Ep 167. The Gift of a Giant Umbrella Pine
Sat, Jun 29, 2024 3:42PM • 15:50
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
frelinghuysen, arboretum, conifer, plant, tree, garden, umbrella, horticulture, gardens, pine, years, needles, porch, grew, sharing, nursery, dug, lori, New Jersey, nursery and landscape, association, dilemmas, started, kristen, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Bruce Crawford, Kristin, Mary Stone, Mark Adelle, Lori Jenssen
Mary Stone 00:00
Mary, Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in, the spirit of learning from each other, we have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there. It's Mary Stone on the steamy screen porch. The heat is on day four in the 90s, and it's just the start of summer in like a lion out like a lamb. Oh, wait a minute, that's the adage for March. So it's the dog days of summer which is starting early, too early. Makes me think of the command I tell Jolee when she rises at the crack of dawn, although, truth be told, I enjoy getting up when the sun rises too especially when I camp out on the screen porch. This morning, I saw the fuzzy heads of the bobbing Robin babies as their mama brought them breakfast.
Mary Stone 01:02
Thanks to those that reached back after our discussion about Lessons from Braiding Sweetgrass. It's a favorite book amongst many of you, and the hidden treasure grew in popularity. It was published in 2013 and it wasn't until seven years later, in 2020, that it landed on the bestseller lists, following an unusual path, they said, in the literary world, which kind of makes me laugh, because word of mouth is not unusual at all, really. It lasts far longer than the new way of doing things with social media. Don't you think? Because it's based on meaningful connections that grow from relationships that last far longer. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s treasured book, Braiding Sweetgrass will be on bookshelves and in our hearts for generations to come.
Mary Stone 01:47
Speaking of treasures, I look forward to sharing a visit to the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. The day a dinosaur came - an enormous umbrella pine. The story includes a special onlooker, a two-year-old boy, and it starts like this.
Mary Stone 02:02
Hello, fellow listeners and readers. Many may not know about the free to visit public gardens we can enjoy - a sure way to get our nature and garden fix. After visiting the wonders of Willow wood Arboretum in Chester Township, New Jersey that we featured in episode 161 Bruce Crawford, Morris County Park Commission's manager of horticulture invited me to tour Frelinghuysen Arboretum, which came with an extraordinary surprise and special guests.
So I am here at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, and there's a lot of noise going on because there is a magnificent, I mean, huge Sciadopitys verticillate, Umbrella pine, of which I adore. This tree actually had a podcast about this tree, but today I have run into somebody that I know from the trades. Her name is Kristin. I'm going to let you introduce.
Kristin 02:53
Hi I'm Kristin. I'm the superintendent of horticulture at Frelinghuysen Arboretum, and we're moving this enormous umbrella pines today. It's very exciting.
Mary Stone 03:03
And where did it come from?
Kristin 03:04
So this umbrella pine came from a farm in Mendham, where a man named Lorence Fasano grows umbrella pines, and he offered to donate this tree to us. Really, yes.
Mary Stone 03:15
Does he grow other things?
Kristin 03:17
He grows some other things, mostly conifers, but mostly the Sciadopitys seemed to be his preferred thing. And they were all enormous and beautiful and very healthy,
Mary Stone 03:26
right? Oh my goodness. So did you guys have to pay to get it dug up?
Kristin 03:30
We did pay to get it dug up. Actually, our friend’s organization is paying for it, which is a very generous donation on their part, so that we could have this beautiful tree here. Indeed,
Mary Stone 03:40
it's a beautiful tree. Its botanical name Sciadopitys verticillate sounds like a dinosaur, and it is. It's known as the Japanese umbrella pine because of its origin. Fossils with the plant date back 230 million years from when dinosaurs walked the world. How the two tone dark and light green, flat, waxy needles whirl around each stem in an umbrella like fashion looks prehistoric, and we featured the wonderful tree in Episode 87. The tree arrived in a truck with an enormous tree spade encasing the root ball. Maybe that's why Jack, less than two years old, was enthralled with the tree. He had a front row seat with his mom steering his stroller following the truck from the garden entrance through the Long Meadow to its new home in the conifer garden. I enjoyed a front row spot too, and the privilege of interviewing those involved, including the moving man.
Mary Stone 04:38
I am here with the Expert on moving big trees. And this is an extra special treat, because I didn't know this was happening. So if you could just tell me who you are and your affiliation to this organization.
Mark Adelle 04:49
And yeah, so I'm Mark Adele, and I'm with the East Coast Landscape Contractors specializing in transplanting large trees.
Mary Stone 04:56
And this morning, you dug this 26-to-28-foot giant.
Mark Adelle 05:00
It came out of a nursery in Mendham, and we brought it here to the gardens at Frelinghuysen.
Mary Stone 05:04
It's just stunning to see the care that you take in transporting these big trees. And this is a giant. I mean, this is a giant.
Mark Adelle 05:10
But the neatest thing about this tree is that the fellow that owns the nursery, Lorenz Fasano, donated the tree to the gardens, and it's quite a valuable tree. So that's a really special.
Mary Stone 05:18
It is a very special thing and they knew who to call to transport it, the fact you dug it in the morning and planted it in its new place.
Mark Adelle 05:24
Yeah, you can't beat that, right?
Mary Stone 05:25
Yeah. What time did you start digging?
Mark Adelle 05:27
So we left our shop at six o'clock, I guess we got to the nursery around seven, and then started tying up and digging and everything else.
Mary Stone 05:33
Wow, That's amazing. Mark shared that the owner of a collection of umbrella pines he transplanted eight years ago, was a friend with Sidney Waxman, a botanist and horticulturist who was a professor of ornamental horticulture at the University of Connecticut, and he developed several Sciadopitys varieties. Now they're moving the same plants again because they outgrew their space. It's true, gardens are evolutionary, and while the rule of thumb is to space trees and shrubs at half their width and height at maturity. Sometimes we plant things tighter for screening or for design effect, and that's okay, as long as we realize that eventually you may have to move the plant. Hopefully you'll never cut them down, because that is just a sad ending, and that's why there are people that move big trees.
Mary Stone 06:19
I never realized the depth of umbrella pine cultivars, some you can see at the arboretum, and there's a list on the blog post. I'll put a link in the show notes. While all the excitement was going on, Jack patiently watched. His mom said he loves to be outdoors and is curious about plants and animals. Perhaps he will be the next horticulturist to run the Arboretum. Can you remember as a child when you first started to have a fascination with nature or gardens? Jack's awe led us to sharing memories of our childhood garden starts and our love of nature. It's fun to hear those stories, so I invite you to share yours by emailing me at askmarystone@gmail.com Once the huge umbrella pine was hoisted into the ground, we made our way to the conifer garden to see some of the unusual varieties and other treats.
Mary Stone 07:08
So if you wouldn't mind introducing yourselves and your affiliation with the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, please.
Kristin 07:13
I'm Kristen. I'm the superintendent of horticulture, so I take care of the gardens here.
Bruce Crawford 07:17
Yes she does. And I'm Bruce Crawford. I'm Manager of Horticulture for Morris County Park Commission.
Mary Stone 07:22
And we have a special guest, Lori.
Lori Jenssen 07:25
Lori Jensen, Executive Director of the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association.
Mary Stone 07:29
And it has been fun to try to coordinate our schedules. What a treat to have us all together. So since we are sitting with this amazing tree, oh, I can't wait. I'm looking at it like you can see me listeners. But anyway, so in this vicinity is a conifer garden, and I would love to hear anything you'd like to tell me about it.
Kristin 07:47
It's one of our larger collections’ areas. We definitely have more plants here than we do in certain other areas, but it's a little less intensely developed.
Mary Stone 07:57
And you had mentioned that this is getting more interest in recent years. Can you explain why?
Kristin 08:00
It has we've gotten some interest from a local gentleman who was a member of the American Conifer Society, and he wanted to donate his collection to us of dwarf conifers. Wow. We've taken a fair number of those from him. It's been a delight to have them. They're very special trees.
Mary Stone 08:17
Kristen introduced us to the Sciadopitys verticillate varigata, Japanese umbrella pine. The variety has a rich, golden yellow variegation that's randomly arranged throughout the thick, dark green needles of this upright, pyramidal conifer. And that's according to conifer kingdom.com but there was only one branch on their specimen that held the yellow variegation. Kristen said it's not likely a stable cultivar, but it certainly is unique.
Mary Stone 08:43
They also have Yellow Dream Japanese umbrella pine, and frankly, the yellow color made it look kind of, let's just say, sickly. Combined with its sparse population of needles and open structure, they had something to do with it. I declared it as ugly in a kidding sort of way, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I always say it's best to look at things without judgment, although we can have preferences for plants as we can for fashion. Speaking of my favorite conifer in the collection was wearing a skirt, a Abies nordmanniana Prostrata is an evergreen ground cover conifer shrub with green foliage, also known as prostrata Nana Nordmann Fir. And this thing was the cutest. It looked almost like a cactus with its little candles, which are the new growth parts, and it was pink. It's just so adorable. And I hope you look at the photos on the blog post.
Mary Stone 09:35
There’s a striking evergreen tree poised in such a way that when you turn the curve to enter the Garden. It greets you as if it's a giant Cousin Itt. Do you remember Cousin Itt? It was a character in The Addams Family whose hair went to the floor all around his body, and he was wearing glasses and a hat. It gives me the giggles thinking about that creature. And I was thinking, and we talked about this, you know, putting eyes on that conifer. And. At Halloween time, the Juniperus rigida, also known as temple Juniper, due to its origin of Japan, where it's often planted on sacred grounds and temples, but it's more commonly known as needle Juniper here because of the rigid needle like leaves. I adore its graceful weeping branches, and have one planted here near the rear foundation, overlooking the stone patio, looking at their monster at 30 feet tall, nearly 40 years old. Mine will eventually have to be moved. I'll be calling Mark.
Mary Stone 10:32
We wrapped up the conifer tour with the history of the arboretum from Kristen, and then Lori spoke about the benefits for our industry and the homeowners like you.
Mary Stone 10:42
Well, thank you for the tour of the conifer garden. This is stunning. There's so much to see here. I don't even know where to begin, but it was exciting to come in on this new addition to your collection. But I would like to hear about the history of the Arboretum. For folks that are not necessarily from New Jersey, people listen to the podcast.
Kristin 11:00
So the arboretum was the home of the Frelinghuysen family, who are an influential family in New Jersey politics and industry. And the home was built in the late 1800s as their summer home when they were vacationing from, I guess, Manhattan, and in the 50s, it was bequeathed to the park commission by Matilda Frelinghuysen, who was the last daughter who lived here.
Mary Stone 11:26
Wow. And they donated the whole land, all the property.
Kristin 11:31
And we have the house and their carriage house where we still have some of Matilda's carriages,
Mary Stone 11:36
really. Oh yes, wow.
Kristin 11:39
So that's very cool.
Mary Stone 11:41
So this is run by the Park Commission, and there's several we had the privilege in the previous episode, to visit Willowwood Arboretum. So while we're talking a little bit about history, I would love what you could share, Lori, about the association that you represent the form of history, and also how homeowners could help the cause of supporting our industry?
Lori Jenssen 12:03
Okay, for sure, great question. So yeah, I guess the association has been around for over 100 years. Not me personally, pretty good. So I've been with the Association, had the pleasure of being their executive director for about eight years. So, it's a great industry. It's why I decided to do it. And so, our members are everybody in the green industry. So, we have garden centers, we have growers, have landscapers, retail garden centers, greenhouse growers, you name it. So, you know, we support them by providing education and advocacy and networking, which is, you know, you and I met right through women in horticulture. So, we have different events and stuff, but we also have a focus for the consumer as well, because I think it's important that the consumer understand the value of hiring a professional. Obviously, everybody, it's a member of the association, has to, kind of, you know, adhere to certain requirements. They have to be licensed, they have to be insured, you know, they have to have the proper certifications in order to do certain things. So, from a homeowner's perspective, it's really important to make sure that you are hiring a pro. We like to say, do it right the first time hire a pro, right? And we do have a website that's public facing that they can go to to find more information out. So I can share that with you. Wonderful. It's PlantSomethingNJ.com. Plant something. Plant something. NJ.com and they can get information more about what are some of the certifications and requirements of hiring a professional.
Mary Stone 13:34
So Bruce, yeah, you've been here for not very long, but you obviously have been in the industry for 100 years, yeah. So what can you tell me about your experience so far running the horticultural department at the Frelinghuysen arboretum
Bruce Crawford 13:49
so well? First, I backtrack with Lori and just say that the NJNLA also pairs with public gardens and members of educational horticulture and public gardening, which I think is a wonderful thing as well. So, thanks for adding that. So, I know it's all fun, and I think, I think one of the things I've always enjoyed is education and sharing. Because I think a lot of people walk around and they look at things and don't totally appreciate how plants operate, and they just sort of assume, Oh, it's green, it's here, it's there. They only think twice about how old they are, or how they how they grew or developed with pollinators. Or maybe there weren't pollinators around when they started, like that umbrella pine that we were just watching go in the ground.
Mary Stone 14:34
And what a treat it was. Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com. No matter our age, if we encounter surprises, unexpected occurrences or events that we didn't anticipate, stop and watch and marvel, because wonder is the beginning of wisdom. That's a saying on the plaque I cherish, passed on to me by my dear mom in her later years. It sits on my screen porch. So, I invite you, kind listeners, to look at life and nature and wonderment, no matter your age, as we are all still growing in this garden of life. Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life with me. See you next time on the screen porch, maybe it'll be cooler than today. Have a great day.
Mary Stone 15:19
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by, I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch, and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day you.
