Viburnum Valley Gave Me...

...the crabapples. And I earnestly thanked him for it. Four Father Fiala crabapples to be exact. These are crabapple varieties hybridized by Ohio native Fr. Fiala, mostly in the 70s and 80s. They are beautiful. They are unique. They are hard to find. And they should be much more available and in a lot more landscapes than they are. So, yes, I was very grateful. (For more info on Fr. Fiala crabs, please see John's additions in PlantFiles using "Malus" as genus and "Fr. Fiala" as the hybridizer). But I'm pleased to report I enjoyed an even nicer treat than that, actually, this morning.

What's even nicer than getting crabapples you ask? Well, I got to spend the morning with the Viburnum man himself and also David5311, who is on temporary loan from the great white Wolverine State. We explored around Spring Grove Cemetery. (Yes, the damage from the cold is frightful, but plenty of horticultural gems are still to be found. Photographic proof to be added later). Dave's Garden members should all know that you cannot spend time with two nicer and more knowledgeable horticultural whiz kids than VV and David. Those two guys are amazing and I quite enjoyed myself.

After lunch, VV had to whisk off to an important afternoon engagement, so David and I visited the young but impressive and growing Boone County Arboretum in northern Kentucky, kindly escorted by the director, Kris Stone.

I hope that VV got all his driving done safely and that David got to Oxford on time. Thanks guys! I had fun.

Scott

Sounds like y'all had a nice time. Waiting for the pictures!

Regards,
Ernie

Crabs, apples, and a jovial jaunt with a couple of gentrified jollies. What a day! You must be exhausted with the VV's constant hilarity, at your expense. : ] Does David wear Maize and blue all the time? (U of M). How do you guys get to have all this fun all the time? I wish I had been there also. Hey Scott look over my Pterostyrax questionaire. Have fun and try to behave. Steve.

Scott,

In my daze last night I forgot to ask which kinds of crabs you ended up with. Looking forward to pictures of them in the future so that I can live vicarously through them.

Regards,
Ernie

I'm just itchin' for the next get together!

LHDP:

You might have to look them up in BugFiles...

I had an excellent (though unfortunately brief) sojourn with these scintillanting specimens. The troop around Spring Grove is always enlightening, and more so when seasoned saucily with anecdotes from diverse quarters.

Since these gentlemen hail from OH and MI (one, two, three...), I'll go ahead and tell you what was dispersed (read: they can't).

•Malus x 'Cranberry Lace'
•Malus x 'Satin Cloud'
•Malus x 'Silver Cloud'
•Malus x 'Sinai Sunset'

I'm hoping with a bit of a broadcast that someone will have success, and we all can enjoy.

Sofer:

If you weren't "nose to the grindstone" in Alaska all the time, you just might get to enjoy life a little too.

He was painted maize and blue...

A pixie came from the ether and cleaned up my prose! Kind of took a bit of the punch from my line! And I have so few of them.

VV, I would have thought of the cultivar names eventually. Or, at least, I would have gone outside and written them down and eventually remembered to post them. I'm pretty sure I would've.

Sofer, You need to move to Indiana, or possibly Tennessee. Tennessee would be pretty cool because we'd have a big chunk of the I-75 corridor horticulturally covered. But Indiana would be great too because that would be a great causeway to Ernie in IL.

Here's a picture from yesterday's excursion. Larix sibirica foliage.

Scott

Cercis canadensis trunk. I think it was a five year old sapling.

Scott

A beautiful Dirca, grown in very high, open shade.

scott

My new favorite tree: Sorbus alnifolia.

Scott

And Sorbus alnifolia buds.

Scott

Staphylea trifoliata flowers.

Scott

Spring Grove has a really irritating habit of not labeling crabapples. So your guess is as good as anybody's regarding which cultivar this is. Nevertheless, it's a beauty and got past the cold spell in good condition, as many crabs did.

Scott

Some trash plant called Viburnum carlessii "Cayuga." Pretty flower though.

Scott

Viburnum prunifolium flower buds.

Scott

A couple of out of state tourists blocking the view of one of Ohio's beautiful Pinus koraiensis specimens.

Scott

Hey Scott that favorite tree of yours is spectacular! Nice open branching and the color of the leaf and texture! Off to study this one. Sorbus alnifolia ah yes maybe I could expand the perimeter of my woodland. No stop it, STOP IT, GO AWAY DESIRE! Focus on the project at hand Steve. Yes there now I am in control. My larix is also starting to color the garden.

Yeah, but keep S. alnifolia in the back of your mind for future years. That one is a winner!

Scott

Well, no time for but a very quick note now, but I had a wonderful though quick visit last week to visit my daughter at Miami U in Oxford OH, and that became an excuse to spend most of a day with our own Decumbent and VV. And I cannot imagine two more knowledgeable woody plant people, who put me to shame in their experience with woody plants. My thanks especially to Scott who spent most of the day with me and took me to the new Boone Co. Arboretum. The only hard thing about the day was seeing the extensive cold damage to so many plants. Spring Grove is a 'must-see' for any real woody plant fan. Many huge and beautifully grown specimens of rarities.

I also thank Scott for a beautiful seed grown plant of Carpinus henryan(a-us), I think...also VV for the same crabs. I did not know the story behind the crabs so now I am particularly pleased to find good spots for all of these plants.

Scott also found me a good local wholesale nursery to try to find one of the larger colder hardy Magnolia grandiflora. I am a fool for punishment, have already killed several of these, including one Bracken's Brown Beauty. But I wanted to try once more. I picked out a 5-6' Edith Bogue, one that I have not yet killed, and looked better in terms of winter damage in a side-by-side comparison with BBB. We'll see.

Thanks to Scott and VV for their great hospitality in showing me around!

David

BTW, I forgot to say that Sorbus alnifolia is now high on my want list of trees. The specimen we saw was stunning, had a beautiful graceful shape and attractive foliage. With attributes of flowering, fruit production and fall color, one can hardly imagine a more handsome small tree. I was smitten, and will be on the hunt for this one.

Forgive me, but I don't know who is pictured above. Can someone let me know? (I know it's obviously members of this forum, but which members, is the question.)
Thanks,
Mike

tl³:

Now, that information is only provided to those subscribers with the upgraded (and much more expensive) package, and who are officially conferred members of VACUUM.

See current active list here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=1980468

Pretty rarified atmosphere.

In other words, John and David.

Scott

Treelover I will be nice to you even if John isn't. I know that when I joined it took me over a year to get to know who is who. Actually John is quite nice, and would help you with any information you need.

Scott & Steve,
Thanks! I just figured that VV had just had a little too much wine before sitting down at the keyboard and it made him a little feisty! (:o)

VV (John) has been more-than-generous with his sharing of gardening information. He was kind enough to post a photo of a 'Butterflies" magnolia in the thread that I started, to give me something to look forward to. Most of the buds on my 'Butterflies' have split the sheath and are looking good! I can hardly wait!!!
Thanks,
Mike