Dogwood Lane

The Quarterly Journal of the Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum ___________________________________

Volume Six Issue 4 - Summer 2024

Plant Accession Updates at the Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum

In an effort to further the mission of the Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum of promoting education and life-long learning, the staff maintains detailed records of the plant collection. These records are updated from year to year. Mary, also known as Polly, added hundreds of specimens to the property during her lifetime. We continue her legacy by adding new plant material every year and maintaining her collection. This edition of Dogwood Lane focuses on the past, present, and future efforts of keeping a cohesive and up to date catalogue of this amazing collection.

Labels used by Polly to track her collection

Polly Wakefield's Plant Records

The process of interpreting Polly Wakefield's plant records is an ongoing effort here at the arboretum. There are thousands of pages of notes and photographs related to the collection. However, no file of her plants has been recovered that identifies the location and species of each plant with the exception of a few hand-drawn maps. At some point in time Polly attempted to create a record of her plants by adding plastic numbered tags to many of the trees. Unfortunately, by the time the Trust was established in 2007 many of these tags were lost or broken.

There was also a series of tags placed on the trees in the 1990's by Peter Del Tredici, urban ecologist and Harvard botanist working at the Arnold Arboretum. Our executive director, Debbie Merriam, spoke to Peter about his visit with Polly in the 1990's. Peter stated that because Polly was such a supporter of the Arnold Arboretum he agreed to come and tag some of the collection that Polly had propagated from plants at the Arnold. These tags contain plant types and plant origins. To date we have only found twenty-five of these tags. Some of the trees have actually grown around the tags themselves! In order to create a more comprehensive plant database, Wakefield Arboretum staff members have been collecting data for the past 14 years. The database currently contains more than 300 woody plant species identified at the arboretum.

A tag place on a tree by Peter Del Tredici in the 1990's.

Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum's Plant Records

Plant records are an important aspect of the management of an arboretum. They are vital to our mission of education and community engagement.

Like any museum, these records allow us to track the origins of plants, their age, and to manage health of the collection over time. They also help us to preserve Polly Wakefield's legacy and her contributions to horticulture.

We also keep detailed records of our plants in order to maintain the level classification of the arboretum. Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum is currently a certified Class ll arboretum. This means we maintain over 100 different woody species, have a collections policy, hold educational programs and conduct plant research. Our next goal is to become a Class lll arboretum, which has a woody collection of over 500 plants.

Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum Accessions Management tool - Plantsoon

For the past few years the staff have used Plantsoon, formerly known as PlantsMaps, an accession tool used to monitor and track all of the plants in the collection. Several features are essential when selecting an accession method. The platform must be able to keep track of the latin name, common name, cultivar, location of the plant at the arboretum, and contain series of photographs. These features are not only informative for the arboretum's records, but also can be used by visitors to familiarize themselves with the arboretum and collection.

Another important consideration is cost. There are many plant records platforms available to arboretums and botanic gardens that can be very costly (between $20,0000 and $100,000). Our budget was limited and PlantsMap originally offered their software for free. We were able to record and share our collection with the public using this platform. Since Plantsoon has taken over PlantsMap they have added several new features.

Each plant has a QR code that can be printed onto tags. Once the code is scanned, visitors are able to see the plant description and information. By clicking on this link you can see what it looks like to find a plant on Plantsoon. When you follow the link it brings up a fact page on your selected plant, in this instance Gingko biloba. When scrolling through the individual fact pages for each species you can see the information provided, starting with the basics, latin and common name, family, native range, and growing zone. Next you will find the growing conditions of the plant and a description of the plant's identifying characteristics. After this there is a note section that includes basic facts on the specimen or a special note about the specific plant on the property. Lastly, there is a small map that pinpoints where the plant is located on the property. Another feature Plantsoon offers is the ability to enter the exact location of each specimen using latitude and longitude coordinates. This feature can also be used by visitors, whether they are looking for their favorite Kousa Dogwood or trying to find a specific species of plant on the property.

A page from our Plantsoon database provides images, the common and Latin names, and a unique ID number. When you click on the image more information becomes available.

The map of the plant collection available on the Plantsoon database

Plant Records help Track Plant Health

As the Wakefield Arboretum collection continues to grow, plant records become more important in keeping track of plant health issues. A perfect example is tracking the spread of plant diseases and pests. Several years ago we observed that a young Celtis Occidentalis (hackberry) was showing signs of Island Chlorosis and Nipple Galls while our older much larger plant showed no signs. This year we observed the problems on both plants. Entering this data into our plant records system allows us to pinpoint the time of the infestation, what action was taken and what the results were in each case.

Hackberry showing Hackberry Nipple Galls and Island Chlorosis

Nipple Galls are caused by tiny insects known as psyllids. Infestations of hackberry are extremely common, but do not seriously affect the vitality of the tree, although heavily infested leaves may drop prematurely. Island Chlorosis on hackberry is disease that’s not very well known. What is known is that is causes yellow (or chlorotic) blotches on leaves. These blotches can be separated from each other making them look similar to islands, hence the name. The symptoms of this disease are aesthetic and your tree may still be healthy. Because this plant is showing infestations of both it is doubly stressed. Therefor we will begin treating the plants for these issues.

The Importance of Plant Labels



Just like viewing art in a museum, visitors to the arboretum want to know what kind of plant they are observing. The plant label is often the first connection between the visitor and the plant itself. We have noticed this especially with our young visitors. When they read the plant tag they often repeat the name of the tree several times or tell their friends or family members about what they have observed. Each year we add between 25 and 60 labels to our plants allowing our visitors to develop a deeper connection to our collection. We also have begun adding QR codes to our signage which allows the visitor to access more detailed information about the plant while they are in the garden.

Mary May Binney Wakefield Arboretum | 617-333-0924

1465 Brush Hill Road, Milton, MA 02186 | www.wakefieldtrust.org