{"id":5216,"date":"2022-05-31T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T16:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/?p=5216"},"modified":"2022-05-31T13:55:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T17:55:10","slug":"the-family-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/the-family-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"The Apple Doesn\u2019t Fall Far From the Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even before supply shortages, not a day goes by at Christensen\u2019s Plant Center that requested nursery items (despite our fairly well-stocked and varied yard) are not available. High demand and scarcity in some areas certainly exist but smaller evergreens and woody ornamentals are in fairly good supply. When confronted with an unavailable or low quantity of a given shrub variety we work too hard to supply the exact variety when there are other ways to solve the problem. Especially in the areas of woodies, there are many interchangeable plant varieties.<\/p>\n

\"Family<\/p>\n

During our COVID lockdowns, the one thing most people had was lots of time. There was a huge surge in interest in family histories; there were many searches on Ancestory.com and DNA samples sent to testing sites like 23andME. Discovering our past and finding distant relatives helped to fill the gaps in our social lives. The similar traits and DNA that make people a family exist as well in plants. Just as with people, plants have many traits and characteristics that define them and link them into family groups.<\/p>\n

\"Viburnum<\/p>\n

For sake of example, I am focusing on parts of the Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliaceae). The Korean Spice Bush (Viburnum carlesi) is frequently requested around Mother\u2019s Day. If we run low on this particular plant be assured, that there are a good number of solutions close at hand. Sibling variants, cousinly hybrids, and backcross hybrids are in good supply. What links them all together is the wonderful fragrance of spring after winter\u2019s grasp. The following all offer a possible substitution for the original depending on the application. Larger in form with pinker buds is the well-known V. x juddii<\/em>; also larger but with many more pink buds and semi-evergreen leaves are V. x burkwoodii<\/em> and V. x burkwoodii<\/em> \u2018Mohawk.\u2019 A smaller alternative with very large flowers is V. \u2018Cayuga.\u2019 These and more offer easy choices without leaving the species.<\/p>\n

\"Viburnum<\/p>\n

In a second example, we compare the genera Weigela<\/em> and Diervilla<\/em> both of the Honeysuckle Family. The Asian genus Weigela<\/em>florida<\/em> is everywhere in our landscapes. W. \u2018Wine and Roses\u2019 and others began the flood of pink-dominant flowering varieties. A painter\u2019s palette of foliage colors defines this species of Weigelas<\/em>. The genus Diervilla<\/em> of eastern North America is a b & b plant (browsing and bumblebees). In its native circumstances, it has been browsed by moose and deer without ill effect and is an obvious favorite of bumblebees with its clusters of yellow, honeysuckle-like flowers. With the advent of the Kodiak series, Diervilla<\/em> is now an active participant in landscapes still retaining its native status. These honeysuckles were separated by thousands of miles, but both possess unmatched foliage variety and the ability to flush vibrant new growth after a good trim. They have very similar leaf shapes and their phyllotaxis of alternating leaf patterns attest to their being of the same family.<\/p>\n

\"Weigela<\/p>\n

Linnaeus and the Taxonomy of Horticulture give us the guidelines we need to find solutions to shortage problems. A shortage of plants just gives us an opportunity to expand our imagination and use the tools already at hand.<\/p>\n

\"Jeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even before supply shortages, not a day goes by at Christensen\u2019s Plant Center that requested nursery items (despite our fairly well-stocked and varied yard) are not available. High demand and scarcity in some areas certainly exist but smaller evergreens and woody ornamentals are in fairly good supply. When confronted with an unavailable or low quantity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,18,66,22],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-5216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2022-posts","category-about-us","category-about-you","category-landscaping","tag-jeff-good"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5216"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5226,"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5216\/revisions\/5226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}