Sophora japonica 'Pendula' - Weeping Pagoda Tree

I was aimlessly riding my bike one day and stumbled across this interesting and unique small weeping tree. Sophora is an older name but I'll stick with it for now. Trees develop a rounded to blob shape with very interested branches. Trees grow to about 15' so this one much be old.

Leaves are deciduous, alternately arranged, pinnately compound to about 10" with 7 to 15 or so leaflets. Leaflets are medium to light green, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, 1-2" long. 

Stems are green until mature. The black buds are hidden by the swollen base of the petiole.

This cultivar seems not to flower or fruit (no kidding, can't have fruit without flowers.) If it has them they are off white and pea-shaped in large clusters.

The branching is very cool, twisted branches with some grafting to one another.

 

Misidentification? Foliage wise, lots but with this habit I don't think you can find another one with leaves like these and a habit like this one.

New name: Styphnolobium japonicum

Location:

Santa Cruz - I forgot, I have to get on my bike and aimlessly take a ride. Went looking for it a year or so ago but could not find the tree or the house.

Populus tremuloides - Quaking Aspen

I was a bit surprised to see a Quaking Aspen here in Santa Cruz. Also a bit disappointed, they are adapted to growing from one plant into hundreds. Pando, is a grove of Quaking Aspen in Utah that is considered to be one of the largest organisms on earth. The grove is one clone, connected to 47,000 trees by roots (suckering) and covers over 100 acres and is considered to be over 1000 years old. Think what it can and will do in your yard.

They are medium sized trees, 20-50' with an upright narrowish crown. Where there is one…..

Having seen many planting of Quaking Aspen in Spokane, I quickly came to the conclusion that this is a beautiful tree in the fall or windy, with rustling foliage They are very short lived. Luckily (?), but when one dies hundreds show up.

Leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular, slightly crenated margins, dark green in summer, turning a beautiful gold in fall. Like many poplars, they have a flattened petiole, which causes the leaf to flutter or quake in any light breeze. (The doctrine of signatures suggested that this plant was the cure to shaking palsy.)

Trees are dioecious, male and female plants. Males in long catkins.

Stems are smooth, with a large terminal bud.

And the bark is one of the reasons people like it. Silver, smooth with dark branch collars.

And best of all is the fall color. Bright yellow to yellowish orange.

Misidentification:
Other poplars, perhaps. You are not likely to encounter P. tremula in SC but if you are reading this from colder climates you might encounter a columnar form.

Location:
Capitola 

301 Fanmar. Pretty sad looking specimen. 

Malus ioensis ‘Klehm’s Improved Bechtel’ - Bechtel Crabapple

I like this late blooming crabapple with beautiful pink double flowers. The trees are small to medium sized 15-20' with a rounded and dense canopy. It's a pretty old-school tree but easily identified by the large flowers.

Leaves are deciduous, simple, alternate, ovate shaped, 2" long with slightly serrated margins mostly near the tip of the leaf. The trees are susceptible to several fungal diseases and this one gets black spot yearly.

Flowers are large, double, pink, and fragrant. Did I say they were late? Compared to most of the other crabapples that bloom early here (before the cherries) this one blooms late Mid to June.

Fruit is pretty non existent, if any show up they are pink to green and a little over an inch in diameter.

Another name - Malus coronaria ssp. ioensis 'Bechtel' 

Misidentification: Almost any crabapple not in bloom. 

Location

Aptos 309 Martin Dr.

Magnolia Xalba - White Champaca

Magnolia Xalba a slowish growing 'smallish' evergreen tree, to about 20-30'. They might look like a large bushy shrub. (What is the difference between a small multi-stemmed tree and a large shrub?)

Leaves are evergreen, simple, alternate, about 8" long, widely lance-shaped with smooth margins, light green color upper with slightly lighter below. They are folded upwards from the midrib while the tip and base are arched downward. I am sure there's a word for this but I either forgot it or never knew it.

Young stems are green with lots of white spots (lenticels). Older branches are light tan. Flower buds are covered with copper colored hairs. They are smaller than most other magnolias.

Flowers are white, very fragrant and seem to be produced year round here. Off white color, with narrow strap-like petals, usually 8 of them.

This magnolia has several common names, White Champaca, White Sandalwood, and Fragrant Himalayan Champaca. It is also in the genera tug of war with Magnolia split into Michelia and Magnolia and back again? Monrovia is sticking with Michelia. Other synonyms include: Magnolia alba, Michelia × longifolia, Michelia longifolia, Sampacca × longifolia, Sampacca longifolia

Location:

Aptos

553 Cuesta Dr. Shrubby version

1701Calypso Dr. Tree version

Thuja plicata 'Zebrina' - Variegated Western Cedar

This cultivar of our native Thuja brightens up almost any landscape. The trees are quite large, perhaps to 50' in our area. They form a nice tight pyramidal form with branches to the ground if grown in the sun, I have seen them used as hedges in the UK.

Kew Gardens

Leaves are small, scale-like and in pairs covering the young stems. The branchlets are long and feather like in arrangement with short narrow lateral branches coming off of the main branches. The lower surface of the branchlets shows bands of white stomates. This cultivar has creamy yellow bands of leaves interspersed with green leaves

Reproductive structures and bark like the species.

Locations:

Aptos

748 Encino Drive on the side of the house up the hill a bit. 

Agonis flexuosa 'Burgundy' - Burgundy Peppermint Willow

This is a newer cultivar of the Australian Willow and seems to develop a fuller canopy than the dark purple 'Jervis Bay Afterdark' which has been planted all over town. Reported to grow to 25' by about 15' wide with a weeping habit. One issue I have seen is the very narrow crotch angle formed on the trunk which might be a structural issue as the trees mature.

A nice specimen at Sierra Azul Nursery in Watsonville.

The new leaves come out in early spring with a beautiful burgundy color. The color fades by the end of winter but the new foliage comes out quickly with another flush of color.

 

This is the issue I see with all of the trees I have seen. The trunk splits into two co-dominate leaders with a very narrow crotch angle. As those stems increase in diameter they will push the other away and eventually split.

Misidentification:

Not sure what you might think it is.

Location:

Aptos

280 Baltusrol Dr

Santa Cruz

36 Rockview Drive

Watsonville 

Sierra Azul Nursery

Hesperocyparis macrocarpa 'Saligna Aurea' - Golden Weeping Monterey Cypress

This is a pretty cool cultivar of our Monterey Cypress tree. Growing to 25' or so and about as wide, the thin lateral branchlets are long and thin, sort of like the thread branched cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filiera Aurea'). Trees have a strong central leader with upright arching lateral branched. 

This unbelievable specimen is in a private garden in town.

These are located at the old Suncrest Nursery on Casserly Rd. Now Griggs Nursery

Another great one across from the K-9 clinic.

The foliage is scale-like, opposite, sharp pointed, and diverging from the stems. The internodes are elongated making for thread-like stems. They remain green in the shaded part of the plant so be sure to put them in a sunny location.

Fruit is the same as you would see on the species.

Misidentification: When young they might look like a Chamaecyparis pisifiera 'Filifera Aurea' form though Hesperocyparis macrocarpa 'Saligna Aurea' has a much more open habit with a strong central leader and long ascending lateral branches.

Older name is Cupressus macrocarpa, with a Callitropsis thrown in and then out.

Location:

Corralitos - Pioneer road across from the K9 clinic.

Watsonville - 400 Casserly Rd (Griggs Wholesale Nursery - near the office)