To the amusement of our Horticulturist Sam Hubert, Kate quotes a 1912 newspaper article that declared “he who drinks beer, thinks beer. But he who eats pineapple guava thinks in pineapple, raspberry and banana, all at once”, truly a nod to the complexity of this magical plant. Pineapple guava have hypnotic, tropical looking white flowers with cupped, soft petals and crimson centers that frame showy , red stamin. Enjoy our interview with Kate, and be sure to add her book Feijoa- A Story of Obsession & Belonging to your must read list. Cheers!

OGW: Hi Kate! Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Firstly, we’d love to know, how did your experiences with pineapple guavas influence the writing of your memoir?

Kate: When I was a child in rural New Zealand, my sisters and I would come home from school on the bus, walk up the driveway, chuck off our school bags and eat pineapple guavas by the dozen. I packed them in my school lunchboxes and with my Dad experimented making ice cream and muffins with them. When I moved overseas at age 18, if I managed to find a Feijoa, the smell would immediately trigger a kind of sensory flashback to my New Zealand home. But it was only when I moved back there, aged 30, that I started wondering why this South American fruit had such a powerful nostalgic hold on me. 

OGW: Can you share some of the challenges and rewards you encountered while cultivating pineapple guavas? How did these experiences shape your understanding of the fruit’s symbolic significance?

Kate: I moved around so much as a young adult, so it’s only in the last few years that I’ve been able to plant my own Feijoas – or rather, pineapple guavas I share with my family and my sister’s family, on the land we bought together. Planting them felt like a way of literally putting down roots in this new soil, of committing to living in one place and becoming a ‘somewhere person’ after many years as an ‘anywhere person.’

OGW: Can you share any favorite facts or anecdotes about feijoas that you discovered during your writing process?

Kate: I learned so many surprising things! Here are some: 

* The feijoa evolved 23 million years ago among monkeys, giant ground sloths and ‘terror birds’ in South America—but it is distantly related to New Zealand’s pōhutukawa and Australia’s eucalyptus. 

* The word ‘feijoa’ can ultimately be traced back to the 17th Century Spanish monk and philosopher Benito Jerónimo Feijóo, a feminist and myth-buster centuries before his time. 

* The oldest feijoa tree I found was located not in New Zealand or its South American homeland, but in the Hanbury Gardens in Italy: it is at least 110 years old. 

* In tropical Colombia, high in the Andes, the lack of defined seasons so confuses the feijoa that it flowers and fruits all year round—meaning you can garnish your fresh fruit smoothie with a blossom from the tree. 

* Feijoas have been in California longer than they’ve been in New Zealand, are widely planted, and were once predicted to be the ‘fruit of the century’ there. 100 years later, the fruits sometimes rot on the ground as many people aren’t even aware they’re edible. 

* The largest and most delicious feijoas I found anywhere in the world were grown by a solitary Tākaka breeder on a divine mission to create the perfect feijoa. 

* Feijoas aren’t a “super fruit” — they’re healthy and delicious, but don’t contain outrageous amounts of vitamins or iodine. They may, however, help reduce inflammation, and one study is currently investigating whether they can tame blood glucose levels in diabetics—something traditional Afro-Brazilian communities in the feijoa’s heartland already know. 

OGW: Can you describe any unique insights or lessons you learned from growing pineapple guavas that you incorporated into your narrative?

Kate: Ha I’m certainly no gardening expert! But… pruning stimulates flowering, and space in the tree allows pollinators – mostly birds – to reach them. (It’s the sweet petals they’re after – you can eat them too.) So give them a good prune in winter. Also make sure you get more than one so they can cross pollinate. 

OGW: What surprised you most about the process of writing this book?

Kate: The fact that I actually pulled it off! There were many times over the decade it took to write it that I doubted it would ever happen. Luckily my partner and a few other friends believed in me, and I’m really stubborn once I start something, and in the end I found a dream publisher in NZ’s Moa Press. 

OGW: Do you have a favorite feijoa cultivar of all the many you’ve tasted?

Kate: Nigel Ritson’s many incredible selections in Takaka that unfortunate don’t tend to be commercially available. 

OGW: Favorite recipe or new use for feijoas you discovered while writing this book?

Kate: Feijoa fizz – chuck the skins in a jar with water and sugar, push the skins under the surface with a glass, leave for 3 days – delicious. 

Also Colombian style smoothies with Feijoas, milk and sugar, put in a little bit of skin for color. Yum! 

OGW: What do you hope readers take away from “Feijoa,” and what message or feeling do you most want to convey through your work?

Kate: I suppose it’s the idea that the smallest objects can be bristling with surprising stories. That becoming curious about a specific thing can lead to unexpected journeys, insights and lessons. One of the things that surprised me was how delving into the pineapple guava’s story made me reflect on what it means to connect deeply to landscape and nature in a colonized country as a non-indigenous person. I don’t think I found the answers necessarily, but wrestling with the question through the lens of this beloved plant was rich, sometimes awkward, but meaningful territory for me. 

Plants and humans have a long, deep, powerful relationship, and it was an honor to tell the story of just one of them.

Thank you Kate! And if you still can’t get enough of the Pineapple Guava, we’ll have an upcoming blog post featuring Feijoa, which will include a simple Feijoa curd recipe!

The post “Feijoa- A Story of Obsession & Belonging” Interview with Author Kate Evans appeared first on One Green World.

A particularly glaucous blue selection of the beloved Eucalyptus gunnii, this seed strain named ‘Blue Ice’, will vary slightly in how blue its leaves are but all are a wonderful grey to blue green color. Grows to a similar size to other Eucalyptus gunnii seedlings and appears to be just as cold hardy.

Latin Name: Eucalyptus gunnii
Site and Soil: Eucalypts like 1/2 day to full sun and well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season.
Rootstock Description:
Pollination Requirements:
Hardiness: Blue Ice Eucalyptus is hardy to approx. 0 F.
Bearing Age:
Size at Maturity: 30-40 ft. in height.
Pests & Diseases: Eucalypts are not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 7
Sunset Western Zone: 5, 6, 8-24; H1, H2
Sunset Northeast Zone: Not listed

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Eucalyptus is a genus that has fascinated us since childhood, but it was only once we needed a tall hedge as quickly and cheaply as possible that we really took the deep dive into growing them and learning about all the cold hardy varieties that grow in the Pacific Northwest. While many Australian natives are just slightly too tender for us to grow here, (cue the list of Grevillea, Banksia, Hakea, Melaleuca, Acacia, etc. that we so wish we could grow!), there are many Eucalyptus species from high elevations in Tasmania and other parts of Southern Australia that, with the proper siting and care, will thrive for us here in the Pacific Northwest and other USDA Zone 7-10 climates around the country. 

Though quite easy to grow once you get them established, there are a few rules to follow if you’re to have success growing Eucalyptus trees here.

Eucalyptus Planting Tips:

1. Plant them when they’re small and not terribly root bound. Circling roots or a plant that has become stunted in a pot will often grow for a few years, only to have a root system that can’t support it and then start tipping in winter winds.

2. Plant in full sun and well draining soil! Though there are a few species we grow that come from some swampier parts of Australia, most Eucalyptus species prefer a very well draining, low nutrient mineral soil in full sun to be at their healthiest. Adding fertilizer is a big no-no as these trees will already grow at a lightning fast rate without any additional nitrogen being added to the soil.

3. Stake them only when they’re very young so they can establish a strong trunk. Most eucalyptus trees have a mind of their own and will grow in whatever direction they choose. Sometimes you’ll have ones that grow straight up and other times they’ll take on a severe lean. Consider yourself lucky if you have a straight grower. Trees that lean too much often need to be coppiced and allowed to regrow their trunk in a straighter manner. Just be sure you have a species that resprouts after coppicing. If you have one of the snow gums, or pauciflora varieties, they will not coppice after being cut and a leaning tree might need to be replaced entirely.

4. Get them as established as possible the first summer! Deep waterings once a week will cause explosive growth and quickly create a plant that is quite woody. Going into winter with a nice thick trunk greatly increases the chances of survival, and those first couple of winters can make or break a young eucalyptus.

5. Cut off all summer water after the first year and dry them off in late summer. Eucalyptus are supremely drought tolerant for the most part and will require very little to no summer water depending on their provenance once they are established. Excessive summer water can lead to lanky growth and too much late season growth that can potentially cause winter damage.

6. Don’t be afraid to prune them! A balanced tree is crucial, and this can sometimes mean balancing the top growth with the root growth. Trees growing too much in one direction can be trimmed to balance them out, and as a bonus, you’ll have more wreath and bouquet materials than you could have ever dreamt of after a good pruning!

7. Don’t plant them in a fire prone area! Eucalyptus have oils in their leaves, the same oils that make them so very fragrant, that are often incredibly flammable. Though many of these species are fire adapted, they can also be a fire hazard in rural areas that are at risk of wildfires. In the concrete coated city you have nothing to worry about but right next to your home or barn in rural and wilder areas might not be a great idea.

8. If you’re planning on growing your eucalyptus trees for the ornamental foliage you often see in floral arrangements, you’ll need to coppice it back regularly to maintain the juvenile growth. Do not coppice eucalyptus trees until late spring in the second or third year after planting to ensure that they are well-established and can handle being cut back. If left to grow to a full size tree they will eventually create mostly adult foliage, usually sickle shaped, with a handful of shoots that maintain the juvenile foliage.

Experience all the beauty Eucalyptus has to offer in your own backyard by browsing by browsing varieties by clicking HERE!

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A very unique and rarely seen Acacia from SE Australia, the Red Stemmed Wattle is a satisfying acacia to grow due to its lightning fast growth rate, unique red stems, and contrast of juvenile and adult foliage. When the tree is very young you’ll notice delicate, pinnate foliage that looks much like other acacias, but a year or two in it will begin producing its mature leaves which are actually flattened leaf stalks known as phyllodes. Covers itself in bright yellow flowers in spring and can grow fast enough to keep pace with even the most vigorous of Eucalyptus. We grew our first specimen tree from Cistus Nursery out in the garden of our dear friends Chase and Claudia. It became the focal point of their backyard while sharing the spotlight with a handsome young Eucalyptus pauciflora and satisfied our impulses to travel to Australia during the height of the pandemic.

Latin Name: Acacia rubida 
Site and Soil: Full sun in a variety of soils
Pollination Requirements: Self-fertile.
Hardiness: Hardy to 15F or so, possible die back in cold winters.
Size at Maturity: 10-20’H x 15’W
Bloom Time: January-April
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 8b
Sunset Western Zone: Not listed
Sunset Northeast Zone: Not listed

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Another exceptional subspecies of Eucalyptus pauciflora, the Jounama Snow Gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. debeuzevellei) has proven itself a particularly cold hardy selection for the Pacific Northwest. The peeling, flaking bark is just as fantastic as the other snow gums revealing a multitude of colors in late summer. Blows birch bark out of the water, and without all the many disease and climate-adapted issues of that over-used (in our city anyways) genus. This subspecies typically grows a bit larger than the niphophila subspecies or Eucalyptus pauciflora, and also has slightly wider leaves. Give it no summer water and room to grow in full sun.

Latin Name: Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. debeuzevillei
Site and Soil:  Jounama Snow Gum likes full sun and well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season.
Hardiness: Alpine Snow Gum is hardy to approx. 0º F.
Size at Maturity: 35  ft. in height by 15 ft. width
Bloom Time: Winter
Pests & Diseases: Eucalypts are not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 7

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Woody trees and shrubs are frequently propagated clonally by cuttings or grafting in order to preserve the exact genetics of a particular variety, but all these plants can also be grown from seed! Propagating plants via sexual reproduction (by seed), as opposed to asexual reproduction, gives you brand new genetics to observe and select from. Though not all seedlings will be obviously different from the parents, and some, called nucellar seedlings, might be nearly identical, each batch of seedlings will have slight differences from each other given the genetics of the parents. This is the basis of all traditional plant breeding and how every variety we now cherish and reproduce clonally was born. They all started with a single seedling. Some may have been found in the wild and some may have been intentional hybrids, but every great variety starts with a seedling.

But before we go down the rabbit hole of breeding your own woody plants, let’s dive in to the different ways to start woody plants from seed. You don’t have to be a plant breeder or a professional propagator to start your own woody trees and shrubs from seed, and adding a little bit of diversity to our gardens and our world is always a wonderful thing!

Cracking the code on seed dormancy

Seeds can lay dormant in the soil for years before conditions are optimal for their germination. All the genetic information the seed will ever need, along with stored energy from the mother plant, are all packed inside the protective seed coat. Germinating at the wrong time could prove fatal, or at least sub-optimal, for a young seedling so each species has its own ideal conditions it waits for before germinating. The influence of temperature and moisture are typically the ones we think of first, but passing through the digestive system of a bird, being carried in a flood, getting scraped by rocks, or sensing that a fire has just burned through an area are some of the other factors that can influence a seed’s germination.

In the nursery and in the garden we desire very uniform germination, rather than the sporadic germination of seeds that frequently occurs in the wild. Because of this, we’ve adopted a number of techniques to mimic the natural forces that cause a seed to germinate.

Cold stratification

For us growers in temperate or cold climates, the influence of winter on a seed has a great influence on its germination. Many seeds from cooler climates require the presence of both cold and moisture in order to germinate. These species don’t find it advantageous to germinate with the first rainfall of autumn or in the middle of a harsh winter so they wait out their time until spring comes, or perhaps partway through winter to germinate. Plants from Mediterranean climates might find it most advantageous to germinate in fall and grow as much as possible during the mild, wet winter before summer drought comes. And plants from more tropical climates will often have no dormancy period based on cold and be ready to germinate immediately. Knowing a bit about the natural history of whatever plant you’re dealing with is always helpful.

Scarification

Scarification is the action of breaking through the seed coat, either through chemical or mechanical means, in order to make the seed coat more permeable to water and begin the process of germination. When we do this, we’re usually imitating the passing of the seed through a digestive system, or being rolled around on rocks and soil before germination can occur. There are many ways of doing this, including the use of acids, gibberellic acid is a common one, or physically nicking the seed coat with a file, sand paper, or whatever abrasive object you have on hand. Pouring hot water on the seed, often after nicking or scarring the seed, and letting them soak in the hot water is another very effective way of scarifying the seed.

Smoke treatment

Many of our favorite plants come from climates where fire has a frequent presence in the climate. Plants from these areas are well adapted to fire and will often sprout back vigorously from the roots after a fire, have fire resistant bark, or contain seeds that germinate only once a fire has passed through. Though fires can be damaging and frightening, the germination of many years worth of seeds after a fire is incredible. To replicate the presence of fire it isn’t necessary to start a greenhouse fire or burn some newspaper over your pots as there are many smoke treatment products for sale from seed companies now to help treat your seeds. Once the seed coat has soaked up the chemicals commonly found in smoke the process of germination can begin.

Sunlight and time of season

Seeds react to how much light is hitting them and many require bright light in order to germinate. This means that you must not cover them with any media, or cover them only very slightly in order to ensure they receive enough light to signal germination. Also, while it is often tempting to start your seeds very early in the season to get a head start on spring, some species detest the low light levels of winter and will get elongated and quickly dampen off during the cool wet months. We fall prey to this temptation every season, so be sure to do your research before you start your seeds.

Patience

Thought not always the most immediately satisfying answer, sometimes seeds just take a long time to germinate. Though we may think we have provided the optimal conditions for them, sometimes they just don’t want to germinate! This can be incredibly frustrating after you’ve carefully watered and watched the same empty tray for over a year. And as luck would have it, as soon as you decide to toss that seed tray in the compost bin, they’ll typically when they decide to germinate. Go figure.

Growing perennial plants from seed is incredibly rewarding, and depending on where your seed came from you can happen upon some amazing and unique phenotypes in your seedlings. Start experimenting with collecting your own seed from fruits you really love, or that Mahonia shrub on the corner that is loaded with fruit. Seeds are everywhere and are often quite cheap and few garden activities are as rewarding as seeing those tricky seeds you’ve been waiting on for months to germinate finally poke their little cotyledons up towards the sun! Or knowing that the towering eucalyptus you’re lounging under in the summer started with just a teeny tiny seed! Look for variations in your seed lots, start making your own crosses and let the good times and diversity grow!

Check out our Video on How to Grow Woody Plants from Seed Below!

The post Growing Woody Plants from Seed appeared first on One Green World.

But luckily for us in the milder parts of the country, and even for those of you in the colder pockets of the country, there are a great number of plants that look their best and put on their fabulous floral displays all throughout the winter. Some start in fall when the winter rains return, such as this loquat that began flowering right on cue with the return of the rains in October and has been going strong ever since.

We have 5 different clones planted around the nursery right now and most of them are flowering. Though we’ve had a handful of dips below freezing at night, the loquats seem to be on a continuous flowering cycle and our fingers are crossed that enough pollinators will be out and about to ensure we get some fruit this spring.

And speaking of pollinators, one of our favorites, the Anna’s hummingbird, has been hanging around the nursery all winter! We have a real soft spot for these hovering beauties and much of the plants around the nursery are planted to attract them throughout the winter.

Here a hummingbird is feeding on the newly opened blossoms of the Arthur Menzies Mahonia. This plant started flowering right at the turn of the new year and has been slowly opening up more and more of its large flowering spikes! Though it already looks like one of our native mahonias on steroids, this cultivar can achieve heights up to 15 feet! We’ve been watching the hummers feed from this and rest in the branches of the towering Western Red Cedar above it for weeks now.

But if you’re a true lover of the hummingbirds and want to have them visiting you all year round then there’s few better choices than the Grevilleas! These evergreen shrubs from down under flower nearly year round, taking only a quick break during the summer dry season but go on producing an abundance of their spider-like proteaceous flowers all winter long!

The Darwin’s barberries have been another favorite nectar source for our resident humming birds since October! Our winged friends will ensure that we have loads of delicious barberries to snack on this summer.

It might seem peculiar, especially for those of you who inhabit much colder climates, that these plants choose to flower when the weather frequently dips below freezing. Why not just flower in spring when the weather warms up and there’s still ample moisture in the soil? The answers are varied and of course have everything to do with each species’ natural history, but the one huge advantage, (at least from this fruit-focused nursery’s point of view), is that the fruits they produce will ripen at a time when not many other fruits are. These plants essentially “corner the market” on the seed dispersers who will eat their fruits and spread their seeds at a time of year when few other fruits are around. If your flowers are hardy enough to make it through frosts, you have exclusive access to the pollinators that are active during winter, evapo-transpiration rates are extremely low, and by the time you’ve finished the extremely energy intensive process of ripening fruit you are ready to coast through the dry months of summer, at least in our climate.

Many, if not most, of these winter flowering species are also coming from climates that have a distinct dry season in summer and a mild, wet winter such as we do here. For that reason it makes a lot of sense to get the whole act of flowering and fruiting that utilizes so much of the plants precious energy finished while there is still ample rainfall and cooler weather. Right now the manzanitas, cyclamens, hellebores, rosemaries and coast silk tassels have started flowering, and even the Ceanothus, typically not the earliest, is starting to open a few cautious flowers during these mild January days.

(insert manzanita, ceanothus and garrya photos)

It’s just the beginning of what has been described in our part of the world as the longest, slowest spring you’ll ever witness. As soon as seriously cold weather subsides, and often quite a bit before, a whole cast of botanical characters come out to play their parts. It makes the darker days of winter so much more exciting and hopeful when a little sprinkle of flowers here or there, maybe outside a kitchen window or right along a main pathway, can really brighten our moods and have us dreaming of the fruits they’ll be making as the days get longer and warmer.

Take a look around your garden and see where a few more winter flowers or evergreen shrubs might add some sparkle to your winter days and pull you outside to take in winter’s beauty!

The post Flowers in winter! appeared first on One Green World.

A lovely perennial sub-shrub from down under that’s closely related to hebes. Digger’s Speedwell is often mistaken as a eucalyptus when it’s not in flower due to its beautiful perfoliate (leaves connect around the stem) foliage and bluish tint. In summer it throws up its dainty lilac colored blossoms that last for many weeks. Easy in a variety of soils in full sun.

Latin Name: Parahebe perfoliata
Site and Soil: Tolerant of many soil conditions so long as they are well draining
Hardiness: 5º Fahrenheit
Size at Maturity: 2′ x 3′
Bloom Time: Summer
Pests & Diseases: None
USDA Zone: 7b

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A simply stunning eucalyptus that has perhaps the most entrancing foliage of any species in the genus (big claim, we know!) Foliage is stacked tightly and geometrically along the stem and is silvery blue and somewhat similar to the Baby Blue eucalyptus so adored by florists. The Bookleaf Mallee grows as a small and multi-branched eucalyptus which they often refer to as a mallee down under. Pale yellow flowers encircle the stem on last year’s growth and look spectacular against the silvery blue foliage. The only drawback on this species is it’s not quite completely cold hardy here! It can tolerate light frosts down to 20 F. and we’re hoping that the presence of its lignotuber might make it possible for it to sprout back after being damaged by frost. Mulch heavily and site in a warm spot. In frost free climates it is one of the most choice small eucalyptus you might ever come across.

Latin Name: Eucalyptus kruseana
Site and Soil: Full sun and well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season.
Rootstock Description: Seed grown
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 20º F.
Size at Maturity: 15  ft. in height by 10 ft. width
Bloom Time: Autumn-Winter
Pests & Diseases: Eucalypts are not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 9a or 8b with partial dieback in very cold winters

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Native to the swamps and mountain valleys of New South Wales, the Mountain Swamp Gum is one of the few eucalyptus that thrives in wet, heavy soils. Leaves are very broad for a eucalyptus with a gorgeous red tint and are especially aromatic and rich in essential oils. Bark is dark, peeling and very attractive.

Latin Name: Eucalyptus camphora
Site and Soil: Full sun and well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season.
Rootstock Description: Self-rooted
Hardiness: Mountain Swamp is hardy to approx. 5º F.
Size at Maturity: 25  ft. in height by 15 ft. width
Bloom Time: Winter
Pests & Diseases: Eucalypts are not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 7b

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