JC Raulston Arboretum e-Update

November 2004

In This Issue

Director's Note

Now that this knowledge is on the streets, I wanted to make sure that I cover all my bases through our electronic publications. At the end of December 2004, I will be leaving my post as Director of the JC Raulston Arboretum to assume the position of Director of the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Horticulture, administered through the University of Delaware. This unique program trains M.S. students to enter the management arena of public gardens, arboreta, and similar institutions and is closely aligned with Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. In light of how much has been accomplished with my staff, I have truly learned a lot during my six years here. Leaving the JCRA will not be easy. I have made many friends here and find the plant collections to be the best, and getting even better. I will have offices at both Longwood Gardens and the University of Delaware so please stop by if you are in the Kennett Square, Pennsylvania or Newark, Delaware areas! – Bob Lyons, Director

Connoisseur Plants

This is an extremely busy time of the year as we all try to get just a few more plants into the ground and settle the garden for the winter months. And with the holidays coming up, our thoughts turn to family gatherings and shopping lists. As you're putting together your to-do list, please don't forget the JCRA. As always, we're counting on the support of our wonderful members and we want to return the support. If you raise your membership level to the Sponsor level ($250.00) or above, you will receive two or more of our wonderful Connoisseur Plants. Todd Lasseigne and Jon Roethling have worked hard to put together an amazing group of plants to share with our top level members. The old advertisement said, "try it, you'll like it." I assure you if you become a Sponsor or above member, you'll be delighted with the plants we have to offer. Contact me at (919) 513-3826 or <donna_walker@ncsu.edu> if you have any questions or want more information. But remember, don't procrastinate. The Connoisseur Plant year ends on November 30 of each year. Your mailing envelope must be postmarked by that time. - Donna Walker, Development Associate

Bringing in New Plants: The Peckerwood Garden Connection

Decatropis bicolorIn spring 2003, the JCRA was extended a most gracious offer – the invitation to collect propagules from the vast plant collections at Peckerwood Garden (Hempstead, Texas), home to one of the greatest assemblages in eastern North America of wild-collected plants from the temperate zones of Mexico. In March 2004, Jon Roethling and I flew to Houston and met up with John Fairey, owner of Peckerwood Garden, and proceeded over a two-day period to collect cuttings and divisions. Of particular interest to us at this time were the Mexican taxa of Mahonia, but also other plants of Mexican origin, many of these to be used in the future Southwestern Garden project. Participating in over 100 expeditions to Mexico, John, often alongside Carl Schoenfeld (owner, Yucca Do Nursery, Hempstead, Texas), regularly exchanged plants from these trips with J. C. Raulston. In exchange, Peckerwood Garden has served as a fertile testing ground for plants introduced by the JCRA – the Texas climate contributing factors in evaluating these plants that our Raleigh, North Carolina climate never could generate.

This month, Peckerwood Garden hosts a unique symposium, one celebrating the works and horticultural legend of the late Lynn Lowrey. Lynn's work in introducing Mexican and Texas native plants into cultivation has had far-reaching effects, felt even here at the JCRA. We look forward to our continuing relationships with Peckerwood Garden, not only for the Mexican-origin plants to which we can gain access, but also for the personal friendship and professional contacts we are able to hold with John and the Peckerwood Garden staff. Thank you, John Fairey, for your generosity and continued support, in your own way, to the success of the JC Raulston Arboretum's mission. – Todd Lasseigne, Assistant Director

Coming Attractions – Highlights of November

Ginkgo biloba 'Tschi Tschi' – maidenhair treeAll the colors of fall right here in your own backyard at the JC Raulston Arboretum. The Japanese maples are gorgeous, and are growing such that one can be seen from any point in the Arboretum. Remember, fall is not only colorful leaves at the JCRA, but also stately grasses, colorful fruits, fall flowers, and more.

Watch for the following in November.

Klein-Pringle White Garden
Acer palmatum [Dissectum Atropurpureum Group] – red lace-leaf Japanese maple
Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' – Virginia sweetspire
Lagerstroemia 'Natchez' – hybrid crepe myrtle
Lindera glauca – silver spicebush

Japanese Garden
Acer palmatum 'Oshio beni' – scarlet Japanese maple
Lagerstroemia fauriei – Japanese crepe myrtle

Lath House
Acer palmatum 'Oregon Sunset' – red lace-leaf Japanese maple
Gentiana saponaria – soapwort gentian
Rhododendron Autumn Coral™ – Encore™ azalea
Rhododendron Autumn Royalty™ – Encore™ azalea

Mixed Border
Corylopsis glabrescens var. gotoana – fragrant winterhazel
Fothergilla major 'Beaver Creek' – mountain witch-alder
Hamamelis ×intermedia 'Jelena' – copper-flowered witchhazel
Rhamnella franguloides – crow's pillow
Viburnum nudum – possumhaw viburnum

Paradise Garden
Gardenia augusta – Cape jasmine

Perennial Border
Arundo donax 'Variegata' – striped giant reed
Aster oblongifolius – aromatic aster
Chrysanthemum (Elizabeth Lawrence Pink) – garden chrysanthemum
Cortaderia selloana 'Aureolineata' – golden pampas grass
Miscanthus floridulus – giant Chinese silver grass
Muhlenbergia capillaris – hairy-awn muhly grass

Other Areas of the Arboretum
Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' – purple-leaf Japanese maple – E47, E43b, and J2
Berberis thunbergii 'Crimson Giant' – purpleleaf Japanese barberry – E41
Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai' – purple beautyberry – E23
Ginkgo biloba 'Tschi Tschi' – maidenhair tree – W20
Nyssa sylvatica 'Dirr' – black gum – W4
Pseudolarix amabilis – golden larch – E50

This show is free. We invite you to visit often. – Nancy Doubrava, Interpretive Specialist

November Calendar

Friends of the Arboretum Lecture – November 18, 2004 (Thursday) – 7:30 PM – Free for members, $5.00 for nonmembers

"Modern Day Plant Explorers" presented by Bobby J. Ward, Ph.D. – Get an early peek at Bobby Ward's upcoming book, "The Plant Hunters Garden: The New Explorers and Their Discoveries." Bobby Ward will share with you not only who some of the modern day plant explorers are, but even better, their favorite plants from throughout their years of collecting. He has traveled to Chile, Canada, UK, Mexico, South Africa, the Czech Republic, and the United States to interview these modern day explorers and to see where they do their collecting. Bobby Ward has a degree in plant physiology, received his Ph.D. in botany from North Carolina State University, and is a retired environmental scientist and a past-president of the North American Rock Garden Society.

Plantsmen's Tour – November 19, 2004 (Friday) – 1:00 PM – Free

"Covering New Ground" – With the common overuse of a limited few groundcovers, join Todd in exploring a greater diversity of plants suited for use in North Carolina gardens.

Details for these events and all other JCRA events can be found in the "Calendar of Events" section on the JCRA Web site.

JC Raulston Arboretum e-Updates are published electronically every month for everyone interested in the Arboretum. Did you find this edition informative? What information would you like to see in future editions? Send Christopher Todd Glenn your suggestions. To remove yourself from this mailing, please write Christopher Todd Glenn.

© The JC Raulston Arboretum, November 2004

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