Garden Practices
Monday, October 25th, 2010
The glossy red fruit, called a drupe, of Cornus florida is rapidly disappearing from our native dogwood. This fruit is a favorite of our feathered friends and furry tree climbers (squirrels) and is simple to propagate. The drupe of Cornus florida is a great seed for beginning propagators to experiment with as well as a simple project for experienced propagators. The biggest challenge is collecting the fruit before it is eaten by birds and squirrels.
Josh Coceano, Scott Intern, and Mary Thompson, greenhouse volunteer, collecting fruit from Cornus florida 'White Cloud'. photo credit: T. Patterson
Cornus florida is our native flowering dogwood producing beautiful flowers…
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Monday, September 13th, 2010
Summer heat is not complete without thunderstorms and lightning. As a kid you probably feared the sound of thunder more than lightning, while as an adult you know the lightning can cause the greatest damage, especially to trees.
Stuck by lightning this past summer, this Quercus phellos exhibits common physical indicators of a lightning strike, vertical stripping. photo credit: R. Robert
This summer a Quercus phellos by Sharples Dining Hall was stuck. Typical of common physical indicators of a lightning strike, vertical stripping displaying the wood underneath the bark was present long the trunk of the tree and on some major limbs. Bark…
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Friday, August 27th, 2010
This summer saw the removal of the last Malus tschonoskii on campus. As part of our mission to display great plants for Delaware Valley gardeners, we trial new introductions and cultivars of plants. Beginning in the 1980s, Scott Arboretum participated in the National Crabapple Evaluation Program led by Professor Les Nichols of Penn State University. This program evaluated readily available crabapple cultivars in various locations throughout the United States based mainly on disease resistance and aesthetic autumn appeal.
The last Malus tschonoskii on campus has succumb to fire blight. photo credit: R. Robert
Malus tschonoskii was among the over 50 species and cultivars…
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