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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Wednesday Vignette: A Striptease Act


Arbutus menziesii also known as Madrona and Arbutus, is one of our most beautiful native trees.  It's many attributes include evergreen foliage, smooth orange-red colored bark, spring flowers, and red berries in the fall.  My favorite thing about this tree is when the paper thin bark starts peeling away. It starts slowly with a peek of green.


Then a bit more  is revealed.

And still more.

The exposed smooth green wood feels cool to the touch. 

It's quite a show!  

Don't you need one of these in your garden?  Next time I see one for sale, it will come home with me!

Wednesday Vignette is sponsored by my pal Anna at Flutter and Hum.  Make sure to click on over to see more Vignettes!



15 comments:

  1. They are such wonderful trees - I love the peeling bark! But somehow, I thought they have a reputation to be a little difficult to grow... Do you know if that's true?

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  2. I love trees that have exfoliating bark. When they get too big for their britches, they just shed it off.

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  3. Like Anna, I've also heard that they're hard to grow -- the species anyway. There's a named variety called 'Marina' that may be easier. Great post! I love them too.

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  4. So cool and beautiful! I'm glad I got a chance to see these trees in person at last year's Fling. Does the reddish bark ever completely fall off, leaving a smooth green trunk?

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  5. I love Madrona trees and their peeling barks. In the recent past I heard Cisco Morris mention a die-off of Madronas in the PNW. There wasn't a clear reason as far as I can recall; I wonder if this trend is still going on.

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  6. Beautiful! And you had me at first, I kept thinking, wait a minute...he has one of these in his garden?...

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  7. Madrones have always been among my favorite trees. Your photos demonstrate why. Too bad they don't thrive outside their native climate. The best we can do here in the Sacramento Valley is Arbutus unedo, the strawberry tree. Not as beautiful but interesting in its own right (albeit messy).

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  8. Amazing tree, the colour is fantastic.

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  9. I'm seriously considering a madrone with this heat. My mom has them growing wildly in her southern Oregon property. I love the peeling bark.

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  10. Wonderful photos! My Arbutus (A. 'Marina') shows new red bark under what it exfoliates, not that wonderful green color.

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  11. It's going to be a long wait before mine gets big enough to do that graphic art act. What better incentive to stay healthy and live long?

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  12. Gorgeous photos! That's a nice one! Not all madrones have quite that intensity of green in the new bark underneath. I had one volunteer years ago, even surviving being buried in sawdust when we logged, but after it got about 3 feet tall it started growing slower and declined. I think the PKWs finally finished off the ailing sapling. I should try a couple more. The pain of loss has healed. It's time.

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  13. Wonderful series of photos. The contrasting colors of the peeling bark are gorgeous.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.