Torreya Seedling Status – Summer 2013

Only one of ten Torreya seeds from the 2010 crop given to me ever sprouted. It was a disappointing result, and other Torreya Guardians had a similar lack of success. Nonetheless, my single seedling grew vigorously, growing six inches that spring (2012) in Florida. It grew another two or three inches in the first three weeks in the pot at my North Carolina home, was planted in the ground in May, and at this writing is 21 inches tall. I think it likes it here in the Southern Appalachians:

My 2011 seeds started off rather slowly. None germinated the following spring in Florida, and only three sprouted in July 2012, in North Carolina. Other Guardians reported similar results, and it looked like a repeat of the 2010 track record. But after only a month following their return to north Florida, in December 2012 another four seeds sprouted, in January 2013 another germinated, and the ninth seed germinated in February 2013. That yields a 90% success rate for the 2011 seeds, and again other Torreya Guardians enjoyed a similar pattern of delayed but successful germination. I gave two of my 2011 seedlings to my gardening friend Brack in Williston, FL, and planted another three (height range 9-10 in) at my NC place during the last three weeks:

In case you are wondering about the deer exclusion cages, they are constructed of 2x4 inch mesh, 4 ft tall, 1.5 – 2.0 ft diameter galvanized steel fencing, and set a couple of inches into the ground so that roots will grow over the bottom wires to hold them down:

My four 2011 seedlings (height range 6 - 13 in) remaining to be transplanted are in pots protected by rodent exclusion cages:

Those cages also contain fifteen seedlings from the 2012 crop of twenty seeds given to me. The 2012 seeds were small, pale floaters, quite unlike the larger, darker, denser 2010 and 2011 seeds. I planted four to a 1-gal pot (previous years had two per pot) in Florida, and by late April four of them had sprouted and were growing vigorously. Shortly after moving from Florida to North Carolina, a flush of eight sprouted during early June 2013 and another three have sprouted since then. That totals fifteen sprouted seedlings from the 2012 seeds, or 75%.

My Torrrya seeds tend to sprout in flushes of three or more at a time, and they tend to do so shortly after I move from Florida to North Carolina in the spring and then again to Florida in autumn. It will be interesting to see if any of the five as-yet unsprouted 2012 seeds will germinate when I return to Florida in November.

Pileated Woodpecker Nest

In the last half of this winter, the hammering by pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) on a dead sweetgum could be heard every day. I didn’t think much of it since they pecked a bunch of holes in that same snag last winter, but this time it seemed more purposeful. Yep, the pair was excavating a nesting cavity about 40 feet up in the tree, about 40 feet from my front door. Here is a shot from my point-and-shoot camera, a little fuzzy but still good enough to identify two nestlings breathing hard through gaping beaks on a warm spring day:

Torreya Seedlings - 2012 Seed Crop

The twenty Torreya taxifolia seeds I received last year were all so light in weight that one Torreya Guardian called them “floaters.” They seemed to be too lightweight to be viable, but over the last 48 hours, three have sprouted in one pot and a fourth sprouted in another. This photo shows two of the four as green little seedlings and the third as a greenish-brown little nubbin:

Dangerous Dog Relief

I have had run-ins with dangerous dogs twice in the last year, and am so pleased with the results that I feel compelled to spread the word. If any of you are threatened by a neighbor’s dangerous dog, you do not have to stand meekly by and let your neighbor’s dog control any part of your life. There is a quick, cheap, legal, humane remedy, so read on…

Last summer at my North Carolina home, my neighbor’s Rottweiler threatened me on three occasions. The dog was a large unneutered male about two years old, just coming into its prime. Fortunately, it was a little unsure of itself like a human teenager, so it never bit me. But the owner’s failure to maintain control over the dog, resulting in a serious threat to my life and limb, caused me to call the county animal control department. An officer came out the next day to investigate, after which the Rottweiler was given “dangerous dog” status. The dog disappeared a day or so later and has not been seen since. Problem solved.

Then a couple of weeks ago, in Florida, while walking on the commons to the laundromat, I was attacked by an unneutered juvenile male pit bull dog. When the owner came to the door, the first thing out of his mouth was, “I can’t keep him in the fence!” I phoned the county animal control agency, and the officer came out a day or two later and agreed to designate the animal a dangerous dog. He explained the meaning of the dangerous dog designation to the owner, and the next day the pit bull and its noisy companion small dog were gone. I am so glad that noisy dog and that dangerous dog are gone.

Although dangerous dog statute wording varies from community to community, in general they have all or most of the following (and more) violations and penalties. A dog can be designated a dangerous dog after only a first threat or mild bite. In my cases, both were threats, neither involved bites. An officially-designated dangerous dog is required to (a) be licensed and vaccinated, (b) be properly confined so that it is almost impossible to escape, (c) have permanent identification such as a microchip, (d) be surgically sterilized, and (e) the property housing the dangerous dog must be identified by signs stating “Warning: Dangerous Dog.” BTW, item (b) includes the dog wearing a muzzle whenever it is taken off-property for a walk. Coming into compliance with a dangerous dog designation can cost the owner several hundred dollars, although it is not considered a penalty fine. Follow-on violations resulting in additional penalties can include huge payment for actual damages (i.e., medical), civil fines of up to $500 (big deal), and jail for up to five years.

The important thing to remember is that the dog does not have to bite anyone; it merely has to threaten to do so and then get reported in order for serious consequences to befall the dog and its owner. Those consequences are so serious and expensive that at least two fellows I know of have gotten rid of their dangerous dogs. So, for those of you who eschew owning a large dog, especially a large, unneutered male, take heed, your relief is at hand. Call your county animal control department whenever a neighbor’s dog threatens anyone, regardless of whether it is on its owner’s property or elsewhere. Both of my neighborhoods are quieter and less dangerous now as a result of these wonderful DD laws.