Mumsy's Romantic Garden Advice

[MumsyII]

Darn it did it again!

Above is some cleome in our garden. They attract pollinators and hummingbird moths at dusk. They spread by seed readily here and have thorns.



This photo is a spot that needs work badly. This particular area gets sun and shady since it is partially covered by a red maple. There is a lilac in the area and a evergreen bush of some variety that was huge when we moved in. My husband cut it down and it is starting to grow back.

Does anyone have any Osage orange? I am curious about it. I have heard it is a good hedge that fruits and has thorns, but have also heard that it spreads a lot. I am wondering if I could do a hedge of the Osage, with the Hawthorne, and forsythia around my property line. I don't need a privacy, just something that keeps the chickens in and perhaps the roaming fox, deer and groundhog.

Osage orange is not familiar to me. I would like to hear more about this too. The Cleome is beautiful. I've never grown that. Lovely.

 

[armorfirelady]

So question about the Hawthorne tree, I been googling them to get more info on them. It shows some has red *fruit* on it. I don't ever remember seeing it on mine. It has the same blooms ans fruit like things on it though. Is it perhaps like other fruit trees that you need more than one for it to fruit correctly?

Back to researching......

 

[midnightroo]

Those words are so true Mumsy! I didn't know it was so invasive when she gave it to me. My husband just uses the trimmer on it when it gets too out of control.

I would be happy to send you some cleome seeds if you like. They create lots.

 

[echosrevenge]

Dammit! My phone ate my post....here goes again.

Osage Orange is native to the southern/westernish US and Mexico. It is a fast growing, thorny hardwood prized for furniture, implements, and especially bows for hunting and target shooting. The fruit it produces look citrusy, but as far as i know they're not a citrus, and the fruits are not edible (thought they are neat looking and fragrant). The tree is easy to grow from seed, but take it from me that both chickens and cats find the new seedlings irresistible. Osage Orange was widely planted all over the American West in the 19th century, with the adage that in four years a farmer could have a fence "horse-high, bull-strong, and hog-tight" with properly spaced and maintained Osage orange trees. They coppice readily and are nearly rot-proof when used as fence posts, even untreated an Osage orange fencepost will last over 50 years in the ground. They are an awesome plant for a hedgerow application, and with hawthorn and a couple of thorny native fruit-bearers, will be the backbone of the perimeter "fedge" (food-producing hedge) i will be starting this winter around our 5 acres.

Eta- despite its southern provenance, Osage orange is hardy at least to zone 4 (or I wouldn't be growing it) and possibly further north than that in certain situations. I'm not sure if it suckers, but I dont think so...as far as I know, it will coppice from a still like oaks, willows, and maples - sending up tons of shoots if the stump isn't removed after cutting - but in a hedge that's fairly desirable, as the new shoots can be woven together to make a wicked tight fence than nothing bigger than a gnat can get through unscathed.

 

[Kassaundra]

I've been wondering what osage orange is so I looked it up, I know it as Bois d'arc. Thorns seems like an understatement! lol






I have a mystery, I have a clematis I've had for years (over 5) and is is a pretty reddish purple single blossom. Today I walked by where it is (no other clemitas anywhere around) and it now has a bi-color flower, same color on the outer petal but each inner petal has white center.

 

[midnightroo]

Thank you echo. It sounds like something I am very interested in. I will be googling for a source tomorrow, unless you know of a good one.

 

[MumsyII]

So question about the Hawthorne tree, I been googling them to get more info on them. It shows some has red *fruit* on it. I don't ever remember seeing it on mine. It has the same blooms ans fruit like things on it though. Is it perhaps like other fruit trees that you need more than one for it to fruit correctly?

Back to researching......

Do both trunks produce fruit? Are both trunks blooming and setting fruit is what I mean. It could be the original Hawthorne has reverted to the graft part. I have a named 'Washington' Hawthorne in my garden. A white blooming one that produces heavy clusters of red fruit. The robins go nuts for them and when they are soft on the tree in December, huge flocks of them descend and eat them. Trees that revert back to the graft are like a rose. If the graft outlives the named plant, the surviving plant looks and behaves nothing quite like the named cultiver. Hawthorne's are notorious for suckering. I cut the suckers off at the ground and on the trunk of my tree every year. If I didn't, the suckers would take it over. This could have happened to your Hawthorne if that is the species of your tree. They don't need a different pollinator.

 

[MumsyII]

I've been wondering what osage orange is so I looked it up, I know it as Bois d'arc. Thorns seems like an understatement! lol






I have a mystery, I have a clematis I've had for years (over 5) and is is a pretty reddish purple single blossom. Today I walked by where it is (no other clemitas anywhere around) and it now has a bi-color flower, same color on the outer petal but each inner petal has white center.

That is interesting. I don't know why that would happen. Sometimes air temperature plays a role in bloom color. Hot weather fades strong colors. Cold weather intensifies pale colors. Without seeing a picture of before and after it's hard to know. Hmmm...That is a mystery.

 

[MumsyII]

Those words are so true Mumsy! I didn't know it was so invasive when she gave it to me. My husband just uses the trimmer on it when it gets too out of control.

I would be happy to send you some cleome seeds if you like. They create lots.

It is a hard lesson when first starting out to fill flower beds and borders. Bringing home buckets of roots and divisions and sticking them in the bed before reading up on them. I have found out the hard way that once in the ground, some undesirable plants will be around long after I'm gone.

Hey! I would love that. Let's do a seed swap!

 

[Kassaundra]

Ask and ye shall receive

these are the after shots from today





And the before




These were taken about a month ago on the same exact vine, nearly the same location on the vine.