about the Shipova tree

Can you tell me more about the Shipova tree? Will it grow here in the Northwest, and is it suitable for a small garden?

Shipova is both a common name and a cultivated variety of x Sorbopyrus auricularis. The letter x means it is a cross between Sorbus aria (whitebeam, a species of mountain ash) and Pyrus (European pear). This hybrid came about in the early 1600s in the Bollwiller (also spelled Bollwyller) castle garden in Alsace, and is propagated by grafting rather than by seeds. One of its common names is Bollwyller pear.

The fruit is shaped like a very round but small pear, and about the size of a large apricot. It ripens to a rich yellow with a blush of reddish orange where the sun reaches it. The yellow flesh is similar in flavor to pear or apple butter. There is at least one dwarf variety, ‘Baby Shipova,’ that is 6 to 8 feet at maturity. It can take seven years or more before it bears fruit. The variety you mention, Shipova, is self-fertile, but this tree will be more productive if planted near a late-blooming European pear for cross-pollination.

According to Ciscoe Morris, “it forms a lovely 15- to 20-foot-tall pyramidal tree with downy silver-gray pear-shaped leaves that turn pink and yellow in autumn. In April, large clusters of attractive white flowers cover the tree.” It can suffer occasionally from fireblight and apple maggot. There is a chapter about Shipova in Lee Reich’s Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden (Timber Press, 2004).

on the origins of the expression “the toolies”

What are the origins of the expression, “the toolies?” I grew up using it to mean the boondocks, or the wild outskirts, or what some people call the sticks.

‘The sticks’ is an obvious reference to a forested area (trees are mere sticks to city slickers?!), and ‘the boondocks’ is from bundok, the Tagalog word for mountain, but ‘the toolies’ (also spelled tules) has roots in northern California, where it refers to two species of bulrush (both formerly in the genus Scirpus, now Schoenoplectus acutus var. occidentalis and Schoenoplectus californicus). Deeper down, it is borrowed from the Spanish tule, a colonial era borrowing of tollin or tullin, the Nahuatl word for various types of reeds and bulrushes.

An article by Joe Eaton in Bay Nature magazine (January-March 2004 issue) discusses the expression’s etymology as well as the plants, and their California associations (with marshlands, indigenous uses of the plant, and more). There is also a winter phenomenon called ‘tule fog.’

For more on the etymology of the expression, see Mark Liberman’s entertaining article on Language Log, “Ultima Toolies.”

Next time you go for a walk in the toolies/tules, keep in mind that the common tule, Schoenoplectus acutus, is a Washington native found in wetlands and riparian areas on both sides of the Cascades. There’s a good chance you could be out in the tules if you explore the Center for Urban Horticulture’s Union Bay Natural Area!

on growing and harvesting Nicotiana sylvestris

Can I grow flowering tobacco varieties, such as Nicotiana sylvestris, and harvest the leaves for smoking?

Nicotiana species are in the Family Solanaceae. Nicotiana sylvestris is a parent of cultivated tobacco, N. tabacum. You can surmise that the cultivated tobacco plant was bred for characteristics that the ornamental plants were not—that is, use of the leaves for smoking without (immediate, anyway!) dire toxic consequences. All Nicotiana species have toxic properties, but levels of those substances may vary from species to species, so it would be unwise to assume that leaves from the other varieties are ‘safe’ to smoke. For example Nicotiana glauca, a weedy species also called tree tobacco, does not contain nicotine but instead anabasine, which is extremely toxic to humans and animals, according to this weed report from Weed Control in Natural Areas in the Western United States.

According to The North American Guide to Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms (Nancy J. Turner and Patrick von Aderkas, Timber Press 2009), “all tobaccos should be considered poisonous to consume (smoking brings its own risks); some have caused fatalities. […] Poisoning through intentional or accidental misuse of nicotine and products containing it is a relatively common occurrence. Related species may contain other toxic alkaloids, chemically similar to nicotine.” For this reason, we suggest that you enjoy Nicotiana sylvestris, N. alata, and other ornamental species for their flowers only. Also avoid growing Nicotiana near plants like tomatoes and others in the Solanaceae which are susceptible to tobacco mosaic virus (in fact, don’t touch those plants after handling Nicotiana, or smoking tobacco products).

on the safety of eating windfall apples

Is it safe to eat windfall apples if I cut away any sections that look bad? Or should I only use them in cooking?

If you want to err on the side of caution, you should use them neither for fresh eating nor for cooking. There is a toxin produced by fungi called patulin which may be present in apples which have dropped from the tree and have been lying on the ground, according to University of Minnesota Extension, in a news item dated September 29, 2022. Here is an excerpt:

“Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by molds like Penicillium, Aspergillus and Byssochlamys when apples or other fruits are injured. The toxin is heat-stable, meaning it is resistant to heating, even at pasteurization temperatures. You cannot see or smell or taste the toxin, so it is not possible to know if it is present without laboratory testing. Patulin has been shown to cause serious illness in animals and humans, especially to the nervous systems and might cause problems with blood flow, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. Because of the risk of the formation of patulin, it is recommended that dropped apples are not used for fresh eating, juicing, baking or canning.”

According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture (now archived), there are ways of diminishing the risk, but the processes involved are more appropriate to commercial apple processors than backyard orchardists. Excerpt:
“Current research suggests that varieties with an open calyx are a greater risk for patulin development within the core of the apple. In such a situation, damage to the fruit is not easily detected […]

“Patulin is also destroyed by fermentation, which means it is not found in either alcoholic fruit beverages or vinegar produced by fruit juices. Patulin will however survive the pasteurization process if present in the juice.”

Even if windfall apples do not contain patulin, any fresh cider you make should be pasteurized to prevent bacterial contamination (such as E. coli).

Food safety, Malus domestica

bioluminescence and plants that emit light

I live in Nigeria. There is a plant, I don’t know the name, but I know some of its characteristics: mostly it grows near rivers or rocky areas, sometimes it flashes light in the night like a firefly, and there are red ants that climb it. Can you tell me what plant this is?

We certainly aren’t experts on the flora of Nigeria, but what you are describing could be bioluminescence. There are definitely fungi which are bioluminescent, and it’s possible the plant you are describing is host to a fungus (such as Armillaria, Omphalotus, Tricholomopsis, or Clitocybe) which does glow or emit light in the dark. The less scientific name for this phenomenon is ‘foxfire.’ The University of California, Santa Barbara maintains a web page on bioluminescence, and answers commonly asked questions about it. Here is an excerpt:

“There are not any luminous ‘flowering’ plants which have been discovered. (That would be neat if rainforests glowed, but I think it is only likely to happen if they have something else on the vegetation in there making the light). Fungi, some of which do luminesce, are not plants, and so they don’t qualify. The only ‘plants’ which do make light are the dinoflagellates, single-celled marine algae, and they are not plants strictly speaking.”

Although I seriously doubt this is what you are seeing, there is some work being done currently on developing artificially luminescent trees (using nanotechnology and genetic engineering: ). As mentioned above, plants are not naturally luminescent themselves, though they may be host to luminescent fungi and bacteria.

Another plant that I thought of is Dictamnus, which is referred to as the ‘gas plant,’ because it exudes a volatile oil which is flammable and can be ignited with a match. Although I haven’t heard of ants being interested in this plant, it would make some sense, because ants would probably be attracted to plant oils (just as they are attracted to nectar, or to ‘honeydew’ secreted by other insects on plants).

If you could send pictures of the plant you have noticed, include close-ups so that any fungal presence on the plant would be visible. That might be helpful in identifying it and determining the cause of the firefly-like flashes of light. The other consideration is that Nigeria has a high number of gas flares in the river delta which could also look like flashes of light at night.

vegetables for a short growing season

I have set up four-by-eight-foot raised vegetable beds in the only available spot in my backyard (here in the Pacific Northwest). In winter, the house casts its shadow over the entire bed area. With the progress of the seasons, the shadow recedes and leaves the beds entirely in the sun only by approximately mid-May. Similarly, the house shadow again begins to encroach on the bed area by the beginning of August.

What can I grow with this ultrashort growing season? What vegetables, if any, are likely to succeed here?

It sounds like you have about 75 days of well-lit growing season. The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide by Lisa Taylor (Seattle, WA: Seattle Tilth, 2014) lists several varieties of vegetables come to harvest within 75 days in our
area, and here’s what I see:

carrots
swiss chard
cress
kohlrabi
lamb’s quarters
lettuce (if picked young)
arugula
spinach
summer squash
turnips
purslane
shungiku (edible chrysanthemum)
swiss chard
kale
tatsoi
bok choi/pac choi

In 10 Terrific Vegetables, produced by the National Gardening Association, the author suggests that vegetable gardens require at least 6 hours of sun per day (South Burlington, Vt. : National Gardening Association, 2002). Some fast-maturing vegetable varieties listed include ‘Green Comet’ Broccoli (40 days) ‘Packman’ broccoli (53 days), Kentucky Wonder beans (60 days), Romano beans (75 days), basil (70 days), ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Nantes’ carrots (60 days), ‘Sugarsnap’ peas (62 days–and they should be planted earlier, before the soil warms), ‘North Star’ red pepper (60 days), ‘Melody,’ ‘Space,’ ‘Tyee,’ and ‘Bloomsdale Longstanding’ spinach (all under 45 days), ‘Sun Gold’ tomato (57 days).

In general, you can find the number of days to maturity listed on the back of seed packets, so you can check if the varieties you want will ripen in time. Another quick-harvest vegetable is the radish, which can be ready to eat in just a few weeks. I’ve also had some luck with potatoes in less-sunny locations, although they do take a fair amount of space.

You might also consider growing raspberries, which don’t need sun quite as much as vegetables, in one of your beds.

reviving construction-damaged trees

We have some Douglas Fir trees along a ravine. There is some construction nearby, and one of the trees is looking like it has been affected. It’s losing lower branches and has much less new growth than its neighbors that are farther away from the construction. Is there anything we can do to save it?

It certainly could be compaction, though it is not possible to diagnose from a distance. However, symptoms of soil compaction damage include drooping branches, wilted or scorched foliage, and conifers dropping inner needles. This came from the Minnesota DNR’s web site, which also discusses treatment. Here is an excerpt:

“Compaction can be partially alleviated by drilling a series of two inch diameter holes to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. Begin three feet from the trunk and continue drilling holes at two foot intervals in concentric rings around the tree and continue to at least the dripline. Each hole may be refilled with sand, peat moss or mulch. Don’t recap the hole with a sod plug. There are other alternatives, such as soil injections of air or pressurized water, available from some professional tree care services.”

A WSU extension formerly available online (“Construction Damage to Trees”) explains that careful watering and fertilizing can help damaged trees, though it is best to help them before damage is noticed.

Another good resource is the Colorado State University Extension’s “Protecting Trees during Construction.”

Finally it would be a good idea to consult the Plant Amnesty referral service at 206-783-9813, or search for an arborist at the PNW International Society for Arboriculture site under “Hire an Arborist.”

propagating yew from cuttings

I planted a Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ roughly 10 years ago and it grew to about 1.5m. Unfortunately it was cut down by mistake. Is there any way I could take a cutting from the tree or some way to preserve any part of it? It holds great sentimental value.

According to The Complete Book of Plant Propagation, edited by Charles Heuser (Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 1997), your yew can be propagated by cuttings, but it is recommended that the cuttings be taken in fall. It’s worth a try to take some now, though, since the tree is already cut. You want upward-growing, semi-ripe cuttings (that is, there should be some bark at the base and some green stem at the tip), and they should be pulled off with a downward motion so that you get a “heel” of bark from the main shoot. Treat them with rooting hormone and place in a pot somewhere where it can remain cool and moist for several months. Take plenty of cuttings to increase your chance that at least one will survive.

American Horticultural Society’s Plant Propagation, edited by Alan Toogood (New York: DK Publishing, 1999), has more specific suggestions. They suggest a 4-6 inch cutting from 1-3 year old wood that is still green at the base.

If your yew made seeds, you might try planting them, but it takes a long time for them to germinate and grow from seed. To grow from seed, the AHS Plant Propagation recommends mixing the seeds with damp peat or sand and keeping them at about 68 degrees for 4-6 months, then at 34 degrees for 1 month before planting. If the seeds germinate in late summer, though, they won’t be ready to winter outdoors that year. For this reason, the AHS also suggests simply sowing the seeds outdoors and waiting for germination in 1-2 years. If you do this, be careful not to lose your sown seeds while waiting for them to grow!

cracks and splits in tree trunks

The bark on our apple tree has split, approximately 24″ vertically, revealing the wood of the tree underneath. Is there anything we can do to protect it and help it heal itself? If it were a wound, we’d get stitches for it, but we’re afraid to make it worse by wrapping the wrong thing around it.

It is possible your tree’s bark split open due to weather extremes (frost cracking or sunscald), or uneven growth. Sometimes it is recommended to score the edges of the split with a sharp tool, but I don’t recommend it here because of the length of the split on your tree. Cornell University describes the procedure, however.

According to a following discussion on North American Fruit Explorers, it may be possible to leave split bark to heal on its own.

Missouri Botanical Garden offers the following information on cracks and splits in trunks:

Excerpt:
“Cracks and splits in tree trunks are fairly common and may occur for various reasons, but are usually not a significant threat to the tree. Typically, there’s not much you can do about them once they occur. They do, however, occasionally signal a serious problem that may eventually kill the tree.

“One of the most common reasons for cracks and splits on tree trunks is frost cracking. Frost cracks occur during cold winter weather. The inner and outer wood in a tree’s trunk expands and contract at different rates when temperatures change. When winter temperatures plummet below zero, especially after a sunny day when the tree’s trunk has been warmed by the sun’s rays, the different expansion rates between the inner and outer wood can cause such a strain in the trunk that a crack develops. Frost cracks occur suddenly, can be several feet long, and are often accompanied by a loud, rifle-shot sound. Frost cracks at a point where the trunk was physically injured in the past.

“Maples and sycamores are very prone to frost cracks. Apples, ornamental crabapples, ash, beech, horse chestnut, and tulip trees are also susceptible. Isolated trees are more subject to frost cracks than trees in groups or in forest settings. Trees growing on poorly drained soils are particularly prone to frost cracks.

“Frost cracks often close during summer, only to re-open in succeeding winters. They do not seriously damage trees, although they do provide openings where certain disease organisms may enter the tree, particularly if the tree is in a weakened condition. Frost cracks are difficult to prevent. Wrapping the trunks with tree wrap paper in fall helps, but is inconvenient to do year after year. Apple growers sometimes white-wash the trunks of apple trees to prevent frost cracks and other winter injury problems, but this is unattractive in landscape settings. The best way to prevent frost cracks is to prevent any injuries to the trunk throughout the tree’s life. A professional arborist can bolt frost cracks shut with a technique called lip bolting. Most people simply remove loose bark hanging along the edges of the crack. You should not paint frost cracks or other wounds with tree wound dressing. These materials can trap moisture, causing decay in the trunk.”

dealing with hogweed plants

I have three fast-growing hogweed plants in my backyard, but a garden designer at City People’s warned me not to tackle them before consulting someone at the Center for Urban Horticulture. She said hogweed is nasty, and it certainly looks so.

If you do have hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), it is a Class A noxious weed (eradication required by law in King County and the State of Washington). You should contact the King County Noxious Weed Control Program to report it using their Infestations Form.

The folks at City People’s were right to tell you not to touch it, as the sap is considered a public health hazard. Any skin exposed to it will become extremely sensitive to sunlight. King County provides more information about the effects.

You can find out more about the history of this invasive in North America (including a song!) at the site E-Flora B.C.