THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012 • HOME & GARDEN, DAILY COURIER, Grants Pass, 15 Baker cypress a rare Oregon native

If you are on a quest to find Oregon’s atively slow growing, at about a foot a and shiny, round cones contribute to its rarest the last place you would think year. Dan says the tree is drought tolerant, landscape value, as well. It is easy to grow to look is in a backyard on Prospect and it only needs water the first couple of in cultivation.” HG Avenue in Grants Pass but there are a pair years after it’s planted, but good drainage — Rachel Winters is a Rogue Community of Baker cypress ( bakeri) thriv- “is a must.” College horticulture instructor who owns ing in the garden of Gwen and Dick Here’s Oregon’s description of Siskiyou Gardens, a small Grants Pass nurs- Adams. The were grown from by Baker cypress from their website: ery specializing in bonsai, unusual trees and their good friend Dave Russell, who is “Indigenous to the Siskiyou Mountains shrubs. She can be reached at 541-476-6243 retired from the Bureau of Land of southern Oregon and northern or at [email protected]. BAKER CYPRESS MALE CONELETS Management, where he served as manager , the Baker Cypress is listed as of the Sprague Seed rare and endangered. We are proud to offer Orchard. we have raised from seed and from Free Does Your “D-I-Y Project” “I collected seed in cuttings. It grows to as much as 65 feet in Estimates the early ‘80s from the wild, but it will take many years for a Need Some Professional Help? Flounce Rock and cultivated specimen to reach anywhere Miller Lake. We cut near that height. It is narrow in form. cones off trees at both The gray-brown bark is thin, becoming sites and boiled in fibrous with age. Slender branches are water, no germination. spreading, often pendant. Lovely silver- The from a squirrel gray foliage has conspicuous, pleasingly cache at Flounce Rock aromatic resin glands. A plant to cherish Repairs • Remodels • New Construction CCB #136691 Constant Residential and Commercial yielded mature seed and feature. It does well in sun, well- 541- 476-9501 • 541- 218-0320 Gardener that germinated ... drained soil, and moderate water. It is sel- Quality Workmanship At An Affordable Price! David Hartgrave, Owner That's where all the dom found in the wild but grows there on Rachel Winters seedlings came from,” serpentine soils. Zones 6 through 9.” said Dave. There are two Baker cypress on the CCornorn MMazeaze & In southwestern Oregon and northern Redwood Campus that were grown by Corn Maze & Open Friday California Baker cypress (also known as Plant Oregon Nursery. Dan says their seed OCT. 12 Siskiyou cypress or Matthew’s cypress) stock also came from Flounce Rock near PPumpkin Puummppkkiinn PPatchPaattcchh Bring the Kids! grows in isolated groves of mixed evergreen Lost Creek Dam. That is the northernmost WEEKENDS OCT. 6 - 28 • 11AM - 6 PM forests from 3,700- to 7,000 feet on north-fac- grove of this tree that is so rare it wasn’t Haunted Night Maze Saturday October 27 ing slopes in volcanic or serpentine soil. As even included in “Trees to Know in Oregon, a garden specimen the tree needs full sun Oregon State University’s popular guide- DoubleD oublle thetthe FUNFUN DDoubleoublle thetthe THRILL!!THRIILL!! and does best with well-drained rocky soil. book to the state’s native trees. 8 ACRE CORN MAZE, It does not tolerate shade. Oregon’s other population of Baker PUMPKIN CHUNKER, Dan Bish, owner of Plant Oregon cypress is near Miller Lake in the Rogue 2 ZIP LINES, Nursery in Talent, a grower of Baker River National Forest, an area that has HAY RIDES, FOOD & MORE! cypress, says this tree is “awesome and has been called “The Magic Circle” for what great color.” The scalelike are blue may be the largest biodiversity of 5791 5791 LowerLower RiverRiver RoadRoad •• 541-479-3765541-479-3765 •• www.fortvannoyfarms.comwww.fortvannoyfarms.com gray, and the narrow form makes it a very in the western hemisphere. good screen or windbreak. He says it’s rel- Michael Kauffmann author of “ Country: Field Notes from Plant Explorations” a wonderful blog about nat- ural history and hikes in the , says, “This is surely the quin- tessential ancient meeting ground where rare plants have hidden out for millenia— optimal environmental conditions are fos- tered with a unique balance of sun, soil, and water. In addition to the rare conifers under discussion one might also encounter Pacific silver-fir, subalpine fir, Brewer spruce, and Port Orford-cedar close by— not to mention the other more common species.” have historically been fre- quent in these dry areas, and the cypress UPU UPP TTOTOO 220200 HHOURHOOUURR typically reproduces by releasing seeds Burn Time with One Loading! only after a fire. The cones are held on the NNEW! NEEWW!! branches indefinitely and are closed until opened by a fire, which often kills the tree SiroccoSiirocco 2020 but the cones hold viable seeds for up to SStartingtartiing aatt $ five years. $2,095 2 2,,009955 Dan Bish says “If we had to choose one tree to represent Plant Oregon, I'm sure it See us at www.orleys.com Dick Adams is proud of his 60-foot-tall would be the Siskiyou cypress. It is a beau- 3050 Crater Lake Hwy., Medford Baker cypress in his backyard. Photo tiful, desirable plant. It speaks to us of our Mon. - Fri. 9 - 5:30 • Sat. 9 - 5 need to protect and preserve our environ- by Timothy Bullard. Stove & Spa Center 541-779-5340 ment. Beautiful foliage, graceful shape,