What a cool plant! I looked up pics and it looks like the blooms are the size of people's heads.
FALL FOLIAGE AND BERRIES END OF SEASON PICS!! TAKE 2
Sally, the Big Leaf Magnolia is on my paper route and was planted by a customer about 6 yrs ago. Hasn't bloomed yet. Tree is in shady well protected understory spot and almost 25 feet tall with a very open branch structure. They do form suckers and are hard to produce from seed and is not super floriferous. It is considered a rare tree found in small pockets mostly in the Southeast, but can be grown in our area and further north if one can meet its 'conditions'.
Seq, yep, largest leaf and largest flower of any North American tree. The seed stalk is also huge.
I didn't notice this tree until several of the huge leaves blew out into the road and I went looking for the source even though I have driven past it every day for six years! Wonder what other goodies I am missing? Anyone know of a light purple flowering arching bush that blooms in October? Not a crepe myrtle.
Ironing them betw. sheets of waxed paper! Love that idea! Do the leaves have to be dried/pressed first (like the maple leaves in our old phone book)?
Nope. Just pick the prettiest colored ones and lay them down on one sheet, overlapping if you wish. Cover with another sheet of the waxed paper. Place a dish towel on top and iron to meld the paper together. You can use as a placemat or whatever. You need to have the towel so your iron doesn't burn the paper or make an awful mess of the iron. Haven't done this since I was a kid.
Thanks, Jan! We're not very patient around here with waiting for the leaves to dry in the phone book... LOL
thanks, coleup. Those leaves are astounding.
My Little Gem evergreen magnolia has tons of seeds this year. There is another older magnolia across the street so I don't expect this would come true from seed. But just for kicks, I might try to gather and germinate some. if i have time. If I process 50 seeds and get one, that's success.
Sally, I don't quite get it...do you mean that the one across the street is not a Little Gem and might have cross-pollinated yours?
My Little Gem produced a seedling at one point, but it disappeared. I don't know whether it died or something ate it.
Coleup, that Magnolia macrophylla is so cool! If your customer ever wants help digging up suckers, I volunteer.
yes Muddy, , it may not be pure Little Gem because of the neighbor
Seq - I know that the discussion of Euonymus alatus was quite a bit earlier on this thread, but I thought I pass along an update on our situation. The attractive bright red fall foliage that makes this plant popular also is useful in locating volunteer plants, with even the small ones looking like red survey marking flags. Today, using this visual aid I scoured a neglected, somewhat overgrown area of our yard, no more that 100 feet by 50 feet, and removed 71 (seventy-one) said plants ranging from 2 inches to 6 feet. Just so you know what lies ahead.
Wow, that certainly is plenty of those little buggers!
Hehehe
WOW, I had no idea they were that prolific. Don't have any here.
I have a confession. Thus far, I have allowed these probable Euonymus alatus shrubs to continue to exist in the forest, in part because I wasn't sure they were E. alatus. The odd thing is, and I think I have the deer to thank for this, I haven't yet spotted any seedlings. I'm going to take another close look though.
In my neck of the woods, the extremely invasive culprits are non-native Honeysuckle shrubs. I've been pulling up their offspring as fast as I can.
So, Sequoia, it's simple: all you need are deer, and I'll be more than happy to supply your area with a few dozen : - )
A few pics from my yard, still pretty colorful out there. Fothergilla gardenii 'Suzanne', mixed Sedums growing between the bricks in the patio, Nandina bush.
Looking pretty good Holly!
I really like 'Suzanne's' color.
Had to share this brownie cake pic. My 3 grandy daughters decorated it. They did a good job. Yummmmmy!!!
really cute, Jan!
It looks too pretty to eat, but I have a feeling it's going to be eaten pretty quickly anyway!
MMM....that looks delicious!
Does look really yummy.
You can easily bring some fall color indoors. I hated to just compost our Dusty miller, so I used a bit of it for a small centerpiece.
I started by covering a small block of Oasis with sphagnum, and inserting some Holly clippings around the perimeter. Then I added a few sprigs of red Azalea leaves and dusty miller. Finally I inserted a few small branches of bottle brush, and JM. I plan on refreshing the leaves with some Nandina as needed. The overall arrangement will last for weeks just be renewing sprigs of colored leaves, or even a few mums if you have them. :-}
OOps forgot the pic.
This message was edited Nov 17, 2014 10:36 AM
Good idea, Ric!
BTW, it was yummy!!!
Here is Ric's pic, don't think he ever got back to post it.
Very lovely! Great way to use a pretty, shallow dish, too... Hmmm... :-)
Loverly!!!
Bottom of a crystal candy dish that we picked up at a thrift shop.
This past Sunday Pat (ecnalg) and I went up to our property in WV to check on things. To our surprise our large Forsythia bush was in full bloom!??!
totally nuts! could it be a swan song?
just in case...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_song
Very strange! What zone is your property in?
Supposedly 6b.
I just love Google:
http://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/qa/confused-forsythia-blooms-in-the-fall-instead-of-spring
http://www.bhg.com/advice/gardening/trees-shrubs/what-makes-forsythias-bloom-in-fall/
This message was edited Nov 18, 2014 10:22 PM
What an interesting phenomena!
Most things are don here but Kerria japonica is still full of leaves and a bright yellow green today, while Wintersweet is still all green like summer. Oakleaf Hydrangea is still young, and in shade, it is slowly bronzing/ reddening it's ten or so leaves.
Dogwood berries are turning black, is that normal?
Which species of Dogwood, Sally?
Some Cornus species have dark berries to begin with (e.g. Silky Dogwood), but I've never seen red ones turn black. The birds and squirrels eat the Cornus florida berries in my yard so quickly that they would never have a chance to darken.
The red berries of Cornus florida are turning black on all of my trees.
Sally, that means they are ripe! Yipee, look for a crop of babies this spring. Put some pots with a n inch or two of soil in them under some of the trees and they will plant themselves and be ready to parcel out with out digging on your part.
Oh good, I was afraid it was fungus.
I get a fair number of babies.
This site has pics and comments on fruits. berries and seeds we might be seeing now:
http://www.easttennesseewildflowers.com/gallery/index.php/fruits
I really liked the Autumn Olive entry:
"Autumn Olive berries (Elaeagnus umbellata)
Unfortunately, birds love these juicy red berries, which causes this bush to take over in many places. Raccoons will also eat these berries, it is not uncommon to find pink scat (poop) in the fall! Many years ago during one of my outdoor classes, a 2nd grade boy came up to me with something in his hand. He asked, "What is this stuff, Mrs. Light?" I answered, "Bring it over to the rest of the class and we'll talk about it." He picked out a round object and asked, "What's this?" I said, "It's a wild cherry seed." Next, he picked out an oval-shaped object, "What's this?" "It's an Autumn Olive seed," I answered. Then he picked out a shiny, metallic green object and with a very skeptical tone in his voice, he frowned and slowly asked, "What's this!?" "A beetle wing", I answered nonchalantly. He then said, "What is this stuff!!!?" When I told him, "Raccoon poop!", he yelled, "Oooooh!" and pitched it into the air! I figured I shouldn't waste a good teachable moment since he already had it in his hand! :)"