Monday 27 October 2008

Parthenocissus, Zauscheneria and the Orchard

Parthenocissus henryana has done particularly well this year. The vivid scarlet leaves were on this year's growth as it was cut down to the base. Perhaps that is why it has retained its leaves for longer. The plant is on an east-facing wall, which is sheltered from the prevailing winds.

Another plant with flowers of a similar hue is Zauschneria, which has been in bloom for months but now is almost over. I was told it was tender when I was given a cutting many years ago. But in a low brick wall facing the creeper it has travelled the whole length and now looks like a scarlet hedge. Easily rooted by cuttings it should be in everyone's garden. I believe there are at least two varieties. I think mine, with its dark green leaves, is likely to be Zauschneria californica 'Glasnevin', which can also be found in the Botanical Gardens in Dublin.

At the moment the orchard badly needs attention. I lost an old Victorian plum tree in one of the gales – the roots were completely rotten and the trunk hollow. How it produced delicious plums for the last few years I don’t know.

I tried a few cuttings because the tree was at least 70 years old so I don’t think it would have been a grafted plant. Unfortunately I put them into a large bucket of sandy soil outside the greenhouse. I found to my disgust the rabbits had clipped them off. One is showing some growth at ground level but I am not very optimistic.

I also had a large old apple tree, which I always thought was the variety 'Morgan Sweet'. It was a good crisp eater – bright green fruit which eventually took on a pale yellow tinge when cooked. It snapped off about four feet up the trunk to it would be a major operation to dig out the roots. It has now begun to grow a few green shoots so I will leave well alone and see what happens.

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