World’s Oldest Individual Clonal Tree Discovered in Sweden

It is believed that trees are some of the longest living organisms on earth, and this disheveled spruce is no exception. The robust ancient 16-foot-tall Norwegian tree grows high atop the Fulufjället Mountain in Sweden and goes by the name of Old Tjikko well named after the discovering geologist's dog. Whereas this little shrub may not look like much, carbon dating of its root system has discovered that Old Tjikko it is in fact a astonishing 9,550 years old. Therefore, this means that its wizened bark and timeworn branches have seen thousands of years of human history come and go.

Since the tree is discovered in 2004, and this specific spruce comes from a species that conventionally decorated European homes during Christmas time, and is the planet’s longest-living identified plant. The unbelievable longevity of the plant in fact stems from its complicated root system and capability to clone itself. Although the trunk may only live around six hundred years, as soon as that portion dies off, a new one emerges from the very same root stock, letting it to frequently regenerate. Moreover for thousands of years, the frigid Tundra climate has kept Old Tjikko to a petite shrub; though, as weather has warmed over the past 100 years, the shrub has grown into a full-fledged tree that now stands bigheadedly, having outlived so much else on this earth.

Toborochi Tree

The silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa, formerly Chorisia speciosa), is a species of deciduous tree native to the tropical and subtropical forests of South America. It has a host of local common names, such as palo borracho (in Spanish literally "drunken stick"). It belongs to the same family as the baobaband the kapok. Another tree of the same genus,Ceiba chodatii, is often referred to by the same common names.

Maple (Acer), Nature’s Favorite Tree to Grow

Well, everyone knows what a maple leaf looks like, right? It is the leaf on the Canadian flags as well, the one that lends its shape to maple sugar candies. Well, yes and no? While most maple leaves do have a three-lobed outline, they are vary enormously in size and shape. Therefore, with some the lobes are barely indented with some they are so deeply cut they look like lace. Some even have three separate leaflets the way poison ivy does. Size of the tree also varies a great deal, and you can find a suitable maple whether you want a large shade tree or a small ornamental for a city yard. However, most maples have especially fine fall color and seeds with wings on either side that you can spread apart and stick on the bridge of your nose if you are so inclined. Source: Charismatic Planet

Hence, of the large especially favorite in public is sugar maple, also called rock maple “Acer Saccharum” a fine shade tree that can grow well over 100 feet tall, with a big, round, dense head and leaves that turn shades of red, yellow and orange in fall. Collecting and boiling down the sweet sap to make maple syrup is a lot of work it must be reduced to less than thirties of its original volume but it is a good way to get outdoors at the end of winter. October Glory is a variety of sugar maple with especially good fall color; Newton Sentry is a columnar form.

Red maple are also called “Swamp Maple” is nearly as popular as sugar maple, because its showy red flowers are such a welcome sight amid bare branches in early spring. Like sugar maple, it turns color early in fall, but in this case the leaves are blazing red. It is a bit less sturdy then sugar maple but will tolerate wet sites. Norway maple “A. platanoides” a big round tree, casts a very dense shade and is rather shallow rooted but it grows quickly as maple go, “Erectum” is a columnar variety and “Crimson King” has red leaves all summer. All these are hardy, though Silver maple “A. saccharinum” is often planted because of its grow very fast, its graceful, pendulous branches and its finely cut leaves with silvery undersides, which cast a dappled shade. It is also hardy while Silver maples bas weak, breakable wood, however, and its roots can clog drains and septic systems if the tree is planted near them.

Of the smaller ornamental maples the choicest is Japanese maple “A. planmatum” and its hybrids. The original species, which can grow to 20 feet, has fine, deeply indented green leaves in summer the reddish when they first emerge and turn red in fall. It is hardy to and self-sows freely. Varieties such as “Atropurpureum” and “Sanguineum” are dark red all season. The very slow growing cutleaf, or laceleaf Japanese maple “A. p. dissectum” can grow to 12 feet but is usually much smaller; an exquisite mound of cascading branches is supported by a twisted picturesque trunk, with its lacy leaves often sweeping the ground. Varieties such as “Atropurpureum” and “Burgundy Lace” are red all season. In addition there are variegated varieties and some with leaves so note are fine they look like threads such as “Red Filigree”.

Moreover among smaller maples those also worthy of note are Amur maple “A. ginnala” a tough little tree that grows up to 20 feet and has small, three pointed leaves, fragrant white flowers in early spring, bright red fall foliage and showy red winged fruits. It is even hardy and often it has several trunks but can b etrained to one if desired. Paperback maple “A. griseum” grows about 25 feet tall, has leaves with three distinct leaflets and is valued most for its bark, which peels off in papery strips to expose a rust colored layer beneath. It is hardy as well.

Well, if you want to grow maples, then in general are easy to grow and have few pests or disease. Most of them especially red maples need soil with adequate moisture. Most need plenty of sun, and if they are to develop a good fall color, they need a climate that is cool in winter. Cutleaf Japanese maple should be given a rich moist, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter and some light shade in hot climates. It should be staked until the trunk is well developed, and twiggy growth may be removed from enter as needed though it is usually allowed assume its own eccentric forms. Therefore, Maples in general are pruned in late summer or fall when the sap is no longer running. Most need only occasional attention to remove dead, awkward or crossing limbs, but silver maples should be pruned to eliminate narrow, weak crotches and water sprouts. Paper-bark maples should have lower branches removed to display the trunk.

Linden is Tall, Fast Growing Shade Tree

Lindens are tall and fast growing, with an attractive, dense shape. They are used as shade trees and often as street trees.  They bear dangling clusters of fragrant white flowers in early summer. Little leaf Linden or Tilia cordata a European tree is among the best. It grows up to 90 feet tall in a dense compact pyramid and is hardy to zone 4. Small, heart shaped dark green leaves turn yellow in fall in cool climates. Greenspire I s a particularly well shaped, fast growing variety, American linden, or basswood T. ameriana is a bit shorter and a bit hardier but it lacks the good fall color. Silver linden (T. tomentosa, also known as T. alba and T. argentea has leaves with whitish undersides that give the tree a silvery look when the wind blows; it is hardy to zone 5.

Well, if you want to grow Linden, then you should grow in deep fertile, moist but well drained soil in sun or part shade. Plant them balled and burlapped. Young trees should be pruned in late winter to develop a strong central leader, and lower branches can be removed to allow movement under them; but in general lindens develop a handsome, symmetrical shape on their own. Old trees can be thinned to remove deadwood and admit light. Source: Charismatic Planet

Puya berteroniana Blooming Blue

Strange Wonderful Things .Rare and exotic plants & seeds .From outer space - I mean Chile - comes the amazing, rare Bromeliad, the Blue Puya.  With its massive, 7 foot flower cluster, this is one of most outrageous plants anywhere.  The turquoise-blue color is very rare in the plant world, and it's even rarer to be combined with orange.The Blue Puya (P. berteroniana) is a terrestrial Bromeliad related to Pineapple.  The plant forms a rosette of silvery-green leaves about 3 feet long.  The leaves are spiny, so move carefully around the plant.  The flower stalks themselves are soft, and the flowers are silky-smooth.  These other-worldly blooms appear around May or June.  It is an unforgettable experience to stand next to one of these massive, blue stalks.  The blooms are pollinated by birds, which love to sit on the outward-pointing tips and drink the nectar inside!  This species is rare, and if you can find it, it's sometimes a similar species, Puya alpestris, mislabeled as Puya berteroniana.  Alpestris is a smaller plant, with shorter, less impressive clusters.  This is the genuine Puya berteroniana.

Tabebuia Impetiginosa in Brazi also called Pink Trumpet Tree

The Grandidier’s Baobab Tree

Grandidier’s baobab is the biggest and most re-known of Madagascar’s species of Baobabs. It is also known as “Adansonia Grandidieri”, actually an imposing and unusual tree endemic to island of Madagascar. It is an endangered species mainly threatened by the encroachment of agricultural land. When you see this unusual tree, you’ll came to know that Grandidier’s baobabs has massive cylindrical trunks almost three meters across, well covered with smooth reddish grey bark.

The tree can reach 80 to 100 ft in height and at certain times of the year the flat-topped crowns bear bluish-green palmate leaves, dark brown floral buds or adorable flowers with white petals. The baobab contains larger dry fruits type kidney shaped seeds within an edible pulp. The fruit is either collected from the ground, or wooden pegs are hammered into the trunk so the tree can be climbed to collect the fruit.

A French botanist & explorer Alfred Grandidier named “A.grandidieri” in the early 20^th century. The tree can found in south-western Madagascar and it is used to inhabit dry, deciduous forest particularly close to seasonal rivers or lakes. These days, grandidier’s baobab is mainly found in open and agricultural land. The tree leaf starts from October to May and flowers blossoms from May to August. The fruits ripe in November and December and it appears that the seeds of the tasty fruit are not dispersed by animals. The smell of flowers just like sour watermelon, open just before or soon after dusk, and all the pollen is released during the first night.

The beautiful tree is pollinated by nocturnal mammals, like as fork-marked lemurs and insects such as Hawk Moth. Moreover the lemurs move through the canopies, put in their snouts into the white flowers and licking nectar from the petal bases, which in resulting pollen being deposited in the lemurs' faces, while the moth is slightly more effective at pollination since it is able to fly from tree to tree with most of its body covered in pollen.

Moreover Madagascar has water problem and lack of water can sometimes be a problem for plantation work. Hence baobab overcomes this by storing water within the fibrous wood of the trunk, as the tree's diameter fluctuates with rainfall. However; grandidier’s baobab is in endangered list of IUCN Red list of 2006. The useful tree is heavily exploited as seeds and the vitamin C rich fruit pulp are eaten fresh, and cooking oil is extracted from the oil-rich seeds. The baobab thick bark is well composed of hard long fibers that can be used to make ropes.

Moreover the spongy wood comprises of sheets of fiber that’re collected from dead or living trees, dried in the sun and sold for thatch. Most of these varied uses do not involve the tree being killed, and therefore are likely to pose a great threat to the baobab. The biggest threat to this species has come from the transformation of its forest habitat into agricultural land. Within these disturbed habitats, there’s an obvious lack of young trees. Fires, seed predation, competition from weeds, and an altered physical environment might be disturbing the capacity of the Madagacar baobab to reproduce, which may have demoralizing consequences for its survival. 

The Tree like Dracaenas is Perfect When You Need a Strong Accent

Among the tallest of houseplants, the treelike dracaenas are perfect when you need a strong accent. They’ve swordlike leaves, often with attractive variegations. Although they are single stemmed, several plants of different heights can be grown together in the same pot for a bushier look. They are easy to grow plants, very tolerant of indoor environments. 

Dracaena fragrans “Massangeana” sometimes called “corn plant” has leaves that resemble those of corn, with a yellow stripe down the middle. D. marginata (dragon tree) has a cluster of red-edged leaves atop a tall stem that twists in picturesque ways. In the variety “Tricolor” the leaves are green, red and yellow. D. deremensis “Warneckii” has rather stiff leaves, striped with white. All these can grow to the ceiling eventually. If you want a more compact dracaena, grow D. surculosa (D. god-seffiana), called “gold-dust plant” which only grows a few feet tall. The flat oval leaves are dark green with cream-colored spots; in the variety “Florida Beauty” the leaves are so spotted they’re almost all white. 

How to Grow Dracaenas

Dracaenas will tolerate quite low, though brighter light will bring out foliage variegation better. They’ll also tolerate low humidity to some degree, but they do prefer warm rooms. Plant them in an average potting mix, repotting any time they look crowded. Well, water freely from spring to fall keeping the soil evenly moist but never letting them become waterlogged. In winter let the soil dry out between watering. Feed every two weeks or so during the growing season. Plants can be cut back to 4 to 6inches, and new growth will sprout. New plants can be propagated by removing and replanting suckers that form at the base or by cutting sections of the canes that have at least one node and laying them on moist sand. Source: Charismatic Planet