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In My Garden Blog

April 10, 2008
Mid-Atlantic
By Charlotte Kidd,
Radnor, PA

Unwrapping the fig tree is a spring ritual.

Spring Blooms

Opening the cottage gate, I sniffed the night air, then inhaled deeply. Yes, it was the sweet scent of star magnolia in bloom. When untouched by a late freeze, Magnolia stellata bursts into an early spring flurry of white flowers. I snipped about a dozen short branches dripping with blossoms. Each waxy petal is fragrant; some have a hint of pink. Fuzzy flower buds peek above drooping petals attached to angular, gray-brown branches. One vaseful goes upstairs; the other sits on the dinner table. Sniff. Breathe.

In Angela's East Falls garden, we did the annual unveiling of the fig. Scissors, ladder, and utility knife to start; patience and dexterity to finish. First we clipped the strings encircling this 8-foot by 6-foot package. Unwrapping layers of burlap and frost-protection fabric, we looked for bulbous signs of figs on rubbery, bare, brown branches. We freed the tightly bound branches -- unwinding twine stretched and pulled last December -- then removed oak leaves protecting the lower trunk and roots. We sprinkled lime and fertilizer for good measure.

More Spring Treasures
On sunny hillsides in southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and at the New York Botanical Garden, blue Chinodoxia, purple Iris reticulata, white Siberian squill, and yellow daffodils dazzle the eye. Blue violas, purple Johnny-jump-ups, and perky pansies delight, and many more plump buds promise color when temperatures are favorable.

Rhododendron, Azalea, or Both?
Say "rhododendron" and most people envision large-leaved, evergreen, big-budded shrubs. Rhododendron 'Maximum Roseum', rhododendron Dexter series, and native Rhododendron catawbiense are popular big-leaf rhodies. In this case "rhododendron" is both the common and botanical name, Robert Herald recently told plant lovers in a talk at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. Large-leaved rhododendrons are "elepidote" -- without scales on the undersides of the leaves, he added.

Herald knows his rhodies. As plant recorder at Tyler Arboretum in Media, Pennsylvania, he's involved in the restoration of that historic rhododendron collection. He teaches courses about flowering shrubs and trees at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, and is horticulturist at Chanticleer, A Pleasure Garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

In general, three more types of flowering shrubs fall under the umbrella of the genus Rhododendron, which includes over 1,000 species. There are small-leaved rhodies with scales; evergreen azaleas; and deciduous azaleas. "Lepidote" rhododendrons have scales underneath their small leaves. These compact rhododendrons withstand more sun and bloom earlier than their big cousins. Rhododendron lapponicum, native American evergreen Rhododendron minus (formerly called R. carolinianum), and Rhododendron mucronulatum 'Cornell Pink' are lepidotes.

Azalea is the common name for rhododendrons with small, scaleless leaves and azalea flowers with five or six pollen-bearing stamens. Most azaleas bloom a bit earlier than large-leaved rhododendrons. The evergreen azaleas are native to Japan and China. They grow spring leaves that drop in the fall and hairy summer leaves that persist through winter.

Deciduous azaleas, such as the fragrant white swamp azalea and the showy flame azalea, lose their leaves in winter. Most are native to North America.

I’m curious which variety of fig you’re growing…? I gave my Dad a
‘brown turkey’ many years ago, which I managed to keep going (for at
least a few years after his death) by overwintering in the garage.
Alas, it now too is gone… 
I’ve seen unprotected figs survive here (zone 6b/7) in the right
microclimate, so I know it can be done, but I think good genes would
be essential where conditions (or the caregiver) are less optimal.
Any suggestions?

Also, re: “Check Your Tree Branches” in Reminders: I’d like to
reiterate the importance of contracting with a trained, certified
arborist. Many so-called ‘tree services’ do not have the training or
inclination to do right by our trees. Often they’re focused on the
quick fix (for example, branch removal) and not on the long-term
benefit of the tree (future direction and type of growth, strong
limbs, pleasing shape, etc.). Over time, a botched hatchet job may
develop weakened, hollow branches or trunks; aberrant growth; or
disease---all because of poor technique. I’ve seen much such damage
in my neighborhood.

Here on Long Island, ‘tree services’ are in abundance; licensed
arborists are more difficult to find. (Think about it: Anyone with a
saw can start a ‘tree service’, but you need real knowledge to be a
certified arborist.) If ‘stump grinding’ or ‘limb removal’ is the #1
claim to fame, run the other way! On the other hand, when there’s a
licensed arborist on staff, an ad will usually say so---it sets the
business apart from the ‘tree service’ chaff. Arborists have the
know-how to safely remove damaged or dangerous limbs, in a manner
that considers the future growth and health of the tree. 

(Oh, and by the way, another pet peeve of mine---a guy who mows the
lawn is a lawn service, not a landscaper!)

Hi Pat, I asked the fig owner to id her fig by way of a website with
fig photos. She described her figs as white. She emailed "The Desert
King looks most like them but could also be Peters Honey Fig or
Conadria." Her fig came by way of a cutting a friend gave to her
brother. She grew it inside to about 16 inches, then I planted it in
her back yard. I'm not a fig expert so can't speak to nature versus
nurture here. I do know there I've seen quite a few mature fig trees
in Philadelphia yards and gardens.

I've read it is crucial to keep fig tree roots from freezing - which
is increasingly easier here in light of global climate change.
Blossoms up, Charlotte

Hi again, Pat. Thanks for reinforcing the importance of consulting
and hiring a trained, certified, licensed arborist to evaluate,
prune and treat trees in the landscape - especially mature, large,
any tree whose branches you can't reach to prune while standing on
the ground. 

Trees are alive. Any pruning wounds a tree. Mature trees are very
vulnerable to damage from improper, poor pruning. A trained,
certified arborist knows and understands the implications of those
cuts. The arborist should, as you write,
know how to safely remove damaged or dangerous limbs and prune other
branches in light of the tree's future growth and health. 
Charlotte

Many thanks, Charlotte, for the fig info! And, thanks again re:
comments on arborist.

--Pat

Hi Pat, this info exchange is helpful for me too. Thanks for your
tips as well.
CHarlotte

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