Mahonia bealei

This superior Mahonia bealei form was a very treasured plant grown by the late Edward Needham, where it flourished carefully protected in his quarry garden. Most regular bealei varieties lose the spectacular glaucous leaf underside once they have grown on and matured, but not this character as can be seen in this image. It also turns out that it is pretty tough like most other Asian Mahonia spp. and doesn’t mind full sun and more exposure than where he grew it. The plant illustrated below is grown under a high deciduous canopy and flowers well every year in this type of location here in the south west even with our limited hours of sunshine.

The clonal name “Cornish Silver” has been coined for this selection and if anyone has room or the desire to grow bealei, then this is the one to search out, as it has been propagated by several nurseries and is available in the trade now.

Exbucklandia populnea

Strange name Exbucklandia, but makes sense when the taxonomic history reveals there was confusion with Bucklandia and this Genus had to find a new name…. There are a couple of small trees from Yunnan developing at different growth rates in the garden. One planted in the root competition of a large Sitka Spruce has reached only half the height of another in good soil 50 metres away indicating a liking for good conditions. The larger plant (about 10-12m tall), has just started to flower and fruit. I was still rather surprised recently though to see that it was performing at both ends at the same time. As can be seen from the emerging flowers there isn’t much of a horticultural show to be had, more a curiosity with the buds creeping out of a flattened envelope comprising a pair of enlarged stipules. The woody fruits show Hamamelidaceae with close morphology to Rhodoleia and even Corylopsis. From a distance the bold leathery foliage makes a statement and adds serious wow factor for garden visitors. The leaf shape varies with age, as young plants show off with pointed lobes, these gradually giving way to a more simple plate like shape with maturity. There are attractive reddish tints from this evergreen in spring as the older leaves are pushed off with the emerging young growth. Seed has been sent many times over the last 100 years but it is only recently becoming established outside its native SE Asian origins.

Polyspora longicarpa

In a mild winter such as this one the Polyspora spp. are the standout plants in the woodland during January. This image is of P. longicarpa which originates from Vietnam and is now large enough to make a real impact from a distance. Best grown in full sun in Cornwall with shelter from prevailing westerly winds where the display can be spectacular. There are also a couple of older trees from Yunnan in China at Tregrehan growing in more shade where the bud set isn’t as prolific, and these have even larger flowers at least as large as a decent fried egg. These first plantings were originally put in the mildest parts of the garden where I thought they had the best chance of surviving. But none have been lost to cold in 25 years and if there is a freezing spell the open flowers behave themselves by dropping cleanly. And as there is a succession of buds, (which is illustrated in this image), the display is soon cranked up again. The whole uplifting show lasts for well over a month in the gloomiest part of the year. There is a faint pollen scent to the flowers on a warm sunny day which attracts early pollinators. In the mid elevation evergreen forests of SE Asia these trees can grow large and form canopies in the wetter valleys, an amazing sight not to be forgotten in the late autumn/early winter.

Ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree Reborn

It was a sad day when one of the oldest trees in the park fell over in 2006. A behemoth of a trunk lay cast exposing a feeble root plate supporting not much of a canopy. It was in its last retrenching phase of life. Having survived for over 400 years and of huge importance with a bewildering array of invertebrates, lichens and fungi we were all keen to try and do something to keep the old fulla going. On close inspection I thought there may be hope if the top two-thirds of the tree was cut off, and the remaining trunk with remnant roots up-righted. Frank Tregunna with digger was quickly on hand to excavate a suitable hole and help to lift the bole back into an upright position. Now, 15 years later the tree has made a great recovery due to the ability of this species to regrow from epicormic shoots on the trunk. It makes a great conversation piece when viewed from the drive which after all is what objects in the park are all about.

Plant by plant

This heading coined by my mother refers to the pace of looking at a garden properly. My father and I would hesitate or grind to a halt beside each plant for varying amounts of time, depending on how much attention or discussion was required. The image here is of Eucryphia wilkiei in fruit today, which would have required much stoppage and thought to inspect properly. It is the first time this has fruited here, not many seed inside, a few in each for a total of about 12 seeds. Received from the National Collection holders in Co. Down at Seaforde, a wonderful garden restored by Patrick Forde.

Reported to grow to only 4-5 metres in Queensland Australia, this plant has already reached 3m and flowers regularly. It survived the “Beast from the East” with no damage so could eventually prove to be a winner for smallish gardens in mild locations. I’ve never been able to root any cuttings and with the garden gene pool of one clone hopefully the seeds will work and enable a small population to become established of this rare small tree.

Eucryphia wilkiei

A new beginning at Tregrehan

I have been wondering about sharing a few scenes and botanical events at Tregrehan for a while now. Winter seems like a good time to start this occasional blog with a freezing dawn parkland scene from a few years ago. A blog is an easily understood way for me to enter the 21st-century world of communications in a gentle manner. Opening the garden has been rather sporadic the last couple of years so this new dawn will hopefully interest people and show some of the events which visitors may have missed.

T.H. January 2022