use can be laid at the feet of a handful of people who have crossed different kinds of Manzinita to produce plants that can thrive in our rich Willamette Valley soils.  They then tested the plant in different soil conditions and identified the plants that can handle life in an non irrigated garden or landscape.

When I started my Portland landscape design practice in the 1990’s there was a native Manzanita tree from the Oregon coast that “sometimes” survived here. They are so beautiful that I was tempted.  Still “sometimes” was not good enough for my designs.  I needed cold hardy Manzanita ground covers, shrubs, and small trees that would thrive here in the Willamette Valley and there weren’t any. Now I have them!!! 

Less weeding 

This benefit could take some time to realize.  Manzanita leaves contain a substance that discourages weeds. Leaves that shed from the plant should be left in place. It takes several years for these small leaves to build up enough of the substance in your soil to be effective. 

Pruning tip

Arctostaphylos drought tolerant landscape design planting in SE PortlandOne of the common mistakes with Manzanita is to underestimate the width of the shrubs and small trees. Most cannot be pruned heavily and can be rendered so unattractive by pruning that tries to contain them, they will be removed. If you have no pruning skills (and most people don’t) be sure to place these plants where they have room to mature with yearly tip pruning only. 

Where to find these plants? 

While Xera Plants, Inc. and Cistus Nursery are the primary resource for retail, there are the Hardy Plant

Contact us

 Society Sales (spring and fall) and tried and true mail order plant resources.

If you are wanting drought tolerant landscaping and need a landscape designer contact me, I love to design with Manzanita. 

 

Trees for Portland Residential Landscape Design in Woodstock neighborhood

Portland residential landscape design in Woodstock

Young Japanese elm in Woodstock neighborhood

Trees for Portland Residential Landscape Design in Woodstock neighborhood

One September afternoon while in Portland’s Woodstock neighborhood I  drove by a former client’s home. My clients had moved, and I was curious to see how the design (installed a dozen years ago) had held up. Once clients move I rarely have continuance with the landscape.  

This drive by is a mixed bag.

Shade Tree for the backyard

Affordable Landscaping Portland design in residential Woodstock.

The shade tree for the back yard is absolutely perfect, and exactly what I had envisioned. This is the part of drive bys I like the best. I used a Japanese Elm – Zelkova serrata variety called ‘Wireless’ because it’s one of the few shade trees that is compatible with lawn and ‘Wireless’ is the perfect shape and size to provide shade for city landscapes.

Their leaves are smaller than most shade trees and allow dapples of sunlight through the canopy to the lawn while filtering out the heat. The exaggerated vase shape of the tree also allows light to come in under the tree in the morning and late afternoon.  This tree provides shade to the south facing deck and the back of the house. It will get over 30’ wide at the top. It matures at 25’ tall so it is a tree that will be wider than it is tall.

If you are a discerning shade aficionado you will say hmmm…… the shade tree doesn’t have low branches so how can you sit on the back deck and have dinner without being blinded by the south sun? We kept a mature mixed hedge at the back of the property and it will block those dinner hour sun rays. The shade tree will filter the hottest sun of the day.

Privacy Screen Planting for side yard

Residential Garden Design Portland, Oregon Woodstock neighborhood.Less successful is the privacy screen planting for the side yard.  I used a narrow variety of Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus ‘Franz Fontaine’) to block the view of the neighbor’s driveway and their vehicles and also to create an attractive view from the bedroom Affordable Landscaping Portland residential trees.windows. For the design to be functional, the Hornbeam would need to be pruned once or twice a year to become a 10’ narrow wall of thick leaves. The maintenance did not happen since my clients moved.  Now the side yard privacy screen is wildly out of scale and the charm is gone.

Make an appointment to start your Portland residential landscaping with designer Carol.