JUNEBERRIES AND PJM RHODODENDRONS ARE BLOOMNG

JUNEBERRY TREE ON WASHINGTON AVE, BAYFIELD...

...DITTO

LARGE JUNEBERRY, EDGE OF WOODS ON SUNSET VALLEY ROAD

JUNEBERRY FLOWER

PJM RHODODENDRON ON WASHINGTON AVE.

Friday, 6:45 AM.  45 degrees F on the back porch.  Wind SW, gusty at times.  Ther sky has a low overcast, the humidity is 85% and the barometer has begun to rise, now at 29.89",  We received one-third of an inch of rain last night.  Not a significant amount, but better than nothing.  The weather had been warm, almost muggy, before turning significantly cooler.  Everything is bursting into bloom.
   The Juneberries, or serviceberries, most notably the tree-like species, Amalanchier arboreum, in the Rose Family, have suddenly popped into bloom in city and countryside.  There are a number of shrubby Juneberries as well, both wild and cultivated, most of which are quite similar in bloom, but the truly tree-like are usually arborea. The delicate flowers only last a few days, especially if the weathr turns warm.  Many of the species interbreed, and are difficult to sort out, so visit the Freckman Herbarium web site, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, for a list of Wisconsin species.    
   Soon the wild cherries will also flower, and from a distance they all rather blend together in the landscape.  But the Juneberries are the first, and I think they are as significant in the northern landscape as the flowering dogwoods are in the southern and eastern US.  They will be loaded with red to black apple-like fruits about the size of a large pea that are very good to eat if you can get to them before the birds, bears and the rest of the critters.  In fact, Juneberry trees are best not planted where bears are likely to find them, as the bears will simply swat down a young tree, or strip the branches, to get at the ripe fruits.
   Rhododendrons are a finicky group of plants in Bayfield, but there are a few that are definitely hardy and are very colorful bloomers.  PJM, a 1939 hybrid from Weston Nursery outside of Boston, grows and flowers dependably.  They are a glorious sight in our springtime, sturdy broad-leaved evergreen shrubs covered with pink-purple blooms.  It is hard to be specific about individual plants, since the original PJM has been much crossed over the years and unless one knows the exact name and history of an individual plant one can only generalize, and identify them simply as PJM.  The Rhododendron Society web page goes into a considerable amount of detail about these beautiful plants.

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