Subject: [NAFEX] What to plant under Red Pine in part shade
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2006 23:34:45 -0500
I was also going to suggest blackberry, not because i've tried it but
because i've seen it growing wild in the woods.
Actually, I have wild blackberries in my woody area (under oak, not
pine) but it's infected with yellow fungus and isn't productive, so I
usually pull it out.
Ginda
-----Original Message-----
From: "Jim Fruth" <jfruth@uslink.net>
Subj: [NAFEX] What to plant under Red Pine in part shade
Date: Mon Nov 13, 2006 6:25 am
Size: 2K
To: "NAFEX" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Charlie,
There are a great many plants that will thrive under pine trees
where
some sunlight filters through. Pick a plant that has large leaves.
Large-leaved plants have evolved to collect what sunlight they can in
competitive situations. Some folks plant pumpkins and squash in
their corn
fields. They would produce more fruits when planted by themselves
but, by
planting with corn, space is saved. I used to plant squash under my Red
Pines and I would get one, sometimes two, fruits per vine. Out in
the open,
those same squash produce two to three times as many fruits.
A couple of years ago, I found a relatively large-leaved species
of wild
blackberry growing in an Oak and Poplar forest. I planted it under
my Red
Pines. The plants near the edge bear alot but the inner plants
produce too.
Best of all, I don't have to till it every year; the tiller was
constantly
hanging up on the pine roots. Nowadays I get a crop with almost no
work.
Under two red pines, in the front of the house, unwanted seedlings
appear of
winged euonymous, prunus serotina, and especially maples.
It's a pain pulling the little seedlings. Even more frustrating is
nothing
useful is growing in space that's obviously fertile and sunny enough to
encourage the growth of these seedlings, rather rapid growth I might
add. I
tried
Sparkle variety strawberries and they survive but do not thrive.
So I'm looking for suggestions what might be tried there to get some
use out
of the space. Gobo Burdock? Soloman's Seal? American ginseng? I tried
onions with no result too. Eleagnus Umbellata [Autumn Olive]? Some
herb?
Witch-hazel? Garlic? Beach Plum [Prunus maritima}? Raspberries?
Somebody come
up with something, please!
Charlie Paradise, Massachusetts USA
[NAFEX] What to plant under Red Pine in part shade,
list, 11/15/2006