Have You ever Planted a mistake ?

[Pulsegleaner]

Actually I couldn't; the ground slopes steeply so ANYTHING on it falls over (you have to have good footwork to even walk there) And even if I did fix it in place (say, by burying the stepstool's legs in the ground deep enough to anchor it) I'd still have to deal with having the only path there blocked. Putting anything there basically means giving up access to everything beyond it, which in this case would include the vegetable garden, the side mulch pile (i.e. the one that actually gets used, as opposed to the lawn rot pile in the back) and so on. But it's probably a moot point. I talked to my father yesterday and it turns out the village trimming rights do not extend anywhere NEAR there; so as long as it is healthy, it's in no danger (and at it's current height it's short enough that all decisions about it remain entirely ours)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Well, since I have already told the story of the Grasp vine, I might as well tell that of the hellweed.

This story begins with my sorting through of senna seed. Amongst the things I would find frequently were small brown pointed seeds, which I took for some sort of grass. Like always I saved them and planted them. In fact gave them their own pot when I planted them, as I had so many. In due course they sprouted and I wound up with the pot of...things.
The first thing I quickly noticed is that whatever this stuff is, it is most definitely NOT a grass (by my best guess, it belongs in the Amaranth family). It is 9-12' in height and unbranched. The leaves are wide and vaguely fuzzy. In fact the best description I can come up with of the plants is what you would get if you took a bunch of long straight dogwood twigs and stuck them upright in the ground. At least until they flower.
Flower is a relative term her. The plants produce a spike of small bud like thins that are probably flowers but eventually become the seeds two. These things can actually be kind of attractive when they are young and green, since about half of the plants make them with hot pink edges.

The problem comes about once they mature and the plant dries down. At that point, those little seeds capsules become hard and woody, and the tips become RAZOR sharp. In fact the reason I call the stuff hellweed, is that, of all the plant I have grown, this is the only one that has left me with actual physical damage. One of those seeds pricked me and left me with a small but permanent scar on my right ring finger (though to be fair to it, the scar probably has more to do with the bad infection I got than the plant itself.
I still find the stuff in the senna all the time and still sort it out. Only now I'm sorting it out to KEEP from planting it again (either by throwing it out with leftover into the lawn or mulch pile, or by it leaking out of a trash bag. Any hellweed seed I see is thrown out in containers, so I can be sure it goes nowhere except the sanitation departments incinerator.

 

[thistlebloom]

@Nyboy, I'd love to help you with your japanese maples. That's one of my favorite pruning jobs. I like taking the weeping ones from looking like a giant blob of leaves to a laced out specimen that gives glimpses through the leaves of the trunks structure and muscular curves.

It's not difficult, but doing it at the right time of year is important so you don't get a bunch of exuberant growth at the cuts.
Generally it should be done before the sap starts flowing in the spring, or in about mid August in your zone. Not too late in the fall so the wounds have time to callus over before a freeze.

I have a few to do this season, maybe I could show you in pictures?

 

[Smart Red]

You can still do what red said, just put the pot on a step stool. Of coruse you would be looking at that step stool for a long time.

No, you would be looking at that step stool -- and keeping it watered -- for only one growing season. By the end of that season, the branch should have rooted and could be separated from the mother tree. Then it can be planted further from where it is causing damage, but you will still have the tree to enjoy (once it grows a bit) for a long time.

 

[thistlebloom]

I can see two T-posts pounded in above the path, with a deep hammock sling to hold the pot until the branch roots. That should work.

 

[Nyboy]

Thistle thats just what I want. Liked the gaint blob till I saw one trimed to show some of the branches. Think I am so scared is because they grow so slow, a mistake could take years to coverup.

 

[thistlebloom]

Thistle thats just what I want. Liked the gaint blob till I saw one trimed to show some of the branches. Think I am so scared is because they grow so slow, a mistake could take years to coverup.

Actually, unless you cut off one of the major limbs they can be forgiving. I notice a lot of new growth that can be channeled into becoming the next important limb, or trimmed off to keep the shape you already have. The thing to remember is to go slow and step back to look at the whole tree frequently. You can't put back what you cut off, so conservative cuts are best until the form you want begins to reveal itself. You don't have to, or even want to, make it a one day project. Do a little, and come back in a few days and do some more.

I did my first one several years ago, and I had plenty of general pruning experience, but I must have been in a bonsai frame of mind, because I removed too much and the tree looked a little like a plucked chicken. I wasn't following my own advice about going conservatively and stepping back frequently.

When I was done, I stepped back and saw my pile of trimmings and the poor tree standing there shivering. I was mortified. But my sweet clients said no worries, it was due for some severe shaping. They didn't fire me and I work there still, but not everyone would have been so forgiving of my mistake. I'm happy to say that I learned from that, and was grateful to them for being so kind about it. The tree looks great now, and actually looked pretty good the season following it's plucking.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Shot of the black Japanese maple (again, it's blacker earlier in the season)

 

[catjac1975]

A great mistake brought to the US is Black Swallow-Wort. A vine that is all over New England brought from Europe as an ornamental plant. It spreads like crazy. Poison Ivy was brought back to England as a garden vine because it turns a beautiful red in the fall.

My town was giving me a hard time for, as they put it, allegedly planting bamboo on my riverbank. It is non-native, but is also clumping, and I own the property. I researched it and only planted it to keep the riverbank from eroding. I do understand their concern. But of course people in charge have no knowledge about much of anything that they deal with. Guess what they plant all over town along the roads? Norway Maple, which is choking out the native trees in the forests, and is now illegal to plant in Massachusetts. (Too late.) They are still planting it all over town. The river is also full of water hyacinth introduced by a neighbor. It is spreading steadily. That will eventually choke out the river flow-but not in my lifetime. When I pointed these things out to them I said I would remove the bamboo if they really wanted me to. As long as I said I would remove it I think it made the guy feel as if he won the point and they have left me alone about it.

 

[Nyboy]

Can water Hyacinth over winter in your zone? I almost added it to my pond thinking winter would kill it.