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I cannot seem to find a listing of any BC nurseries that carry this thornless variety. "Google" offers only US sources that cannot ship to BC or require a costly import permit and phytosanitary certificate to import. Can you suggest a source that may be offering this variety?
SHEENA ADAMS, Organic expertVan Noorts distributes these, in the spring. At the Urban Greenery we do also carry them, not until late March. In the interior I would suggest the reader go to their favourite garden centre and ask them to get them from Van Noorts, who most garden centres deal with.
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I recently moved from the Fraser Valley to Grand Forks and the landscape is foreign to me. Our land is on the north slope facing south, very dry soil is mostly gravel to large rock. The plants recommended to me all died.the only flourish was the nurseries pocket. What can I try to use as spreading ground covers and also shrubs? We are short on water also. We also have a lot of warm wind.The rainfall in the last 4 months was practically non existent.
GARDENWISE HORTICULTURIST CAROLYN JONES, You certainly have challenging conditions. Without some improvements to the soil, you’ll have a hard time with any common garden plants.
You are gardening in an area called the Dry Interior Zone, and, in addition to dealing with the climate, you have very poor soil. If you can “pocket plant,” that is, create individual planting areas by digging holes and amending the gravelly soil in each spot with well-rotted manure or compost, you’ll have better luck.
Please see the plants I suggested for a reader in Hedley, BC. If you can’t improve the soil or keep the plants watered during the first few summers, I suggest you stick with very drought tolerant plants, such as ponderosa pines and junipers.
Maybe you can improve a small part of the garden each year, learning what works – both techniques and plants – as you proceed.
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What kinds of drought-tolerant trees, plants and shrubs would do well on a bluff in Hedley, BC?
25 Apr 2008
We have a summer place near Hedley, BC. It is on a bluff with lots of firs and a few pines. Somebody in the past cut a 9-m-wide (30-ft.) swath through the trees down a bank 150 m (500 ft.) to the river. I would now like to plant trees and shrubs to give privacy, colour and interest. It will be difficult to irrigate the area, so I am thinking the plants need to be of a variety that is drought tolerant.
GARDENWISE HORTICULTURIST CAROLYN JONES , Hedley is in what botanists call the Dry Interior Zone – which I’m sure you already know!
If you aren’t able to irrigate your new plantings, it would be best to plant in the fall so the plants have a chance to get established before having to face a summer. If you are able to water during summer dry spells, plant in spring.
It would also help the plants to add some organic matter (compost, well-rotted manure, etc.) to the planting hole. This will help hold some moisture when it does rain. Also – and this is perhaps the most important – apply a 10-cm (4-in.) mulch of wood chips (not cedar) mixed with well-rotted manure over the entire planting area. This will reduce evaporation and keep the soil moister and cooler.
You can’t go wrong with some native trees and shrubs. I would start with ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and paper birch (Betula paperifera) as you have a large area to replant. Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) is also a tough plant. I recall seeing a stunning blue elderberry (Sambucus caerulea) near Keremeos one summer. That would do well in Hedley. Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) is a large shrub or small tree. For the shrubby layer, consider Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia), tall Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium), Douglas maple (Acer glabrum), snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) and mock orange (Philadelphus lewisii).
If you don’t already have it, C.P. Lyons’ old book Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to know in British Columbia is a handy little book on native plants. Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia published by Lone Pine is also excellent.
My B.C. wildflower-artist friend, Michael LeGeyt, suggests some native vines, such as western trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) and white clematis (Clematis ligusticifolia) to scramble along a split-rail fence, if you have one.
And my rose-loving friend, Christine Allen, who has visited Hedley in the past, suggests some hardy shrub roses. Any of the Rosa rugosa hybrids are tough and handsome. Scotch brier roses run and form patches, and they have good fall colour and interesting hips. In fact, Christine remembers seeing a beautiful semi-double, buff-pink Scotch briar rose growing in Hedley. Maybe you can track it down and ask for some cuttings!
Ornamental grasses would also be a delight. Check out the website for Bluestem Nursery (www.bluestem.ca), in Christina Lake, B.C., for more ideas.
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I have a Lonicera 'Belgica' that is three years old. It has not been pruned since it was planted as I wanted it to grow up to hide a neighbour's hot tub. Problem is, now it is over seven feet tall, four feet wide and top heavy. It is on a metal trellice that blows in the wind now. How much should I prune it back (ie. two thirds to the root, one third, etc). When should it be pruned? What would be another good way to support it?
GARDENWISE HORTICULTURIST CAROLYN JONES, ‘Belgica’, or early Dutch honeysuckle, is a cultivar of Lonicera periclymenum. First of all, give some thought to the support for this lovely, fragrant vine. The easiest approach would be to buy or construct a sturdy trellis out of 2x2 cedar. Make it large enough to screen the hot tub – maybe your neighbours would even contribute to the cost for the added privacy!
Honeysuckles climb by weaving their stems in and out of a support, so the boards can be spaced about 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 in.) apart. Gently bend the vine out of the way while you install the new trellis.
Then you can take a look at the whole plant and prune it. Because you are looking for privacy and because you don’t want to lose the flower buds, don’t prune too drastically. Start out by removing any damaged or crossing branches. The stems will be tangled, but you may be able to gently tease some of them apart and treat them individually. Aim to take off only one third of the current growth, but do this carefully, going slowly and thinking about each cut.
The goal is to spread the plant out into a fan shape and encourage growth from the base. This happens partly as a response to pruning, but also try to allow sunlight to reach the lower part of the plant so those shoots and leaves will be sturdy and healthy.
Encourage new growth by applying an organic fertilizer that releases over a long period and well-composted organic mulch. Water well during dry spells to prevent stress. Keep an eye on the plant and encourage shoots in the direction you desire.
Watch where the sun hits the plant as well – you may need to prune its neighbours to allow the sun to reach the whole plant. I have found that this also keeps aphids at bay because the plant is more vigorous and better able to resist the odd aphid. Managing a vine is a matter of coaching and editing -- then sit back and enjoy!
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I would appreciate your comments on the idea of adding dolomite to the surface of the ground where I am thinking of planting a field of lavender. I want to reduce acidity in the soil, provide a reflective groundcover to raise summer temperatures around the lavender plants, improve drainage (south-facing slope) and deter weeds from growing.
GardenWise Horticulturist Carolyn Jones, In Spain I saw lavender growing in rock screes, so this approach would mimic the native terrain of lavender.
As you probably know, dolomite lime is ground from limestone with a high magnesium content; coastal B.C. soils are often deficient in magnesium, so that's another good reason to use dolomite lime. When using finely ground dolomite lime, as it is sold in garden centres, the recommended rate is about 2.2 kg per 9 square m (5 lb per 100 square ft.).
It takes one to three months for the pH to become one degree higher (less acidic). I would test the pH of your soil before you start, just to have a base line measurement. I assume you are using a larger crush, like gravel, as a mulch. Even though this adds more weight, the rate of dissolution of the stone is slow because each particle has a smaller surface area to volume ratio (compared to a finer crush). I don't have figures for the rate of change of pH with gravel versus fine crush, but it is not likely to be dramatically different.
The light colour of the dolomite will reflect heat. This means the soil will warm more slowly in spring and stay cooler in summer. The mulch will greatly reduce the rate of soil evaporation, as well, keeping the plants' roots cool. This style of gravel gardening is a great water-conservation strategy and is increasing in popularity.
The only downside that I can see is that it's not as easy to tidy up fallen leaves, trimmings (when the lavender is harvested) and so on, but you could use a blower rather than a rake.
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