Help us RePollinate Anne Arundel County

Repollinate Anne Arundel is a collaborative engagement with the Anne Arundel County Watershed Steward’s Academy and Master Gardeners. The purpose of the project is to reestablish native ecosystems and accelerate the restoration of native plants through the propagation and distribution of native plants to support community projects in Anne Arundel County. We can do this important work due in part to our access to space within a greenhouse that enables a much earlier start to the growing season.

We have already achieved so much in 2022!

We are well underway to achieving our goal of managing and supporting the propagation of native plants.  Through outstanding volunteer efforts, the team has sowed close to 300 seed flats - some already sprouting!

Watch this great video of the propagation team.

The seed flats below are sowed with different species of perennials, shrubs, and trees. This is where the output for this year becomes variable - we are DEPENDING on volunteers to help plant individual seedlings into pots once they have sprouted. We expect to have over 5000 plants!

Get involved this season - you are needed!

The Native Plant Propagation Team meets every Thursday from 3-6 pm at the USGS Native Bee Lab in Laurel, MD. Your help will be needed to transfer individual seedlings into their own pots. Once mature in the fall, all these wonderful native plants will be available for distribution to people managing restoration efforts supporting county parks, watershed societies, master gardeners, nature centers, community gardens and individual households.

If you’d like to help with this project, contact Lauren Toomey or Jim MacNicholl at WeBeeHelpful@gmail.com for information and directions.

Latin for Gardeners: March 2022

March’s Native Maryland Plant

Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.

Common Name: Bald Cypress

One of the most distinctive native Maryland trees, Taxodium distichum have unique adaptations that extend their native range from as far north as Delaware to as far south as Florida and along the Southeastern Texas Coastal Plain. They are a water-tolerant species, naturally found in wetlands or in water-logged, low-salinity sites that would cause most other trees to rot.   Yet you can also find them inland, often planted in bioretention or reclamation sites, areas that can be inundated but also dry out. 

Taxodium distichum is buttressed by a flared trunk, often with fluted, sharp ridges, making it very resistant to high winds; this feature also helps filter pollutants and prevents erosion of soil, an invaluable benefit it provides to riverbanks, swamps and areas that receive stormwater runoff. Their most notable feature is the woody projections, or ‘knees’, that protrude out from its base and provide habitat for frogs and salamanders; scientists are still undecided on the precise function they provide.

Like other cypress, the Bald Cypress is coniferous and produces small cones and needled leaves that might suggest it is an evergreen plant; in fact, the tree is deciduous, hence its common name.  Many animals are known to enjoy its seeds, including squirrels, wild turkey, and wood ducks. Interestingly, the iconic bald eagle is drawn to the tops of bald cypress which provide lofty nesting sites.

What I find most amazing about this plant is its resiliency and lifespan. In 2018 a Taxodium distichum growing in North Carolina was determined to be no younger than 2,624 years old.1 This species is the oldest known living tree in eastern North America.  As climate change impacts our environment and we are challenged to find plants that adapt to changing conditions, Taxodium distichum can be a plant for today and a true plant for the future.

1 https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/at-2624-years-a-bald-cypress-is-oldest-known-living-tree-in-eastern-north-america/

Alison Milligan – Mstr Gardener/Mstr Naturalist /Mstr Watershed Steward

Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)/AA County Tree Trooper

aligmilligan@gmail.com

Latin for Gardeners: February 2022

February’s Native Maryland Plant

Platanus occidentalis L.

(PLAT-ah-nus ok-sih-den-TAH-lis)

Common Name: American Sycamore

Ever have one of those moments?  Often when I’m out driving I spot a plant or animal that compels me to pull over (or turn around) so that I can observe it further, or just enjoy being in its presence. During these last cold days of winter, that is the effect the American Sycamore has on me, its immense, stark white trunks brightening up a forested area along the road, usually riparian, bringing contrast to an otherwise overcast day. 

Sometimes I wonder, is it just me?

As I drove behind this school bus last November, it pulled over and seemed to be parking next to an American Sycamore. I imagined the driver was using this opportunity as a teachable moment.  Was she stopping to allow the students the chance to study this magnificent native tree? The bus was parked close enough to examine the mottled bark that peels off as the tree expands, exposing its white inner layer and its most recognizable feature.  Was she explaining that when young and given enough water, this tree can grow 2 feet a year and can live over 200 years – that its average mature height is 75’-100’? Was she highlighting the round fruits, hanging singularly, like ornaments at the tips of its branches, fruit that is also a seed ball (achene -1) that provides food for a number of birds, including purple finch, goldfinch, dark-eyed juncos and chickadees? 

As spring is approaching and you’re planning your garden – don’t forget to plant some trees. Remind yourself of the benefit trees add to our lives – especially the large canopy trees that sequester the most carbon, keep our air breathable, and improve the health of our soils.  Those trees with thick branches and large leaves that intercept and slow down rain during storms.  The trees that provide dense shade that cool our streets and the stormwater runoff that enters our local waterways.  Maybe even consider a Platanus occidentalis.

NOTE: I don’t believe the bus was pulled over observing this tree, although I prefer to imagine it was.  It was sitting in traffic waiting for a chance to move forward. 

1 achene - an aggregate of many small seed-like fruits

~ Alison Milligan – Mstr Gardener/Mstr Naturalist /Mstr Watershed Steward

Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)/AA Co Tree Trooper

aligmilligan@gmail.com