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Planning and planting for a better world.

Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum Newsletter Number 12, Fall 2000 & Winter 2001

By Bob Lyons, Ph.D.Director

The leading topic of my letter this time is a lotdifferent than I originally planned. Sure, I’ve gotlots to tell you about, but the recent news ofhiring a new Assistant Director for the JC RaulstonArboretum has to take precedence! I couldn’t bemore pleased to let our readers know that ToddLasseigne has accepted our offer for this position.Todd is no stranger to the JCRA. He has been agraduate student in the Department of Horticul-tural Science since August 1996, was a JCRAstudent assistant in June-August 1997 & 1998,and was particularly integral to our mission duringthe past 8 months as our Fellow in PlantCollection Management while our search to fillthis position continued.

I am convinced that we could find no betterperson who is so well respected for his plantknowledge than Todd; to many, that knowledgehas been described as “encyclopedic.” Hisinterest in assisting any of us with the JCRA isalready proven. Both pretty good signs in mymind.

Todd’s resume reveals a person and personalityconsumed with plants: studying them, exploringfor them, writing about them, and teaching others

about them at many levels. He comes from ahorticultural family in Louisiana, completed hisB.S. (Honors) at the University of SouthwesternLouisiana, and his M.S. at the University ofGeorgia, and continues to pursue his Ph.D. hereat NCSU where he recently passed his written andoral preliminary exams. Since April, Todd hasserved with us as our Plant CollectionsManagement Fellow, an interesting “bridge”position leading up to our ability to hire a full-timeperson for the Assistant Director. In this capacity,Todd has been pivotal in determining the fate ofexisting plant materials; he has been pivotal inassisting our mammoth project of updating andstandardizing our plant labeling; and I recentlysent him off to the Pacific Northwest to touchbase with historical contacts and acquire newplants for our collections….more on this in amoment.

Todd previously led an effort to acquire plants forthe International Garden at the State BotanicalGarden of Georgia <www.uga.edu/botgarden> inAthens. He had the opportunity to study andwork in Great Britain at such places as Kew<www.rbgkew.org.uk> and the Royal BotanicGardens at Edinburgh <www.rbge.org.uk>, andhe interned with the City of Aiken, SC, where heparticipated in plant identification and interpretiveefforts. He also hangs out a lot at Plant Delights

Nursery <www.plantdelights.com>…..nowthat’s immersion!

Todd is no stranger to writing for a variety ofgenres: from the scientific to the colloquial. He isan outstanding speaker for large and smallgroups, and he has received numerous awardsand distinctions in his relatively short career.We’ll look forward to him continuing and furtherexpanding all of these talents in his position withus. Please stop by and welcome Todd on yournext visit. He’ll be around, he usually is!

As you can tell, I’m incredibly excited abouthaving Todd on board with us, as is all of mystaff! As a whole, the JCRA is now lucky to havethe insights of our experienced and new staff, the

director’s letterAssistant Director......Found!

Above: Todd Lasseigne, Assistant Director andLindera chienii - winter spicebush

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Photograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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JC Raulston ArboretumStaff

Bob Lyons, Ph.D.Director

Nancy Margaret BroddVolunteer Coordinator

Jason BurrisStuent Assistant

Anne CaltaStudent Assistant

Nancy DoubravaInterpretive Specialist

Christopher Todd GlennPrograms and Education Coordinator

Sandie HoldanSecretary

Mitzi HoleResearch Technician

Sheila KelloggStuent Assistant

Todd LasseigneAssistant Director

Valerie TysonPlant Recorder

Donna WalkerDevelopment Associate

The JCRA Volunteer Office is staffed by volunteers.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State UniversityDepartment of Horticultural Science

Box 7609Raleigh, NC 27695-7609

•4301 Beryl Road

Raleigh, NC 27606-1446

(919) 515-3132 • fax (919) 515-7747Volunteer Office - (919) 515-7641

World Wide Web Addresswww.arb.ncsu.edu

Open 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM daily

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Christopher Todd Glenn, Editorchris_glenn@ncsu.edu

Printed on paper containing recycled materials.

commitment of ourvolunteers and greenindustry, and the freshlook provided by ourstudents. With theanticipation of theimpending Ruby C.McSwain EducationCenter, we arepositioned well forbetter serving ourclientele groups andproviding the bestfacilities for the JCRAstaff to do what theydo best.

And now for some more news from the recentpast…….a quick correction regarding the Galafigures posted in the previous newsletter. I listed2 different figures for the Gala contribution to theEducation Center Fund; the correct one is thehigher one (that’s nice!): $39,755.00, and wasa major reason for reaching our campaign goalfaster. Back in early October, we held the famous“FOA Annual Plant Distribution,” surely one of thebest reasons for becoming one of our Friendsmembers. Mitzi Hole commandeers this eventand accomplished it magnificently, again, with theinvaluable help of a cadre of volunteers and staff.While I participated in the give away in 1999, itwas this one where I fully understood themagnitude of its logistics. Imagine, placinghundreds of plants out in a field strategicallyordered so as to provide the fairest chance foreveryone to get the plant of his/her firstchoice…..yes, it happens. The event wasflawless in organization and operation, andconsidering that the line represented an estimated400+ members, everyone seemed to walk awaywith an armful of plants, at least! No cuts orbruises, but I was a bit amazed when I saw aparent pull their child from the stroller so as to geta makeshift “plantcart!” Mark yourcalendars now forOctober 6, 2001, thenext give away date!

This past summer I had a great chance to travelto Italy as an invited speaker in the small town ofMerano, way up in the northeast corner in theAlps……incredible. The conference was titled,“Flowers for the City” and was aimed atmunicipal horticulturists, arborists, and otherprofessionals dealing with public spacelandscaping. With JCRA printed materials in towand subsequently treated like “calling cards,” I leteveryone know about us, including during mytalk. The speakers represented a diverse lot, andincluded folks like Adrian Bloom (one of theBritish perennials gurus), Ivor Stokes of theNational Botanic Gardens of Wales, Clive Sorrel,an arborist from Australia, and Luc Behar-Bannelier of Disneyland-Paris. And, while I had aterrific time touring the cities of Milan, Verona,Florence, and Stresa, and all their art andgardens, I also developed a fondness (addiction)for what I believe should also be considered anItalian artform…..gelato! Enough said!

Above: Stroller does double duty loaded withplants at the Annual Plant Distribution.

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Photograph by Bob Lyons

Director’s Letter - 1Horticulture - 4Winter Gardening - 8Mitzi’s Musings - 10

Herb Corner - 11Trade Show - 12Collections - 14Devevelopment - 15

In the Arboretum - 17People - 18Programs - 22Top Ten - 24

Contents

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JC Raulston ArboretumBoard of Advisors

Jane AvingerTom Bland

Phyllis BrookshireMembership Committee Chair

Claude CaldwellAnne Clapp

Infrastructure Committee Chair

Howard CovingtonRick Crowder

Helen DaughtryDoris Deal

Peggy FainBoard Chair, Executive Committee Chair

Ron GelvinFrank Grainger

Carolyn GrantLegislative Committee Chair

Bradley Holland

Patsy HopfenbergPublic Relations Committee Co-chair

Alton HowardJeanette Hyde

Bryce LaneLinda Lawson

Noel LichtinDevelopment Committee Chair

Bob Lyons, Ph.D.Thomas J. Monaco, Ph.D.

David Monks, Ph.D.Charlie Nottingham

Mark PetersPlant Collections Committee Chair

Mary Jo PringleElaine Swaim

Miles WrightPublic Relations Committee Co-chair

Consultants

Edith EddlemanSuzanne Edney

Keith Oakley

Donna Walker

As mentioned earlier, I sent Todd Lasseigne out tothe West Coast this past August to re-establish anaggressive plant acquisition effort on our behalf.Well, arming Todd with the concept and means todo this required virtually no effort on my part.Off he went, mission accomplished! Watch forthose acquisitions to show up in our collectionswhen ready; more to say about them later!Remember, we are now posting our accessionslisting to our Web site periodically, but if you’renot on-line, just drop us a note and we’ll sendone off to you.

Our joint sponsorship with Horticulture Magazinefor the “Winter Gardening for the South” wentvery well, with kudos to Nancy Margaret Broddfor spearheading this event over a year’s time for

us. Over 100 attendees made it into theaudience, a greater number than either of theother sites for this symposium, Charleston andAtlanta. Imagine that! The speakers were firstrate, as was the response from the audience. Itwas great having Doug Ruhren speak in his ownbackyard amongst familiar faces, too!

The first Horticultural Photography Workshop wasa terrific success, perhaps too much so! Theevent booked up solid within a few hours ofposting to my e-mail list. However, we’re doing itagain in spring, and be sure to take a look theclass’ favorite photograph stemming from thatworkshop. It was chosen by the class in a tie-breaking fashion! Other photographs are postednear 162 Kilgore and at the entry to the JCRA.

Thanks to allparticipants for bearingwith a bout of some ofthe worst weather wehad seen in a while.Hard to fault rain thesedays, but the timingwas not good…..werescheduled fine.

As I close this note,construction fencing isbeing erected aroundthe West JCRA. Thearea will be off-limitsto entry, but we’ll doour best to keep youapprised of theprogress of the Ruby C.McSwain EducationCenter. Over 400attended ground-breaking; a greatcrowd for an historicevent. Remember, tella friend about theJCRA, encouragemembership, and visitoften!

Above: The class’ favorite photograph from the Horticultural PhotographyWorkshop. Tricyrtis sp. - toad lilyPhotograph by Cindy Lincoln

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By Todd LasseigneAssistant Director

On November 11, 2000 I led what I described asa “farewell tour” of the West Arboretum, achance for interested Arboretum supporters andfriends to visit and learn about the plants locatedin a lesser-known part of the Arboretum thatwould soon be forever changed. As of thiswriting, these changes have already begun.

Now, join and walk with me through the WestArboretum of the past for a closer look at themany diverse plants that were once present there.As we walk through the “rows” as they wereonce laid out, and are now only “rows of themind, ”I’d like to highlight and discuss the merit,beauty, and performance of these many andwondrous plants – some known to many andothers known to few.

A West Arboretum FlorilegiumEven my ever-handy dictionary proved inadequatewhen I began searching for an appropriate wordto describe the “greater than simply just acollection” of plants in the West Arboretum. Withfurther searching, I ultimately arrived at one ofthe great plant masters, Graham Stuart Thomas,for his guidance. In his classic book, Perennial

Garden Plants: or the modern florilegium, Thomasstates that he wanted the title of his work toconvey a meaning of “more than a catalogue”;thus, the word florilegium in the subtitle.“Florilegium,” is the Latin counterpart of theGreek “anthology” which denotes “a collection offlowers,“ is as appropriate here as it is toThomas’ book. This then, is my florilegium of theWest Arboretum.

First, though, a brief historical vignette follows.The West Arboretum was the last area of theArboretum to be planted. In Issue No. 11 of theNCSU Arboretum Newsletter (December, 1984),J.C. Raulston wrote “we’ve had several hundredhours of help from the 12 (community service)people that have worked so far. This has enabledus to at long last finish bark mulching of all thebeds in the four-acre west arboretum. After eightyears of development, we are finally occupying all

of our allotted space.Most visitors do notyet wander throughthis area as plants arestill small, but with theextensive plantings ofthe last two years,there are nearly 1,000species out there tosee... Among themany things now inthe west arboretumare included: theworld’s largestcollection of Juniperushorizontalis cultivars(thanks to Lary [sic]

Hatch), two of the finest Lagerstroemia faurieiplants in the United States, an uncontrolledrampaging bamboo grove on the run across thefarm, collections of deciduous conifers, bi-generichybrids, contorted plants, Pyracantha, Cercis(seven species – brag, brag!), Prunus mume,deciduous hollies, and many more.”

Everything that follows below thus relatesinformation gained from 18 years of active plantintroductions and evaluation.

Of all the trees I know, the sweetgums (Liquidam-bar) remain for me in the highest rank – partiallybecause of their neatly textured, lobed foliage,blazing with fall color even amid the Louisianabayous of my home; partly due to the curiousfruits (gumballs), despised by all mowers oflawns; and partly due to the disjunct geographicdistribution around the globe, hinting at the richPleistocene history of our Northern Hemisphereflora. In the West Arboretum, a trio of uncom-mon sweetgums was found: Liquidambarorientalis, the Turkish sweetgum; L. acalycina, aChinese sweetgum; and L. formosana, theFormosan (or Taiwanese) sweetgum. The latteris probably most familiar, after our native L.styraciflua.

Unlike our native species, the Formosansweetgum displays leaves with only 3 lobes andgumballs with softer bristles. (These “bristles”are botanically termed beaks, the hardened pistilsof the aged flowers of spring.) For anyone whohas observed this species and contrasted it withspecimens of L. acalycina, the differences areslight, and for me, thus far, elusive. The standardliterature is of no avail in providing information onL. acalycina, either. For us, both plants prosperedin our soils and climate, growing to 38’ (Taiwan-ese) and 25’ (Chinese) in 10-15 years. Incertain years (like this one), early frosts spoiledthe fall color, which always occurs later indeciduous plants of southern Chinese andTaiwanese origin than in related eastern U.S.species.

In contrast to the solid performance of the eastAsian species, L. orientalis grew poorly andlooked pitiful, with sun-scorched leaves andnumerous watersprouts on the trunk. Since Ihave observed splendid specimens of Turkishsweetgum (especially at Washington ParkArboretum, Seattle, WA <depts.washington.edu/wpa>) with its distinct foliage (the lobes arealmost squared off in shape, not triangular as inthe other species), I would like to grow differentgermplasm (perhaps, some collected by Dan

horticultureOut with the Old...Part 1

Above: Todd Lasseigne leads a group on "The West Arboretum: A FarewellTour."

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Photograph by Nancy Doubrava

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Hinkley on his recent expedition to Turkey) andsee if the results prove more favorable. Staytuned!

Another fascinating deciduous tree was Pterocaryatonkinensis, the Tonkin wingnut. Our specimenrocketed to 35’ tall and wide in only 9 years,from seed sent to us by Kunming BotanicalGarden in Yunnan Province, China. The richcompound leaves are complemented by hangingchains of many (I never counted them) wingednutlets in summer through early fall. Fall color,not always reliable, could be a good clear yellow.Wingnuts are related to hickories (Carya) andwalnuts (Juglans) in the Juglandaceae (walnutfamily). P. tonkinensis is closely related to P.stenoptera (Chinese wingnut – see below), but isdistinguished by its unwinged rachis. Chinesewingnut has winged rachises, a rachis being theaxis of a compound leaf.

Ilex ‘Calina’, or ‘Calina’ holly, is a fascinating oldevergreen holly, our plant long anchoring the exitfrom the Japanese Garden to the West Arbore-tum. Still standing, but slated for removal,‘Calina’ now reaches 25’ tall. Originating fromthe former New Bern Nursery of the late WilliamEdingloh, ‘Calina’ is named as a contraction of“Carolina.” For us, ‘Calina’ forms a tall,pyramidal hedge of medium density, with richblack-green foliage and consistent and abundantfruit set. The vivid red fruits are among thelargest of any hollies in our collection, a standoutin winter. ‘Calina’ is reputedly a hybrid betweenIlex aquifolium (English holly) and I. cornuta(Chinese holly), the same parentage that gave usIlex ‘Nellie R. Stevens’, now ubiquitous in NorthCarolina landscapes. Grand specimens of ‘Calina’holly can be seen at Tryon Palace Gardens<www.tryonpalace.org> in New Bern, NC.

Near the Liquidambars discussed above stood a10’ tall, multitrunked specimen, our largest one,of Aesculus californica, the California buckeye. Inlate spring, dozens of 6” long panicles, eachadorned with tens of white flowers, decorated theplant. Contrasted against the lustrous dark greenfoliage (unusual in Aesculus), the white flowerspresented a glorious scene. Of more recent originin the Arboretum are two newer cultivars,

‘Canyon Pink’ and ‘Grants Ruby’ with pale anddark pink colored flowers, respectively.

Perhaps the most curious feature of this plant,however, is its propensity to drop its foliageconsistently in midsummer, apparently in“expectation” of the summer droughts that arethe norm across this species’ native range. Thishappened even in the overly wet summer of1996! Until I visited the Carl S. English, Jr.Botanical Garden at the Hiram M. ChittendenLocks, located on the Lake Washington ShipCanal in Seattle, Washington <www.nws.usace.army.mil/opdiv/lwsc>, I thought that all trees ofAesculus californica behaved this way. However,on two trips to the C.S. English garden – July 4,1997 and August 17, 2000 – I observed firstwith Dan Hinkley and Richard Olsen, and thenlater with Tom Ranney, their beautiful tallspecimens of California buckeye in leaf and fullflowering spectacle, 2-3 months later than ourplant. Apparently, the early leaf-drop behavior isnot typical for plants grown in the PacificNorthwest. Arthur Lee Jacobson (NorthAmerican Landscape Trees, 1996, Ten SpeedPress, Berkeley, California) relates that trees canflower in any given year between mid-May andmid-August, and can hold their leaves intoOctober!

Thus, I wonder what factor in the dry-summerPacific Northwest allows Aesculus californica toretain its foliage; while in a wet-summer(especially 1996) area such as the southeasternU.S., plants are fully deciduous by August. In anyregard, the fine foliage and floral qualities ofCalifornia buckeye during the spring and earlysummer months are as good as any otherAesculus. After leaf-drop, the rich silvery-whitetwigs and bark of mature plants shine like ghostlybeacons in the landscape. Michael Dirr (Manualof Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 ed.) remarksthat this is “(m)ore of a collector plant on theEast Coast,” but oh what an interesting collector’splant it is!

Near the California buckeye was a maturespecimen of Amur maackia, Maackia amurensis,measuring 18’ tall. Although the maackias aregenerally regarded as trees not fully suited to thesouthern climate, due to purported limited heattolerance, our specimen prospered in a hot, drylocation, growing adjacent to three 30-35’ tallVirginia pines (Pinus virginiana). As a small-statured deciduous tree with pinnately compounddark green leaves, Amur maackia produces erectracemes of densely packed off-white flowers inearly to midsummer. (In the closely relatedgenus Cladrastis, flowers are instead borne inpendent, loose panicles.) If only as an exampleof an all too rare summer-flowering tree, Amurmaackia should be given wider consideration. Inwinter, enjoy the interesting bronze-orange barkthat exfoliates in diamond-shaped patterns onplants that several years old.

As with the Amur maackia, the West Arboretumcontained many other small- to medium-staturedflowering trees. A fine 20’ tall specimen ofCladrastis kentukea ‘Perkins Pink’, the pink-flowered American yellowwood, stood next toone of the tall Chinese wingnuts (Pterocaryastenoptera). Most plants sold are still widelyknown and grown by the older, now apparentlyillegitimate, name Cladrastis lutea ‘Rosea’. Pinkyellowwood brings an almost impalpable air ofelegance to the landscape from its smooth greybark; highly textural compound leaves with 7-9thin, yet large, medium-green leaflets; and thebeautiful display of pendent, loose chains of pale-

Above: Aesculus californica - California buckeyePhotograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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pink color as the fruitsform and ripen.

Unfortunately, Walterdogwood suffers fromits common name of“dogwood,” as domost other non-Cornusflorida or Cornus kousadogwoods. Perhaps ifthe genus ever is split,as some taxonomistssuggest, and this plantbecomes Swidawalteri, a newcommon name couldbe coined so thatplants could beappreciated and sold

on their own merits, rather than in comparison toother “normal” dogwoods. Two other specimensof Cornus walteri remain in the Arboretum, one inthe east, and another in the Asian Valley. Walterdogwood is similar in form to a specimen of giantdogwood (Cornus controversa) that grows in theEast Arboretum, but can readily be told apart byits June flowering period and opposite leaves. C.controversa flowers in April and bears alternately-disposed leaves.

In the “row” across from the Walter dogwoodgrew an uncommonly encountered flowering tree,Hovenia dulcis, the Japanese raisin-tree. Inactuality, two specimens grew, with one labeledas Hovenia acerba, but this is now considered tobe indistinct, as a species, from H. dulcis. Seeingthis plant always took me back to my first plantidentification class on the University of Southwest-ern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana atLafayette) campus, where a 15-20’ high andwide specimen grew, somewhat happily, in frontof the university’s post office. Having beenexposed to the plant by my undergraduateprofessor and Louisiana plantsman extraordinaire,Ellis Fletcher, Hovenia represented my firstencounter with a “Wow, I’ve never heard of thatbefore!” genus – a necessary first realizationthat must occur in the evolution of anyplantsman.

In the West Arboretum, both raisin-trees, 34’ (for“acerba”) and 16’ tall, produced attractiveglossy, dark green foliage and early summerflowers occurring in terminal cymes, just as in theunrelated Cornus walteri. Although H. dulcis issometimes dismissed as a potential landscapeplant, I find this surprising since the plant stature(small to medium sized deciduous tree),attractive dark green foliage, and summer-produced flowers are all attributes that fit into themodern ethos of an ideal patio tree for smallsuburban lots.

Hovenia dulcis is called “raisin-tree” because thefruits – small, brownish drupes – are borne onswollen, contorted pedicels, resembling raisins.These twig-like stalks can be chewed, possessinga bittersweet flavor. When I traveled in YunnanProvince, China in October 1999, I spotted abasket of these for sale in a small villagebordering the Yangtze River. I tried one, and itwas quite tasty, if you like tart flavors, that is.

Hovenia is a member of the Rhamnaceae, and assuch it is related to our native buckthorns(Rhamnus caroliniana and R. lanceolata).

Last spring, our indefatigable Arboretum FriendVivian Finkelstein wrote a column discussing oneof my (other) favorite groups of deciduous trees– the catalpas. Now, don’t laugh. I know thatmany of you may not hold these plants in highregard. However, as textural subjects in thelandscape, there are few hardy plants that canmatch the catalpas in foliage and floral qualities.In the West Arboretum, a 35’ tall, slender tree ofCatalpa bungei, Manchurian catalpa, grew “plant-locked” between the Leyland cypress(×Cupressocyparis leylandii) hedge borderingBeryl Road and the U.S. National Arboretum<www.ars-grin.gov/ars/Beltsville/na> hybridcrepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica × L. fauriei)collection on the other side. Now, based on thesimple fact that our specimen of Catalpa bungeiwas able to survive these highly competitiveconditions and also maintain a growth rate thatmatched those of its neighbors, I would rate thisas a much tougher than expected plant.

pink (aging to white) pea-like flowers. In warmsprings, flowers appear white, with only thefaintest tinge of pink. Few plants can match thisone for beauty in the garden, and yet it remains,at least in the southern U.S., almost as rare asthe day it was discovered at the Perkins Institutefor the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Perhaps for me one of the most pleasing plants inthe West Arboretum, for “flower power” at least,was the 22’ specimen of Cornus walteri (Walterdogwood) which stood near the Nyssa (tupelo)collection. This beautiful tree exhibited a stronglyascending spire, maintaining a central leader evenafter 20 years – a stark contrast to other open-grown dogwoods that become almost shrubby inappearance. Our specimen displayed rich,smooth (only slightly fissured) gray bark;although references indicate that with age plantsassume the “alligator hide” bark so typicallyassociated with Cornus florida (floweringdogwood) and Diospyros virginiana (Americanpersimmon). Our plant always floweredprolifically in early June, producing terminalcymose inflorescences (= flat-topped clusters)consisting of many small white flowers. Theseflowers were followed by globose black fruitsborne on pinkish-red pedicels (= flower stalks),these contrasting against the rich green foliage.Interestingly, the pedicels are green when theflowers are present, but change to the reddish-

Above: A view of a path between the “rows” in the former West Arboretum,now only “rows” in the mind’s eye.

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Photograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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However, were it not for the fact that I wasworking one late spring day on verifying thecultivar identities of several of our hybrid crepemyrtles and in the process came across manytubular light pink flowers, 1-1.5” long, scatteredon the ground, I never would have known thatthe tree existed in our collection. Evidently, many(most?) plants labeled in collections and sold asCatalpa bungei are incorrectly identified, insteadrepresenting the umbrella catalpa (Catalpabignonioides ‘Nana’).

Our plant, however, was true to name, withglabrous (smooth or hairless) leaves at maturity,and the classic pink flowers. (Catalpabignonioides ‘Nana’ is a wholly juvenile mutantform that has not been known to flower, despiteoriginating in 1848.) Having discovered thisplant, its location and size were prohibitive to usmoving it out of thepath of destruction.However, Mitzi Holeand her student crewwere able to propagateit so that we canhopefully feature thisbold-textured, small-statured flowering treemore prominently inthe future WestArboretum.

Now, of course, to theaforementioned U.S.National Arboretumhybrid crepe myrtleswe must turn. Lookingat the impact thatthese plants have hadon southern landscapesand gardens in thepast 20 years, it isdifficult to imaginethem ever being“new.” Yet, in theearly 1980s, when“Natchez” only meanta classic southern city in Mississippi and“Tuscarora” sounded like a place in Italy (“Tusk-uh-what”?!), hybrid crepe myrtles simply weren’t

commonplace. Rather, the classic Indian crepemyrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) cultivars helddominance, those that I know from my childhoodfrom ‘Near East’ with its pale pink flowers to‘William Toovey’ with blazing watermelon redflowers.

Then came along John Creech collecting avirtually unheard-of crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemiafauriei) from Yakushima Island of southern Japanin 1957; and Don Egolf, a plant breeder wholooked to the future and saw things that no oneelse had seen. Marrying the wonderful assort-ment of flower colors from the many L. indicacultivars with the enhanced cold hardiness,powdery mildew resistance, and exquisitecinnamon-brown bark of L. fauriei, a new era ofcrepe myrtles was created through Egolf’sbreeding program. This era dawned, or more

Above: Lagerstroemia fauriei ‘Fantasy’ - ‘Fantasy’crepe myrtlePhotograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

Correction

In my last article, I erroneously indicatedthat “...the Moluccas (are) a group ofislands in the Indian Ocean off the coastof southern India.” In truth, I confusedthe Moluccas with the Maldives, the lattercomprising an island nation that occursoff the southwestern tip of India. TheMoluccas are instead part of the nation ofIndonesia, and are better known as the“spice islands.” The Moluccas fallbetween the islands of Sulawesi(formerly known as Celebes) and IrianJaya (the western half of the island ofNew Guinea). If you correct this, the“discrepancy” in geographic distributionsof Gynura bicolor listed in Hortus Thirdversus RHS Index of Garden Plants makesmuch more sense. And all of this from aperson who prides himself on a fairlygood knowledge of world geography!Argh!Todd Lasseigne, Assistant Director

appropriately was realized, during the 1980swith the introduction of the so-called “Indiantribe” crepe myrtles from the U.S. NationalArboretum where both Creech and Egolf had beenemployed. Thus, we now have ‘Natchez’,‘Tuscarora’, ‘Tuskegee’, ‘Muskogee’, ‘Lipan’, andmany others, adorning southern cities andgardens.

The JC Raulston Arboretum’s connection toLagerstroemia is significant, not only in ourhousing early on a collection of the hybridseedlings and newly-named cultivars, but also inour housing two distinct original specimens of L.fauriei, received in the late 1950s as seed fromDr. Creech’s expedition to Yakushima. One ofthese, of course, was named ‘Fantasy’ by J.C.,and it is the signature plant of the Arboretum.

...On this note, we’ll suspend our “WestArboretum Florilegium” for now. Next time, staytuned for more details on the fascinating legacyof plants in Part II of “Out with the Old...”

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By Andy UpshawPlant Evaluations and Teaching Fellow &Pleasant Gardens Nursery

Plants to Get Me Through WinterWhen the short days of winter arrive, I needsome dependable botanic reminders that this coldseason is only temporary and warmer days willsurely follow. I was born on the summer solsticeso I come by my love for the verdant profusion ofplants in high summer naturally. And my idea ofwardrobe is shorts and a T-shirt with shoesoptional. I look for the beauty of flowers andfoliage in winter to show me the promise ofspring and summer to come.

We are usually blessed with fair weather here inNorth Carolina, minus the exceptions of record-breaking heat, drought, rain, and snow we haveexperienced in recent years. But at least we arenot in Cleveland or Buffalo, so let’s go out andenjoy my winter garden.

Think SmallDon’t waste your time looking for dinner platesized flowers such as those that faded, froze, andfell from the summer hibiscus. Instead, look forthe diminutive and bright blossoms that cansurvive our winter elements.

Cyclamen hederifolium begins blooming in lateautumn with rosy pink to white flowers appearingfor a month before the leaves arrive. Theseflowers stand up for attention like candles on abirthday cake and when pollinated are coileddown, spring-like, on their stems to ground leveland tucked under the leaves for insulation andprotection while the seeds ripen. It is said thatants are attracted to a sweet substance on theseeds and are responsible for scattering themabout when ripe in May, so look for new plants inunlikely places next winter. The foliage is paintedwith unique ivy-patterned designs and will surviveall winter.

Plant cyclamen corms in gravely soil with gooddrainage, mulch with leaf litter and these gemswill grace your garden for many years to come.

Another LovelyCyclamen coum begins flowering in December, afew weeks after its leaves appear. The dark-roseto pink to white flowers stand several inchesabove the rounded, pewter-etched foliage. Onebonus with this species is that the leaves are darkpurple to maroon underneath, beautiful in snowor against the dull browns of winter. Hardy tozone 5, this plant will never complain about ourwinters and will skip the heat of summer bygoing dormant for a few months.

Take a WhiffThe sweet fragrance in the October air comes notfrom a cotton candy machine at the state fair, butrather an Osmanthus fragrans in bloom. Thiswonderful evergreen shrub will flower for weeksand don’t be surprised to smell some repeatperformances during a mild winter. Include thisone in your foundation planting or shrub borderand add a few cut sprigs to a vase of fall foliageto sweeten the smells inside your home sweethome.

Pop quizWhat bulb produces giant golden yellow crocus-like flowers above daffodil type foliage in Octoberand November? The answer is Sternbergialutea, a wonderful bulb for your winter garden.Look in the rare and specialty bulb catalogs forthis one, it’s worth the effort.

Tropical FoliageArum italicum unfurls its leaves beginning inSeptember and continues to grow throughout thewinter. This is one of the plants that caught myattention years ago and turned me from a careerin accounting to a life in horticulture, and I will beforever in its debt.

Arum italicum is similar to hosta in growth habitand site preference, but it has an oppositeseasonal growing cycle. This makes it a goodcompanion plant for hosta beds and woodland orpart-shade perennials. The foliage grows inclumps about 12 to 18 inches tall and is marbledwith creamy variegation. Spathe and spadixflowers appear at the end of winter and signalthis arums’ kinship to our native Jack-in-the-pulpit.Orange to red seed candles persist through mostof summer after the foliage disappears andcomplete the seasonal cycle.

Look for improved selections at your local gardencenters: ‘Legs’ has tall stems and large leaves,‘Grandma’ is dark green with no variegation, and‘William Lanier Hunt’ has bold variegation andbecomes ruffled with age.

Arum ‘Chameleon’ is a hybrid with more roundedfoliage with a scrambled and swirled pattern ofvariegation inside a narrow green margin.

Arum concinnatum is a hardy species also suitablefor our area. It has the distinction of being tallerand providing light green foliage with paleblotches.

Draw upon arums’ history in the florist industryand use the leaves in winter arrangements or asbackground in a vase of cut daffodil flowers. Allof these arums contain oxalic acid, an ingredientnot yet on the deer-food menu; so don’t beconcerned about feeding Bambi. Deer and rabbitsdo not like to eat this plant.

Arum tubers were used in Elizabethan England forstarching the ruffled collars typical of the period.Don’t try this at home, I promise it will chafe yourneck.

Sniff AgainDaphne odora – what more can be said? I havesuccess growing this temperamental jewel on asouth foundation with some afternoon shade and

winter gardeningWinter Isn’t Just for Pansies Anymore

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excellent drainage. The fragrance is sweet andheady, a treat in January and February.

Looking UpDon’t forget on cold winter days to look forsundogs in the winter sky. These reflections ofthe sun are often seen on winter afternoons whenthin clouds and cold temperatures prevail. Lookabout a hand’s width to either side of Old Sol fora rainbow-like halo, a mirror image of the sunreflected in the ice particles of high clouds. It’snot horticulture, but after looking down at allthese plants your neck will appreciate the stretch.

Shrubs in WinterAmong my favorite shrubs for winter are thedeciduous hollies and viburnums with theirornamental berries and stores of food for birdsand wildlife. Chimonanthus praecox (fragrantwintersweet) is exceptionally fragrant duringDecember and January and is a good addition tothe shrub border.Viburnum tinus (laurelviburnum) is a neatevergreen which showsits buds all winter,maintaining a look ofimpending bloom formonths. I like thisanticipation andsuspense in thegarden, never mindthat the flowers maybe anticlimactic.

Mahonias are otherwelcome evergreens inmy winter landscapeand bloom with brightyellow flowersproviding honeybeeswith early pollen andnectar.

Hamamelis, or witchhazel, Lonicerafragrantissima, a.k.a.winter honeysuckle,and Lindera benzoin,our native spicebush,

are all olfactory attention getters in late winter aswell as ornamental.

Kerria japonica sports bright green stems allwinter and Cornus species provide red or yellowtwigs for visual interest and cutting material.Corkscrew shapes are supplied by willows andfilberts and Poncirus yields huge green thorns andorange-yellow golf ball-sized fruit.

These woodies provide plenty of opportunities toshow off your talents in floral arrangements, orjust enjoy them growing in your own garden.

Design ClassWinter is a favorite time to do some basic designwork. Snow cover provides an excellentopportunity to study the lay of the land and toimagine future gardens and outside projects. Thebusy clutter of color and texture is removed, thusenabling one to see the bare bones of an area

and to implement the basic elements of design.If the snow doesn’t cooperate with the localweatherman’s schedule, go out at twilight orchoose a moonlit evening for this approach. Evenif you don’t complete your design project, youmay enjoy the starry winter sky and experiencethe beauty of the season.

Miles to GoWe haven’t even reached the hellebore bed, withmany species for winter enjoyment, but the bellcalls and it’s time to go. There are so many goodcool-season plants available for our zone 7gardens the list could go on and on. I hope youwill continue your interest in winter plants andvisit your local nurseries and garden centers tofind some favorites to brighten your own winterlandscape.

End of TermMy fellowship ended with the 2000 calendaryear and I would like to say thank you to all ofthe wonderful people at the JC RaulstonArboretum and NC State University who havemade this experience possible. My long timeadmiration and appreciation for the Arboretumstaff has grown even more during my term here,and I applaud the energies and dedication of allthose involved.

New DirectionsI now plan to take what I’ve learned during myfellowship here and spread the word to all thosewilling to hear it. Perhaps I can lead anotherimaginary tour someday, and I hope to continueteaching. But for now, I am off on a botanicalsafari to Kenya and Tanzania, seeking winterplants at elevation on the equator. I hope toreturn with new plant material, and would love toinclude some introductions among the JCRASelections in the future.

Enjoy your winter gardens, but if our weathergets too cold for you, skip winter and head forthe tropics!

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Left: Arum italicum - Italian arumPhotograph by Andy Upshaw

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mitzi’s musingsArboretum Plant Observations

By Mitzi HoleResearch Technician

This has been another stressful summer and fallfor the plants at the Arboretum. I watched thestorm clouds part as they went over theArboretum and dumped rain on the north andeast sides of Raleigh on many days. In May weonly had 1.05” of rain, June saw 2.22”, Julyimproved with 5.99”, August had 4.37”, thenthe deluge of 9.67” in September, and nothing inOctober.

I have been busily trying to propagate plants fromthe West Arboretum before the construction crewsbegin. Todd Lasseigne and I have been thrilledthat some hard-to-root deciduous trees haverooted. We tried softwood cuttings of Celtischoseniana, Zelkova schneiderana, Acer pilosumvar. stenolobum, and all the Cercis in ourcollection. I had the best luck rooting Cercissiliquastrum and Cercis chinensis ‘Nana’. Someof the larger trees that I could not tree spadefrom the West will be saved by cuttings.

I have moved over 100 trees, shrubs, and vinesfrom the construction location to other areas inthe Arboretum. Some not so rare plants havebeen dug and saved to use at the Gala auctionand as FOA give aways. As luck would have it, Ihad to start digging in October when it was sodry. I had to water the area for at least 30minutes before I could get the spade blades in theground. Fortunately, I had my excellent studentassistants, Jason Burris and Anne Calta, to help.The West Arboretum looked like a battle groundwith all the holes, knocked down trees, and tornup turf, but we saved a lot of plants. Anne,Jason, and I are eagerly waiting for spring to seeif our transplants leaf out.○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Right and above: Jason Burris, Anne Calta, andMitzi Hole are busy moving one of manyspecimens from the West Arboretum.Photographs by Christopher Todd Glenn

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herb cornerRosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)

By Cynthia DowdyVolunteer Gardener

The scent of rosemary conjures up holiday scenesfilled with the aroma of pine needles in the air,meat roasting, and laughter ringing in our ears.In past centuries, rosemary has also been a partof gala events such as weddings where brideswore wreaths of rosemary on their head.Shakespeare’s Hamlet said, “There’s rosemary,that’s for remembrance, pray, love, remember.”Greek scholars wore rosemary garlands or tuckedsprigs of rosemary behind their ears to improvememory when taking examinations.

Rosmarinus is a genus of one or more species ofevergreen shrub native to the dry, coastal areasaround the Mediterranean. There are differentopinions on the number of species in the genusfrom only one recognized species to a dozen ormore species. The JC Raulston Arboretum hasRosmarinus officinalis ‘Fore’, Gorzia’, ‘Salem’,‘Spice Island’, ‘Tuscan Blue’, and a prostrateselections. ‘Tuscan Blue’ is known for its showyblue blooms and ‘Salem’ is considered one of thehardiest selections. These can be found in andaround the Paradise Garden. A more in-depthrosemary collection can be viewed in the MercerReeves Hubbard Herb Garden at the NorthCarolina Botanic Gardens <www.unc.edu/depts/ncbg> in Chapel Hill, NC. Visitors to this gardenwill see over 35 taxa of rosemary planted in theNational Rosemary Collection for the Herb Societyof America.

Cultivating RosemaryRosemary is an easy to grow perennial that canbecome 3-5’ tall after several years growth. Itgrows best in sunny, well-drained, neutral toalkaline soil and is a good plant for groundcoveror container gardening. Global shaping or trainingbranches onto wire topiaries adds a sense ofelegance to potted rosemary and hanging basketsare an option with the prostrate selections.Depending on the plant selection, rosemary will

bloom late spring or around the holidays inNovember and December. Layering is the bestmethod to obtain new plants; however, you canstart new plants from stem cuttings. For layering,bend a branch of rosemary until an “elbow”portion sits into the soil with the tip of the branchexposed. Anchor the elbow with a stone. Afterseveral weeks the roots will be formed and thenew plant can be trimmed from the mother plantand transplanted in another location or in a pot.Transplants should be set in permanent location inthe spring or early fall. Prune rosemary oftenthroughout the growing season to encouragebushy growth.

Culinary UsesRosemary is a staple herb in Italian cuisine. It isused on meat and baked in focaccia and otherbreads. Meat basted in olive oil, wine, garlic, androsemary is oo-la-la. Herb butters added tosteamed vegetables, minced rosemary inscrambled eggs or omelets, and a pot of split peasoup cooked with two tablespoons of driedrosemary adds a robust flavor. Rosemarybranches can be used as kabob spears or burnedover charcoal when grilling food or smoking meatto enhance the flavor of food. A sprig ofrosemary in a glass of white wine adds beautyand unique flavor. To use fresh, cut rosemary 4"from the tip of the plant. To use dry, harvest justbefore the plant blooms. The cuttings can be air-dried on a screen or hung in bunches to dry.

Medicinal and Other UsesHerb baths have been used for centuries tosoothe tired muscles and stimulate the senses.Rosemary is said to be a circulatory stimulant thatimproves scalp and hair health. Rosemary isoften used as an ingredient in soaps and sachets,and sprigs put in clothing drawers can be used todiscourage moths.

Further ReadingCulbertson, M. (Editor). 1994. Country Home:Book of Herbs. Meredith Books. Des Moines, IA.

Brown, D. 1995. The Herb Society of America:Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses. DorlingKindersley. Boston, MA.

Greer, J. 1997. Southern Living Garden Guide:Herbs. Oxmoor House, Inc. Birmingham, AL.

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Below: Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Salem’ - ‘Salem’rosemary, one of many cultivated rosemaries atthe JC Raulston Arboretum.Photograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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trade showDisplay of New or Newly Propagated Accessions

By Todd LasseigneAssistant Director

North Carolina 2001 Green & Growin’Show and Floral ExpositionWinston-Salem, North CarolinaJanuary 3-6, 2001

The JC Raulston Arboretum, in continuing its roleof promoting plants and disseminating knowledgeto the NC nursery industry, recently attended theGreen & Growin’ nursery trade show in Winston-Salem. At our booth, we exhibited a selection of20 plants that represented either new accessionsrecently acquired that will soon be planted outinto the Arboretum, or plants that were recentlysuccessfully propagated — sometimes inadvance of any other success reports. Theseplants represent our efforts to continuallyintroduce and evaluate new plants for NC andsoutheastern gardens and landscapes. Printedbelow is the text from the placards that weredisplayed at the trade show, with some minormodifications per comments made by visitors toour booth.

1) Mahonia gracilis — Mexican grape-holly —A broadleaf evergreen shrub (5-8' tall) still poorlyknown in cultivation, but deserving of morewidespread planting in southern gardens. Theattractive, soft, weakly-spined foliage consists of(5)7 shiny, medium- to dark-green leaflets all seton a petiole that flushes bright red in the lateautumn to winter months. Flowers are brightyellow, produced abundantly in winter, also onvivid red stalks. We successfully propagated thisplant using semi-hardwood cuttings, 1-3 nodes,with hormone (8,000 ppm IBA-talc) application.

2) Zelkova schneideriana — Chinese zelkova— A strong-growing deciduous tree with thesame vase-shaped form but larger leaves than thecommonly grown Japanese zelkova (Zelkovaserrata). Our specimen exhibits golden-yellow fallcolor, although wine-red color has also been

reported. Since Z. serrata cultivars normally mustbe budded onto seedling rootstocks, we areinterested in learning more about producingplants from stem cuttings. Our cuttings werepropagated using 8,000 or 16,000 ppm IBA-talc,followed by induction of a fall growth flush bygrowing rooted cuttings under high-intensitysodium lamps.

3) Cercis siliquastrum ‘Bodnant’ — ‘Bodnant’Judas-tree — As part of efforts to propagate theCercis collection in advance of construction of ournew education center, we came across abedraggled specimen of ‘Bodnant’ Judas-tree thatwas badly in need of reinvigoration. ‘Bodnant’,selected for its purplish-pink flowers that aredarker than those of typical Judas-trees, displaysround leaves with a distinct grey cast. AlthoughCercis are not known to be easily rooted fromstem cuttings, we achieved high success usingsoftwood cuttings taken in May, treated with8,000 or 16,000 ppm IBA-talc, and later forcedto flush by growing-on under high-intensitysodium lamps.

4) Cladrastis platycarpa — Japanese yellow-wood — A small-statured deciduous floweringtree, our specimens have prospered in one of thedrier spots in the Arboretum with competitionfrom a nearby large live oak (Quercus virginiana).Leaves have 7-15 leaflets, are green underneath,thin-textured, and turn a golden-yellow color infall. White flowers are produced in erect racemesin late spring. Since seed set on our plants hasbeen limited, we decided to attempt propagationby stem cuttings, and were surprised by thepositive results. We used 16,000 ppm IBA-talc,and forced a growth flush after rooting using high-intensity lights.

5) Cotinus coggygria ‘Ancot’ — GoldenSpirit™ goldleaf smokebush — As one of themost exciting new woody plants to hit theornamental market in years, the goldleafsmokebush is sure to garner high sales in theU.S. To guard against theft of our only plant,procured in the U.K. in 1999 and now plantedout in the Arboretum, we decided to propagateseveral (hopefully unneeded) “replacements.”

Above: The JC Raulston Arboretum’s booth at the North Carolina Association of Nurserymen’s Green &Growin’ Show & Floral Exposition.Photograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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We took softwood to semi-hardwood cuttings,treating them with 8,000 ppm IBA-talc, andachieved nearly 100% rooting. Rooted cuttingswere then placed under high-intensity lights, andbudbreak occurred soon thereafter. (A patentedplant)

6) Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’ — LavenderTwist™ weeping redbud — A fabulous newweeping redbud, ‘Covey’ develops a strongcentral leader (even without staking) with lateralbranches exhibiting a strong weeping habit.Since our specimen needed to be relocated due tothe construction of our new education center, wedecided to try stem cuttings as a precaution incase the original plant did not survive transplant-ing. As with ‘Bodnant’ Judas-tree, we achievedexcellent results using softwood cuttings taken inMay, treated with 8,000 and 16,000 ppm IBA-talc, and after rooting moved under high-intensitylights set for a long-day photoperiod. Wereceived our original plant from Brotzman’sNursery (Madison, Ohio). (A patented plant)

7) Senecio ‘Sunshine’ — now, Brachyglottis[Dunedin Group] ‘Sunshine’ — shrubby senecio— As a standard landscape plant in central andsouthern England, Senecio ‘Sunshine’ is curiouslyabsent from southeastern U.S. landscapes.Although we are unsure of its cold hardiness, thiswill be a fabulous evergreen flowering shrub if itproves hardy and tolerant of our climate and soils.Shrubby senecio displays gray-green leaves on adensely mounding shrub (to 3' tall and wide), allof which disappear under a smothering display ofyellow daisy-like flowers in summer.

8) Euonymus ‘Wolong Ghost’ — silverveinwintercreeper — This stunning new evergreengroundcover euonymus, received by us fromHeronswood Nursery in Washington<www.heronswood.com>, is unlike any we haveseen. The narrow dark green leaves are set offby whitened, “ghostly” veins, creating a subtleyet conspicuous variegation. We are not yet sureof species identity, although leaves appearsmaller and narrower than the commonwintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), suggesting adifferent species. Hardiness is also uncertain, butbased on the collection data for this plant

(“Wolong” is an area in Sichuan Province,China), we should expect Zone 6. Stay tuned!

9) Ilex integra ‘Green Shadow’ — variegatedNepal holly — This attractive variegated cultivarof Nepal holly, introduced in the 1980s by BarryYinger to the U.S., remains obscure (almostabsent) in cultivation in the southeastern U.S.The spineless foliage, green with streaks of creamto yellow variegation, combined with yellow toyellowish-green twigs creates much interest.‘Green Shadow’ is a female cultivar, producingvivid red fruit, but we have seen few reports onfruiting intensity and pollinator requirements.Hardiness reports range from Zone 6 or Zone 8.

10) Stauntonia purpurea — Taiwanesestauntonia — An evergreen vine with attractive,palmately compound leaves consisting of 3-5leaflets with distinctly wavy margins. We havegrown the related Stauntonia hexaphylla formany years, and it has proven to be exceedinglyhardy, exhibiting no damage at 0° F. Stauntoniapurpurea represents only the second species incultivation of a genus totaling 6 species. Weawait the introduction of the remaining 4, asthese vines add that highly desired “tropical” lookto our gardens. Mature plants produce purpleflowers and sausage-like (Akebia-like) fruits, bothof which can be sweetly-scented.

11) Hydrangea quelpartensis — Koreanclimbing hydrangea — A newly introducedclimbing hydrangea from South Korea with tinyleaves (compared to the common climbinghydrangea, Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris)only 1-1.5". This species is named for QuelpartIsland, now known as Cheju Do, from where it isnative. (“Do,” pronounced “doe,” is Korean for“island.”) As this plant is new to us, we havenot yet seen flowers, but expect to see the lace-caps that are familiar to those growing thecommon climbing hydrangea. Some plantsmenspeculate that plants labeled as Schizophragmahydrangeoides ‘Brookside Miniature’ representthis Korean species. Korean climbing hydrangeashould be hardy to Zone 6.

12) Camellia euryoides — mockorangecamellia — In addition to the multitudes ofcultivars of camellias that are available tosouthern gardeners, a host of species camelliascan presently be found in cultivation, albeitinfrequently. This species, which we receivedfrom Woodlanders Nursery in South Carolina<www.woodlanders.net>, is perhaps one of themost unique. With its small leaves (< 1" long),mockorange camellia would be unique enough,but when it came into flower (forced in ourgreenhouse), with wonderful white bells thatdangle beneath the foliage, we were stunned.Stay tuned!

13) Alnus glutinosa ‘Imperialis’ — royal alder— This fine deciduous tree, with its fine-textured, dissected leaves, will change the wayyou probably perceive alders. Although originat-ing in mid-19th Century Europe, plants areprecariously rare in the southern U.S. today. InEurope and northern U.S. states, expect amedium- to large-sized tree, but for us in Raleighour plant is growing somewhat slowly, suggestinga smaller ultimate stature (30' tall). As in otherAlnus, royal alder is tolerant of wet, saturatedsoils and infertile ones (since it can fix atmo-spheric nitrogen, akin to legumes). Our plantsare cutting-grown, rooting readily.

14) Viburnum obovatum ‘Whorled Class’ —compact Walter’s viburnum — Viburnumobovatum, a relatively unknown southeasternU.S. native, forms an evergreen shrub in theCoastal Plain and a semi-evergreen to deciduousshrub further inland. This new cultivar wasselected for its dense, compact form. Plants arevalued for their small, glossy dark green leaves(1" long x 0.5" wide) with red-tinted petioles; allturning purplish in winter. Abundant whiteflowers, displayed in flat-topped clusters, areproduced in spring. Fruits are black or red. Weare excited about the landscape potential of thisspecies. Hardy to Zone 6.

15) Cornus sanguinea ‘Winter Beauty’ —bloodtwig dogwood — A truly stunning plantwith possibly unmatched winter twig interest,‘Winter Beauty’ dogwood (also known as ‘WinterFlame’) is unlike any of the red-osier or yellow-

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osier dogwoods currently grown. Twigs display arich and amazing gradation of yellow to orange toorange-red tints. Unfortunately, this plant isfrequently confused with ‘Midwinter Fire’, itself afine cultivar, which displays pinkish-red to redcolored twigs. As with other twig dogwoods,‘Winter Beauty’ plants should be rejuvenatedevery 2-3 years, since winter color is bestexpressed on young twigs. Our plant wasreceived from Forestfarm Nursery (Williams,Oregon).

16) Acer rufinerve ‘Winter Gold’ — goldtwigredvein maple — We recently acquired this finesnakebark maple which originated in Australiawhere it has been cultivated for over 25 years.Thanks to Highland Creek Nursery (Fletcher,North Carolina) for bringing this plant to ourattention. ‘Winter Gold’ displays rich, nearlyglowing, golden-yellow bark in winter, appearinggreen with a whitish, waxy sheen during the restof the year. This winter bark color is uniqueamong all the maples. Acer rufinerve forms asmall-statured, deciduous tree, 20-30' tall;although ‘Winter Gold’ will probably remainsmaller.

17) Thujopsis dolabrata ‘Aurea’ — goldenfalse arborvitae — This is the rarely seen gold-leaved form of the false arborvitae. Typical(green-leaved) Thujopsis dolabrata forms hugetrees in cool-temperate gardens, while plants insoutheastern U.S. landscapes tend to be smaller,at best seen used as screening hedges. Since‘Aurea’ is not widely grown, its ultimate size andperformance in our warm-temperate climateremains unknown, but we expect ‘Aurea’ willform a dwarf pyramidal shrub. On closeinspection, observe the wonderful contrastbetween the rich yellow-gold suffused upper leafsurface versus the striking white markingsbeneath.

18) Cedrus deodara ‘Klondyke’ — goldenDeodar cedar — This superb bright yellow-foliaged cedar, cultivated only since the early1980s, represents one of many wonderful newcultivars of Deodar cedar that we are adding toour conifer collection. Although a few dozencultivars now exist, relatively few have been

grown in the southeastern U.S., where thespecies prospers and enjoys popularity as anevergreen landscape tree. ‘Klondyke’ forms abroad pyramidal tree with pendent branch tips.Both the leaves and the young twigs are yellow.This is certainly a standout plant among conifers,but its sun-scorch susceptibility remains unknown.Our plant was acquired from the wonderfulselection of conifers from Stanley and SonsNursery of Boring, Oregon <www.stanleyandsons.com>.

19) Sedum tetractinum — Chinese sedum —This is a fabulous, low (3-4" tall), evergreengroundcover with potential for use as a main-stream plant in southern landscapes. Chinesesedum forms a dense, low mat of flat, roundleaves, appearing on wiry stems. Leaves emergebright green in spring, aging to a rich, dark greenwith reddish tinges, and finally turn bronze tobronzy-red in the fall and winter months. Thesummer foliage is topped by bright yellow flowersborne on 4-pronged spikes. For hot, dry siteswhere a low groundcover is desired, Chinesesedum is an excellent choice.

20) Gomphrena ‘Grapes’ — globe amaranth— This new vegetatively propagated annual wasintroduced to us by Jenks Farmer at RiverbanksBotanical Garden in Columbia, South Carolina<www.riverbanks.org>. As with all othergomphrenas, ‘Grapes’ is easily grown, requiringonly sunlight and minimal care at time ofplanting. Although ‘Grapes’ forms looser, tallerplants than the dwarf cultivars that dominate inthe seed-grown market, gardeners are rewardedby an explosion of small-headed rich purpleflowers on long stems, appearing like a purplebaby’s-breath.

By Todd LasseigneAssistant Director

The past six months have seen much activity atthe JC Raulston Arboretum, activity that we aresure you have noticed. With the construction ofthe Ruby C. McSwain Education Center now fullyunderway, and with plants that were formerlygrowing in the West Arboretum now either movedor propagated (see Mitzi Hole’s article), we arenow turning our attention to planting many of thenewly acquired plants from my collecting trips andcorresponding with other “new plant gurus.”Rest assured, though, that some of the olderstalwarts propagated from the former WestArboretum will be replanted once they reach aplantable size. Our kudos to Mitzi and herstudent workers (Anne Calta and Jason Burris)for their hard, diligent, and professional work.

Reading on later in this newsletter, you will seethat Doris Honeycutt and crew, as well asAmelia Lane and her crew, have all been busyrevamping their gardens, the Winter Garden andMixed Shrub Border, respectively. I am thrilled atthe willingness of these dedicated Arboretumvolunteer curators to take on these monumentaltasks, and we are proud to showcase their efforts.Read on for more information in their own write-ups on page 21.

Do also take some time when you are next at theArboretum to view two other areas: the LathHouse and the new entrance walk to theJapanese Garden. In the Lath House, Bob Rothand crew have been hard at work moving variousplants around and removing others that are poorlydocumented or in bad health. The changes arerefreshing and add an air of openness that theLath House hasn’t seen in years. Expect MANYmore new plantings in the coming year. Behindthe Lath House, Mitzi and crew have recentlyplanned and planted a new entranceway for theJapanese Garden that looks wonderful andshowcases several new acquisitions.

collectionsUpdate

Above: Anne Calta slit seeds the lawn.Photograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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developmentA Change for the Better

By Donna WalkerDevelopment Associate

It’s been a long time in the making, but the JCRABoard of Advisors’ Membership Committee hasbeen working on some changes. After carefulresearch of similar organizations across theSoutheast and many hours of internal discussions,the Board Committee and the JCRA staff areupdating the structure of the FOA membershipprogram. These changes will bring the JCRA up toa level with similar botanical gardens andarboreta and will help the JCRA to better meet itsfinancial obligations. The new structure will gointo effect as soon as we are able to make thecomputer updates. We are very grateful for thelong-term loyalty of the Friends group and lookforward to even better things in the futurefollowing these changes.

The new membership breakdowns are as follows:

Student (full-time status at 2 or 4 year accreditedschool) andSenior (60 years or older) - $10.00 (no change)One membership card, the JCRA newsletter, freemember lectures, one admission to the FOAAnnual Plant Distribution, reciprocal memberships(under development), garden store discounts(under development)

Individual - $30.00 (no change)Same as Student and Senior

Family/Dual - $50.00Same as Individual, except two membership cardsand two admissions to the FOA Annual PlantDistribution

Sponsor - $250.00 - $499.00Same as Family/Dual, plus two connoisseurplants

Patron - $500.00 - $2,499.00Same as Family/Dual, plus five connoisseurplants, and one complimentary membership to beused as a gift at the Patron’s discretion.

Benefactor - $2,500.00 - $4,999.00Same as Family/Dual, plus 10 connoisseurplants, and two complimentary memberships tobe used as gifts at the Benefactor’s discretion

Philanthropist - $5,000.00 and upSame as Family/Dual, plus 15 connoisseurplants, three complimentary memberships to beused as gifts, and a private Arboretum tour by theDirector or Assistant Director.

It was additionally decided by the MembershipCommittee to separate membership paymentsand other donations. This is a change from thepast but in keeping with similar practices at otherinstitutions. Only donations made as member-ships will be used to compute the number ofconnoisseur plants received by a member. Uponrequest, an individual donor may be sponsored formembership by the Arboretum for one year.Corporate donors will not be sponsored. Thisdecision was made after discussions withrepresentatives from various organizations.

Two of the benefits mentioned as under develop-ment are “reciprocal memberships” and “gardenstore discounts.” Currently, the only organizationhonoring the JCRA membership cards is Smith &Hawken at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. Theyare giving our members 10% off purchases. Aneffort will be made in the near future to increasethe list of reciprocal agencies and a list of thosewill be sent with new membership cards and willbe posted to our Web site.

Volunteer hours will continue to be counted as inthe past - one hour equaling one dollar - withmembership beginning at the $30.00/30 hourlevel, counting only those hours volunteered inthe last 12-month time frame. However, a

significant and positive change in this programwill recognize a cumulative lifetime total ofvolunteer hours that will benefit those volunteerswho must take time off and then return at a laterdate to begin volunteering again. A committee ofJCRA staff members is currently planning a newbrochure, which will further explain the newformat.

In the near future we will also change themembership renewal reminder process. Currently,they are issued on a 15-month basis. Beginningsoon, renewal reminders will be issued before theactual renewal date, with additional remindersfollowing. We want to assist our members inkeeping their memberships up-to-date.

These changes are a part of our continuing effortsto help you enjoy the many and ever increasingbenefits of being a member of the JCRA Friendsof the Arboretum. With more lectures, moreexciting events, symposia, opportunities to enjoyother arboreta and botanical venues, our AnnualPlant Distribution, the connoisseur plant program,and, of course, the beauties of our own garden,we feel the reasons for becoming and remaininga member of the FOA are well worth thecontributions listed. We appreciate and value allof the JCRA members, donors, and volunteers andhope that these changes will continue to benefiteveryone in the JCRA family.

Above: Over 1,000 plants were laid out for thisyear’s Annual Plant Distribution, one of the manymembership benefits of the JCRA. In less thanten minutes, all plants had a new home.Photograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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developmentHow You Can Help Plan for the JCRA’s Future

By Joan DeBruinDirector of Gift Planning

Over the years, you have supported our wonderfulArboretum with generous gifts and unwaveringattendance at the annual gala and other events.We greatly appreciate your ongoing commitmentto making the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC StateUniversity the best in the world. With thiscolumn, we will explore using a will bequest tocreate an endowment to provide perpetualsupport for the garden.

Will bequests are the simplest type of plannedgifts that can be used to support the garden.These can be created easily by establishing aprovision in your will or living trust. The gift willprovide you the lifelong use of your asset, as wellas estate tax savings and the knowledge thatyour gift will continue to advance horticulturalexcellence at NC State.

Recently, a rose fancier included a provision forthe Arboretum in her estate plans. Her gift will

establish an endowment that will provideperpetual support for the Finley Rose Garden.Each year after the gift matures, the Arboretumwill spend a portion of the income earned on theendowment to help expand and maintain theFinley Rose Garden. The remaining income willbe added back into the endowment. By returninga portion of the annual income to the endow-ment, the Arboretum will enable the fund to growand will preserve the endowment’s purchasingpower over time.

Named endowments can be established to benefitany area of interest that you might have. In allcases, the donor, working with the Director of theArboretum, decides how the endowment will benamed and what area or areas the funds willbenefit. An endowment is a wonderful way toprovide a lasting legacy or to create a memorialin honor of a loved one.

When an endowment is established, we create anagreement that outlines the terms and conditionsof the fund so that the endowment is adminis-

Wedding PhotographsWanted

If you or someone you know held awedding at the JCRA, please share withus a picture of the happy couple. We areputting together a Brides Scrapbook to beplaced in the office area of the new RubyC. McSwain Education Center. Send yourpictures to Donna Walker, JC RaulstonArboretum, Department of HorticulturalScience, Box 7609, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609. Please include the names of thecouple and the date of their wedding.We’re also looking for a “curator” for thisscrapbook. Interested? Please callDonna at (919) 513-3826.

tered according to your wishes in years to come.We will be happy to draft an agreement for yourreview at any time, and we will work closely withyou and your legal and financial advisors toassure that your wishes are documented properly.

When you make a bequest to any charitableorganization, it is very important to include thecorrect legal name of the organization in yourlegal documents. For example, if you want yourgift to support the JC Raulston Arboretum, thedesignation in your will or living trust should beto: The North Carolina Agricultural Foundation,Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina for the JCRaulston Arboretum at NC State University. Thiswording will ensure that your bequest willspecifically benefit the Arboretum.

We are always available to help you and yourlegal advisors with the wording of a bequest andto provide suggestions about how your gift can beused to promote and expand the JC RaulstonArboretum. Please feel free to contact DonnaWalker at (919) 513-3826 or myself, JoanDeBruin, at (919) 515-9076 if you have anyquestions.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Below: Signs, in this case an actual sign, of impending construction on the Ruby C. McSwainEudcation Center began to appear at the JCRA in early December.Photograph by Christopher Todd Glenn

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in the arboretumMoonlight in the Garden of Good and ......

By Donna WalkerDevelopment Associate

On Friday and Saturday nights, November 3 and4, 2000, over 150 guests came to see the JCRAgardens dressed in the finest luminary garbavailable. John Garner of Southern Lights inRaleigh put together and installed a collection ofover 400 beautiful night lighting fixtures.Beginning at the Visitors Center entrance, theattendees were met by Bob Lyons, Director ofthe JCRA, and John Garner. Each gave awelcome and a short introduction to the event.Tour guides, all volunteers from the NCSUHorticulture Club, led each group on a tour of theArboretum. At locations along the way, theevening’s curators met each group. Curators inplace for the evening were:

Klein-Pringle White Garden - Susan CheathamGarden of Winter Delights - Doris HoneycuttThe Necessary - Claude and Mary CaldwellThe Finley Rose Garden and Wisteria Collection -

Harvey BumgardnerThe Paradise Garden - Frankie FanelliThe Townhouse Gardens - Alicia BerryThe Perennial Border - Jan Wilson and Heidi

Miller

The curators gave the groups information abouttheir garden and nearby plants and a brief run-down of the lighting fixtures. The beautifulfixtures and how the lighting complimented thenatural beauty of the plants fascinated everyone.Lighting was used to show the soft drift of pineneedles, the shadow of a curious goldfish in theKlein-Pringle White Garden pond shown againstthe bark of a crape myrtle, a puddle of light on agarden path, the reds and yellows of the roses,and the twists of the wisteria vines. ThePerennial Border grasses were majestic in theirspecial lights and so were the orange cosmos.The statue of the Dancing Ladies came alive andseemed to almost move to their own silent song.The bright lights on the statuary near the wisteria

collection recreated a shadow ball on one of theupright structures. The groupings of glass flowers(tulips, daffodils, and snowdrops) the onlycolored lights used, were especially enjoyable.The Paradise Garden is a treat for the senses oftaste, smell, and touch and John added sight bycrossing submerged lights through the fountainspray, causing the lights to dance in the corners ofthe latticework. The whole garden came alivebecoming more friendly and softer.

After the tours were completed, guests weretreated to hot beverages and trays upon trays ofhomemade cookies made by numerous volun-teers.

When first meeting with John Garner he indicatedhis plans would include approximately$30,000.00 worth of lighting fixtures. Johnreturned several times and put together aschematic. Soon the amount had increased to$40,000.00. Before the event, John admittedhe had included $75,000.00 worth of lights.The list of the types of lighting used is too long tolist here. If you have questions or would like tohave John come by for a consultation, be sure callhim at (919) 755-0380. And plan to join us for“Moonlight” in the Garden on September 28 &29, 2001.

Corporate SponsorsPlease join us in thanking the following for theirsupport of this event:

Garden Supply Co.Keith & Deborah Ramsey1421 Old Apex RoadCary, NC 27513(919) 460-7747

McGinnis FarmsJoe Smith12660 Highway 64 EApex, NC 27502(919) 303-7290

Custom Brick Co.Tom Fisher1613 Old Louisburg RoadRaleigh, NC 27604(919) 832-2804

M.C. (Mac) NewsomLandscape Architect1912 Stone StreetRaleigh, NC 27608(919) 839-1188

Swift Creek NurseryLanny Thomas6090 Cleveland RoadClayton, NC 27520(919) 934-7764

Z EnterprisesTony Zajovits113 Padgett CourtCary, NC 27511(919) 363-3007

“Moonlight” in the Garden Committee:Mary Edith AlexanderMark ArmagostHarriet BellerjeauCaroline CampbellSusan CheathamShelley McCainHarley MudgeCharlotte PresleyKathleen & Walt ThompsonSteve WalkerDee WelkerBill & Libby Wilder

Above and below:Scenes from the“Moonlight” in theGarden.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Photographs by Bob Lyons

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peopleVolunteering News

By Nancy Margaret BroddVolunteer Coordinator

Big Thanks to the WeekendWaterers

Thanks to Wayne Friedrich, his daughter, DonnaMoffett, Jennette King, and Sandy Reid fortheir help in keeping the plants at the JCRAwatered during this past hot and dry summer.Although additional irrigation has been addedsince the summer of 1999, additional watering isalways needed, especially for the potted plants.Thank you all!

T-shirt Sales

Don’t forget to stop by the Volunteer Office tobuy your JCRA 2000 apparel. More were orderedin December for the North Carolina Association ofNurserymen’s Green & Growin’ Show and FloralExposition, so if we didn’t have your size before,check back with us now.

Past Events

Volunteer Potluck DinnerAugust 31, 2000The Volunteer Potluck Dinner was blessed byMother Nature. The ground was drenched andthe sky remained black throughout the day. MitziHole and her assistants set up the tent, tablesand chairs around the brick house, stayingoptimistic. I came to the JCRA later, in thepouring rain, and with the help of Mary EdithAlexander, rearranged everything into tightclusters under cover, expecting the worst scenario.Susan Cheatham arrived with clippers in handand sunny smile and went out in the rain to thegardens cutting flowers and foliage for thetabletops. Susan, Doris Huneycutt, and GailHarris transformed the dark classroom into asunny, picnic atmosphere. With only 15 minutesto spare before party time, the black clouds rolledaway, making room for the bright, warm sun.

Our volunteers began arriving, arms full of plantsand food to share. The weather remained calmfor the feast and Todd Lasseigne’s tour.

The next event was an awesome private slideshow of Tom and Marie Bumgarner’s gardenand Bob Lyons’ trip to Italy. When the lightswere dimmed for the slide show, Mother Naturebegan her show of torrential rains, again. We allsnuggled closer together, inside the cozyclassroom, OOOing and AAHHing over the slidesas if we were children watching fireworks.The excitement continued as we drew tickets forthe plant give away. Everyone went homearound 10:00 PM, stuffed with delicious food,happy memories, and heavily watered plantsfrom the JCRA and fellow volunteers.

The following is a recipe of one of the manydelicious dishes from the Volunteer PotluckDinner, requested by many and shared by LaurieCochrane.

Nutty Wild Rice Pilaf1 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed3 cups water2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules1/2 cup butter or margarine2 cups slivered almonds1/4 cup sliced green onions1/4 cup golden raisins2 teaspoons grated orange peel

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine rice, water, andchicken bouillon. Cook over high heat untilmixture comes to a full boil (6 to 10 minutes).Drain. In same pan with wild rice, stir in allremaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat,stirring occasionally, until heated throughout (5 to6 minutes). Makes 8 servings. Calories=180,Protein=5 g., Carbohydrates=21 g., Choles-terol=16 mg., Sodium=155 mg.

Horticulture Magazine SymposiumOctober 28, 2000The Horticulture Symposium, “Winter Gardeningin the South,” at the RTP Sheraton Imperial, wasa huge success both personal and professional forthe JCRA! It was a great honor when NanSinton, Director of Horticultural Programs atHorticulture Magazine <www.hortmag.com>,contacted Bob Lyons asking us to co-host thisevent. Accepting this offer allowed the JCRA tolearn the process of co-hosting such an event, toshare this opportunity with our friends, and earn afew extra, much needed dollars!

We knew it was going to be well worth the effortwhen we saw that among the fabulous lineup ofspeakers was one of our own, volunteer Co-curator of the Perennial Border, Doug Ruhren.Many of our volunteers came just to see him andwere happy they did!

This event could not have succeeded without thehelp of Horticulture Magazine and the followingstaff and volunteers: Anne Calta, JaniceDunham, Chris Glenn, Mitzi Hole, JennetteKing, Todd Lasseigne, Bob Lyons, Heidi Miller,and Jan Wilson. With their help the JCRAregistered more guests than the other two hostingcities, sold $565.00 worth of apparel (great ideato lower thermostat in lecture room), and soldover $2,000.00 worth of books. I would alsolike to thank Quail Ridge Books for sharing theirknowledge and for supplying us with the books tosell.

EncoreSeptember 21-October 26, 2000JCRA volunteers and volunteer curators generouslyshared their knowledge and time with thestudents of the NCSU Encore program. This is acourse offered to people in retirement, mostlynew to the area, who want to learn about theirnew “zone.” One curator, Frankie Fanelli, wentall out by placing chairs about her garden andserving hot apple cider to her guests. Is thatsouthern hospitality, or what?

I loved the inquiries this generated among manyof you as you prepared. A lot of hard work wentinto this and again, I would love to schedule

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another “class,” but this one to be for other JCRAvolunteers. Get in touch with me and let’s set updates for this spring!

Thanks to the following for your participation inEncore and supporting the JCRA’s involvementwith the University: Chris Allen, HarveyBumgardner, Anne Clapp, Susan Cheatham, CJDykes, Frankie Fanelli, Vivian Finkelstein,Doris Huneycutt, Amelia Lane, Guy Meilleur,Bob Roth, and Doug Ruhren.

Annual Plant DistributionOctober 7, 2000The plant give away is probably the most popularreason people become involved with the JCRA.This is the annual event in which members get tograb all the plants they can in about 10 minutes.Sound like fun? Well, it is!

It is also a lot of hard work. The whole weekprior to this day is spent in preparation. Thiscould not be done without the expert in FOAAnnual Plant Distributions, Mitzi Hole, herassistant, Anne Calta, and the many committedvolunteers. For five days, two groups of at leastfive volunteers, one group in morning and theother in the afternoon, meet at the Arboretum tohelp Mitzi and Anne label plants and set them outinto specific areas. Volunteers also help the dayof the event by verifying and updating member-ship status, selling apparel and by just answeringgeneral questions.

This year over 3,000 plants were given tomembers. Volunteers sold 33 memberships and$730.00 of apparel! Thank you to the 30volunteers who put in over 100 hours of theirtime to assure the success of this event. You go,JCRA Volunteers!

Moonlight in the GardenNovember 3 & 4, 2000Thanks to all the volunteers who helped DonnaWalker, JCRA Development Associate, with thisspecial event. The number of volunteers whobaked goodies for this was astounding. Thetreats that remained were donated to SaintAndrews Catholic Church, who were providingshelter for the area’s homeless that week.

Kathleen Thompson suggested the donation inthe name of the JCRA Volunteers. Great idea,Kathleen! We all look forward to doing it againSeptember 2001.

Upcoming Events

The 2001 Volunteer AppreciationLuncheonThe staff of the JCRA look forward to showingyou our appreciation for all that you do for theJCRA. The luncheon will be held at the NC StateUniversity Club during National Volunteer Week,on Tuesday, April 24, 2001, so please mark yourcalendars!

Trip to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardento See Doug RuhrenDid you know that Doug Ruhren, Co-curator ofthe Perennial Border, is now at Daniel StoweBotanical Garden in Belmont, NC <www.stowegarden.org>? Well, he is, and he loves theidea of the JCRA volunteers visiting him at hisnew job. We could also tour the gardens!

We are thinking May or June. It will be a day tripwith lunch included. The means of transportationand cost will depend on the number of volunteersinterested in going. I will need help organizingthis first time event so give me a call and let’s getthis ball of fun rolling!

Volunteer Program PlanningCommittee

With all the changes taking place at the JCRA, itseemed only natural that I seek advice from thevolunteers on how to improve and update ourvolunteer program. I was grateful to rally asmall, selective group of volunteers, who, I feel,represent the volunteer group as a whole. Thenumber has been kept small, at first, for thepurpose of moving quickly to keep the foundationfirm. The committee currently consists of LaurieCochrane, Mixed Shrub Border gardener andpart-time Volunteer Coordinator at the Arc ofWake County; Susan Cheatham, Curator of theKlein-Pringle White Garden; and NancySimonsen, Paradise Garden gardener, JCRAWedding Coordinator, and volunteer reader for the

JC Raulston ArboretumVolunteer Curators &

Coordinators

Chris AllenButterfly Garden Curator

Pam BaggettEntry Garden Curator

Alicia BerryWater Garden Curator

Harvey BumgardnerFinley Rose Garden Co-curator

Tom BumgarnerLabeling Curator

Mary and Claude CaldwellJC Raulston Archives Co-curators

Anne CaltaAquatic Gardens Co-curator

Susan CheathamKlein-Pringle White Garden Curator

Anne ClappFinley Rose Garden Co-curator

Diane CutlerJapanese Garden Co-curator

CJ DykesWisteria Garden and Vines Curator

Edith EddlemanPerennial Borders Co-curator

Frankie FanelliParadise Garden Curator

Doris HuneycuttWinter Garden Co-curator

Susan HyteTour Guide Coordinator

Amelia LaneMixed Border Curator

Pat McCrackenMagnolia Collection Curator

Patrick PitzerAquatic Gardens Co-curator

Bob RothLath House Curator

Douglas RuhrenPerennial Borders Co-curator

Bill SatterwhiteBluebird Houses Curator

Andrew TiedmanJapanese Garden Co-curator

Dick and Judith TylerGarden of Winter Delights Co-curators

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Susan Andrews Jessie Brinkley

Jim Hardin Donna Moffet

Ann Stellings

Judith and Dick Tyler

Volunteer Opportunities

The following are volunteer positions that need tobe filled as soon as possible. Volunteer InterestForms are available in room 162, Kilgore Halland at the JCRA Volunteer Office for newvolunteers. If you are interested or have anyquestions, please contact me at (919) 515-3132 or <nancy_margaret@ncsu.edu>.

Digital Image Database Assistant – Theseindividuals will assist Chris Glenn in maintainingtwo digital image databases, one for our digitalphotographs and the other for J.C. Raulston’sslides. Willingness to use a computer isnecessary. Tasks will be performed on aMacintosh using FileMaker Pro and Photoshopsoftware. After training, volunteering will bedone independently and/or with Chris in room162 Kilgore Hall, NCSU. Hours are flexible andparking is free.

Field Trip Planning Committee to Daniel StoweBotanical Gardens – I need 3 or 4 volunteers tohelp plan this trip for fellow volunteers. It willrequire meeting a couple of times a month andmaking telephone calls to gather facts and makereservations. This will be fun!

FOA Lecture Assistants – Two volunteers areneeded to help setup refreshments and sign inguests at our FOA lectures. These are held oncampus, in Kilgore Hall or Bostian Hall, once amonth, on Thursday evenings. It requires about2-3 hours. This is a great way to see the lecturesand meet other JCRA members and volunteers!

Tour Guides – Our tour season will be in fullswing again soon and we need volunteer tourguides to help fill the demand. If you enjoyinforming others and leading groups, becoming aJCRA Tour Guide is for you. Since our tours aregiven to a wide range of the public (horticultur-ists, residential gardeners, newcomers, schoolgroups, etc.), we need a wide range of guides.All guides are required to attend three trainingsessions in the spring. Come join the fun andlearn along the way!

Volunteer Office Volunteers – We needvolunteers to cover the hours 1:00 AM to 4:00PM on Monday and Wednesday afternoons and10:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Thursday at the JCRAVolunteer Office. Duties include light office work,answering questions, directing visitors to differentparts of the Arboretum, selling apparel, keepingmaps and other informational material throughoutthe Arboretum filled, answering telephone, andcalling other volunteers for various tasks. This isa weekly commitment.

Welcome to the New JCRAVolunteers

blind. Not only do these ladies bring forth muchexperience to the table; they are also already atthe JCRA on Wednesdays when we meet!

Our first objective is to update the volunteerdatabase, which currently lists 439 volunteers.Out of those 439 volunteers, in the past 12months, 145 have 0 hours and only 66 have 30or more hours. What this means to us, is thatmuch time, thus money, is wasted on inactivevolunteers. That is not to say their inactivity is alltheir fault. It simply means that there are toomany records in the database for me to manageproperly.

Our future goals are to update the volunteerinterest form, create other volunteer programliterature, thus creating volunteer information onthe JCRA Web site, and plan group activities forthe volunteers like trips to area gardens. Thisshould keep us busy for a while.

Currently, volunteers Frankie Fanelli, ElainePace, Nancy Simonsen, Ann Stellings, andKathleen Thompson are calling upon thevolunteers with 0 hours to update their records.We are hoping that cleaning the database ofinactive volunteers will allow for more qualitytime to spend on those who are activelyvolunteering with us. Ultimately, this will makeus a better and more connected volunteer team.

Just holler if you want to help with telephoningour fellow volunteers. We will need more helpbecause the next step is to call on thosevolunteers who have volunteered in the past 12months.

Membership Cards for Volunteers

Have you received your current JCRA membershipcard yet? If you currently have 30 or morevolunteer hours and have not received amembership card in the past 12 months, chancesare you will soon. Thanks to Donna Walker andVal Tyson, I now have the tools to get volunteersthe membership card you deserve. Thanks forvolunteering with us and becoming members atthe JCRA!

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Winter Garden Activity

By Doris HuneycuttGarden of Winter Delights Co-curator

As winter draws upon us more visitors are cominginto the Winter Garden and looking about. Thosefamiliar with the Arboretum may have noticedthat large areas are being cleared and nowreplanted within this garden. It’s time for anexplanation.

When the Arboretum staff began to clear areas ofthe East in preparation for moving plants out ofthe West for the construction, each area wasassessed for plants that had outgrown their spaceand/or usefulness to the Arboretum mission oftesting and evaluating new plants.

In the Winter Garden, the list was headed by amammoth Ilex cornuta ‘Dwarf Burford’. This“dwarf” ‘Dwarf Burford’ holly had beenmeasured in February at 15’ tall. That was alsoits diameter; the space that its removal leftbehind for the ‘Little Gem’ magnolias wasawesome. It did illustrate that “dwarf” may notmean small.

Such a planting space sets gardeners to planningand so it has been with the Winter Garden crew(Susan Andrews, Doris Huneycutt, HarleyMudge, and Dick and Judith Tyler). Withremoval fever running high, the variegatedEuonymus japonica ‘Chollipo’, infested with scaleand now common in the trade, was next to go.

Near the dwarf Burford holly is an old Osmanthusarmatus that had been severely damaged by theholly growing under it. Harley and Dorisperformed dead limb removal and limbing up forhalf a day and the plant has new life.

The osmanthus is one of the few shrubs in themaps marked as a pre-Arboretum plant. Most ofthose are trees such as the two big evergreenoaks, Quercus phillyraeoides and Quercus glaucathat overhang the benches in this garden.

Quercus phillyraeoides, the one with the multipletrunks, and neighboring hollies along the back of

the garden have also had limbing-up cosmeticsurgery to give Bed 21w enough light for thehellebores, primulas, arums, carexes, and othersmall plants to thrive.

Other removals included two well-worn specimensof Yucca recurvifolia, as well as a large Ilexcornuta ‘Rotunda’ beside the path on theNecessary end.

Now there were holes to be filled. A largecontorted willow, Salix alba ‘Dart’s Snake’ cameup from the West to take the center of thecleared area. Combined with the nearby Poncirustrifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ and the contortedCorylus avellana ‘Contorta’, commonly calledHarry Lauder’s walking stick, there is now a smallcontorted garden within the garden.

With lots of backbone and a vertical come-along,Dick and Harley removed the ‘Dwarf Burford’holly stump and roots in order to plant the willow.Then, the crew excavated a four by four-foot hole.Since they didn’t plan to bring the tree spade allthe way to the hole this was a hand-dug hole.Harley left in the midst of all this work for adental appointment he was suddenly appreciat-ing.

When the willow proved too large to move byhand, the tree spade had to deliver it, after all,causing another spate of removal and replace-ment. Now there is space to walk around ‘FlyingDragon’ and a path back into the “new” area ofthe Winter Garden.

Come by, admire the“remodeling,” andwatch for otherchanges in this garden.Winter vegetables areshowing up well now;primroses and arumsare coming into theirown and soon thebulbs will be showing.Winter truly is anothergardening season at JCRaulston Arboretum.

Mixed Shrub Border Activity

By Amelia LaneMixed Shrub Border Curator

We have had a good fall planting season in theMixed Shrub Border. With my most ablegardeners, Jean Andrus, Laurie Cochran,Cynthia Dowdy, and Beth Jimenez, we removedlots of unnamed and nursery available shrubs andperennials. Todd Lasseigne had lots of new plantgoodies for us from which to choose replacementsand we’re looking forward to getting newgroundcovers this winter.

Our bog bridge is in a “deconstructive” phase, sobear with us until we get new supports andplanking built. Meanwhile, have a look at ournew shrubs and trees and appreciate the winterinterest in the garden.

Other Activity at the JCRA

By Nancy Margaret BroddVolunteer Coordinator

Come visit the JCRA. Along with the work inprogress in the Winter Garden and the MixedShrub Border as mentioned above, there is, asalways, continued activity in the Model Gardens,the aquatic gardens, the Paradise Garden, and theLath House continues on course to perfection.○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Below: While pruning hollies, Harley Mudge,Doris Huneycutt, and Susan Andrews (left toright) posed for a photograph.Photograph by Nancy Margaret Brodd

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programsCalendar of Events

JC Raulston Arboretum Programs

Please call (919) 515-3132 or visit our Web siteat <www.arb.ncsu.edu> for more informationconcerning any of the Arboretum’s events listedbelow.

Friends of the Arboretum LectureUnderstanding Pruning and PruningTechniquesApril 19, 2001 (Thursday)7:30 PMFree for members - $5.00 for non-membersRoom 3712 Bostian Hall, NCSU CampusPhilip Hunter Crump of Hunter Tree and LandscapeCompany in Raleigh, NC will present a hands-onlecture about proper pruning practices. Have youever wondered how or when to prune a certainplant? If so, this is your lecture.

Joslin Garden Open GardenApril 21, 2001 (Saturday)9:30 AM to darkFreeMr. & Mrs. William Joslin are opening theirbeautiful garden for everyone to visit. The gardenwill be open from 9:30 AM to dark, however,guides will be available from 10:00 AM to 6:00PM. Enjoy a walk through the Joslin Garden andview their native and exotic plants and gardenstructures all set in a lovely North Raleigh garden.The Joslin Garden is located at 2431 West LakeDrive, Raleigh, NC 27609. For more information,please visit <www.arb.ncsu.edu> or call (919)515-3132.

Japanese Maples at the JC Raulston ArboretumApril 26, 2001 (Thursday)1:00 PM to 2:30 PMFreeThe JC Raulston Arboretum holds a majorcollection of Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)cultivars. This ever-popular deciduous tree holdsfavor with almost anyone who has evergardened. Join Todd Lasseigne, Assistant Director,

on this first targeted tour focusing on the diversityinherent in the collections at the JC RaulstonArboretum. Discover the joys of Japanesemaples, ranging from dissected-leaved weepingshrub-like trees to full-sized trees that can blazewith glorious fall color and delight in their wintertwigs. Pending interest in this tour, other“collections” targeted tours will follow.

Please meet at the brick building educationbuilding at the Arboretum. The tour departs at1:00 PM and is free and open to the public.

Gala in the GardenMay 6, 2001Don’t forget to mark your calendar for Sunday,May 6, 2001 for the annual Gala in the Garden.This is a very special event that’s not to bemissed. Get your friends together and come tothe party that starts the spring social calendar.For more information or an invitation, please callDonna Walker at (919) 513-3826.

Friends of the Arboretum LectureThe Natural Water GardenMay 17, 2001 (Thursday)7:30 PMFree for members - $5.00 for non-membersRoom 159 Kilgore Hall, NCSU CampusKaren Harris of Foothills Nursery in Mount Airy,NC will present a two-part presentation on watergardening the natural way. Topics includeunderstanding and working with the biologicalcycle and herbal uses of traditional water gardenand bog garden plants.

2001: A Plant OdysseySeptember 28 & 29, 2001 (Saturday &Sunday)Keep your calendars open for the 4th JC RaulstonArboretum Symposium. Many of the details arenot finalized, however, we are proud to announcethat Harlan Hamernik, Pamela Harper, SeanHogan, and Todd Lasseigne are confirmedspeakers and that Bob Lyons will serve as emcee.

More details will be included in the nextnewsletter and posted on the Arboretum’s Website <www.arb.ncsu.edu> as they are finalized.

“Moonlight” in the GardenSeptember 28 & 29, 2001 (Saturday &Sunday)Be sure to make your calendars for September 28& 29, 2001. The JC Raulston Arboretum will beopen both evenings to showcase the gardens in anew “light.” We’ve arranged for John Garner ofSouthern Lights in Raleigh, NC, a garden lightingexpert, to again exhibit his wares and allow us toenjoy a rare, after-dark visit to the Arboretum.Don’t miss this chance to learn new ideas for yourgarden and to see the JCRA in its evening glory.Specific details will be in the next newsletter andposted on the Arboretum’s Web site<www.arb.ncsu.edu> as they are finalized.

Annual Plant DistributionOctober 6, 2001 (Saturday)Registration begins at 7:30 AMGive away begins at 9:00 AM

Other Horticultural Programs

This listing includes other horticultural events thatmay be of interest to our members. To list yourevent on future calendars, please send theinformation to Christopher Todd Glenn at<chris_glenn@ncsu.edu> or mail to the JCRaulston Arboretum, Department of HorticulturalScience, Box 7609, Raleigh, NC 27686-7609.

Pi Alpha Xi’s Annual Plant SaleApril 7 & 8, 2001 (Saturday and Sunday)8:00 AM to 4:00 PM & 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM,respectivelyThe horticultural extravaganza returns: the semi-annual Pi Alpha Xi Plant Sale. Come one, comeall, come early, for this gathering of hard-to-findplants and special picks that will enliven yourgarden. As always, this event never fails toamaze us and you, its customers. For moreinformation, please call (919) 515-3178 or(919) 515-1220 and ask for a PAX member orvisit their Web site at <www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/project/pialphaxi/sale.html>.

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Extension’s SuccessfulGardenersm RegionalSeminars 2001

Extension’s Successful Gardener team ofhorticulture agents will offer its secondannual regional Successful Gardenersm

seminars throughout the state this spring.Learn about annuals, perennials, lawns,trees, and more from Extension horticul-ture experts and guest lecturers! Theregional seminars tie in with the award-winning Successful Gardenersm newsletter,which is available at garden centers andnurseries throughout the state and helpsCarolinians increase their knowledge ofgardening, manage their landscapeinvestment, and protect the environment.Access <www.ncstate-plants.net> to findout where you can pick up your free copy.

Saturday, March 178:30 AM to Noon11th Annual Spring SymposiumWilson County Agricultural Center, Wilson,NCDetails: (252) 237-0113

Thursday, March 299:00 AM to NoonN.C. Arboretum100 Frederick Olmsted Way, Asheville, NCDetails: (828) 697-4891 or (828) 255-5522

Saturday, March 31 & Sunday, April 110:00 AM to 5:00 PM & Noon to 5:00PM, respectivelyCurrituck Flower & Garden ShowCurrituck County High School, Rt. 158,Barco, NCDetails: (252) 232-2262

Saturday, April 2110:00 AM to 9:00 PM, various timesSouthern Ideal Home ShowState Fairgrounds, Raleigh, NCDetails: (919) 560-0525

The Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium - AGardener’s PaletteApril 12, 2001 (Thursday)8:00 AM to 3:30 PMThe City of Waynesboro, VA is hosting a uniqueevent this coming spring.....The ShenandoahValley Plant Symposium - A Gardener’s Palette.This year’s speaker list includes Mr. Richard Bir(NC State Extension, Fletcher Research Station),Mrs. Clara Curtis (NC Arboretum), Mr. BrentHeath (Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, Gloucester, VA),and Dr. Michael Dirr (University of Georgia).Topics include: The NC Tree Evaluation Program,Noble Trees: The Aristocrats of the Woodies, Bulbsas Companion Plants, Herbaceous Hayday:Creative Designs that Complete Your Garden, andBroadleaf & Needle Evergreens: The NewFrontier. All proceeds will benefit the RidgeviewPark Botanical Garden Project. Cost: $95 (beforeMarch 23, 2001). For more information, pleasecall (540) 942-6735 or visit<www.waynesborova-online.com>.

Elizabethan Gardens 50th AnniversaryCelebrationApril 21, 2001 (Saturday)The Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, NC will becelebrating its 50th Anniversary. The public isinvited to visit free of charge between 9:00 AMand 5:00 PM. Special free activities include:• A Tour of English Gardens by Todd Lasseigne10:00 AM & 3:00 PM• Theatrical Performance of “Elizabeth R” starringMiss Barbara Hird 11:30 AM• Our Slippery Mother Tongue: A Light History ofthe English Language by Elliot Engel - 1:30 PM• Hourly guided tours and music in The Gardens

For more information and directions, please call(252) 473-3234 or send an e-mail to<egardens@inteliport.com>.

HANDS (Home and NeighborhoodDevelopment Sponsors) Herb and PerennialSaleApril 28 & 29, 2001 (Saturday and Sunday)9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and 1:00 AM to 4:00 PM,respectivelyGreat perennials and herbs will be for sale alongwith a raffle for wonderful prizes. The HANDS

plant sale is in Historic Oakwood on the corner ofEast Street and Boundary Street two blocks eastof the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts on Person Street,Raleigh, NC.

American Hosta Society Annual Convention2001…A Hosta Odd-ysseyJune 12-16, 2001 (Tuesday-Saturday)The Carolinas Hosta Society would like towelcome our friends from around the world to2001…A Hosta Odd-yssey, the annualconvention of the American Hosta Society. Formore information, visit the American HostaSociety’s Web site at <www.hosta.org>.

American Association of Botanical Garden &Arboreta Annual ConferenceJuly 11-14, 2001 (Wednesday-Saturday)Denver Botanic Garden, Denver, COFor more information, visit AABGA’s Web site at<www.aabga.org>.

SNA 2001...The World’s Showcase ofHorticulture®August 3-5 (Friday-Sunday)Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GAFor more information, visit SNA’s Web site at<www.sna.org> or call (770) 953-3311.

North Carolina Nurserymen Association’sSummer Green ShowAugust 17 & 18, 2001 (Friday & Saturday)Charlotte, NCFor more information, visit NCAN’s Web site at<www.ncan.com> or call (919) 816-9119.

International Plant Propagatorss Society -Eastern Region Annual MeetingSeptember 30-October 3, 2001 (Sunday-Wednesday)Lexington, KentuckyFor more information, contact Margot Bridgen,Executive Director, at 26 Woodland Road, Storrs,CT 06268, (860) 429-6818, or<mbippser@neca.com> or visit the IPPS Website at <www.ipps.org>.

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Membership Application❏ Student/Senior $10.00 ❏ Patron $500.00-$2,499.00❏ Individual $30.00 ❏ Benefactor $2,500.00-4,999.00❏ Family/Dual $50.00 ❏ Philanthropist $5,000.00 and up❏ Sponsor $250.00-$499.00 ❏ My company matches gifts.

I have enclosed a matching gift form.

__________________________________________________________name__________________________________________________________address__________________________________________________________city/state/zip__________________________________________________________telephone/fax/e-mail

❏ Check here if you’d rather read our newsletter via our Web site and not receive a hard copy.Save us postage and printing costs!

Make checks payable to:The NC Agricultural Foundation

with Friends of The JC Raulston Arboretum on the memo line.

Mail to:The JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University

Department of Horticultural Science, Box 7609, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609

The JC Raulston Arboretum is a 501(C)3 organization. All membership contributions over$30.00 are tax deductible.

Department of Horticultural ScienceBox 7609Raleigh, NC 27695-7609

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDRALEIGH, NC

PERMIT NO. 2353

10) The Japanese rice-paper plant (Edgeworthiapapyrifera) was not big enough to make enoughpaper for this enlarged newsletter.9) The original draft was accidentally shreddedand shipped off in a Connoisseur Plant order.Thanks to Landis Hall for meticulously gluing itback together for us.8) An anonymous employee accidentally mailedthe second draft to Will Hooker on sabbatical inthe Samoas.7) A wind gust from Tropical Storm Helene blewaway the third draft. FOA members living inBermuda should have already received their copy.6) Bob’s dogs, Rudy and Becky, accidentallyconsumed the fourth draft. (This copy wasirrecoverable.)5) The fifth draft mysteriously vanished and willbe the subject of an upcoming episode of eitherthe X-Files or America’s Most Wanted.4) The sixth draft was accidentally placed in thetime capsule under the new Ruby C. McSwainEducation Center.3) The newsletters were actually mailed on time,but due to a postage increase, they were returnedto sender.2) We had to conduct a recount of our FloridaFOA members.1) It’s tradition!...but it won’t be again!

top tenReasonsWhy theNewsletter isLate...

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International Plant Propagators’ Society -Southern Annual MeetingOctober 18-21, 2001 (Thursday-Sunday)For more information, visit the IPPS Web site at<www.ipps.org>.

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