Little known Ginkgo cultivars from Hungary

During our visit to Hungary we were surprised at the number of unfamiliar tree cultivars of Hungarian origin. I suspect that during its 44 years under communism the country did not have full access to the genetics of the West, and thus nurseries developed their own selections. We saw a good many Hungarian selections of Ginkgo biloba. Here are three Hungarian selections (above) that we had never heard of before venturing into this Eastern European country.

If there are any tree growers reading this, I would suspect that you would find the wide array of Hungarian tree selections quite interesting. You might consider making a trip to Hungary to see for yourself. We saw many interesting Hungarian tree selections including many unique cultivars of Morus, Platanus, Pyrus, Prunus, Salix and Sorbus. We were particularly impressed with the selections of Sorbus. I will post of few of the more interesting cultivars in my next post.

Hungarians are very fond of conifers and most of their gardens feature a wide array of cultivars. Many of these are Hungarian varieties that were selected to be tolerant of high light levels and lime soils. Here is a sampling of some Hungarian conifer selections.

Anything interesting for you? Let's here your comments.

Plant Hunting in Hungary

What a joy it was to spend a week in Hungary, visiting nurseries, plant breeders and botanic gardens. While I am still exhausted, and suffering from jet lag, I am still glowing with joy after seeing good plants, meeting wonderful people, tasting great and unexpected foods and sampling some most unusual local spirits.

First and foremost the Hungarian people were kind, generous and fun. They are a proud people with a rich heritage in architecture, cuisine, plants, beer and wine. Everyone we met insisted that we sample some special Hungarian meal. My goodness, I think I gained 10 pounds on this trip - but I must say that it was well worth it. I took pictures of some of our meals and I expect to share their food with you as well, over the next few posts.

One of the highlights of our trip was a personally guided tour of Budapest at night. The sights were incredible and rich with colored lights reflecting off the mighty Danube River. Statutes, castles, bridges and the sights and smells of Budapest at night made a lasting impression. Oh how sorry I felt for the tourists that missed out on this city in favor of the more routine. Sure Paris is beautiful, but in Budapest we felt as if we had it all to ourselves.

Stay tuned for my next few posts and I will show you the plants we found and some of the food we enjoyed. See you soon. Until then - get out and enjoy your garden. The hydrangea paniculata are in peak autumn color and the caryopteris is in full bloom.

Plant a Hydrangea on your Tree

There are few plants that create as much excitement as does Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris) especially when seen in full bloom, lighting up the trunk of a tall oak tree. This is an outstanding plant that deserves greater use. Climbing Hydrangea is native to the woodlands of Japan and coastal China. The lacy, creamy-white blooms are 6 to 10" in diameter and appear in late June or early July. The blooms are actually comprised of numerous small flowers, some fertile and some sterile. The sterile flowers are larger and showier and encircle the smaller fertile flowers in the center of the bloom. The effect is unforgettable! Climbing Hydrangea is an attractive plant even when not in bloom. It has glossy heart-shaped leaves and cinnamon colored stems with exfoliating bark that make this plant interesting all year long.
Climbing hydrangea can reach heights of 50 to 80 feet if it has the support of a large tree to do so. It looks great on tall trees, on stone pillars, on brick walls or cascading over a rock pile. It is not overly aggressive like some vines can be. Dr. Michael Dirr, author of the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants calls it "The Best Vine!"

Climbing Hydrangea is most often sold as a container grown plant. Planting can take place from spring until fall. Plant it next to a brick wall or aside tall tree with an eastern or westward exposure. The planting depth should be the same depth as it was grown in the nursery. On poorly drained soils, planting depth may be raised several inches and soil should be sloped up to the original soil level of the container. The addition of organic matter such as compost, aged manure or peat moss will improve plant growth. Once situated at the proper depth in the planting hole firm the soil around the root ball and water thoroughly to remove any air spaces. The addition of a surface mulch of 3-4” will help retain soil moisture. Climbing Hydrangea is not the fastest plant to establish and growth will be slow for several years after planting. Once established the growth will improve with each passing year.

Climbing Hydrangea is a great plant that has tremendous potential. Few people have ever seen this plant. Once they have they will never forget it and will most certainly want one of their own!

There are several new cultivars of climbing hydrangea that are worth looking for. 'Skyland's Giant' (see above image) is a new variety selected for especially large flowers. 'Fire Fly' is a new variegated selection of climbing hydrangea that is simply spectacular in in the spring when the plant flushes. It has the same great flowers as the species. As the season progressed the variegation becomes less pronounced.

Budapest - Our next plant Hunting Trip

Budapest is truly one of the world’s most beautful cities

My next plant hunting trip takes us to the beautiful city of Budapest and the surrounding countryside. I have met some wonderful Hungarian nursery people and plant breeders during our travels and finally I get to visit them and this beautiful city.
Do I have a rough job or what?
I am truly amazed by the number of people that subscribe to my blog, and I am equally amazed that we have subscribers from across the globe, so today I am seeking your advice.

With our upcoming trip to Hungary, I was hoping that some of my subscribers might offer me some advice. If you are from Hungary, or have travelled to Hungary - tell me about your experiences there and offer me some tips on things to see or foods to try. While we do not normally have a lot of free time for your typical tourist activities, we do on occasion see a few things besides plant nurseries.

And if you have followed my blog for any length of time you know that food is high my priority list when travelling. Can any of you recommend a must have dish or a gem of a restaurant?

I've never been to Hungary so I'm counting some good tips and advice.

Hunting for New Plants in the Netherlands

I just got back from a week in the Netherlands and now that I've recovered from jet lag, I thought I would share a few new discoveries.

What do you think? Commet on your favorites.

Skimma japonica 'Magic Merlot'

Pieris japonica 'Passion'

Cornus x 'Venus'

Lavendula 'Garden Beauty'

Sedum 'Elsie'

Finding New Plants is Not Difficult

One of the great benefits of having a job such as mine is to be fortunate enough to discover a new plant developed by a breeder, seeing the original plant and then actually getting to see that same cultivar out and about in residential landscapes.

It has been about eight years since I saw my first Limelight Hydrangea, and now with paniculata hydrangeas in full bloom, I see this variety in yards wherever I go. My neighbour about six houses down, whom I don’t know, planted about six Limelights around her front porch. Even my wife Tracy beams with pride when the Limelight in our front yard is in bloom. Every day, people walking by are compelled to stop and ask its name.

There is no doubt that Limelight is a breath-taking, one in a million plant, but surprisingly there were many professional nursery people that did not recognize it as such when they first saw it. About the second year we had plant at our nursery, and before the plant was introduced, we had a visit from the Ohio Nursery Association “Plant Selection Committee.” Made up of about six well respected plants-people, the group identifies plants that merit growing and recommends them to the trade. Well here they were, on the nursery looking at about 200 three gallon limelight plants in full bloom and none of the hardly took notice. "Who wants a green flowered Hydrangea" was their comment. The famous Plantsman, Mike Dirr has nothing good to say about Limelight, while at the same time sales of Limelight continue to climb and consumer forums like GardenWeb.com are littered with personal accolades for the plant.

How it is that the professional get it so wrong? Time and time again, when we introduce a new plant, nursery people respond with scepticism. When we introduced Weigela Wine & Roses, I was told it was no better than ‘Java Red’ and that no one would bother changing.

The problem with nursery people is that they look at a plant as a horticulturist. With four years of college, and years of on the job experience, we become cynical; we need to extend our opinion, finding fault with every new we plant meet - after all we are the experts. It takes a concerted effort to change the way we look at plants so that view that as a consumer, in particularly a female consumer. We need to start accessing the positive points of a new variety as well as the negative points. Certainly every plant has its shortcomings. There is no such thing as a perfect plant and we need to understand these weaknesses, but we need also to see beyond them.

We discover numerous new and unusual plants on every trip we take. Every week someone is offering us a new plant. There is no shortage of new plants. Hunting for new plants is not the difficult part of the job, it’s understanding which new plants are worthy of introduction that is difficult. And surprisingly, it is very easy to dismiss or underestimate an exceptional new plant, because we think too much like horticulturists and not enough like consumers.