Here’s a sampling of some of the Arboretum trees that sustained some damage from the recent snow. Luckily most of the cuttings were taking from plants that will survive!

The record cold temperatures and snow that fell in Washington Park Arboretum between Feb 3 and Feb 11 will be one for the record books when it comes to accounting for all the plant collections damage and total losses.

1)  Rhododendron arboretum hybrid

This Rhododendron, located in the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden, dutifully produces its blooms of bright rose in the dark of winter.
The UW Botanic Gardens’ database has records of it blooming in December, January, and February.

2)  Rhododendron floribundum

Native to the southern central area of China, and was first described by Adrien René Franchet.
Franchet was a French botanist who was noted for his extensive work describing the flora of China and Japan, based on the collections made by French Catholic missionaries in China – Armand David, Pierre Jean Marie Delavay, Paul Guillaume Farges, Jean-André Soulié, and others. 

1)   Chimonanthus praecox                          Wintersweet

The light yellow flowers are debatably the sweetest of the Witt Winter Garden.
Wintersweet is highly cultivated in China where the flowers are used in teas and herbal remedies despite the fact that the seeds are poisonous.
Also in China, the flower petals are used in potpourri and to scent linen.

2)   Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’                          Midwinter Fire Dogwood

Cornus sanguinea is native to Europe. 

 
Among the many programs at UW Botanic Gardens, the Fiddleheads Forest School stands out as a unique program for the youngest learners. With the Washington Park Arboretum as its classroom, the outdoor preschool program offers students the opportunity to explore the natural world, learn from experimenting, and practice stewardship of the environment.
Fiddleheads Director and Co-Founder Sarah Heller spent a week in Trondheim, Norway in September 2018. 

Your neighborhood hummingbirds will appreciate the nectar producing flowers on these winter blooming shrubs.

1)  Camellia sasanqua                          Sasanqua Camellia

This glossy evergreen shrub with attractive flowers is native to China and Japan.
There are many cultivated varieties of this species with the first ones being recorded from Japan around 1700. Over 15 varieties reside in our Camellia Collections.
The plant was valuable to early Japan as the leaves were used for tea and the seeds used to make tea seed oil. 

This sculptural marvel requires perfect drainage to thrive in Pacific Northwest gardens.

1)  Taxodium distichum                           Bald Cypress

This deciduous conifer in the family, Cupressaceae grows in marshy and seasonally inundated soils.
Bald Cypress are famous for their “knees”, woody conical projections that emerge from the soil.
The purpose of these knees is still not entirely known.  Some speculate they help oxygenate the roots or provide stability in the often loose swampy soils this species prefers. 

1)  Chionanthus virginicus                          Fringetree

This deciduous small tree or shrub is native to the southeastern United States.
Its common name refers to the slightly fragrant, spring-blooming flowers which feature airy, terminal, and drooping clusters (4-6″ long) of fringe-like, creamy white petals.
This cutting came from a shrubby specimen located east of the Arboretum Loop Trail and north of the Viburnums.

2)  Fraxinus americana ‘Rosehill’                          White Ash

This White ash cultivar ‘Rosehill’ is a seedless, broad-conical cultivar that typically grows 35-50’ tall.