Welcome to Tree Planting Notes
Fig Tree Planting Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Fig Tree Planting. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
Training Beautiful Flowering Shrubs Into Unique Ornamental Trees
from: Michael McGroartyThere is nothing more beautiful than a flowering shrub in full bloom, except maybe a flowering shrub in full bloom that has been trained to grow as a single stem tree. Imagine having a fragrant Viburnum Tree next to your patio or outside your bedroom window, waking up to such a wonderful aroma.
Dont confuse what I am about to explain here with the common technique of grafting flowering shrubs on to the tall stem of some sort of rootstock. Grafting is very effective, but not so easy to do. This is much easier. Not only that, when you train the shrub to grow into a single stem tree, you can end up with some very interesting plants.
Training a flowering shrub to grow into a single stem tree is actually pretty simple. The younger the shrub you start with, the easier it is to train. I have a friend who grows thousands of Tree Hydrangeas a year, and this is how he trains them. The variety that he grows for this purpose is P.G. Hydrangea. (hydrangea paniculata grandiflora) This is the one with the huge white snowball blooms.
He starts with rooted cuttings and lines them out in the field about 30" apart. The first year he allows them to grow untouched as multi-stem shrubs. Being a fast growing shrub, they typically produce 3 to 4 branches that grow to a height of about 3 to 4 that first season. The following spring he goes into the field, examines each plant and selects the one stem that is the straightest, and is likely to grow straight up from the roots if tied to a stake.
He then clips all of the other branches as close to the main stem as possible. Then he pounds a stake in the ground as close to the main stem as possible, and clips the tip off the single stem that is left. This forces the plant to set lateral buds just below where he clipped the top off, rather than continue growing straight up. These lateral buds will grow into branches that will form the head of the tree. He then ties the stem to the stake.
As it begins to grow, any buds that appear below that top group of buds are picked off to keep the single stem tree form. Thats all there is to it. You can use almost anything as a stake, and just tie the stem to the stake with a piece of cloth. I also anchor plants to stakes with a single wrap of duct tape. I find that if I only wrap the tape once, the sun will dry the glue and the tape will fall off by itself in about 12 months. 1/2" electrical tubing (conduit) also makes a good stake, and is just a couple of bucks for a 10 foot piece.
You can do the same thing with an older established shrub if you can find one branch that can be tied to a vertical stake. The stem is likely to be crooked and not too smooth because of the wounds from where the branches were removed, but that doesnt mean that you can not create an interesting plant. Some of the shrubs that make beautiful and unique ornamental trees are many varieties of Viburnums, Burning Bush, Winged Burning Bush, Red and Yellow Twig Dogwoods, Weigelia, Mockorange, Rose of Sharon, and Flowering Almond.
Im sure there are many more. My favorite shrub to train into a single stem tree is Harry Lauders Walking Stick. In shrub form this plant is extremely interesting with its twisted and contorted branches. The new growth is reminiscent of a pigs tail. Using the same technique as described above I select a single stem, tie it to a stake, and train it to grow as a single stem tree. The effect is totally unique.
Call your local garden stores and ask them if they have a Harry Lauders Walking Stick plant. Give it a try, Im sure youll have fun as well as create some very interesting plants for your landscape.
About the Author: Go to this website to see how I grow Weeping Pussy Willow from cuttings, then train them into single stem trees: http://www.freeplants.com/weeping-pussy-willow.htm. Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter.
Source: www.isnare.com
 |
 |
Fig Tree Planting News
Figs in Boston area? Now you can grow them; New federal planting map adjusts ... - Washington Post
 Newsday | Figs in Boston area? Now you can grow them; New federal planting map adjusts ... Washington Post “There's a lot of things you can grow now that you couldn't grow before.” He uses the giant fig tree in his suburban Boston yard as an example. “People don't think of figs as a crop you can grow in the Boston area. You can do it now,” he said. New map for what to plant where reflects global warming USDA Updates Plant Hardiness Map to Reflect Warmer Temperatures |
Community Advisory Board: Edelman - Celebration of trees upon us - Fayetteville Observer
Community Advisory Board: Edelman - Celebration of trees upon us Fayetteville Observer Silent barking by trees is a good thing because they quietly grow as they do. My own property has three pine trees, a magnolia, some unknown varieties, a pecan tree, a fig tree, an apple tree and a chestnut tree. I introduced a mischievous stranger 15 ... |
New map for what to plant reflects global warming - The Associated Press
 The Associated Press | New map for what to plant reflects global warming The Associated Press "There's a lot of things you can grow now that you couldn't grow before." He stand the giant fig tree in his suburban Boston yard stands as an example: "People don't think of figs as a crop you can grow in the Boston area. You can do it now. |
What to Eat on Tu B'Shevat - The Daily meal
What to Eat on Tu B'Shevat The Daily meal In Israel, people are encouraged to plant trees and give back to the Earth, which is similar to our US tradition of Arbor Day. Celebrating Tu B'Shevat with a Vegetarian Meal: In my home, I celebrate Tu B'Shevat by cooking a kosher vegetarian meal to ... Judaism rejects the notions of beauty that underscore Christian classical ... |
Call to Save the Trees - Ballina Shire Advocate
Call to Save the Trees Ballina Shire Advocate IT'S not the first time that a fig tree in Ballina has been set for the chop. But Alstonville's Dr Effie Ablett wants to ensure that the town's fig trees are protected for the future and is calling on the community to grow a Save the Trees group. |