Trailing Arbutus

[James McGee]

The Trailing Arbutus

  I wandered lonely where the pine-trees made
Against the bitter East their barricade,
And, guided by its sweet
Perfume, I found, within a narrow dell,
The trailing spring flower tinted like a shell
Amid dry leaves and mosses at my feet.

From under dead boughs, for whose loss the pines
Moaned ceaseless overhead, the blossoming vines
Lifted their glad surprise,
While yet the bluebird smoothed in leafless trees
His feathers ruffled by the chill sea-breeze,
And snow-drifts lingered under April skies.

As, pausing, o'er the lonely flower I bent,
I thought of lives thus lowly, clogged and pent,
Which yet find room,
Through care and cumber, coldness and decay,
To lend a sweetness to the ungenial day
And make the sad earth happier for their bloom.


John Greenleaf Whittier

[Hoy]

Trailing arbutus! Didn't know it was called that - I've been looking for seeds (or plants) of Epigea repens (mayflower)  but never found any It is on my wish list!

[Lina Hesseling]

Lovely poem, James.
I am very fond of poems about gardens, plants and nature.
Thank you for sharing this,

Lina.

[Tim Ingram]

I agree - it beautifully complements (and compliments) the plant. So many small ericaceous plants are exquisite, and this more than most (though it does seem a long way from arbutus - it's really in a place of its own). Lovely.

[Tony Willis]

Trailing arbutus! Didn't know it was called that - I've been looking for seeds (or plants) of Epigea repens (mayflower)  but never found any It is on my wish list!

Have you tried Krystl,I got seed from her and now have a few plants 1cm high,growth has not been rapid.

It is a lovely thing which I hope to see in the wild this coming spring.

[Hoy]

Trailing arbutus! Didn't know it was called that - I've been looking for seeds (or plants) of Epigea repens (mayflower)  but never found any It is on my wish list!

Have you tried Krystl,I got seed from her and now have a few plants 1cm high,growth has not been rapid.

It is a lovely thing which I hope to see in the wild this coming spring.

I haven't found it in her catalogue this winter  But I will continue to look!

When did you plant the seeds?

[Tony Willis]

I planted them July 2010,they came up rapidly in large numbers and died equally rapidly. I have about six looking as though they will develop into plants as opposed to seedlings. I sowed them on sterilised peat in a closed container to keep out moss spores.

[Tim Ingram]

Tony - I have not seen Kristl's seed list before; there are some very nice things as well as the Epigaea, including one or two pretty obscure umbellifers that I had not come across, and the fascinating shrub Comptonia peregrina, which I saw many years ago at Bristol Botanic Garden and have never seen since. Thank you for mentioning her.

[McDonough]

Tony - I have not seen Kristl's seed list before; there are some very nice things as well as the Epigaea, including one or two pretty obscure umbellifers that I had not come across, and the fascinating shrub Comptonia peregrina, which I saw many years ago at Bristol Botanic Garden and have never seen since. Thank you for mentioning her.

Tim, Comptonia peregrina (Sweetfern, although not a fern) is very common here, best known for its aromatic foliage and attractive ferny foliage.  It is reported as USDA Zone 2-6, with comments that it does poorly in warmer climates above Zone 6.  There's lots of information out there on this interesting plant.
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/c/comper/comper1.html
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=COPE80
 

[Hoy]

Tony - I have not seen Kristl's seed list before; there are some very nice things as well as the Epigaea, including one or two pretty obscure umbellifers that I had not come across, and the fascinating shrub Comptonia peregrina, which I saw many years ago at Bristol Botanic Garden and have never seen since. Thank you for mentioning her.

Thanks, Tim! I've looked through Kristl's pages several times this winter but not seen Epigaea! But when you said you found it I also found it at once
The result: A new order to Kristl

[Tony Willis]

Tony - I have not seen Kristl's seed list before; there are some very nice things as well as the Epigaea, including one or two pretty obscure umbellifers that I had not come across, and the fascinating shrub Comptonia peregrina, which I saw many years ago at Bristol Botanic Garden and have never seen since. Thank you for mentioning her.

I foolishly tried her pyrolas' and associated things such as chimaphila to no avail. My optimism new no bounds but I have been unable to germinate them.The E. repens was no problem.

I have just purchased E. gaultheriodes from Cox's having seen the plant many times at RBGE

[Lori S.]

How important to Comptonia peregrina are the acid soils mentioned in Mark's first link?  Does anyone here grow it in alkaline soil?

[Harold Peachey]

Comptomia peregrina is fairly amenable to different soil types in my experience.  They are somewhat difficult to transplant, best accomplished while in the dormant stage.  They grow in partial shade to full sun depending on soil moisture and make a wonderful addition to any woodland or shade garden.

[Gene Mirro]

Growing Epigaea repens from seed:

http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=635.0

I don't even try to sow seeds like this in hot weather.  I sow in winter or early spring, under lights at around 60F.