(Ain't) Red Horse Chestnut

Consider this blog both a warning to the unwary enthusiastic gardener who is gullible enough to believe everything written about a plant, and as a plea to someone knowledgeable to please confirm that I at least got what I purchased(?).

Early in the last decade, I began to covet the pictures and descriptions of the Red Horse Chestnut (Aesculus carnea 'Briottii'), and decided that I must have one for my very own. I was probably mis-led by Wayside Garden's usual flowery description and embellished photography, but I was sure that this was a perfect tree for my landscape. If memory serves, I failed once with a bare-root specimen planted in Spring, but I was able to obtain a specimen planted at Thanksgiving in 2004 that has survived despite numerous prunings by roaming deer, who seem to love the early spring leaves as they unfold. These days, I keep it surrounded by wire in the early spring, as you can see in the picture below right, to deter the deer.

'Briotii' is the best known cultivar of the Red Horse Chestnut, also known as the "Ruby Red Horse Chestnut", and at maturity, it is supposed to make a rounded tree of 25-35 feet tall and in diameter. It is also supposed to be resistant to drought, heat and wind once established, and that, at least, seems to be true. However, the spring flowers are variously described as "rose-red" or "ruby-red", or "deep red" depending on where you read about them, but if they are really supposed to be red, then I've got a mislabeled cultivar. As you can see from the picture at the upper left, I think it would be generous to call these blooms pink. I might even argue that they are really a blush cream with pink overtones. I will admit that last year's pictures look a little more pink than this year's, so there may be some environmental effect on the bloom color. I suppose I should be satisfied with the pretty flowering of the plant, but I can't get past that I purchased it from a nursery with pictures showing a dark red bloom.

So, do I, or do I not, have the 'Briotti' that I intended to purchase? It certainly is not the Common Horse Chestnut which is undoubtedly more creamy yellow in bloom. And it seems to be similar to the 'Briotti' that I once saw in the Denver Botanical Gardens. I must learn to be satisfied with the "devil I have" rather than what I dreamed of. I just wanted to warn the rest of you not to expect more than you're getting.

For the sake of a good education, it's a horse chestnut if it is a Eurasian species, but North American species are "buckeyes". Since I grew up with native Buckeye trees in Indiana and had to deal with the pompous Buckeye's of Ohio State, I'm a little more comfortable with that term than with horse chestnut. I'm still not entirely sure, in fact, whether it should be "Horse Chestnut" or "Horsechestnut." I've also learned that British children play a game called "conkers" with horse chestnuts where the horse chestnut is on a string (a conker) and players take turns trying to break each other's conker by swinging at it. It's unethical, by the way, to harden your conker by baking it in vinegar or otherwise altering it. Alas, the game evidently cannot be played with buckeyes.  I was not taught it growing up in Indiana and Hoosiers can't play games with onomatopoeic names anyway. Too bad, because I missed out on competing in the World Conker championship (yes, there is one, and Ray Kellock and Wendy Bradford were the 2010 Men's and Women's champions). Never fear, fellow Hoosiers, the game is presently dying off because of growing Nannystate worries that children may be injured from conker shards during the game and because of concerns for participating nut-allergy sufferers.

What is the world coming to when protective equipment is required for a simple game of conkers?

Papaver bracteatum

One of my most-awaited plants began to bloom this year on May 9th.  In the 10 years it has grown in my garden, it has bloomed three times on my birthday, May 16th, so it is a bit early this year, but welcome nonetheless. 

Years ago, I purchased a poppy labeled as the Red Himalayan poppy and also as Papaver bracteatum at a local store on the promise that the red of this poppy would be as bright as advertised.  And I believe it has fulfilled that promise with stunning success, although the plant was obviously mislabeled.  Papaver bracteatum is the scientific name for the Iranian poppy, not the Red Himalayan poppy, so one of the two names must be wrong and I choose to believe it was the common name printed on the label that was incorrect.

Papaver bracteatum is a perennial poppy with large bright red flowers up to 8 inches (20 cm) across on stiff stalks up to 3 1/2 feet high here in Kansas Zone 5B.  It has deep purpleish-black "sex" parts in the center and a prominent black spot near the base of the petals. I'll admit that in growth form and habit, I could have been sold an Oriental poppy under two false names and I might not know the difference. Papaver bracteatum was one of the species that the perennial Oriental poppies were derived from and it is similar in plant and flower form to the latter anyway.  If mine is a plain old Oriental, it's the brightest red and has the largest flowers I've ever seen.

The species has been used commercially to produce thebaine, which can be converted to codeine and semi-synthetic opiates, but it does not contain  morphine or other alkaloids.  According to Wikipedia, the Office of Management and Budget under  President Richard Nixon proposed domestic cultivation of P. bracteatum in the early 1970's as an alternative source of opiates to decrease the pressure for illegal opium poppy crops and heroin production.  However, for once, the US government wisely realized that substituting one source of drug misuse for another was not perhaps the best of choices and withdrew the recommendation.

All I can say in that regard is that this has not been an easy plant to reproduce for me, either from seed or by division. I had two plants at one time from a division of the original, but any competition for space, say, a rampant daylily, can eventually snuff this little gem out.  I guard the original plant with all my meager gardening abilities.

Fast Times on the Prairie

Things are happening incredibly fast in the garden right now.  The cool temperatures of the past few weeks followed by the 80's and 90's of the past 5 days seems to be condensing the spring blooming season, along with throwing off the timing I expect.  The peonies, irises, and roses all look like they are going to hit peak bloom at the same time and I may quite possibly float away on the essence of colorful paradise I'm going to have by next week.

Rosa 'Jeri Jennings'

But, today seems to be a day for first things and I wanted to show two prize new plants that are blooming for the first time in my garden.  The first of the Rogue Valley roses that I planted last fall has opened, if just barely, and I present, for your pleasure, 'Jeri Jennings', a beautiful Hybrid Musk rose bred by Paul Barden in 2007.  She survived an unusually harsh Zone 5 winter and looks healthy, if small.  I absolutely love the yellow-orange tones that are reminiscent to me of 'Alchymist'.  I haven't yet sampled her fabled scent, but I'll put nose to ground soon and check that out as well.

Peony 'Prairie Moon'

Last year, I spent months eyeing a herbaceous peony at a local nursery, and finally surrendered my yearnings to what I initially thought was a high price and purchased and planted it.  'Prairie Moon'. a 1959 cross of  P. ‘Laura Magnuson’ x P. ‘Archangel’ is not a new peony to commerce, but it is new to my garden.  This thing was blooming its head off last year when I first saw it and the creamy single blooms lit up the area of the garden center, standing out from the other peonies there.  Both because of the "prairie" in its name, the spectacular display, and the fact that it was introduced in 1959, the year of my birth, made it a no-brainer for my garden.  And here it is, blooming now for about 5 days, the first of the peonies (other than species P. tenuifolia) to show up in my garden.

Peony 'Scarlet O'Hara'

A final welcome visitor, however, is the large single peony 'Scarlet O'Hara', who opened for the first time this morning, although it is her second year blooming in my garden.  Gaze on that intricate yellow center for a moment, carpels and pink-tipped stigma, accented by the large scarlet petals, and I promise you, you can get lost in the bloom.  The picture at right doesn't do justice to the fact that the blooms are as big as your hand, and they're on a tall, 3-foot peony, so the garden display of this peony when it gets going is unequaled.

Fare well all, Bliss is soon to come. 

Miss-Timing

Rosa 'J P Connell'

Yes, to my frequent readers, I know it's been several days since I blogged.  I could offer a number of reasons; I've been sick (true), tired (true), and my gardening chores are behind (true). 

 

But, in truth, I've been waiting for 'Harison's Yellow' to bloom.  As I noted almost a week ago, 'Marie Bugnet' had begun to bloom and 'Harison's Yellow' has always been next.  But it didn't bloom.  And didn't bloom.  Perhaps because of the (almost) frost last Monday night?  The cold high 40's and 50's of the past two weeks?  Canadian 'J. P. Connell' became the next of my roses to bloom a few days ago, not altogether unusual since it is another early one and planted near some stone on a south slope, but a little odd.  And then came 'Morden Centennial', although the pictured bloom is not its best effort, and 'Hope for Humanity', a little blurry in the picture because of the 20 mph wind.  Both are decidedly odd because they normally bloom with the main flush of roses.

Rosa 'Morden Centennial'

Rosa 'Hope for Humanity'

Hemerocallis 'Chicago Flapper'

 And then, came this thing;  what the heck is a daylily doing blooming in Kansas before most of the roses?  And if I were to predict one to bloom early, it would have been 'Black-eyed Stella' or intrepid 'Stella de Oro', not 'Chicago Flapper' as pictured here.  If this is a microclimate thing it is still a one-time occurrence;  this daylily is at least a month early for Kansas, I think.  Has the world gone mad?

Rosa 'Harison's Yellow'....at last

Well, at least today, on a 91F day, after highs in the mid-80's yesterday and 2 hailstorms on Friday night, 'Harison's Yellow' finally opened a bloom and brightened Mother's Day with a cheery yellow face.  And I'm feeling better and two days of weekend warm weather have allowed me to catch up a little in the garden.

I just wish I didn't feel like this stinky little bloom was laughing at me for predicting the Apocalypse had arrived based on its reticence to bloom.