Hovenia dulcis

I have grown a few Hovenia dulcis in containers for a several years and really love the foliage, but my luck in the garden has been awful. I planted one late in the fall three years ago and it died back to the ground over winter. What growth it made that summer was destroyed that fall when I accidentally dropped a railroad tie on it. In haste (again, as always) this past fall, late, I planted one of my other seedlings, and it is looking like it too will have considerable dieback, already, despite a really warm winter (but we did get to 10F one night).

I have never seen Hovenia in any area arboretums. Has anybody seen it grow in Zone 6 or colder? I didn't think this tree had a hardiness issue, from what I've read, but now I wonder. The evidence would be so much clear cut if I had ever bothered to give this tree a good home, but I haven't.

As it is, I have one seedling left and a bunch of seeds in the garage, so I'm willing to go another round with it, but I am wondering who knows what about this tree. If anyone has seen a mature one, if you could give me a details on shape and bark, I'd appreciate that too.

Scott

Scott,
Here's what my friend Robert Redmon, at UofA-Huntsville, has to say about it, with photos of the specimen(s) he has growing on the campus there: http://www.uah.edu/admin/Fac/grounds/RAISINTR.HTM . He seems to think it ought to do OK on up into zone 5.
A Louisville (KY) native, Robert mentions one in Cave Hill Cemetery in L'ville, so maybe VV can give us some insight.

Beautiful pic of yours Scott. Sure hope all the thousands of seed I got chilling right now grow up and look as good as yours. You got some more pics of yours I can see. The one s on the web don't even come close to the deatil and looks of yours.

Thanks for the link, Lucky. That was helpful information. Starlight, my seeds chilling? I'm not so sure. It has been so warm. Yesterday I checked all my bags of seeds and found that some had germinated! Mostly alpines such as silenes, salvias, phyteumas, and a few others, but also Sorbus alnifolia was sprouting at a prodigious pace. Caused me to improvise, because I'm not really set up to be pricking out germinated seedlings quite yet. Now watch the temps plunge and force me to rush all these pots inside.

It has been a strange year.

Scott

Strange year is right, I have emptied out my fridge, but all of a few necessities , to keep my seed chilling in the fridge. I was hoping to put them out to inter chill, but the temps are too warm. Other than that one cold blast, I running in the 60's 70's during the day and last night it was another 60F. I moved all my tropicals back outside so they could photosynthesis better and catch some rain. Tonight I will bring them back in cuz it going to 35F.

Gonna go find me another old used fridge to put more tree seed pots in. If I don't put them in a fridge, afraid they won't germinate, and now you watch about the time I get another fridge and load it up, we will get abnormal freezing temps.

Don't kno wif you've seen this or not. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HODU2
It has a couple of pics of the plants and the bark. Leaf photo's are no where near as good as yours, that why I was excited to see yours.

This site had said it was frost tender. If you go down to the bottom of the page you wil find a person named Brian and his email addy who is growing it in different type condition.
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Hovenia+dulcis

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/dendrology/syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=855 more close up pics. I read some articles where they use the tre e for cabinets and other wood making instead of the the Mulberry.

Forestfarm in Or. is growing it. Wouldn't Or. be colder than you are?

I got as far with my research to one site experimenting by grinding the whole plant up and through some sort of alchemy coming up with a slather to cure the dreaded cellulite. Honest.

Starlight,

Thanks for the links with the photos. I'm sorry, I forgot to reply to your previous request for more pictures. Unfortunately, the only other picture I've got of Hovenia is another of the foliage and it is very similar to the first. Honest, I think the foliage of this tree, as I've come to know it growing in pots in my yard, is as beautiful as katsura. I really, really like it.

Ken,

If my research led me to the same place yours did you, I think I would stop researching too. It is interesting to know, however. If my tree suddenly disappears, I'll know to suspect only cellulite sufferers.

Scott

This message was edited Jan 5, 2007 7:01 PM