Monthly Archives

December 2020

Dec 27
0

A gift from UK gardening star

By | Education, Reviews | No Comments

Twitter use pays off

I don’t have a lot of time for Twitter but I do check my feed when I can. This is how I found out that Marc Hamer was sending seeds from his own garden to the readers of his very excellent non-fiction book “How to catch a mole“. So, I responded and then we both realized that sending and even worse, planting, flower seeds from another country may not be a good idea.

Then, weeks later, the seeds arrived having cleared customs.

Seed to dust

Speaking of seeds, Marc has a new book called “Seed to Dust” coming out in January, 2021 (UK & USA); amazon.ca lists the book with May, 2021 release so I’ll have to wait. It’s in my wish list.

The book is Marc’s account of working as an estate gardener in the UK. I find these jobs fascinating and sometimes, when I have time to dream, I wonder what it would be like to have a job like that.

Imagine a huge estate, somewhere in England, owned by rich people who may or may not live on the estate. Your job is to maintain the grounds year-round.

It reminds me of a gardener in Anmore, British Columbia. He takes care of the gardens at a private $5 million residence which sits empty all year. Hamer has more fun, I’m sure.

Marc Hamer

Marc is an interesting guy. I like him just because he’s a gardener; free seeds are nice, too! At one time, he was homeless. Now he’s an author.

Marc Hamer

The title of his first book “How to catch a mole” is a bit misleading. It’s not a manual for mole catchers. It’s a meditation on life and gardening, with information on moles.

Mole catching is done in winter for extra income. As temperatures dip, earthworms go deeper and moles have to dig deeper to find them. That’s when we get those hated mole hills nobody likes. Mole hills destroy the lawn uniformity people seek in their West Coast gardens.

The best point in the book is when a mole trap catches two moles and one is still alive. This means Hamer has to kill it manually and, after he does, he decides there and then, to quit mole catching.

I guess that’s how he freed time to write books and I’m glad this happened. If you like gardening and wonder about moles, this is a great book. I bought it in audio format so I could listen to it at work. In the landscape.

If you like gardening and always wondered about moles, this is a fantastic book. I highly recommend it.

Dec 26
0

Security through shrub pruning

By | Pruning | No Comments

Start with why

Always start with why. Why are you pruning your shrubs? What’s the goal? In this blog post we cover pruning for increased security.

Left: new level; right: existing level.

The owners living behind this yew (Taxus) hedge were concerned about degenerates entering the gated complex, hidden by the hedge. And, while I don’t have any neighborhood crime statistics to share with you, the job was fairly easy.

Procedure

The new desired hedge level was marked with tape which made it easy. I used power shears and made a line along the front and then back. In step two, I used loppers to take out the biggest wood. You can try to use your power shear blades but it’s difficult and the wood gets chewed up. Use loppers.

The key is to lop out the middle stems slightly below the new top level so they aren’t visible when you drive by. The hedge will green up next year.

All done!

Sight lines

Now that we had made it harder for perverts to enter the site undetected, we turned to driving sight lines.

Before picture. Poor visibility from vehicles.

This Rhododendron hedge made it hard for people driving to and from the gate to see other vehicles so we were asked to lower it by a half.

If you immediately start to worry about Rhododendron flower buds, you are correct. Rhododendron buds are set in summer, after flowering. Therefore, any pruning in December would result in lost blooms. But, safety trumps horticulture, usually.

Procedure

Note that this pruning job was reduction pruning, not renovation pruning. Renovation pruning is much harsher and leaves lots of naked woody stems. Here we wanted a green Rhododendron hedge but lower.

So, any harsh stem cuts were made inside the hedge where they are hidden. This was much harder to achieve with the far left specimen. I had to leave two naked stems. It looks weird but remember that Rhododendrons have latent buds in their stems. These swell up and pop after pruning. This is a common response to pruning, especially with rough-barked Rhododendrons. If your Rhododendrons are smooth-barked, you’re pushing your luck.

All done. Reduced by half and thinned out.
Reduced by half and thinned out for improved visibility. The shrub will flower next year but not as furiously.

Gold star

Later that morning, the owner across the street opened up her garage and beamed at us. She loved our reduction pruning job. We reduced the shrub size roughly by half while still keeping it green and preserving some flowers. Gold stars!

Dec 24
0

Make a KIVA loan, change a life!

By | Education, Events | No Comments

Helping to change a life

I scheduled this post for Christmas Eve because right now, even during a pandemic, life is pretty good in Canada. My family is healthy, the fridge is full of food and there are presents under the tree. As of today, I’m happy to report that I also have plenty of work, both regular and side-gigs. (Knock on wood!)

But there are many people in the world who need help. This is where KIVA comes in. The organization facilitates loans to people who are unable to secure loans from local sources. This is a beautiful idea: donors lend money which is then repaid. So my $25 “donation” will eventually return to me.

As a landscape professional, I have a soft spot for farmers who need money for their projects. Some years ago I lent $25 each to two farmers and their loans were 100% repaid! So, this is better than straight donations. You allow people access to money so they can run their projects. And the loans are to be repaid.

To be honest, $25 isn’t a big deal. Even if I didn’t get it back, it would be fine. All three people I lent money to in the past repaid their loans.

How to change someone’s life

Step one involves registering with KIVA. Once you register, you can search for loans that interest you. Personally, I check out agriculture. That’s how I learned about Karina from San Gabriel, Ecuador.

Source: KIVA.org

Karina is a single 21-year-old student who works in agriculture to finance her education and help her parents. Sounds good to me.

Karina is asking for a $1,000 loan for the purchase of organic agriculture supplies so she can grow broad beans. I think she is at 65% of the loan amount. I hope she makes it.

Kiva loan projects come with expiry dates. So, when some people log in at KIVA they automatically go to loans that expire soon. You can do that, too.

Change a life

If you have $25 available to lend out through KIVA, try it out. You could change a life! And count your blessings if you live in the Pacific Northwest where life is pretty good.

Happy holidays!!

Dec 21
0

Surprises in December landscapes

By | gardening, Plants | No Comments

Plenty to see in December

I know it’s sad to see the warm seasons go but there is still plenty to see in the landscape as we hit winter. Come take a look with Red Seal Vas. How many of these plants do you know?

Fatsia japonica flowers in winter which makes it special and very welcome! The huge leaves are hard to miss. Just make sure you give this plant plenty of space to grow.

Like Fatsias, Hellebores also flower in winter. These flowers really pop in dormant winter landscapes. Interestingly, this specimen had up-turned flowers; normally the flowers point down which annoys some gardeners.

Viburnum bodnantense is one of my favorite shrubs. It’s fun to see its flowers on bare branches. I always stop and take photos.

Callicarpa looks awesome in fall. Planted in the middle of a round bed, it really popped with its purple berries. In summer, the flowers are tiny so be careful when you do mid-season pruning. You wouldn’t want to miss this show in your own garden.

I love this Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) holdout! Many people consider these trees “messy”, if that’s even possible. I know that all jam-makers would beg to differ.

Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) have tiny but beautiful flowers in summer. You have to get really close to see them. And in the fall, we get these dark berries.

Viburnum tinus looks great in fall when it’s not all chewed up by its enemy, the beetle Pyrrhalta vuburni. I love the metallic blue.

Arbutus unedo are easy to identify because they have spiked strawberries. This one, like the Cornelian cherry above, is holding on in a sheltered place.

When you stop to observe the plants in your landscape, you get nice surprises like these Escallonia flowers. I also like the waxy foliage.

Can you guess the tree species from these fruits? It’s a female Ginkgo biloba tree. When crushed, the fruits have an unpleasant odor but, again, I doesn’t bother me. I love trees!

It’s rare to see female Ginkgo trees so enjoy this photo. The tree is so ancient, it occupies its own tree family.

Conclusion

There is lots to see in our December West Coast landscapes. Slow down and take a good look. You could be pleasantly surprised.

Dec 17
0

Spring bulbs for beginners

By | gardening, Plants | No Comments

You can do it!

Planting spring bulbs in fall is easy and it doesn’t take much. Just get some bulbs, find a pot or planted bed, and find a garden trowel. Then you just need faith that the bulbs will come up in spring.

Let’s see how Red Seal Vas planted daffodils in his patio pot in minutes.

Shopping

First you need to buy bulbs you like. I love to shop online at West Coast Seeds. They have great products at great prices, and they’re local. Considering COVID-19 problems and the store’s distance from my home, online shopping was a no-brainer, even with shipping charges.

Buy whatever you like. I like daffodils because they last for several seasons and can even be naturalized in planted beds. For this blog, I purchased cupped narcissi because I liked the look. Deer resistance is a nice bonus but I’m not expecting to see deer on my second floor patio.

The beauty of planting spring bulbs is that you can experiment every season. Change things up.

My box from West Coast Seeds

Planting

Normally late November on the West Coast is ideal for planting spring bulbs. I planted my daffodils today (December 12, 2020) because I’ve been busy. But don’t worry: the rule is to plant before frost hits and your soil becomes unworkable. The soil in my pot was fine and I planted in beautiful afternoon sun.

Bonus: while I worked, I enjoyed the look of my Calamagrostis ornamental grass. Since I rule over my patio, nobody cuts back my ornamental grasses in late fall. Nobody!

Planting depth

The package gives you planting depth instructions so don’t stress. The rule is to plant at twice the height of your bulbs. Just make sure you plant at roughly the same level. That way your bulbs will pop-up together. For this reason it’s a good idea to plant one pot or bed yourself. Two or more people will inevitably plant at slightly different heights. Try to avoid this.

Since my pot is bare, I left the package envelope in the pot to mark it. Now all we need is faith that the bubs will come up in spring. Check your bulb flowering time to avoid any panic. Some are early, and some mid or late spring bloomers.

The bulbs I planted can be used as cut flowers but I won’t have too many. But I suppose I could surprise my wife next spring.

Ready for planting.

Conclusion

Spring bulbs are easy to plant in late fall and they give us a nice show in spring when gardens start to come alive. Daffodils can be left alone to bloom for several seasons. Just cut them back once they fade and the stalks turn brown.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Buy different bulbs every fall and try new arrangements. One idea I love is planting tulips with two different heights.

Have some fun with spring flowering bulbs!

Dec 15
0

On pruning abused plum trees

By | Arborist Insights, Pruning | No Comments

Topped plum tree

Topped plum tree with suckers

Well, this happens all the time. To reclaim his view, the neighbor “pruned” my client’s plum tree without asking. You can see the previous harsh cuts because that’s where all of the suckers originate. It’s a normal response by the tree and now, instead of one branch, we have many new suckers.

Pro tip: don’t top trees!

Now, months later, there is a new owner next door and was she ever excited to see me! This will be our annual dance from now on.

Is it hopeless?

Are topped trees doomed? Not necessarily. I pruned above the previous cuts and took out most of the suckers. I left some higher as new leaders, and some just below as subordinates. That’s the procedure: establish new leaders, subordinates and eliminate the rest. This way the tree will regain it’s “natural” shape.

Option two is to eliminate all of the suckers every year, which resembles pollarding. You can save the branches and keep your family warm in winter; or learn basket-weaving.

Next winter, I will do more corrective pruning on this tree.

Better, but I will do more on this tree in 12 months.

Bonus!

As soon as I started pruning this plum tree, the new neighbor came out in homely sweat pants, smiling. Then, across the street came a nicely dressed lady, still holding the keys to her Land Rover; and very new to the neighborhood. Clearly, her family up-sized to a nice corner lot house.

As we walked around her garden, two workers moved what appeared to be an extremely heavy safe over the lawn to the back of the house. Right there I knew it, they could afford me!

Two days later I was hired to prune their maples and cedar hedges. Bonus!

Conclusion

Don’t top trees! Trespassing on your neighbor’s property to top trees is even worse. If you google tree topping, you will see a long list of negative consequences.

If you want to improve previously topped trees, keep some of the new suckers as new leaders, cut others shorter as subordinates, and eliminate the rest.

Dec 12
0

Winter tree pruning 101

By | Arborist Insights, Pruning | No Comments

Why are you pruning?

Before you start hacking your prized trees, ask yourself why you are pruning. Then, once you’re clear on your pruning goals, go for it. And always use sharp tools.

The winter is great for tree pruning because the trees are dormant and, with the leaves gone, we can nicely see the full tree crown.

Remember the 3-point cut

Just to review, all decent-sized branches should be pruned out using the three point cut. The first cut is an undercut; the second cut is a few inches above your first cut; this is where most of the wood will drop to the ground. The third cut completes the procedure without leaving a nasty stub that would die and potentially invite disease into the tree.

Why not just make one cut and save time? Because you risk damaging the bark as the branch shears off before you complete your cut.

1. undercut
2. second cut just a few inches over the first cut; get ready for the branch to drop!
3. final cut to clean things up; don’t leave stubs.

Branches to eliminate

Let’s take a look at some examples of branches I couldn’t tolerate and had to eliminate. When tools are available, I stop what I’m doing and take care of these offending branches right away. Otherwise, people forget and things get worse. Let’s not do that.

Broken branches are an obvious example and should be pruned out immediately. They look awful and there is always the possibility of diseases entering the tree.

I know, it’s not a huge branch but it looks awful. When I walk by and see this, I’m close to breaking out in a rash. I don’t tolerate broken branches on my trees and neither should you.

I used a pole pruner to remove this branch.

Take a minute to study this picture and find the offending branch. Found it? It’s the branch growing from the middle left down over the garage. Downward pointing branches affect the crown structure so remove them to get a nice looking tree.

This sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) branch had to go since I couldn’t properly access the cedar hedge (Thuja occidentalis) with my power shears. It also runs through the hedge which is a no no, plus it will shade out the hedge. Any branch touching a building gets insurance agents excited. Branches like this have to go.

Rubbing branches should also be removed. Here I removed the lower branch because it was growing at a huge angle.

Conclusion

This winter, check over your trees and see if they require any corrective pruning. Eliminate any broken, dead, rubbing, crossing or interfering branches with proper cuts. Unless your branches are very small, always use the three-point cut to prevent bark damage.

Make a few cuts every year for great looking, healthy trees. Call, if you need help!

Dec 08
0

Hydrangea massacre

By | Pruning | No Comments

Slow down

Power shears have their place in landscape maintenance work, especially now in winter when we have miles of cedar hedges to shear. But in this blog I will build a case for slowing down and considering your targets.

Now, I know that home gardeners have tons of time for their gardens and some even prefer not to prune their Hydrangeas until spring. When frost hits the spent Hydrangea flowers the result can be stunning. Definitely worth a picture.

Things are different in commercial landscape maintenance where there is pressure to get lots done in a day. That’s why some landscapers aren’t shy about massacring their Hydrangeas with power shears. But are they really saving time? I think not.

Massacre post-mortem

Power shearing Hydrangeas shreds the woody tops, leaving them looking rough. And there are other problems. For example, the sheared bits are launched all over the place; and the beheaded flowers gets lodged inside the shrubs. The clean-ups are annoying and time-consuming.

Shredded bits get launched all around the shrub.

Now, consider hand pruning. Here you hold on to each cane before snipping at the correct height and just above a pair of buds. The snipped top stays in your hand so you eliminate time-consuming clean-ups. Simply put the eliminated cane top into your green waste bin or tarp and move on.

Power shearing isn’t targeted so it can damage existing buds or leave long stubs. This isn’t how we achieve a good-looking flowering shrub.

Power sheared Hydrangea. Note the flowers lodged inside the shrub.

Shredded plant tissues look awful

A major limitation

One major drawback of using power shears on Hydrangeas is that you can’t take out the biggest canes; or at least not easily. It’s always a good idea to take out 1-3 of the biggest canes every year. This keeps the shrub looking good with mostly younger straight canes. Power shearing can’t accomplish this step.

Every year eliminate 1-3 of the biggest canes.

Peace, not massacres

Power shearing Hydrangeas in a rush means you miss out on quiet gardening work. I love hand snipping because it’s quiet and allows me to touch the shrub. It’s almost peaceful and it doesn’t generate any air or noise pollution. Turn off your power shears and prune your Hydrangeas by hand.

Dec 05
0

ISA CEUs the easy way

By | Arborist Insights, Education | No Comments

30 in 3

For ISA certified arborists to re-certify, they must obtain thirty education credits in three years and pay a fee. This way the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) makes sure their arborists are continuously learning.

To get CEUs, arborists can take courses, attend conferences and purchase pricey materials from the ISA. But by far the easiest way to obtain CEUs is by reading Arborist News magazine articles and taking quizzes right after.

With the pandemic raging on, the ISA kindly made extra AN articles available for free to their members. Normally only 6 to 12 articles are available for free.

My stack of AN CEU articles

The articles can be read quickly and every quiz is made up of twenty questions. You must score 80% or better to get credit. I normally mark the answers on the printout and then take the quiz online.

When you log in to your account at ISA, the quiz is automatically graded and added to your account. Currently, I’m 12 credits short but my re-certification date isn’t until June, 2022, so there’s no rush. I just prefer to get the 30 credits quickly and I really like the magazine articles.

The more I read, the more I realize how much there is to learn in arboriculture. It’s exciting and humbling at the same time.

COVID-driven changes

Now that social distancing is a requirement, many events have moved online which is actually a bonus. For example, the annual ISA conference is normally a week-long event in some far away place like Florida. Somehow, I can never justify the cost since I don’t work with trees full-time.

But soon the 2020 conference will be online (December 7-11, 2020), with CEU lectures available on-demand! 25 CEUs on demand!

ISA Ontario also has a long list of websites offering webinars eligible for CEUs so learning doesn’t have to stop.

ISA certified arborist Vas in the field.

Conclusion

Technical knowledge is important and learning should never stop. That’s why the ISA demands that all arborists obtain thirty CEUs every three years. If you follow my example and use the AN CEU articles, you’re guaranteed to learn new stuff and have fun.

And if you’re not ISA certified, what are you waiting for?

And if you hire ISA certified arborists, you can be sure that they’re learning new stuff every year to serve you better.

Dec 02
0

What landscapers do in winter

By | Pruning | No Comments

Winter work

Every year I get asked one question: what do you do in winter? And the answer is cedar shearing. Miles of cedar hedging. In all kinds of weather.

Classic winter shot.

Always start with sharp shears. I detest shearing with dull shears so much, I carry my own set with me every day. Using dull shears is extremely frustrating: it’s slow and the tops get all shredded. Sharp shears fly through the cedar and leave the top looking razor sharp. Trust me.

Bonus: Thuja plicata hedges give off an extremely pleasant odor when cut!

When you take lunch, bring your shears with you and put the cover back on. Keep it on when the shears are in the truck to eliminate accidental cuts.

Try to lubricate your shears after every use.

Keeping a full jerry can close by is also mandatory. Walking back to your truck to re-fuel is extremely inefficient. Bring your fuel with you and move it along.

If you’re lucky, your company uses Aspen fuel which is much cleaner than regular gas.

Morning coffee is optional, of course, but I like to warm up in the morning. Your water bottle, however, is a must. Keep it close by and re-hydrate as you prune. If you do it right, you will sweat and your cheeks will be rosy.

Procedure

Always prune bottom to top, not the other way. This way you minimize the chances of putting a hole in your hedge. And remember not to go too hard on the sides: the hedge should still be green when you’re done.

The tops should be pruned harder so we have a nice laser line on top.

The sides are still green and the top is sharp!

Before you start a new hedge, consider how much time you’ll need for pruning and clean-ups. Don’t rush this work. I prefer to start a new hedge fresh on a new day.

Great cedar pruning is an acquired skill over several seasons. Start on lower-profile hedges and watch more experienced landscapers. Eventually you’ll get to do high-profile hedging at entrances and club houses.

And the best news? There is no shortage of work! And that is great news during a nasty pandemic.