Fall Leaf Change Preview

The best time to come here for Fall leaf color can occur anywhere between early November through mid-December. The several weeks before and after this date range, although iffy, may be good as well.
It's not a bad idea to call either myself at Plant Information, (626) 821-3236, or the Arboretum general number, (626) 821-3222, at least a week before you come to get in idea how the Fall color change is proceeding.
Here's a nationwide animation of the fall color change courtesy of recreation.gov:

Here's some Fall color shots from years past:

I Was Just Walking to Get Something to Eat When I Saw This...

Some of the most interesting horticultural phenomenon I see are located close by where I live in Arcadia California. Last night on the way to get some dinner with my wife Diana we came across this amazing sight below:  

Pollarded Ficus microcarpa

 The above, as the caption states, is a Ficus microcarpa that has been severed about 6 feet from its crown. This Cthulhu-like tree looks pretty cool, but how will it do in the future? 

Topping trees (removing large portions of the trunk and leaving no dominant shoot) is generally a very, very bad idea. The large cut produced by the action can allow fungus and insects to infest the vascular tissue and the heartwood of the tree. Topping is mostly a death sentence for trees, a fact that many tree owners here who have trees near power lines can testify too.  However there are some exceptions. 

If the tree is amenable to the process of "pollarding", a technique developed in ancient Europe where a tree is regularly trimmed down to several codominant branches, then it does stand a chance. According to one researcher trees amenable to pollarding can even have their lives extended by the process. 

It's not quite certain that this species of  Ficus is amenable to pollarding, and pollarding is best started when the tree is young (the size of the roots indicates this tree was quite old and large when it was cut back). Also, the amount of leaves currently on the tree may not be sufficient to produce enough nutrition to keep the tree's huge mass of root material healthy. This could lead to root dieback from root rot and even heart rot of the remaining portion of the trunk. As you can see below, one of the roots has already cracked, indicating that it is dying. Another problem for the tree is the full canopy created by the pruning. Poor air circulation in such a canopy can cause an increase in insects and diseases. 

Will this tree survive? I don't know, however I'll be keeping an eye on it because if it does, it's going to look pretty cool. 

Pollarded Ficus microcarpa

 But wait, there's more -this landscape just kept on giving. Below are two dwarf evergreens I've never seen growing in this part of Southern California (or anywhere for that matter). The first one below is a dwarf blue spruce (Picea pungens, probably 'Lundeby's Dwarf'), a fascinating plant that does grow here given proper watering and a spot that is near a lawn (to keep it cool in the summer). 

Dwarf Picea

 Equally, if not more fascinating was another dwarf blue conifer growing nearby in the same bed: a dwarf Cedrus deodara 'Prostrate Beauty'.

Dwarf Cedrus deodar

So here's the topper, planted between the two dwarf evergreen trees, a fruiting pineapple! Only in L.A.!

Pineapple plant with fruit. 

Amaryllis, Queen Anne Crepe Myrtle, and Senna spectabilis on the Bauer Lawn

Here's a map to the places where the below images were taken.  There's a screengrab map below as well. 

Amaryllis belladonna (hybrids) blooming. 

Amaryllis belladonna (hybrids) blooming. 

Amaryllis belladonna (hybrids) blooming. 

Queen Anne Cottage

Senna spectabilis

Map to locations