KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Saturday September 19 2009

Ginkgo biloba Maidenhair Tree 'Princeton Sentry'

The beloved Ginkgo, commonly cultivated in North America for over 200 years, is the link and sole represenative of a group of plants that lived throughout parts of the world 150 million years ago.

As hard as it is to believe how very unique and old the Ginkgo is, almost as difficult to understand his botanical classification. He is a deciduous conifer. In simplified terms, he is a conifer that is not evergreen. This tree is the ultimate definition of durable, long lived, easy care, disease free and non-invasive. He is a unique sun or light shade choice for cultivated and natural spaces.

The Ginkgo tree selections most commonly available are male (fruitless) and available through reputable nurseries. This distinction is an important feature to be aware of because the fruit bearing female trees produces stinky, messy fruit –like fleshy, seed pods.

He features the most well known trait of this species; the interesting and very easy to identify double-lobed fan-shaped leaves. These leaves have a unique vein pattern as well as a rather thick leather-like appearance. This only adds to his tough guy appeal.

He is available through most reputable nurseries. He has established a good reputation for himself. His employment history includes urban street tree use, municipal settings, commercial and private properties.

'Princeton Sentry', is my favorite cultivar. A manly tree, he can reach a mature height of 40’-50’ which is fairly representative of his family (the species.) He also has retained upright, narrow conical habit. And just like his grandpa always did, he flushes his leaves a bright polished gold as the season draws to a close. When the leaves do finally drop, they drop almost in one day, creating a blanket of gold that reaches from trunk to drip line.

Care Factor Rating: 1 (must be watered regularly till established and does not require pruning! Remove only the occasional damaged or dead branch) Perfect for urban situations and municipal park use. He has no enemies-pest disease or otherwise! Expect a moderate growth rate that slows and fills out wonderfully with age!

550 KTRS Inside Out Show September 12 2009

Nyssa sylvatica

Nyssa sylvatica is a handsome moderate to slow-growing ornamental native tree that is also known as Black gum and Sour gum (but not a relative of the messy sweet gum! )

As a common resident of Missouri’s southern lowlands and dry rocky slopes, the Black gum demonstrates the versatility needed to thrive in Missouri’s ever changing seasons. He is happy with the wide range of soil types including clay and inconsistant, sometimes boggy moisture levels. This makes him a perfect choice for energy conscience landowners who want an easy tree as well as water conservationists looking for a tree that handles the rainfall issues common in the span of a season!

He a perfect mixer for natural and cultivated situations such as the perimeter of a low spot or even a rain garden. He is also just as well suited as a featured specimen in a formal setting. He is so good looking, that he perfect whenever more is better! Consider planting your own woodland sanctuary with him as a main component. He is as truly as handsome as he is versatile!

His has a naturally beautiful posture with a straight trunk that supports a well defined rounded crown fit for a king by the time he reaches maturity. In the meantime, his silhouette is more pyramidal as he focuses all his effort on stretching up to a significant height. Eventually he is likely to reach 30-50' tall, though there is an occasional boast-filled report of trees reaching an estimate of 90'. With these good genetics- anything might be possible! What a sight that would be to lean against such a trunk and gaze upward into such a glorious canopy.

He does produce rather small, greenish-white that are packed with nectar for beneficial pollinators including bees. These modest flowers are then replaced by tiny energy snack fruits attractive to song birds. This tree has it all- including tumbling fall colors that swirl hypnotically in the sun, creating a kaleidoscope of scarlet, orange and red in the autumn sky!

Care Factor Rating: 1 (must be watered regularly till established and does not require pruning! Remove only the occasional damaged or dead branch) Perfect for urban situations and municipal park use.

KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Saturday September 5th 2009 Beautyberry

American Beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana)-not Winnterberry!!!!!

Beautyberry is a truly beautiful multi-season shrub for landscapes and rain gardens. She is valued mostly for her attractive fall berries that develop from a profusion of tiny fairy size flower wreaths that decorate her branches mid-summer. She is frequently overlooked as a perfect option for screening and transitioning from cultivated spaces to natural areas

Her sweet verbena-like flowers are stacked in clusters up and down every stem. These little blossoms bring in the butterflies in summer and then transform into bountiful clusters of pretty plum violet berries. These berries are a winter food source for song birds and a great backdrop for fall bloomers such as mums and asters. Because of her strong stems and naturally upright growth, she is also a welcomed addition to flower arrangements.

This Missouri native woodland edger loves to stabilize stream bed edges and assist with controlling erosion. She likes moist clay and tolerates but doesn’t require a lot of organic matter so she manages quite well in average soil and average moisture conditions.

She flowers and fruits best in full sun but grows easily in light shade. Her needs are minimal once she is showing annual growth. Missouri is the northern edge of her natural range, so occasionally her branches might be killed back to the ground. Since she flowers on her new growth, this is not a problem. Her ability to recover from winter damage is remarkable so even after harsh winters; she can create a significant screen by mid season. To keep her habit more compact, plan to prune back no more than 1/3 of her height in early spring on years when there is no dieback.. Do not begin this treatment till after she is established and showing good growth annually.

Care Factor Rating: 2 She must be watered regularly till established and does not require pruning when given adequate space! She will tolerate a once a year non-selective pruning to1/3 in early spring before the leaves develop.
if a more compact size is desired. This will not prevent flowering or berry production! To showcase her natural beauty remove only winter dieback or the occasional damaged or dead branch.
She is a slow to moderate growing cane shrub like many of our best performer. This means she spreads gradually by increasing from the crown / base by producing new shoots from the base annually. This makes her a perfect choice for hedge or screening but If her individual personality is to remain defined, consider limiting the basal area / spread of this shrub in early spring before the leaves develop. Beautyberry is mostly disease and pest free. Flowering and fruiting are best when several are planted together.