Mayflowers In April

Epigea repens has captured and held our interest for many years.  The oldest book in our collection  describing it as impossible to transplant was published in 1898.  It continues to be seen that way today.  In 2011, four Arbutus plants, each small enough to be held in the palm of my hand, were dug with permission and placed here under a White Pine tree.  A fifth plant soon grew from seed that was likely in the soil mass holding one of the plants moved.  Subsequent growth has stems growing over other stems so no count can be made telling us just how many plants now grow here.

It is not uncommon to find open flowers in April.  We found this flower several days ago when its complete lack of scent told us that the flower had just opened that day.  The green structure in the center of the blossom identifies this as a female plant.  We did not know that Arbutus plants can be either male or female when we dug these.  It was just dumb luck that have at least one of each gender here.  Mature seed is found here each year.

Buoyed by our unexpected success transplanting Arbutus, we tried again three years later.  This time we dug three plants of each gender.  Despite the yearly appearance of seed, we have yet to see a new plant growing from seed.

This rock intended to support the protective wire cage appears in many of my pictures.  The combination of stone, pine needles, Arbutus leaves and flower buds captures the eye every time.

When the transplants were dug in 2014, a cluster of tiny plants could not be left behind.  After two years growth, we found two plants large enough to move.  These were also placed under a White Pine tree that was huge.  This planting site features only generations of rotted pine needles.  Arbutus prefer to grow in very poor highly acidic soil but this natural ground features nothing that resembles garden soil.  These two plants have put out long stems of new growth but nothing like our other plants.  We took the soil as it was found every time since we believe that rich garden soil kills these tough plants.  Once again our luck gave us one plant of each gender.  Here again we see seeds every year but no new plants from seed.  These plants were placed just inside of the property line.  An ancient stone wall backs these plants.  Each year I intend to rebuild  a section of the wall and this may be the year that it happens.

This is our one naturally occurring Arbutus patch.  Despite its decades of existence here it remains small.  Poorly situated in the lumpy overburden that was pushed aside to open a gravel bank, these plants faced another enemy.  One late winter my trips to the mailbox took me past these plants.  One day a few rabbit pellets marked the spot where the rabbit had been feeding on the evergreen leaves of Arbutus.  With each passing day the size of the waste pile grew while the plant parts were totally consumed.  Working with no visible above ground plant growth, it took three years before these plants regenerated the necessary growth required to produce flowers.  Now all of my plantings are protected by a low dry stone wall that extends beyond the edges of a wire cage.  No woodchuck snout is going to be able to push these cages aside.  Opposable  thumbs are needed to lift the cages free allowing the nose to be pressed near the ground while drinking in this unique and wonderful scent.  Every year as these flowers fade I promise myself that I will revisit Arbutus again the following year.  Once again I have kept that promise.