Arboretum & Botanical Garden Bulletin Board
Plant of the Month
Ivory Spear® Crabapple
Malus ‘JFS KW2114MX’
Location: Grid U2 near the top of the Hosta Walk, east side of the chip path
Thanks to Lucy Falcy for pointing this one out to me. It is a newer variety that we planted in 2022. It combines several desirable qualities that breeders are looking for in new selections.
The most striking feature this time of year are the masses of bright red fruit just in time to look like Christmas ornaments.
The fruit hanging on until December is another desirable trait, known as ‘persistence’ because that means the fruit is not dropping and making a mess when people are outside, and it is providing a late season food source for over-wintering birds. The other major desirable trait is the dense, upright growth which makes it a good fit for smaller yards and under power lines.
Monthly Projects
Somewhat unfortunately, December has followed the pattern of the past couple of years, remarkably warm and mild. That pattern last year, followed by the few nights of -20° resulted in the worst winter damage I have seen in my 24 years. Fingers crossed that we won’t have a repeat.
The mild weather did give us the opportunity to get the major construction done on the new Bukvich Arboretum Concert Site project. We built walls and paths to access the site and provide some seating, while preserving the natural, informal character of the site and the event. The project is honoring Dan Bukvich and his wife, Gae for their work producing and conducting the annual Arboretum concert, held in July for the past 24 years (one was canceled for weather and another for COVID). There is still some work to do, plantings, installing a sign and engraving the recognition on the rock benches.
Also, typically for Moscow weather, as the seasons change, we had a pretty significant wind event. I heard gusts over 60 mph, and it certainly felt like that. As usual, when that happens there was some damage to trees. Two large spruce trees on campus, and two in the Shattuck Arboretum came down and a big chunk of a Ponderosa Pine broke off in the new Arboretum.
Upcoming Events
- TBD
When visiting the Arboretum, please remember that for your safety, the safety of others and for the protection of wildlife and plant collections, no pets are allowed. Ice on ponds is very unstable — stay off any ice.