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A Visit to Cistus Nursery

I rarely go to nurseries anymore since I work part-time at one and another reason being that I don't have much room for additional plants. When a garden fanatic runs out of room, the brain goes into overdrive, dreaming up ingenious ways to incorporate more plants. And another thing happens - a burning desire to obtain rare and unique plants. I've been moving plants around, a tricky process that has a domino effect. A plant is unhappy - it is getting too much shade or perhaps too much sun. There is a plant that did not get as large as you thought it would or it is just a slow grower and now it is hopelessly hidden behind a taller plant. Sometimes a plant is just a dud for reasons unknown (Rhododendron 'Golden Gate' anyone?). I find the plant in question a better home, but it means that another plant will have to be moved. And the merry-go-round continues to turn... However, for those plants that are to be discarded, a space opens up for a new one! I decided to move a Mou...
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Windstorm

 


For once, the weather forecasters were correct yesterday when they said to expect a strong windstorm. It all started around 5pm when the skies became very hazy and then the wind hit. Gusts up to 50mph were mentioned. I'm not sure how strong they actually were but we were on pins and needles watching our trees and plants whip around in circles.

Fortunately, we fared well and had no damage. Just up the street, however, our neighbors lost a big honeylocust tree -


We always worry about our eucalyptus tree. This was a tiny slip of a plant when I brought it home from the nursery a few years ago. It is now reaching for the sky and continues to grow. Talk about a fast grower! Although I have an 8-ft. rebar stake next to it, it is woefully inadequate. I'm not sure how you go about staking a tree this size.


The morning, the smoke and haze had cleared and it is a beautiful day although it is still windy. 

 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

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  1. ksSeptember 8, 2020 at 5:43 PM

    I have sure seen lots of photos of downed trees up your way.My brothers-in-law live in Lake Oswego and their next door neighbor had a very large Mimosa go over. Scary . I love Eucs, but they are controversial here in California. I think if you go to the U of Wa extension website and search for info on tree staking you will find that it is not longer recommended. If I remember correctly, the science is that trees develop better resistance to wind if they are allowed to be subject to it.

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  2. Lisa at GreenbowSeptember 9, 2020 at 11:31 AM

    I am happy for you that you didn't have any damage. Wind is a terrible thing to happen. It seems like there is more and more wind now days. Scary seeing your neighbors tree down.

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