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Posted by Jim Wilmington DE 7a on 9/8/2020, 6:01 pm
In an effort to make good on my promise, here are a few pics I took over the last couple days.
My Ficus carica 'Brunswick.' I ADORE the very uniform, deeply indented leaves of this variety. Even if it bore no fruit, it would still be desirable as an ornamental.
Another view.
Still another.
A close-up.
A Sabal minor 'Hatteras' from Gary Hollar's nursery, by way of Pungo Palms in Virginia Beach. Planted in-ground in the spring of 2007. Gets mulch and little else. Has survived 4 or 5 nights of 1F and 2F temperatures. Nearly defoliates every third or fourth year. So far, it always bounces back. Love this palm. (Excuse the weeds! I literally can't weed my plants until the first frost knocks the mosquitoes down.)
The front of my house. The front door gives you an idea how big and tall the Needle Palm is. Planted spring of '07. Lost its central terminal bud many years ago, but kept on trucking from suckers.
A little volunteer Sabal minor that came up on its own, 7 to 9 years ago. Yeah, they're THAT slow up here! But this particular one doesn't defoliate even in polar vortex winters because it's flush up against the bricks. On those 1F nights, maybe it's 6F on the bricks. Also, I gotta think the soil is warmer there too. I think this'll be a long-term survivor.
Sabal 'Birmingham.' Like many of my other plants, it was planted in 2007 from a 1-galon size. This may be my toughest of all non-Needle palms. Even in the worst winters, it starts spring with a little more green than my Minors. It's really tough as nails. On the down side, it's been sitting there for 13 years and still no trunk! But it's pretty and is a conversation starter. (This is planted where I work.)
Laurus nobilis. A true Zone 8 plant. This one gets killed to the mulch line every third winter, but, it springs up from living tissue below the mulch line after those hard winters. And it's a fast grower. I wish I could get 10 uninterrupted years of growth from it. It would be so pretty.
This is the closest of my "marginals" to being bulletproof. Quercus virginiana. Literally the size of a pencil in 2008. Now, 2 stories high. Two winters, it sustained a little wind burn to leaves, but no stem die-back. None. It just keeps growing. It's produced TINY acorns. I don't think they're viable though. It's about 30 feet away from old, mature Willow Oaks. I wonder if it would naturally hybridize with one...
Liriope
I thought all birds nest and have babies in the spring. I took this today. These are baby doves that had their first flight today! The mommy dove built a nest right next to my wall unit AC about 3 or 4 weeks ago. There were 2 eggs. Both hatched, obviously!
Hope you enjoyed the pics! Jim, Wilmington, DE, 7a Last 30 Years Avg. Winter Low: 7.50F Last 20 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.35F Last 10 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.40F Favorite Palms: Species: Phoenix Canariensis / Genus: Sabal
Palmy Jim , and I like that Ficus with fruit . Watch out for the birds getting them on the exact day you were planning to harvest them . WillWinston-Salem Ten year lows: 20F 5F 4F 15F 7F 8F 14F 19F 16F 16F(2022) 10 Year Average Winter Lowest Low 12.4F ; 30 Year 12.3F Profession:Trachy Defiberer and Palm Spear Puller (free estimates)
The birds NEVER bother the figs in my yard, for some reason. For ME, the fig thieves are the ants, and if I REALLY let them go, yellow jackets.
The ants start going after them when they are about 3 days away from ideal picking ripeness. It's very tough. If I use pesticides, I contaminate the fruit. So, it's a real conundrum.Jim, Wilmington, DE, 7a Last 30 Years Avg. Winter Low: 7.50F Last 20 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.35F Last 10 Years Avg. Winter Low: 8.40F Favorite Palms: Species: Phoenix Canariensis / Genus: Sabal