Celtis pallida
| Celtis pallida | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 18' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Celtis pallida (common name: desert hackberry)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1]. Stored seed is best given 2 - 3 months cold stratification and then sown February/March in a greenhouse[2][1]. Germination rates are usually good, though the stored seed might take 12 months or more to germinate. The seed can be stored for up to 5 years[3]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. The leaves of seedlings often have a lot of white patches without chlorophyll, this is normal and older plants produce normal green leaves. Grow the seedlings on in a cold frame for their first winter, and plant them out in the following late spring or early summer[K]. Give them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings
Cultivation: Succeeds in any reasonably good soil, preferring a good fertile well-drained loamy soil[4][5][1]. Succeeds on dry gravels and on sandy soils[1]. Established plants are very drought resistant[1].
Trees prefer hotter summers and more sunlight than are normally experienced in Britain, they often do not fully ripen their wood when growing in this country and they are then very subject to die-back in winter[4][5][1].
Trees can be very long-lived, perhaps to 1000 years[1].
A good bee plant[6].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[1].
Range: South-western N. America - Texas.
Habitat: Gravelly and well-drained sandy soils in deserts and desert grasslands[7].
Edibility: Fruit - raw. A mealy pleasant acid taste[6]. The fruit is up to 8mm in diameter[8], though most of this is the large seed[K]. The N. American Indians ground the fruit and ate it with parched corn or fat[8]. This means that they probably also ate the seed[K].
Usage: The plants have an extensive root system and are sometimes planted for erosion control[6][8].
Wood. Of little value, though it is sometimes used for fence posts and fuel[6][9].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Vines, Robert. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press, 1987.
- ↑ Pesman, M. Meet Flora Mexicana. Dale S King, 1962.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.