Out and About in the Arboretum

Larry Weaner Associates (LWA) is on site this week to work on planting of perennials and wildflowers in the Meadow. We are pleased to see this project, sponsored by the Arboretum Fund, move along. We look forward to years ahead of increased wildlife and native plants for all to enjoy.

Don’t panic! Though we call them “evergreens,” conifers such as pine, arborvitae, and spruce lighten their load of old needles at this time of year, with a show of yellowing or browning and dropping of needles that can scare a bystander at first. But needle-drop is a normal part of the life cycle, though the rate varies by species.

Malus x scheideckeri ‘Red Jade,’ the weeping crabapple, is a magnificent specimen tree. We see it in the Atrium of the Medford Campus Community Building, where it welcomes us with a burst of red color of the fruit that has recently matured. It provides a wonderful show of white blooms in the spring, and now we can enjoy the abundant fruit and unusual weeping shape. Enjoy!

The Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve of Medford Leas is proud to announce that four trees located on the Medford Campus have been designated as Champion Trees in the Big Tree Registry developed by the New Jersey Forestry Service. Ken Hutz, our Arborist, submitted the application for the American Holly Ilex opaca located at the entrance to the Community Building Parking Lot. When the state representative arrived on Campus, he measured the Holly, toured the Campus and found other trees that are of note:
Japanese Maple Acer palmatum in Court 7
Seven Sons Tree Heptacodium miconioides in Court 20
Incense Cedar Calocedrus decurrens in the Pinetum
Arizona Cyprus Cupressus arizonica in the Pinetum

Visions of yellow contrasted with blooms of white are filling the Medford Campus Meadow. This annual highlight is at its peak right now. As you ride along Estaugh Way, or traverse the paved paths you will enjoy this vision. The Solidago canadensis, otherwise known as the perennial Goldenrod, and Eupatorium perfoliatum, commonly known as boneset, a perennial in the aster family, are in full bloom. The butterflies are having a great time on the boneset!

Beautyberry, Callicarpa dichotoma, is a small, rounded, deciduous shrub, and is included in the landscape for its showy fall display of lilac-violet berries. Clusters of small, pink-to-lavender flowers have yielded clusters of berries which ripen in September and put on their best show through October. The birds will feast on these berries once the cold weather settles in. This is a wonderful native plant for all to enjoy.