Best apple varieties to grow in the Olympic Peninsula

My class is planting a tree in honor of our school advisor. Which apples varieties will do best in our area (Olympic Peninsula, WA)?

Washington State University Extension’s publication, Apple Cultivars for Puget Sound by Robert Norton (1997, revised edition) has suggestions of some varieties which will succeed in our area. The lists are grouped by type of apple and type of flavor. For your situation, it would make sense to choose a variety which is known for disease resistance. I will include an excerpt from the list below.

Disease-resistant varieties:

Pristine: Ripe early to mid August. Clear yellow skin is very attractive. One of the
earliest disease resistant varieties, with a refreshing flavor and firm crisp flesh.
Moderately tart, holds well on the tree.
Williams’ Pride: Ripe early to mid August. Attractive red stripe over yellow, good flavor but susceptible to mildew.
Chehalis: Ripe early to mid September. Yellow apple with good natural resistance
to scab but susceptible to mildew. Thin skin bruises easily. Good dual purpose for fresh eating and sauce but too soft for pies.
Prima: Ripe early to mid September. Attractive bright red over yellow, at its best
when fresh from the tree but texture softens rapidly in storage. Good mildew resistance.
Dayton: Ripe early to mid September. Trees are vigorous and crop well, but may need
a year or two in production to reach good quality. Fruit is unattractive dark orange red
over yellow. Flesh is crisp, juicy, with sweettart flavor. Stores better than Prima.
Liberty: Ripe early to mid October. Attractive, uniform red fruit with good flavor,
very similar to Spartan in appearance and quality. Trees are very productive and need
effective thinning for good fruit size. Well adapted to western Washington conditions.
Enterprise: Ripe mid to late October. Mac type, flavor fair to good, firm, crisp.
Moderately productive. Stores well until December, then flavor starts to decline.
Belmac: Ripe late October. Late season Mac type, good flavor, firm and crisp. Productive, vigorous trees. Fruits store well until February.

City Fruit, a fruit-growing advice group in Seattle, recommends these varieties:
Akane, Chehalis, Corail, Elstar, Empire, Fiesta, Jonagold, Gravenstein, Honeycrisp, Karmijn De Sonneville (unusually scab prone, but delicious), Liberty, Rubinette, Sansa, Spitzenburg, Sweet Sixteen, and Williams Pride all have had good comments. They have different flavors and characteristics. Apples and Asian Pear-apples are subject to the Apple maggot and codling moth pests.

You may want to make sure there is a designated “tree steward” or volunteer who will maintain the tree over time. Fruit trees need regular care: watering, mulching, pest prevention, pruning. Here is more information:

Home Orchard Society
City Fruit pruning article
City Fruit resources
U.C. Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology guide, Apple Trees for Every Garden

Atlas cedar and its qualities

Given that the Atlas cedar is a true cedar (as opposed to the Western red cedar), does the wood have any particular aromatic or bug-resistant qualities?

I checked The International Book of Wood (edited by Martyn Bramwell; Emblem, 1979), and here is what it says about Cedrus:
“True cedar is a softwood produced by three species. The cedar of antiquity is the cedar of Lebanon, used in the construction of the royal tombs of the early kings of Egypt and by Solomon in the building of the Temple; the deodar of northern India is almost as famous, and the third species is the Atlas cedar [Cedrus atlantica] of the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. […] The wood of the three species is similar, pale-brown, with a fairly well-defined growth ring, and characterized by a fragrant smell. It is of medium weight for a softwood, a little heavier than European redwood. Cedar dries readily though with a tendency to distort. It is inclined to be brittle and, generally, is not a strong wood; it works easily and takes a fine finish. It is noted for its resistance to both fungi and termites.”

This link from Plants for a Future database mentions its fragrance, as well as its fungus- and insect-repelling qualities:

“An essential oil obtained from the distilled branches is a good antiseptic and fungicide that stimulates the circulatory and respiratory systems and also calms the nerves. […] An essential oil obtained from the distilled branches is used in perfumery, notably in jasmine-scented soaps. The essential oil also repels insects.[…] Wood – fragrant and durable. It is prized for joinery and veneer and is also used in construction. It is also used for making insect-repellent articles for storing textiles.”

Pear rust and lack of fruitfulness

I have a ‘Rescue’ pear which has gotten pear rust. It is about 3 years old. I also have an ‘Orca’ pear tree that so far this season does not have rust. Last year we had terrible rust. We thought maybe it came from a secondary host, because there were Juniper bushes. Now those bushes are all gone and I did clean up the leaves from last year to try and avoid contamination from the rust.

Also, I have never gotten any pears on either tree. The Orca tree is a bit older, about 5 years old. They both were bought from Raintree Nursery.

Sorry to hear about your pear with rust, and about the lack of fruit. Washington State University’s HortSense website says there are two types of rust that affect pears in our area:

“Two pear rusts which occur in Washington are Pacific Coast pear rust and pear trellis rust. Both require an alternate host. The rust fungus causing Pacific Coast pear rust is also found on hawthorn, apple, crabapple, serviceberry, quince, and mountain ash. The alternate host is the incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), which develops witches’ brooms. Infected fruits of pear are deformed and drop prematurely. On the surface of the fruit, yellowish spots with cup-shaped pustules develop. Leaves and green shoots may also be infected. Symptoms are most obvious after flowering and before July. Pear trellis rust may also infect pears, causing reddish to orange blotches on leaves. The alternate host is juniper, which develops elongate, swollen galls along branches.”

The only controls they recommend are cultural:

Avoid susceptible varieties such as ‘Winter Nelis’.
Collect and destroy fallen fruit beneath trees.
Plant resistant varieties such as ‘Bartlett’.
Prune out and destroy rust-infected tissues in pears and alternate hosts.
Remove alternate hosts in the vicinity of pear trees, when practical.

Here is an article from British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food on managing this disease in the home orchard.

It sounds as if you are doing everything you can to prevent a recurrence. The web resource above also states that fungicide is probably not a worthwhile approach to managing rust on pears or junipers.

As for the lack of fruit on your trees, Raintree’s pollination chart shows that ‘Rescue’ and ‘Orcas’ should cross-pollinate. It is possible that the ‘Rescue’ pear is not mature enough, or that its bout with disease slowed it down.
Here is an article about failure to produce fruit, from University of Maine. It mentions possibilities such as immature tree(s), lack of sun, and frost damage to flower buds.

I have an ‘Orcas’ growing without other pears in the garden, and yet it produces fruit, so I wonder if something else may be happening. Do you have a good number of bees and other pollinators in your garden? Do you or nearby households use pesticides that might interfere with pollinators? Here is information on protecting and encouraging pollinators, from U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

I also recommend contacting Raintree to see if they have any advice.

Growing wild garlic or ramps

Could you tell me about wild garlic, or ramps? What is the best planting location for it, and how is it used in cooking?

Ramps, or Allium tricoccum, is sometimes referred to as wild leek or ramsons (which may also refer to Allium ursinum). An article about this plant from North Carolina State University (no longer available online) mentions ramp or ramps festivals, most of which are held in the southeastern U.S., where this plant is native. According to Alliums: The Ornamental Onions by Dilys Davies (Timber Press,1992), ramps thrive (or grow rampantly) in damp woodlands or hillsides. The author says that neither Ramps nor Ramsons “should be introduced into the civilised areas of the garden unless a takeover is acceptable.”

Another consideration is that the leaves resemble lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), which is poisonous, so you would not want to grow the two plants close together. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, this Allium itself has toxic properties (but relatively low toxicity), and should only be consumed in small quantities. The leaves, bulbs, and bulblets all have edible uses:
“Gather leaves during spring and fall. Gather bulbs in the second year when they are large enough to use like cultivated onions. Flower stem bulblets are collected during the summer. Use as domestic onions, for seasoning or raw in salads. Bulbs can be used raw, boiled, pickled or for seasoning. Their strong taste can be reduced by parboiling and discarding the water. […] use flower bulbs to flavor soup or for pickling.” (Poisonous Plants of N.C.)

Oak trees and leaves retention

I have a large lawn with a southern exposure, and fairly good drainage. I would like to plant 1-3 large shade trees. I have been considering northern red oaks for the location, as they seem to grow well in this climate, should provide good shade, and they have nice fall color. However, I don’t like oaks which keep their dead leaves through the winter (as Scarlet oaks do). I find the dead leaves unsightly and messy, and I will not want the shade in the winter. Do red oaks also keep their dead leaves on their branches in this manner? If so, have you another recommendation, other than maples?

According to the Sunset Western Garden Book, pin oak (Quercus palustris) keeps its brown leaves through the winter, but Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) loses them in fall. The retention of leaves in fall (meaning that they delay dropping them until spring) is a phenomenon called marcescence. At times young trees of other oak species, even Quercus rubra, can keep their leaves all winter, particularly if it is an unusual winter. You might consider Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) or sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) for fall color with more reliable leaf drop.

Dividing Calla lilies

Can I divide my Calla lily? When should I do this?

According to Sunset Western Garden Book (2007), Calla lily (Zantedeschia) should only be divided if it shows signs of decline. The Royal Horticultural Society suggests dividing in spring, if needed:

“Propagate by division, in spring. Small rhizomes that have been overwintered in pots under cover can literally be cut up into sections, each with a visible bud.

Large overwintered clumps in the garden can be divided in the same way as other perennials, by lifting the plant before there is much top growth, and chopping through the roots with a spade and dividing into smaller sections.”

Growing Gingko trees from seed

How can I grow a ginkgo tree from seed?

According to the American Horticultural Society’s Plant Propagation (DK Publishing, 1999), seeds may be sown in late winter. Gather the ripe fruit of the female tree in mid-autumn, and clean off the pulp. Then wash the seeds with mild soap to remove germination inhibitors, and store the seeds in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 days before sowing outdoors in containers. Here is more information from Plants for a Future:

“Seed: best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame or in a sheltered outdoor bed. The seed requires stratification according to one report whilst another says that stratification is not required and that the seed can be sown in spring but that it must not have been allowed to dry out. Germination is usually good to fair. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for their first year. Plant them out into their permanent positions in the following spring and consider giving them some protection from winter cold for their first winter outdoors.”

The Ginkgo Pages website also has useful propagation information.

Fragrant daylilies

I’ve planted all sorts of daylilies that are supposed to be fragrant, but to my nose, the fragrance is barely detectable. Is there a trick to getting a fragrant daylily?

Fragrance can be a matter of some subjectivity, and it may also vary with different times of day and site conditions. Have you tried planting any of the varieties which have won the L. Ernest Plouf Consistently Fragrant Hemerocallis Award? The name of the award itself suggest that consistency of fragrance is an issue. A co-owner of B & D Lilies in Port Townsend, WA says that getting enough heat is the primary factor in producing a noticeable fragrance from your Hemerocallis.

Growing ginger in Seattle

Can I grow ginger here in Seattle?

Culinary ginger, Zingiber officinale, can be grown in a container. As long as you are not hoping to grow it outdoors year-round or to harvest ginger root, you should have good success. A webpage (no longer available) from the National Botanic Garden of Wales has useful instructions on doing this:

“Look for a ginger root with green, bumpy buds. Half bury the root in compost. A mushroom container makes an excellent pot. Put the pot in a warm, sunny place indoors. Keep the compost damp. When the buds start to shoot keep the plant in a warm light place, but not in full sun. A north facing window is good.

Keep the plant warm and watered in spring and summer. In the autumn it will die down, so keep the compost dry until it starts to grow again in spring. It may need watering in spring to start it shooting again. If you are lucky it may flower in July in the second year! The flower spike is worth waiting for. A healthy ginger will grow to a height of 1 metre (3 feet).”

Sunset Western Garden Book (2007) lists this plant as a perennial but not an outdoor plant in the Pacific Northwest. (Ginger grows in tropical areas, and is commercially grown in the U.S. in Hawaii.) They recommend buying fresh roots at the grocery store in early spring. Cut the rhizomes into 1 to 2 inch-long sections, making sure each has well-developed growth buds. Let the cut ends dry, and then plant just below the surface of rich, moist soil. Water with caution until top and root growth begin. Feed once a month. Plants are dormant in winter. If you are growing them to harvest the rhizomes, this can be done at any time of year, but it will take several months for them to attain any size.

Toxic plants lists

We are a fairly young landscape design company, and we are trying to come up with a protocol for dealing with projects that include families with children who want to plant non-toxic plants. In doing some research on the topic, we have discovered that the definition of “toxic” can vary. Some toxic plant lists include plants that others do not, and different kids are allergic to different plants, etc., so we are trying to come up with the best way to handle these types of projects and the best information to give those clients. It seems that these lists can be fairly extensive, leaving us to wonder what is left to plant that is COMPLETELY safe?!

This has been an issue of concern for me as well, as I supervise volunteers in planting and maintaining a school garden. Concerns often arise about toxic plants, some founded and some not. For instance, playground supervisors “erred on the side of caution” (and hysteria) by warning students that our evergreen huckleberries and saskatoons, carefully chosen for their edibility, were “poison berries,” while some parents expressed concern about foxgloves that reseeded from neighboring gardens, knowing that they are toxic. A common sense approach seems to work best. It is easy enough to exclude the plants which seem most likely to cause problems, such as nightshade, yew (the lantern-like berries are attractive and toxic), vetch, sweet pea (the seed pods resemble peas but the seeds are not edible), castor bean, and digitalis from your garden plans, while encouraging parents to supervise their children and provide some edible plants (mint, chives, raspberries, etc.) that children can easily identify and enjoy eating. Toxic plants such as daffodils and rhododendrons seem to me less likely to cause problems because children are not likely to eat them.

We have a good book on this topic, Plants for Play by Robin C. Moore. He points out that the age of the children is an important consideration in choosing which plants to omit. Where babies and toddlers will play, it’s important to “avoid placing highly toxic plants, particularly plants with poisonous fruits and plants that can cause dermatitis, within reach of these age groups.” He also says, under the heading of Educational Benefits, “children will come across poisonous plants at some point during their childhood. If they are unaware of what those plants look like and the dangers they represent, there is a greater possibility that they may expose themselves to those dangers.” Education of the individual child and early supervision are really key.

Our State Poison Control agency has the following fact sheet on this issue. They also keep statistics about which toxic substances cause the most problems locally (plants are not high on most lists). I understand that actual deaths from toxic plants are extremely rare (“It is very rare for plants to cause life-threatening symptoms,” as the fact sheet says), but the worry is something one wants to eliminate.