![]() |
| Augustus |
Ah, another August– at least it has finished. As the eight month of the year in our Gregorian calendar the Latin word means “inspiring reverence or admiration.” I would describe the period differently: as old, tiring and exhausting– as in Augusting. I and my trees are worn out and we long for more cool temps; and then hopefully we can later revel in the colorful display of autumnal foliage. Every season, every year is a marathon, and a career's accumulation of lengthy runs will eventually finish me. On the other hand, even if I was lazy and derelict, I would probably “finish” at about the same age anyway. But, it seems, I was born to work, worry and care, and tomorrow I will rise early...and give it yet another go.
![]()
At the end of every August of my career – except covid last year – I attend the FarWest Show in Portland, Oregon, a trade show sponsored by the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN). The event is the OAN's cash cow, but with every passing year it becomes smaller and less relevant. The dwindling attendance meant that social distancing was rather easy to achieve. So we masked up and set out to reunite with old (literally now) acquaintances, and sadly there was no new company with plants, or any other display really worth seeing; one wonders if the show has finally run its course.
![]() |
| Mark Krautmann (right) "C'mon Talon, what happens in Portland stays in Portland." |
One old-timer displaying his seedlings and liners was Mark Krautmann of Heritage Nursery from Salem, Oregon. Mark and I go back about 44 years when we toiled at the Dutchman's nursery, where we were both at the bottom-grunt level of the hierarchy. Our conversations were mostly about trees, those that the square-headed Dutchman didn't grow, or probably didn't even know existed. Mark was impressed with a tree's seed, that all the genetic properties of a species was crammed into a capsule the size of a pea. Perhaps that explains his logo of a man and his dog pausing under what looks to be a huge oak, a drawing that Mark lifted from an old midwestern tree book.
![]()
Let's take a look at some of the trees being offered in the 2021-2022 catalog, because Heritage was the source of many specimens thriving in the Flora Wonder Arboretum. Mark continues with a printed catalog – which I have kept all of – and this year's features Acer triflorum, the “Three-flower maple.” He writes: “Whereas Acer griseum has become nearly common in many areas of the country since we first introduced reliable wholesale quantities back in the 80's, Acer triflorum has been elusive, a greater challenge to propagate. Still today, one encounters only isolated specimens in arboreta or connoisseur gardens.”Krautmann's plants are not cheap, and a plug ready to pot into a one-gallon container goes for $7.45 each, but where else can you purchase it?
![]() |
| Acer triflorum |
![]() |
| Acer triflorum |
![]() |
| Acer triflorum |
Mark continues: “Bark peels in tight vertical curls. September brings a muted blend of yellow and claret-red foliage, capturing the essence of autumn. During winter, tufts of snow lodge on the peels of grey and honey-colored bark, lending contrast. Often listed as hardy to zone 5, some growers report it hardy to -40F – a full zone hardier than Acer griseum.”
![]() |
| Acer campestre 'Carnival' |
![]() |
| Acer campestre 'Carnival' |
![]() |
| Acer campestre 'Postalense' |
![]() |
| Acer campestre 'Postalense' |
Acer campestre is marked as Sold Out, which is a shame as I would have ordered a few hundred to use as rootstock for A.c. 'Carnival'. The variegated “Field maple” is a cultivar that I never seem to have enough of, and it's unbelievable that so much white in the foliage managed to survive our record 116F oven in June with virtually no damage. Acer campestre itself is a species I know I could never sell even one tree, but other cultivars such as 'Nana' and 'Postalense'– a golden-form – are two others that I have dabbled with.
![]() |
| Acer miyabei |
Due to the shortage of the Acer campestre rootstock, I considered the similar species Acer miyabei which I know from past experience is compatible. But I passed since those plugs go for $6.40 each – which I guess they're worth – but my 'Carnival' sells for $8.00, so after growing the seedlings for a year, then paying to have them grafted...doesn't pencil out. I grew some A. miyabei about 12-15 years ago, spurred on by Mark's enthusiasm for the species: “Hardier than Acer campestre, to which it is most often compared, but of more appealing form and therefore requiring less pruning in cultivation. Lacks the invasive character and obtrusive size of Acer platanoides. Very hard to find, it is an excellent urban tree.”
![]() |
| Acer campestre 'Carnival' |
![]() |
| Miyabe Kingo |
Acer miyabei is a wonderful species then, but it took forever to sell the few I had. With only two left at a large size, I top grafted them, each with a dozen scions of 'Carnival', and the result was an impressive variegated umbrella, one of which is planted near the nursery entrance. Acer miyabei was named by Karl Maximowicz in 1988, and the specific epithet honors the Japanese botanist Kingo Miyabe (1860-1951). The species is native to northern Japan but I have never seen it in the wild.
![]() |
| Acer pseudosieboldianum |
![]() |
| Acer pseudosieboldianum |
![]() |
| Acer pseudosieboldianum ssp. takesimense |
Another maple species that Heritage champions is Acer pseudosieboldianum, the “Korean maple.” Krautmann touts: “The outstanding features of this small Asiatic maple are its extreme cold-hardiness and brilliant yellow, red and orange fall color. Not injured by wintertime lows down to -40F. This is a full 20F colder than the low temperature limit of other Japanese maples! Here's a fine plant to add some spice to gardens in the upper Midwest. Seed source is northeast China.”
![]() |
| Acer pseudosieboldianum |
While extremely hardy, my experience with Acer pseudosieboldianum has not been so successful. Because of the awkward specific name sales were never spectacular, as my customers want Japanesemaples, not a hard-to-pronounce and remember species from the wild parts of China. Furthermore, at least 25% of seedlings sourced from Heritage – which looked good at planting – died within the first two years. I suspect they didn't appreciate our black plastic pots and our irrigation regimen, that they drowned to death. We have no problem with A. pseudosieboldianum when we use Acer palmatum for rootstock. Thirdly, the Korean-Chinese-Manchurian maple never shaped very well, or at least I didn't know how to grow them into nice trees – mine were usually skinny and vine-like. The solution to that issue, where space allows, is to plant a grove which I did at Flora Farm, where the group is impressive even though the individual trees are all rangy.
![]() |
| Acer palmatum seedlings |
I should reveal that we buy about 30,000 Acer palmatum seedlings each year from Heritage for our grafting understock. These are all disease-free, all grown in a protective greenhouse environment. We pot them into 3 9/16” square pots in early March, and they are quite sizeable by grafting time in July-September. Once the rootstock is established, two months after potting, we cut them in half; for if left unchecked they would probably be over our heads by July. The maples are strong and vigorous, but boring from the point-of-view that they all look alike, and there appears to be no color variation. Contrast that with the A. palmatum seedlings wegerminate from our arboretum's trees. We grow our own as a backup in case Heritage experiences a failed crop (though they never have) and also because our seedlings are more fun and can occasionally lead to new cultivars. If the Flora Wonder mother tree is interesting or attractive, the progeny can be also, sometimes even moreso, and my wife and our two daughters are proof that it also works with humans.
![]() |
| Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Claim Jumper' |
I didn't know anything about the Cercidiphyllum genus until I bought my first trees from Heritage. The wonderful genus (itself) never sold well, but I did have success with some of C. japonicum's selections, such as 'Pendula', 'Rotfuchs' (Redfox) and 'Claim Jumper', the latter described as: “A Distinctive Heritage Seedlings introduction, this katsura has golden summer foliage. The leaves emerge with a pink blush and unfurl to soft yellow. Throughout summer the more shaded leaves turn green, while those in sun remain yellow or turn almost white. Autumn yields the characteristic sweet fragrance and buttery golden color of the species...”
![]() |
| Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes' |
Heritage Seedlings started out 40 years ago as a vendor of seedlings only, but eventually they crowded into the cultivar supply chain, and to a degree they became my competition. This year's catalog features quite a number of dogwoods from various species. Examples include the patented Cornus florida 'Ragin' Red' (which we have purchased), Cornus capitata 'Mountain Moon', Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes' and many more. As for the latter, 'Wolf Eyes'– great name I guess – is described as “Originally a branch sport, this dogwood is strongly white variegated. It's fine in the sun, but should be used to brighten a shady spot in the landscape.”I grew it years ago but I didn't find it to be “fine in the sun” because the leaves would curl as if in agony and the variegation became dirty looking.
![]() |
| Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes' |
![]() |
| Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun' |
![]() |
| Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun' |
![]() |
| Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun' |
I made a point to house the few Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes' near my preferred crop of C.k. 'Summer Fun', and I would boast by asking all visitors and customers, “which do you think is superior?”Mark writes about 'Summer Fun': “Introduced by Talon Buchholz, this brilliant, white-margin variegated clone seems perfectly sun tolerant and puts on a show to rival any of the daunting number of other white-variegated kousas. It is the most vigorous variegated clone we have grown.”'Summer Fun' is described in The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs (2019) as “A spectacular small tree...” so obviously I'm proud that at least two noted authorities have sung its praises. Perhaps the reader gets tired of my 116F in June mantra, but it's amazing that 'Summer Fun' held up so well, though I do admit that the white flower bracts toasted in the heat.
![]() |
| Davidia involucrata 'Sonoma' |
![]() |
| Davidia involucrata 'Sonoma' |
![]() |
| Davidia involucrata 'Lady Sunshine' |
![]() |
| Davidia involucrata 'Aya nishiki' |
Heritage is one of the few companies to offer Davidia involucrata. The species itself has little demand (for us) but we use the expensive seedlings as rootstock for some outstanding variegated cultivars. Krautmann describes Davidia as “difficult to propagate,” but two years ago I visited and found they had a good number that germinated. We have harvested seed from our mature trees as well, but the best germ percentage in the years we've attempted is no more than 3%, so in the last few years we don't even bother. Softwood cuttings in summer under mist can be successful – I think 30-40% struck root one year – but when my mother-hen head propagator left the company 10 years ago, our rooting results have been dismal. A mature Davidia in flower is quite a sight due to the large white handkerchief bracts, yet the species remains rare in modern landscapes. I find it interesting that Englishman E.H. Wilson was dispatched to China by his employer, the Veitch Nursery firm, to collect seed of Davidia, and not to “waste his time on anything else.” On the same journey, Wilson discovered and collected Acer griseum plus a multitude of other ornamental plants. Today Krautmann declares that A. griseum “has become nearly common.” That's true in my small home-town of Forest Grove, Oregon, where you'll find griseums used as street trees – when the species was rarely seen when I began my career. I have walked or driven down nearly every street in town but have never once seen a Davidia. I'm doing my best to change that, at least with cultivars such as 'Sonoma', 'Lady Sunshine', 'Aya nishiki' and others.
![]() |
| Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette' |
![]() |
| Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette' |
![]() |
| Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette' |
I got my start of Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette' from Heritage not that long ago, but I already have specimens nearly 20' tall. Mark writes: “Unusual noteworthy tree that grows in a very tight, columnar form, a sort of deciduous version of Italian cypress. Like the species, it is widely adaptable. Good fall color.”Great fall color, if you ask me. As far as the “very tight” description, I have noticed that it is significantly more tight on the East coast than in my Oregon garden. To date my trees are too busy shooting skyward to produce seed, those spikey balls that are a chore to clean from the garden. Another welcome feature is that leaf cleanup in autumn is simplified by the fact that they drop in a small area due to the narrow form. All of the literature states that 'Slender Silhouette' is a “striking vertical accent,” so I don't want to copy that here, but maybe I'm original when I describe it as a “green exclamation mark for the garden.” And like exclamation points they should be used sparingly. To write !!!!! is actually less effective than just ! I planted a group of five 'Slender Silhouettes' at Flora Farm, thinking that was a clever idea, but a few years ago I visited Iroki Garden in New York state and they had a group of about seven I think. I kept my mouth shut but I had an urge to improve their landscape by cutting down six of them. At Flora Farm we will dig the extras and plant them elsewhere, or sell them the following spring.
![]() |
| 'Slender Silhouette' at Shadow's home |
'Slender Silhouette' was discovered by Don Shadow of Shadow Nursery in Tennessee as a 60' tall, 3' wide tree. In one version he found the original growing by a railroad track, and in another it was growing by a lake. Maybe there was a railroad track by a lake, I don't know, but what is strange is that somebody cut it down. Since the cultivar was never patented, I wonder if it was eliminated so no one else had access to propagating wood. Hmm...
![]() |
| Magnolia 'Genie' |
![]() |
| Magnolia 'Genie' |
Magnolia 'Genie' is a patented tree and Heritage is licensed to grow it. And likewise for a lot of other patented plants, so I buy in modest numbers from Heritage, and that's a good method for offering choice trees that I'm not allowed to propagate myself. You see, the nurseries or individuals who patent trees have no interest in me because my company is too small. Mark grows far fewer plant varieties than I, but a much greater number of each variety. In other words, he generates greater royalty dollars than I ever could for the patent holder.
![]() |
| Jolly Krautmann |
One reason for the Heritage success is that Mark's wife Jolly is involved. He wears the pants but she has the brains. I remember when she approached me 40 years ago, very concerned for my opinion whether Mark really knew what he was doing, and if I thought he was capable of running a nursery. I laughed and suggested that neither of us knew what we were doing, and I stand by that opinion today. Most observers would consider Mark's nursery more successful than mine, and I'm not being modest to say so.
I never wanted to operate a nursery anyway; I wanted to be independently wealthy and just collect plants. But the commercial nursery aspect for this (now old) boy was the necessary evil.
