Home » Plants & Animals » Shade Gardening » Subtle Pleasures - Bark - Page 3

Subtle Pleasures - Bark - Page 3

© Marge Talt

Platanus occidentalis is commonly known as the Sycamore, but really it's the American planetree. It's also called the buttonwood or buttonball-tree because of it's round fruit, used by countless children through the years as ammunition in mock battles. This one becomes huge and rather quickly. According to Dirr, it stands second only to the tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) as one of our tallest native eastern deciduous trees.

Pictured is the trunk of a youngster, seeded into a rather wild area, but much too close to the house. I know I should remove it, but it's the only one on the property and I've always wanted one. I only wish I'd noticed it while still a seedling so that I could have relocated it. Ah, well, inertia allows me to enjoy looking at it and the future problems will be faced when they arrive.

The bark is something that can be seen from afar as the exposed cream colored inner bark gradually becomes whitish. Older trees are almost ghost-like in bare winter silhouette. This is not a tree for the small garden by any means, but if you are on a large property and don't have one courtesy of the wildlife, it is one to contemplate for that distant view.

Many of the birch tribe have marvelous bark and Betula jacquemontii (whitebarked Himalayan birch) is no exception. It's said to have among the whitest bark of all the birches.

Native to the western Himalayas, it's rated hardy from zones 4-7. Much as I would love this one, it's also susceptible to the bronze birch borer and likely would not be terribly happy or long-lived in my climate. But what bark! Those of you in cooler climates, with enough space, can enjoy the ethereal beauty of a birch grove...I am so jealous!

Arbutus menziesii, the Pacific Madrone is rather incredible. A member of the Ericaceae, this evergreen is native to a narrow strip of coast from Northern California to British Columbia. It's rated hardy only in zones 7 and 8. Not only does it have magnificent bark, but it also has flowers and orange-red berries. If you have the conditions to suit this one, consider yourself blessed!

Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea' is the green-twigged cousin of the red-twigged dogwood. I keep reading descriptions that refer to the color as 'yellow', but I beg to differ. It varies from young lettuce green to a golden green, but it's not yellow - at least not on my plants. Older stems turn brown, so it pays to prune this one regularly to maintain young stems. It can be cut back severely every two or three years, in early spring or late winter, when it will produce long whips and stay relatively short. If allowed its head, it forms a large shrub that suckers and self-layers where stems touch ground. You can also remove selected older stems to the base on a yearly basis.

The copyright of the article Subtle Pleasures - Bark - Page 3 in Shade Gardening is owned by Marge Talt. Permission to republish Subtle Pleasures - Bark - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.