Aloe 'Hercules' - Hercules Tree Aloe

There are several tree aloes around and I am not sure which is which, but according to the owner of this row of trees, these are 'Hercules'. Hercules is a hybrid between A. barberae and A. dichotoma (San Marcos Nursery). They are faster growing than the parents with beautiful bark. They should grow to 25 feet or more depending on their location. My guess is on the shorter side since our climate is a bit cooler. They do grow pretty fast though. Very beautiful regardless of the name. (Also reclassified into a new genera,  Aliodendron.)

The leaves are dark green, broad clasping at the base and 16" or so long. This leaf is getting pretty old.

The lower surface look nice as well.

The bark is described as peeling tiger striped. 

Misidentification: Just about any other tree aloe unless you are well versed in these groups of plants, which I am not. Some people include Aloes such as A. speciosa, A. ferox and others like these but hard to compare them with Hercules.

 

Location:

Aptos - 290 Beach Pines Dr. along the RDM Blvd side of the house

Santa Cruz - 

621 41st Ave. 2 double trunk plants.

321 Anchorage Ave. (Not 'Hercules' but "might be" Aloe barberae.)

181 24th St. (Not 'Hercules' but "might be" Aloe barberae.)

Acer x fremanii 'Jeffersred' - Autumn Blaze®

The hybrids between the red (A. rubrum) and the silver A. saccharinum) have been around for a long time but they are not very common in our area. The two species overlap in their natural habitats so the hybridization has been occurring naturally as well as controlled hybridizing. The red maple parents provide the fall color and the "better" branching structure while the silver maple parents provide the leaf shape and fast rate of growth and perhaps tolerance to adverse conditions. There are a handful of cultivars. This particular cultivar grows into an upright oval shaped form to 60'. The Autumn Blaze® is the trademarked name but used interchangeably with the common name.

This image is really 3 trees in a row so they look a little wider than a single tree.

Fall color is one of the reasons people plant these trees.

Leaves are opposite, simple, 6-8" long and almost as wide. The leaves look more like the silver maple leaf than a red maple leaf. The lower surface is white like the silver maple.

The branch structure needs work when young or you end up with several co-dominate leaders. I mentioned better structure, but they usually end up with co-dominate leaders that result in splitting the trunk.

Oregon State University Horticulture department page and a nice writeup on these and red maple cultivars. They have been given various names, sometimes as a red maple cultivar or as a hybrid. 

OSU Hort

This image was published by The Journal of Aboriculture years ago showing this cultivar listed as a red maple cultivar.

Misidentification: Silver maple most likely. The leaves look more Silver but the Silver leaves have a deeper dissection. Silver Maple

Location

Aptos 

404 Townsend Dr.

407 Ewell Ave.

Pinus heldreichii - Bosnian Pine

I really like this smaller pine tree. I saw them years ago at the Morton Arboretum and a few in England. I am not sure who designed the Aptos Village green space but they picked a great tree on one side and a bit of a mistake on the other, oh well.

The Bosnian pine develops a tight upright conical shape with a height in Bosnia of maybe 50 feet tall. The older ones I have seen are no more than 25' tall. There are several cultivars in the trade but most are dwarf selections, though there is one that was really dark green and compact. But I'm not sure if it's one of those so I'll stick with the species. This image is the Aptos Village tree taken 6/24.

This one is at the UCSC arboretum.

Needles are in 2's and 2-3" long, sharp pointed and very beautifully dark green, clustered at the tips and pointing forward.

Stems are light tan color.

Female strobilus (cone) is red, borne at the tips of the new growth.

Cones are 3-4" long, broad at the base and tapering to a point. They are purple when ripening, then be coming brown. They are retained on the tree for several years after dropping the seeds.

Bark is whitish gray. The older name for this species in Pinus leucodermis (white skin).

There is a cultivar named 'Compact Gem' which the plant in Aptos could be one though this cultivar is a bit rounded.

Misidentification: Austrian pine for sure, but the cones on the Austrian pine are not purple and are larger, the needles are longer as well.

Location: 

Aptos: Aptos Village green space in a raised bed.

Santa Cruz: Arboretum

Callitropsis nootkatensis 'Pendula' - Weeping Alaskan Cedar

Great plant --- names are a mess --- one of my favorites of all time. This cultivar is distinctly weepy when compared to the species which is slightly weeping itself. Trees grow to about 30' tall by 15' wide in cultivation. The lateral branches are slightly upright or horizontal with drooping branchlets giving the tree a graceful soft look.

This tree was sitting in a large nursery box for several or more years prior to being planted. Could have been placed a bit further from the house, they make such great focal points in landscapes.

Leaves are arranged on flat sprays (branchlets). 

Leaves opposite one-another, sort of in 4 rows, scale-like, bluish green in color, no more than 1/8" with distinct white lines on the lower surface where the leaves overlap.

Cones are smaller than Monterey cypress but larger than the Lawson falsecypress. They have a sharp bract (point) on the end of each scale. Usually 4 scales. Maturing brown and opening on the tree.

Bark is thin, gray silver in color with small resin bumps.

This is the "non" weeping species showing the more upright lateral branching with drooping branchlets.

These are 'Strict Weeping' at The Oregon Garden in Silverton.

These are also 'Strict Weeping' in Chelan WA.

I mentioned at the top of this post that the plant was great, but the naming is a mess. I prefer Chamaecypress nootkatensis, but that's because it's what I call it.

Kew Garden places the plant in Callitropsis and Wikipedia lists all of the names this poor plant has been given in alphabetic order but not chronological order. Read the wiki page for an interesting history lesson in plant classification and nomenclature.

Misidentification:

Lots of Chamaecyparis look alike. You need to look closely at the foliage. Lawson falsecyparis has small translucent glands when seen if you hold the foliage up to a light or the sun.

Cone size is larger than a Lawson cypress (maybe 1/3") as well.

Location:

Aptos - Corner of Dolphin and Lagunitas Ct. Might be 102 Lagunitas Ct.

Neolitsea sericea

I came around a corner and this tree looked so unfamiliar I had to stop to look. That's when I saw the red foliage that was growing on a sucker at the base and wow! No chance I had seen that before. I sent pictures to Matt Ritter of Cal Poly SLO for some ID help, and this was his educated guess from pictures.

This evergreen tree has a rounded, dense habit, reportedly growing up to 35'. This one seems to be close to 25' and about the same width.

Foliage is evergreen, simple, elliptical, oblong to ovate, about 3 -7" long, with three distinct veins coming from the base. Medium to dark green.

When the leaves emerge they have a downy look to them. This is the lower surface of the leaf.

Soon afterward the hairs fall off (?) and the the blade turns red. I must get to the tree in early spring. I cant image the foliage change over those few weeks.

Stems should have the same reddish colored hairs eventually turning green.

Flower buds are copper colored in clusters at the tips of the branches.

Fruit is a small red berry. Though I read the plants are dioecious, I doubt there is another one around supplying pollen.

Smooth bark.

Misidentification:
not sure, look at the leaves for the silvery lower surface and the 3 veins, and of course the red newish foliage.

Location:
Santa Cruz
100 Myrtle St.

Picea glauca - White Spruce

I was really surprised to see this specimen the other day while walking the cemetery next to Dominican Hospital (seems oddly convenient to be next to the hospital). I actually went to look at the allee of Calocedrus decurrens. To bad they are on their way out, I bet they were beautiful years ago. This specimen was hard to photograph because it was so close to the liquidambar.

The white spruce is rarely planted around here. The species has tons of cultivars but most are dwarf versions of the dwarf Alberta spruce.

Leaves are needle-like, 1/2" to 3/4" long, stiff, blue-green upper surface and white lower surface. Can be flattened on the stem or radiating around the stem in a circle.

Cones are small, 1-1/2" - 2-1/2" long, narrow, light brown, with rounded entire scale tips.  Lots of pitch is common, so don't put them in your pocket.

You are more likely to see something like this in the landscape, where the plant reverted to the large normal form. I think the newer cultivars are more stable.

This is one where King runs into Mission. You can barely see the original dwarf foliage at the bottom.

There are lots of issues with this plant in the landscape, the most common one is an aphid that created a gall at the tip of the stem. This gall dies and looks sort of like a cone.

There are wonderful dwarfs available and a beautiful weeping form.

Misidentification:
you could easily misidentify these trees, many of the spruces look very similar, especially if you find a few that are not common. In our area, look for short needles, small cigar shaped cones, and bluish colored leaves. And, if you think its a white spruce around here it might not be…..

Location:
Santa Cruz at the cemetery, next to the Hospital

Acer palmatum dissectum 'Seiryu' - Seiryu Japanese Maple

The Japanese maple cultivar 'Seiryu' is considered the only upright growing dissected maple available although my guess with such variety in the species there are others. Growing to about 15' they are usually a bit more open than the one shown below, which has been pruned over the years. These are fast growing maples with great dissected leaves and nice fall color.

Leaves are opposite and maple like though deeply dissected and each lobe is deeply serrated. Medium to light green in color, about 2" long. Fall color is nice gold though you might see some red depending on the site and the environment.

Flowers and fruit identical to other Japanese maples.

Misidentification: Doubt it.

Location:
Aptos
524 Humes, just recently planted.

505 Encino Dr and 2 great trees.

Seacliff
421 Hillcrest Dr. See above, pruned into a ball but still nice.