Photo/History for Channel Island Barberry Published

 The Channel Island Barberry now has a Photo/History page accessible via this link:

Channel Island Barberry (Berberis pinnata ssp. insularis )

Spring is Sprung..I Think..

It's raining (again) but no wind..in fact, it feels more like a spring rain than the winter storm that's been forecast for the last several days..but, we'll have to wait & see how it develops. Meanwhile, all of my trees are huddled-up, under cover & cozy, for the moment.

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see the Island Barberry & a brand new leaf(first of the season) that formed overnight. I am more than pleasantly surprised, as I had sort-of written this dude off..last fall, he had succumbed to the same virus that de-foliated the Japanese Maple & caused the leaves of the Fremont Cottonwood to blacken & die. (you can read more about this in either photo/history page)

And looking at the Japanese Maple, I was pleased to see that it has also produced the first new leaf of the season, in addition to dozens of buds.

Checking further, I was gobsmacked to see back-budding has begun on the Creeping Fig although it is only 36 hrs. or so since being hard pruned. Additionally, the Pacific Crabapple has finally awakened from his winter "snooze" & threw a bud, this morning So, in spite of what may become the worst storm of the season, it feels like Spring on the Patio.

Another tool in the toolkit - Lightbox

 Originally, this blog was a photo album..or a photo gallery..I had started snapping shots with my cell-phone camera to share with friends I no longer see on a daily basis, since I retired & relocated some 40 miles away. 

In short order, my cell was running out of storage space & I discovered Google Photos..free (1 GB) storage, instant access..& did I mention, FREE? Google Photos is great & does support the ability for a simple narrative, but not much control over layout or presentation.

As my collection grew, I also realized that what I needed was some sort of database, that could store information about different cultivars, and to document the stages that different trees displayed, as time went on & a way to display the chronology of their growth, over time.

A simple blog was the easy & obvious solution  & has served my purpose well. But, sometimes you don't want to wade through a narrative, loaded down with detail & simply see the visual  

screenshot

Try this now..click on any photo on any page; you should see something like this screenshot. In the center is the photo you clicked-on

Across the bottom of the screen are thumbnails of all of the photos on that page, in chronological order so you can easily see a visual record of changes over time. Click-on any photo to see full size.

So now, if you simply want to "cut to the chase" when viewing a page or article, or want to directly compare photos taken at different times & stages of development without reading the entire article, you know how to do so.

I particularly like this feature & use it almost every day.

Another Reclamation Project: Hibiscus (Rosa sinensis) 'Brilliant'

Unpruned - as purchased

There's nothing I like better than the "50% off table"  at the nursery..that & the challenge of taking-on a reclamation project for a specimen that has been overlooked, ignored or  badly served.

I was, sort-of, considering an Azealea to replace the Azealea that I managed to kill, last year. I didn't know how finicky they can be, but then happened to see this "Franken-plant" with the orange splotch on it's pot.(signifies 50% Off).

Rosa sinensis is also called Tropical Hibiscus, Chinese Hibiscus or Chinese Rose; this particular cultivar "Brilliant" has bright red blooms(supposedly). 

This plant is an evergreen & blooms year round (if kept outdoors). It is not hardy. He can be kept as either a shrub or tree, according to how it is pruned.

As you can see from the photos, the lower half of the plant was obscured by a "helter-skelter" of unpruned foliage & was testament to how long this plant has been untended to the extent that there was no choice but to "clean house" & be ruthless with the shears.

1st Pruning - Feb. 4, 2026

Once I cleared away some of the overgrowth & opened up the trunk & pruned dead, near-dead & cross-branches, we can start to see what this tree looks like..

Now that I can see what I've got to work with, I need some time to evaluate & research what I might do with this specimen, & that's going to take some time..in the meantime...

Potted 3 cuttings from the Hibiscus & there will be more, as time goes on. 

(Photo/History: Hibiscus (rosa sinensis) 'Brilliant' live now; click-here or use Tree Inventory Menu to access)