Syringa

[Nanohedron]

I would like to know what Froment meant by "lilac" since the name can be confused with other plants like Mock Orange.

I've never heard the name "lilac" confused with Mock Orange; they're too different. Folks in my patch might not know a Mock Orange when they see one, but they would never call it a lilac; lilacs seem to be planted everywhere here and we know them as well as we know dandelions. Point to a Mock Orange and say, "That's a lilac," and even a child would reply, "No, silly, that's not a lilac. THAT (pointing to a lilac) is a lilac." OTOH use the name Syringa, and that's where we can get into difficulties. If you pointed to a Mock Orange and told me, "That's a Syringa," I now know to say, "Oh, you must be from Oregon."

[Lorenzo]

Here in Oregon, when we see this flowering bush, we call it lilac...


And when we see a Mock Orange, we call it Syringa...


But when you look up Syringa on the internet, it gives you results for both Mock Orange and Lilac...

And if you search for pictures of all the different species of Philadelphus, you will get several different types of Mock Orange. The one you have in the upper Midwest is different than ours, and ours is different than the one in Texas, and different still than the one that grows in New England.

That's why I'd like to explore the difference between all the different kinds of Philadelphus. The stems all look different. Today while harvesting more Mock Orange, there was another white, sweet smelling, flowering bush that I thought was Syringa, but it wasn't the one I was looking for. It had smooth bark and no suckers, just non-straight branches. The one I harvest has rough bark (shredded) and suckers. Bark like this - https://uconnladybug.files.wordpress.co ... e-bark.jpg

[Lorenzo]

I made one drone reed from Syringa over 30 years ago. It worked, but I didn't pursue it any further. Eugene Lambe made some drone reeds from Snowberry that worked. I also made a couple of them and also found them to work well. I would think the green material may benefit with a couple of years of curing, not just drying. Curing involves the break down of the sap by bacteria, fungi or a virus. That takes time to reach stability. Would be great to make some double reeds from these plants. I have made several from Elder, but Syringa is as yet untried.

Good point about drying vs. curing. I had a nice 8' x 1" Syringa stem curing in the sun room, but alas, I don't know where it has gone. I'll find you some more. I saw some huge trunks of it today, some were 4" in diameter and 30+ ft. tall (I took pictures).

[Lorenzo]

some Japanese Knotweed I sent him

Are you even allowed to transport Japanese Knotweed?

I didn't know it was such a problem in Ireland. It's a huge nuisance here too, but no rules against it here in WA or OR. Arundo Donax is illeagal to transport here though.

[pudinka]

Just curious - about how long does it take for green donax cane (for reeds) to dry/cure? Is there a better time of year to cut these?

Also, has anyone noticed any difference between normal cane (solid green), variegated cane (green with white stripe) or even albino (solid white) cane? Other than coloring, I mean...

[Lorenzo]

Ted is the expert, but I think about 3 years curing green stuff. The best cane will be found already dead...and standing for a year or two, then harvested. It will have softened and started breaking down. About 90% of the cane in CA is too hard for uilleann pipes. Gotta know where to find the soft stuff. Harvest in the winter months before sap starts flowing. Variegated cane isn't good quality--so I've been told.

[Lorenzo]

After a couple years experimenting, and hundreds of reeds, I now firmly believe Syringa (aka Mock Orange) philadelphus lewisii to be superior to Elder. I just reeded up another set of B drones and am truly amazed at how good they sound, and how trouble free they remain through various changes of temperature and humidity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-xPXlbR63c