Trees

Created 19-Mar-10

Trees are likely one of the most important elements of any garden and care must be taken in choosing the right ones. Some of the most frequent questions are about trees, how big they’ll get, nasty habits they’ll have etc. It seems that many people have had negative experiences with trees heaving sidewalks, rubbing on the house, blocking all the light. Correctly chosen and positioned trees will add volumes to your landscape and any 'nasty habits' will be kept to a minimum.

Where there is a pest or disease of importance I’ll mention it but if a tree has a really bad trait it likely won’t be listed at all. Trees are too important in the landscape to be experimented with… unless you have a lot of land. Pests and diseases can be made worse by placing the tree under stress. This might include too much or too little water, the wrong type of soil or exposure, incorrect planting depth etc. Just like you are more likely to get sick when you are run down or stressed; same goes for your trees.

If you are unsure of how to care for your trees please contact me and I’ll put you on to a good arborist. They are professionally trained to be able to provide your trees with the best care and often offer programs of pruning or other care that will help your trees be they young or old.

Hardiness is also a very important factor in choosing trees and I will always recommend hardy varieties for your particular application. In general the trees that I’ll describe below are hardy in the Calgary region but may not be suitable for your site.

Many of the photos of trees are ‘drive-bys’, they are not pictures of specimens in an arboretum or horticulture school campus. They are in parks, boulevards and private gardens in the Calgary region and as much as possible represent what the ‘average’ tree of that variety looks like.