Conifer Flower Shops

Conifer CO News

Apr 4, 2021

Flowers! - EurekAlert

Pollen and spores obtained from rocks older than the impact show that rainforests were equally dominated by ferns and flowering plants. Conifers, such as relatives of the of the Kauri pine and Norfolk Island pine, sold in supermarkets at Christmas time (Araucariaceae), were common and cast their shadows over dinosaur trails. After the impact, conifers disappeared almost completely from the New World tropics, and flowering plants took over. Plant diversity did not recover for around 10 million years after the impact. Leaf fossils told the team much about the past climate and local environment. Carvalho and Fabiany Herrera, postdoctoral research associate at the Negaunee Institute for Conservation Science and Action at the Chicago Botanic Garden, led the study of over 6,000 specimens. Working with Scott Wing at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and others, the team found evidence that pre-impact tropical forest trees were spaced far apart, allowing light to reach the forest floor. Within 10 million years post-impact, some tropical forests were dense, like those of today, where leaves of trees and vines cast deep shade on the smaller trees, bushes and herbaceous plants below. The sparser canopies of the pre-impact forests, with fewer flowering plants, would have moved less soil water into the atmosphere than did those that grew up in the millions of years afterward. "It was just as rainy back in the Cretaceous, but the forests worked differently." Carvalho said. The team found no evidence of legume trees before the extinction event, but afterward there was a great diversity and abundance of legume leaves and pods. Today, legumes are a dominant family in tropical rainforests, and through associations with bacteria, take nitrogen from the air and turn it into fertilizer for the soil. The rise of legumes would have dramatically affected the nitrogen cycle. Carvalho also worked with Conrad Labandeira at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History to study insect damage on the leaf fossils. "Insect damage on plants can reveal in the microcosm of a single leaf or the expanse of a plant community, the base of the trophic structure in a tropical forest," Labandeira said. "The energy residing in the mass of plant tissues that is transmitted up the food chain--ultimately to the boas, eagles and jaguars--starts with the insects that skeletonize, chew, pierce and suck, mine, gall and bore through plant tissues. The evidence for this consumer food chain begins with all the diverse, intensive and fascinating ways that insects consume plants." "Before the impact, we see that different types of plants have different damage: feeding was host-specific," Carvalho said. "After the impact, we find the sa...

May 1, 2020

A city's secret weapon: flowers - Kitsap Sun

A good Japanese garden feels ancient, with half-submerged rocks and moss everywhere. They also make good use of conifer textures, with maples providing a bright contrast to a muted evergreen backdrop. Many Pacific Northwest natives are mainstays of the Japanese garden, which uses plants and stone to create miniature landscapes -- perfect for a small city lot. In this incredibly weird time in human history, stopping to smell the roses takes our minds off worries and into the present -- things we can see, touch, taste, smell. Working in my garden -- my imperfect, messy garden -- has been good for me in a way few other things have. I love the random goodwill of complimenting strangers on their yards -- from a distance, of course, and not touching anything.Kevin Walthall is a Bremerton resident and a regular contributor to the Kitsap Sun. He also writes for the blog Urban Bremerton. Contact him at kswalthall@gmail.com. div class="asset...

Feb 27, 2020

Betty Montgomery: Pruning plants is important - Lifestyle - The Intelligencer

Sometimes you will have to sacrifice a year of blooms to accomplish your goal.If you want to prune conifers, this too will vary depending on the species. Needled evergreens are best pruned in the late winter. Arborvitae, thujas and yews (taxus and cephlotaxus) should be pruned in the spring and early summer.No pruning should be done on any plant in the late summer because the plant could put out new growth at the end of the season, causing the tree or shrub not to shut down as it normally does this time of year. The tender new growth that comes after pruning could be damaged and might even kill the plant.Rules for pruning trees1. Encourage a single trunk in most trees. There are some trees like crepe myrtles, river birches, and Japanese maples that are the exception to this rule. Ideally, trees should be pruned to have a single trunk because it makes a stronger tree and it is less likely to break with ice, snow or wind. Some trees will have a large amount of sap flow from the cuts. Birches, walnuts and maples are trees that come to mind. Do not worry about this. It is natural.2. Never prune more than one-third of a tree’s crown in a season.3. If you are cutting a large limb, make a number of cuts, starting at the end away from the trunk using a pole saw. Remember: “Do not bite off more than you can chew.” If it is a major job, it is best to hire an expert. Heavy limbs can fall in a different direction than you might think. These limbs are very heavy and could hit you and kill you.4. When making small branch cuts, cut the branch back to a bud to encourage branching at that point. Remove crossing branches and branches that are growing back toward the center of the tree.5. Make sure your tools are sharp and in good repair.Pruning ShrubsIf you want to prune shrubs, know when it blooms. If they flower in the spring, prune immediately after they bloom. This way you will not cut off the buds that are developing for the next year’s flowers. Certain plants form buds shortly after flowering. Azaleas and mophead hydrangeas are two examples that you must prune just after they flower.If you have a late summer or fall blooming shrub, prune these in the late winter or early spring. Buddleias and panic...

Dec 18, 2019

Red Bluff Garden Club: Holiday greens and flowers - Red Bluff Daily News

Think about the greens in your wreath. There are many conifers — pine, fir, juniper, cedar, redwood, spruce, cypress, yew. Most of these grow in our county with supplemental water and lots of space. I grow at least one each of these in my 5 acre garden, maybe I should say Mother Nature grows. When selecting plants for your garden, do your homework — research the cultural needs of the plants. As I stated, most conifers must have supplemental water. Cones add a special look to the custom wreaths and designs—always consider, cones, seedpods, stems, and roots when looking at plants for any purpose. Then there are the broad-leaved evergreens such as magnolia, eucalyptus, bay/Laurus, holly, Osmanthus, etc. The broad smooth leaves of the southern magnolia add an elegance to any design. Magnolia grow in Tehama County being heat resistant but require lots of maintenance and lots of space. Eucalyptus adds a cheerful casual look to any Christmas décor with its floppy silver leaves. Grow eucalyptus only if you have a very large garden. We have several customers who return each year for a Bay/Laurus wreath for their kitchens. We trim them with dried orange or pomegranate slices and orange or brown ribbon as it will last months after the Holidays. Holly/Ilex is the Christmas green of legend. I have found holly impossible to grow in my rocky clayey soil; on the other hand, I’ve seen large old ...

Aug 22, 2019

Bend writer highlights Oregon’s flower power - Bend Bulletin

Oregon, but I had to exclude some groups of plants,” Fagan said. “So there are no conifers, and I only featured a couple of flowering trees and small selection of shrubs. I focused more on common wildflowers and also tried to put in a few unusual or rare plants.” Fagan had about a year starting in September 2017 to find and document all the wildflowers he wanted to include. He was able to use some of the research and photographs of plants from one of his previous guides, “Pacific Northwest Wildflowers,” and spent around 75 days in the field searching for and photographing his remaining subjects. But despite his careful planning, there were a number of plants on his wish list that still didn’t make it into the book. “I had some on my target list, but I just couldn’t find them, or by the time I got to them, they were past their prime or no longer blooming,” Fagan said. “During wildfire season, some days were just too smoky to go shoot photos, so I was trying to get really tight closeups or had to come back after fire season and hope I could still find them.” Fagan also decided to exclude some endangered plants and plants found in sensitive habitats that could be damaged by people searching for them. The writer turned to technology to help find and identify some of the plants in the book. He checked social media groups such as the Oregon Wildflowers Facebook group for information about recent sightings of the plants he was hunting. He also used the Oregon Wildflowers app developed by Oregon State University’s Oregon Flora Project. One of the other challenges facing anyone writing a botanical guide or field guide to flora, is that while the scientific or Latin names for plants are fairly set, there are not always standard common names for those plants. In some cases this means a single plant can be known by several different standard names, causing difficulty organizing the plants within the book. “There’s not an overarching organization that sets the standards for the common names of plants in the U.S.,” Fagan said. “Even many of the scientific names have changed over time. Recently, researchers studying certain plant families will break them out into more subgroups, adding to the confusion.” Fagan says 2019 in Oregon has been a great year for flowers due to the cooler and wetter weather experienced in many parts of the state during winter and spring. At elevations from around 5,000 to 8,000 feet near Central Oregon, hikers should be able to see blooming lupine, lilies, paintbrush, larkspur, cow parsn...

Mar 29, 2019

Bay Nature Magazine: Why Do Flowers Exist? - Bay Nature

This evolutionary dance has resulted in an explosion of color and smell in our world. Gymnosperms, especially conifers, are still common and very successful but have been outpaced by the angiosperms, ahich have spread to every conceivable corner of the earth. Flowering plants now make up over 90 percent of plant species. If success is measured by offspring, then we are truly living in the Age of Dandelions. Contra Costa goldfields (Lasthenia conjugens) in Solano County. (Photo by Stephen Edwards) The Bay Area is blessed with many wonderful places to see wildflowers. In Napa County just outside Calistoga is the Oat Hill Mine Trail. This old wagon road is steep, connecting with trails to Mount Saint Helena in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, but the floristic reward is great—lupines, larkspurs, and many other species plus sweeping vistas. One of my favorite mid-April hikes is Chimney Rock at the westernmost tip of the Point Reyes Peninsula. Pussy ears, a lily that lives up to its name, are a favorite there, along with lots of Douglas irises and goldfields. Just south of San Francisco, San Bruno Mountain offers several unique plants and insects. Mitchell Canyon on the northeast lower side of Mount Diablo has fantastic displays of mariposa lilies. Edgewood Park in Redwood City is a small refuge with an abundant display of native flowers, including many adapted to the park’s rocky serpentine grasslands. Among these flowers are a few serpentine endemics—plants that can only grow on serpentine soil. Henry Coe State Park south of San Jose is HUGE!! But the rangers recommend Manzanita Point Road for the best display. Hiking here anytime is great, but the chance to see the gorgeous wildflowers of spring is dessert.