Sun, 09 May 2004 13:53:16 -0500 Archimedes Plutonium wrote:

One of the reasons I want white ash is for its Fall color of leaves with
purple. But last week I ventured down a road which had two trees of
purple leaves and I presume for all of the season and not just during
Autumn. So I ask myself the question of why bother with a white ash
whose purple color will only be for a few weeks when I should get a tree
whose leaves are purple most of the year?

I am guessing those 2 trees are maple but did not stop to take a closer
look at identification. Perhaps they were of a cherry species for I
notice that choke cherries are often very purplish leaves of color. But
those 2 were huge trees so I suspect it was not a cherry species.

(snipped)

Today I passed on the way through town to look at those purple leafed trees
and to make some attempt at identification. Sure enough they were of a
maple species. I think they are Acer platanoides or Royal Red Maple. Also
there are some plums called Newport of Prunus cerasifera with purple
leaves. And there is a bush of Prunus cistena, or purple sandcherry.

I am going to add Acer platanoides into my landscape and am going to try to
propagate via cuttings. Anyone know if Acer platanoides is susceptible to
cutting propagation. Now that would be a beautiful sight to see of rows of
amur maple mixed with platanoides of a brilliant red and brilliant purple.

At the moment I am trying to propagate Sunburst locust via cuttings. Anyone
have experience with that?

On a different note concerning concrete block gardening. I lost most of my
tomatoes by foolishly planting them in April instead of waiting to May. Two
nights of frost of just a touch below freezing was all it took. However,
some tomatoes survived inside the concrete block. The ones that survived
had not grown out of the top of the block and were near an inside wall
touching the wall.
Somehow that lent maximum protection.

So today bought another packet of tomato seed and will do that over again
and remember for future years that it pays not to plant early for the risk
is too high.

My potatoes also were frostbite but they were not killed as well as my
grape vines. But neither is inside a concrete block hole.


Archimedes Plutonium
www.archimedesplutonium.com
www.iw.net/~a_plutonium
whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots
of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies