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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2003)
BY RACHEL FOSTER RED BARN Love Those Oaks N AT U R A L G R O C E RY E S T. 1 9 8 2 Native hardwoods have both cultural and environmental value. Whole foods, for whole people . . . Fresh from the farm to you! organically grown produce • organic beer & wine organic bulk foods • vitamins & supplements • organic herbs & spices special orders / case discounts • natural body care products S LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED 4 TH & BLAIR • 342-7503 • M-Sa. 8 AM -10 PM • Su. 10 AM -9 PM rally in oak habitat. Alverson recommends California fescue (“quite ornamental, tall- growing with graceful seed heads”) and Roemer’s fescue, another bunch grass with fine textured evergreen leaves. He also sug- gests Geranium oreganum, Oregon iris, and shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersonii), all of which “look better in cultivation than in the wild.” Landscaper Keith Oldham has consider- able experience with gardening under native oaks, both on his own eight-acre property and for clients of Oakleigh Gardens. I asked him what advice he gives gardeners who are con- cerned about their oak trees. First, he said, “Avoid activities that will disturb the root structure, such as trenching and soil com- paction. You want to avoid summer watering near the crown, which can promote root rot, so don’t plant water guzzling plants like rho- dodendron and astilbe under your trees. Stick to plants that tolerate life on the dry side, like native flowering currant, sword fern, checker mallow, fawn lily and blue-eyed grass.” Non- natives that don’t need much water include sarcococca, daphne and hardy cyclamen, he said. An arborist can tell you if the oak trees on your property are native. Oregon white oaks have dark, often convex, leathery leaves with rounded lobes. The leaves of California black oak are pale, thinner and flatter, with pointed lobes. You can see the two together at Morse Ranch on Crest Drive. California black oaks in Eugene often look sick, but Alverson feels these big trees are just dying of old age. He thinks gardeners should consider planting both species from acorns. Plant lots of them, he says, and be prepared to outwit the squir- rels. ew Warm Apple Pie • Hot Cocoa • Pumpkin Pie Leaves of Oregon white oak. RACHEL FOSTER Pecan Pie • Crème Brûlée • Caramel Apple Cheesecake Y O U T H A N K YO Bread Pudding • Pumpkin Cranberry Walnut Cake ublime weather drew a record crowd to this year’s Mushroom Festival at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum. I wonder how many visitors noticed the magnificent Oregon white oak trees towering over their heads. Mount Pisgah is one of the best places to see Quercus Garryana, once the dominant tree in the Willamette Valley. (The Eugene area has two native oaks; we lie near the northern limit for California black oak.) Before white settlement, an estimated 1.5 million acres of valley land consisted of prairie with scattered oak trees, forming a habitat now called oak savanna. The land- scape was kept open by fire, caused by both lightning and the food-gathering methods of the Kalapuya Indians. Whites brought diseases that devastated the Kalapuya, and the settlers pressed for fire suppression. Once burning stopped around 1840, upland prairie and oak groves gave way to Douglas fir and dense woodland, while the valley floor was plowed for farm- ing. Oak savanna is now one of the region’s most threatened ecosystems. Ed Alverson, who manages Willow Creek Natural Area in West Eugene, lives in Santa Clara. He feels there is cultural as well as ecological value in preserving our native oak trees. “Native oaks are really a key feature in the story of this place,” he says. “As you look round my neighborhood you can still see big old oak trees. You can sit under a 200-year-old oak and imagine a Native American sitting under that same tree.” If you have native oaks on your property, you’ll be doing wildlife a favor if you pre- serve them. More than 200 species of mam- mal, bird, reptile and amphibian (as well as countless insects) use oak habitat for food and lodging. Local ornithologist Dave Bontrager stresses the complexity of the sys- tem, in which parasites such as wasps and mistletoe play an important role. Parasitic wasps make the hollow galls called “oak ap- ples.” When the wasp is done with it the oak apple provides a home for a new insect. Mistletoe berries are enjoyed by birds of the thrush family, including Western bluebirds. And according to Alverson, there is even a butterfly whose larva eats mistletoe leaves! Many species that use oak trees, including Western gray squirrel and the gregarious acorn woodpecker, do quite well around peo- ple. Humans, in turn, do well around oaks. Unlike Douglas firs, which can make a house and yard feel gloomy in winter, these oaks shed their leaves in fall and let in precious winter sunshine. Even in leaf they cast a be- nign shade, and it is easy to grow plants under them. There is a snag, though: You can shorten the life of native oaks by gardening beneath them if you use a conventional wa- tering regime. One option is to make your oaks an ex- cuse to do very little gardening. Just remove any competing conifers that will shade out the oaks, and mow under the trees each August to discourage new woody growth. Or you might choose to enrich the understory by re-introducing native plants that occur natu- ! E U G E ing n g N us u E s #1 ott f o r v o & Ind In d u l g e n c e h t o o To T t e e w Sw B e s t S 0 4 0 3 - 2 0 04 0 03 2 r o fo f y ry r e ke k a B B e s t Ba Sweet Life 755 Monroe St. • 683-5676 • www.sweetlifedesserts.com Hours: Sun - Wed till 9:00pm • Thur - Sat till 11:00pm For more information about oak habitat, contact Walama Restoration Project (484-3939) or the Native Plant Society of Oregon. Rachel Foster can be reached by e-mail: rfoster@efn.org NOVEMBER 13, 2003 27
