Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/85891
or more than a decade span- ning the 1980s, Pat Dye led the Auburn University foot- ball team to three SEC champi- onships, numerous bowl games and wins over fearsome cross-state rival Alabama. He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. that sell whole- sale and retail. "We have trees ranging from 1 to 20 years old and in sizes from 1 to 15 gallons," says nursery manager John Haynie, "including many unique cultivars." It was Dye's love affair with a single tree that led to his current enterprise. "When I moved to Auburn, my landscape guy said, 'Coach, you need a specimen tree in your yard,'" Dye says. So, he put in a green- leafed Japanese maple. "I watched it for 12 years while I lived there. It Today, "Coach" owns and man- ages Quail Hollow Gardens near Auburn, Alabama, on 1,500 acres changed colors three or four times a year. I fell in love with that tree," Dye says. "My tree mentor, Bill Schell, uses the term 'ever-chang- pruning tips Begin shaping after roots are established, 2 to 3 years following planting. Prune large limbs (during dormancy) just outside the bark ridges and branch collars. Prune small branches just beyond a pair of buds. Prune limbs any time after leaves are fully out. systems are compact and not inva- sive. Well-drained soil is preferred, and the trees grow strongest when "IT CHANGED COLORS THREE OR FOUR TIMES A YEAR. I FELL IN LOVE WITH THAT TREE." split between his residence, a hunt- ing operation and a nursery. The nursery is home to more than 6,000 Japanese maples of 170 cultivars ing beauty' to describe Japanese maples." Some Japanese maples toler- ate sun, while others like shade. They're suitable for borders and ornamental paths because the root video tour For a closer look at the brilliant col- ors and different varieties of Japa- nese maples at Quail Hollow Gar- dens and to learn more about Coach Pat Dye's passion for Japanese maples, visit totallandscapecare. com/famous-coach-talks-trees. they are not over-fertilized. Many varieties of Acer palmatum can be successfully grown in contain- ers. Hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, Japanese maples are adaptable trees perfect for creating focal points in gardens and landscape. They have always been prized in the garden. In fact, when Swedish doctor- botanist Carl Peter Thunberg trav- eled to Japan in the late 1700s, he had to smuggle out drawings of the tree, which was soon synonymous with the high art of oriental gar- dens. He gave it the species name "palmatum" after the hand-like shape of it leaves. 12 TOTAL LANDSCAPE CARE / August 2012