Species Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Proper Landscaping Inc.

Apr 28

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Coquitlam rose

By Vas Sladek | Events, Species | No Comments

I love the idea of one city buying the naming rights to a rose variety. But having said that, I’m not really a great fan of roses. Their fragrances are intoxicating and I love the feel of their petals. But it’s unlikely you will ever see me joining a rose society. I personally prefer trees and forests; and wild plants. Roses with their prickles were always associated with some princess getting pricked and falling asleep for a hundred years. And yet, the idea of having my own rose variety is appealing.

Coquitlam rose

As a landscape blogger I had to be there for the official unveiling of the Coquitlam rose. It happened at the beautiful Centennial Rose Garden at the Dogwood Pavilion. Incidentally, I have good memories from the adjoining parking lot. I visited many farmer’s markets there; and I maintained the green spaces when I worked for the parks department there in 2014.

The rose garden is well worth the visit. If you are in the area definitely stop by.

Having elected to not return to the City of Coquitlam, I hung back until the officials cleared out so as to avoid any awkward moments. Then I took as many pictures of the new Coquitlam rose as I wanted. And I surveyed the bowling green next door for chafer damage since I got to witness nematode applications there the year before.

The rose

The Coquitlam rose is salmon-colored and locally bred. It’s hardy, disease resistant and long blooming. That’s a nice list. The official unveiling took place at the Centennial Rose Garden at the Dogwood Pavilion. The Coquitlam rose is also planted at city hall and at the Inspiration Garden.

You can watch a video on the Coquitlam rose by Jennifer Urbaniak who runs the fun activities in Coquitlam parks. Jennifer also sat the Red Seal challenge examination with me at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Our fear of failure and embarrassment pushed us in the right direction. We both passed! She snagged a sweet full-time job and I became a landscape senior supervisor in the private sector. Both Red Seals win!

Go visit the Coquitlam rose in 2017 and see what you think.

Apr 19

1

Native Indian plum

By Vas Sladek | Species | No Comments

The Indian plum shrub, Oemleria cerasiformis, is the first native Pacific Northwest deciduous shrub to flower in spring. I keep seeing it on our strata sites, especially on wild forested edges. Yesterday, while I was preparing a new bed for planting, a resident asked me about it. And I had no idea what it was called. I knew it was a native but the botanical name takes some getting used to.

So I finally took the time to look it up and give it its own blog post. After the harsh winter we have just experienced, it’s very nice to see the white creamy flowers and green leaves. And I will be able to answer people’s questions about it.

Oemleria cerasiformis is medium to tall shrub, about 1-5m tall, with clumped arching stems which are pith chambered.

The white flowers are in loose drooping clusters. Male and female flowers are found on separate shrubs so insects are required for pollination. As the season progresses, we get orange fruit. The fleshy drupes look like plums as they ripen and turn blue. The plums are bean shaped, about 1 cm long, and birds love them. From my reading I understand that the plums don’t last very long. Birds really love them.

Leaves are alternate, deciduous and lanceolate. Crushed, they smell like cucumbers.

The Indian plum shrub is commonly associated with Cornus sericea, Sambucus racemosa and Symphoricarpos albus.

White flowers and green foliage on my dirty hand; spring has arrived!

Oemleria_cerasiformis_jko100108242042207

Early summer fruit; orange (Photo by permission from nwplants.com)

oem_cer_jko_indian_plum_female060707small1

Ripe fruits look like plums and birds love them! (Photo by permission from nwplants.com)

The Indian plum shrub is very noticeable as I write this in mid-April. It deserves to be planted in people’s gardens. The creamy white flowers are great and birds love this shrub.

Now I just have to practice the botanical name. Oemleria cerasiformis.

Mar 31

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Leafout in a changing climate

By Vas Sladek | Reviews, Seasonal, Species | No Comments

Once in a while I find a good article to read when I browse through my favourite Chapter’s Indigo store. Last spring I picked up a copy of American Scientist, volume 104 (March-April 2016). I was totally intrigued by a story titled “Spring budburst in a changing climate“.

Budburst

Budburst isn’t as extensively studied as flowering times. We know that trees respond to spring temperatures. As it warms up leaves emerge out of tree and shrub winter buds. What isn’t as well known is that man-made climate warming is affecting when leaves appear on trees and shrub and when they drop to the ground. Even less known is how budburst timing affects birds and insects, entire ecosystems and humans.

Leaf functions

Leaves play a critical role in photosynthesis. They absorb lots of carbon dioxide from the air and convert it to carbohydrates through photosynthesis, which are then transferred into wood and roots.

As new leaves emerge in spring and start photosynthesizing, global CO2 levels decline. Leaves also release water during this process which affects local climate and rainfall patterns.

Leaves also provide food for caterpillars, deer and other herbivores and they provide cover for birds and other wildlife.

Thoreau’s Concord

It was in Concord in 1850s that Henry David Thoreau observed local plants and it was at Walden Pond that he wrote his classic Walden work. What I didn’t know was that Thoreau kept a record of leaf-out times for 43 woody plant species. So the study authors did their own research to compare the leaf-out times now to 1850s. And as expected, the mean date of leaf emergence has shifted from May 8 in Thoreau’s time to April 20 in recent years.

No big deal?

Eighteen days may not seem like a huge difference but it actually is. Consider the caterpillar which is used to eating young tender leaves. Now when he emerges, ready to eat he may be encountering older, tougher leaves. This could affect caterpillar populations and consequently, bird populations as birds arrive and look for caterpillars to eat.

Species differences

Since different species use different cues for budburst, a warming climate will affect each species differently. In some cases, warmer climate could help invasive species proliferate. One example is Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) which has minimal or no winter-chilling and day-length requirements for leafing out. It will push out new leaves after a week of warm weather. It forms thick stands that compete with native trees.

If native trees wait until late spring to leaf out, some invasive shrubs could increase their competitive advantage.

Late frosts

Another potential problem could be late frosts. As trees and shrubs push out their leaves earlier than usual they could be damaged by late frosts. Back to the Japanese barberry. This invasive species in North America combines early leafing out with a high degree of frost tolerance.

This article is worth studying in its entirety. The potential mismatches between tree and shrub leaf out and insect and bird feeding could create huge ecosystem problems. And it’s already happening.

Budburst in our native Sambucus.

Mar 17

0

When landscapers decorate their house walls

By Vas Sladek | Species, Tips | No Comments

You can easily decorate your house walls on a budget. I like to decorate my apartment walls with pressed plants put into cheap wooden frames. I started this when I collected samples of my favorite tree, Albizia julibrissin (silk tree). I wanted to keep it but I didn’t have the money for nice picture frames. It was the same with pressed tree leaves I collected in Western Japan.

Pressing plants

It is unlikely that you have proper plant presses at home. Not to worry. You can use older, heavier books. Put your collected leaf and flower parts into the pages of your book. Do it gently. Also make sure they aren’t wet. Do your collecting on sunny days. Once it’s all in, stack other books on top and leave it for a few days.

While you wait, visit your nearest Dollarama store and pick up cheap wooden frames. Mine cost $2-3 each.

After a few days, check on your pressed samples. Install them in your wooden frames. I like to label mine but it’s optional. I also find it useful to tape the samples into place so they don’t move when I put the glass on top. That’s it. You’re done. You can decorate your study, your hallway or your garage. All on a budget.

Past collections

This project reminds me of my undergraduate years at the University of Saskatchewan. My plant systematics professor issued proper plant presses to all of his students. He gave us the task of collecting plants and bringing them to class in September. Great! Now what? I had visions of Charles Darwin hopping on a ship expedition and disappearing for years. My story is much, much humbler.

Since I also needed cash, I took a low-paying motel job in a southern Saskatchewan town called Eastend. Town is a flattering description. I remember the people as friendly if slightly freaked out by my East European accent. Years later, someone would discover dinosaur bones in the area and tourism would improve. I have no desire to ever return there.

The collecting didn’t go well at first. The landscape was dry, sporting only grasses and cactuses. Pressing succulent cactuses is a bad idea. I was so inexperienced, I actually tried it.

Then I got a lucky break when I met a local teacher. He was very happy to take me to a nearby coulee. The place was predictably nice and green and my presses filled up fast. Thanks to this kind teacher, several of my samples were accepted into the university’s herbarium collection. They bear my name for future plant students to see.

Cruising

While my samples were drying I hung out with my employer’s kids. That’s when I experienced small town cruising where young people drive up and down the main street in town. This is what happens when you travel properly. Not like a tourist but like an embedded person. It was a bizarre way to spend an evening. But it was authentic. Sadly that was my first and last cruising experience.

Results

Mar 10

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How to have fun with winter plant ID

By Vas Sladek | Seasonal, Species | No Comments

Winter can be a great time for practicing your plant identification skills. The work days aren’t as hectic and the winter season offers a different look. Walking through your landscapes, you might notice a plant and realize that its name escapes you. I know all about it. It happens to me lots. At the worst moment, too. Like when the boss arrives on site.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Pinus contorta subsp contorta (Shore pine or Lodgepole pine)

This is a commonly used pine in our West Coast landscapes. Plant ID hints: a) The needles come in pairs and b) the cones have sharp prickles on their scales.

Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon)

You must be familiar with the Rose of Sharon flowers. But what about winter? What we are seeing is dehiscent seed pods. This means that the seed pods open along built-in lines to release their contents. In this case, the seed pod opens into five distinct parts and the seeds spill out.

The seeds are actually very cute. They are almost heart-shaped with hairs. I saved some and if I find time, I will try to grow them.

Choisya arizonica (Aztec pearl)

You will be familiar with Choisya ternata which has bigger leaves. This shrub has finer greenery and its white flowers are equally as nice. This is the one plant I had trouble memorizing until I saw it at last year’s CanWest Hort Show in Abbotsford. Now I try to associate it with Arizona.

Ophiopogon planiscapus (Black Mondo grass)

Full marks if you remembered the full species name! I love this plant because it’s so dark. New foliage is dark green. It produces bell-like summer flowers which turn into black berries. The Black Mondo grass in this photo is a great border plant close to a clubhouse.

Sambucus racemosa (Red elderberry)

I remember this tree-like shrub well because we have hack it up every winter so it doesn’t go too wild on our strata properties. It looks bad for a while but the shrubs look fine in spring. It can grow 2-6 meters tall. Because it has soft stems with a pithy center, you can cut through most canes with your Felcos. (For my blog on Felco snips click here.)

Flowers appear at the ends of branches and are visited by butterflies and hummingbirds.

Now check out the sister plant Sambucus nigra (Black lace). This species is planted in people’s yards, not in wild zones, because it’s stunning. The first time I saw it in White Rock I was hooked. It took me a while to realize that this plant was related to its sisters in the riverbed zone. The sisters I rudely demolished so they wouldn’t grow out of hand.

Winter can be a great time for plant ID skill work. Give it a try. You never know what you will discover.

Oct 10

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Yours to discover: Acer campestre

By Vas Sladek | Arborist Insights, Landscaping, Species | No Comments

First encounter with Acer campestre

Working in Langley, BC on an early spring day, I noticed a low tree branch obstructing an entrance. This is called ‘landscape eye’ and the subject of an earlier blog post. So out came my snips and the branch was cleared out of the way. In seconds. Then the ‘bleeding’ started! In seconds. Oops. I noticed the samaras and only then realized this was a maple tree. The actual species name escaped me because this was our first encounter. I would later look it up and a blog was born.

Maple rule

Maples are ‘bleeders’. They lose large amounts of sap when pruned at the wrong time. This is the maple rule: prune before Christmas or in summer. This was early spring so the sap ‘bleeding’ was noticeable. One week later it had stopped. Thankfully.

If you prune in summer, make sure it’s not under drought conditions. Under drought conditions, trees close their leaf openings to avoid water loss. This means that carbon dioxide can’t enter and food can’t be produced. The tree lives on reserves stored in its branches. If you prune too many branches off, you can starve the tree.

Field maple details

Campestre means ‘from fields’. It is an attractive medium-sized deciduous street tree. It tolerates urban conditions like drought, clay soils, air pollution and soil compaction. It prefers full sun to part shade conditions. It has yellow fall color and can be pruned, sometimes even harshly. In Europe it’s shaped into hedges.

The leaves have five blunt lobes.

This is a low-maintenance street tree. The only work I have done on these trees is walkway clearance. I have yet to encounter this maple species on other sites.

Have you seen Acer campestre?

5 lobes and samaras

Not much work to be done on these trees, other than walkway and house obstruction

City street location with plenty of sun

Sep 17

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Viburnum tinus: problems and solutions

By Vas Sladek | Landscaping, Species, Strata Maintenance | No Comments

We briefly considered Viburnum tinus in an earlier blog. Now is a good time to re-visit the shrub. I was asked recently to plant 15 Euonymus alatus compacta plants for a strata council member. When I arrived at her unit, I realized we had pulled 15 Viburnum tinus specimens because they were full of holes. Holes which resulted from Pyrrhalta viburni beetles feeding on their leaves. Normally it’s a nice looking shrub with flowers and berries. Once the beetles attack, it’s over fairly quickly.

I remember once shearing a weak hedge of Viburnum tinus and getting covered in annoyed beetles. The adults are difficult to control. They can fly away or drop to the ground. In organic Port Moody, British Columbia, there weren’t any chemical controls for the larvae or adult beetles.

Healthy Viburnum tinus

Attacked by….. (Note skeletonized look)

….Pyrrhalta viburni; Adults and larva feed on the plant

When this happens you have two choices:

flush cut the Viburnum and let it grow back
replace it with another shrub

The strata council member opted for option number two. Since the site already sports many healthy specimens of Euonymus alatus compacta, the decision was easy; and budget allowed for it. The whole operation took me about an hour. ( The boss was working directly across the street at another site.)

Replacements ready to go; Space out the pots properly before planting

watch the planting hole depth

done, just add water

All done! Plants are watered in and sidewalk is hosed off to avoid upsetting the owner

Instead of looking at stumps or worrying about chemical controls, consider replacement. It is a neater option. If your shrubs are suffering with skeletonized leaves, plant something new. Change is good! Edit your landscape and have some fun with it, if budget allows. It might be a minor blessing.

Aug 26

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“Lab girl” book review

By Vas Sladek | Arborist Insights, Books, Reviews, Species | No Comments

“LAB GIRL” by Dr. Hope Jahren is a fantastic book! That is, if you like plants, science or you are considering a career in academia. I purchased the audio version and listened to the book during my weekend work sessions. Dr. Jahren’s Ph.D. dissertation was about a tree. Her work focuses on plants and their longevity. Paleobiology.

The chapters nicely alternate between personal life and science. I openly confess to enjoying the science chapters more. It seemed like there were too many lab set-up references. But this connects to Dr. Jahren’s constant side-kick, lab researcher Bill. The two are inseparable. After finishing the book you might feel the urge to visit with Bill. He is a pretty interesting character.

Key idea 1: If you want to make it in academia as a female Ph.D., get ready for a bumpy ride. Male professors have doubts, funding and grants are a constant headache. This book should be required reading for any female considering a career in US academia.

Key idea 2: Plants, especially trees, are incredibly fascinating. I already knew that. You will, too, after reading “Lab girl”. Consider the case of resurrection plants. They are so brown and dry, we would consider them dead, and toss them. But wait. A bit of moisture brings them back to life. This can repeat many, many times, until eventually they do die. These are the only plants that have figured out how to grow without being green!

Seeds are also amazing. Alive, they can wait for hundreds of years before taking a chance and emerging. Their one chance. What exactly triggers it?

Key idea 3: The book closes with a personal request from the author to plant a tree at your home. If you can. The planet is losing green cover every year. This small act of planting a tree or two will help.

Key idea 4: To learn more about trees, Dr. Jahren recommends Peter A. Thomas’ “Trees: Their Natural History“, about $50 from Amazon.ca. By the time this blog post is published, I expect to have it finished. In paperback form.

The book has a happy ending. Hope marries, has a child and the family settles in Hawaii. So does Bill. Of course. I love plants so I give it 5 stars out of 5.

May 20

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How to make people happy with free plants

By Vas Sladek | Landscaping, Seasonal, Species | No Comments

It pays to think before tossing perfectly good plants into your green waste. In the fall of 2015, I took bulbs pulled and discarded from a municipal display bed and planted them at my client’s rental place. For free. Of course. The municipality, which we don’t have to name, normally doesn’t reuse its bulbs. Tulips, for example, give the best show in season one. Beyond that they’re not as reliable. Other bulbs on the other hand will keep on giving, assuming you don’t get tired of them. Some bulbs, like daffodils, can be naturalized.

Happy 1

My client was totally happy this year when she looked out of her kitchen window and saw her free bulbs popping up. She had no idea what I put in last year. Not bad considering these bulbs were free, took only minutes to plant ( I have had lots of practice!) and improved bare spots.

Free bulbs!

Not bad considering these bulbs were discarded; and the bed was a weedy bare spot

Happy 2

The Rhodos and Hydrangeas pictured below came from a strata landscape edit job and were delivered to a gardener in Port Coquitlam. The owner will find a good home for them on her large property. In exchange for the free plants, the property owner gave us a quick tour of her garden; the property is on the annual Port Coquitlam garden tour circuit. It’s good to give!

Homeless Rhodos and Hydrangeas

Garden tour pictures

Astilbe hedge!

Clematis vine with (correctly!) protected base

$200 plastic planter box; doesn’t rot like wood but you need deeper pockets to buy these

Chainsaw decoration; I prefer 2016 Stihl models

Gunnera

tools!

primrose

I have some crazy stories about unwanted plants. On one memorable day, a prominent strata member came out to ask me to remove Echinacea because they were spent. I reminded her they were perennials and would bloom again next year. It didn’t matter. Next year was too far away and she had cash for new plants. I kept a few and gave away the others.

Think before you toss unwanted plants. You could make someone very happy!

Apr 08

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Feeling happy with spring color

By Vas Sladek | Education, Landscaping, Seasonal, Species | No Comments

Spring is here and it feels fantastic to leave winter behind. Walking home with my son from Menchie’s- side trips we don’t tell mom about- I noticed my favorite Doronicum flowers by the liquor store. The yellow is very warm and happy. These are the earliest flowering daisies. They are herbaceous perennials growing from a rhizome (underground stem). I first discovered them as a municipal worker by Como Lake.

Cherries (Prunus) are everyone’s favorites even though they are bittersweet: they are beautiful but, like life, they don’t last very long. A side-note on cherries. When I lived in Japan, I got a chance to visit a revered old fuyu-zakura or winter cherry. I was blown away with the whole idea: winter flowering cherry? Really? It was true. There it stood in the middle of a snowy open field with its gorgeous flowers. Protective fencing ran around the drip line. We already know from an earlier blog what soil compaction does to trees.

This past week I discovered deep red colored Magnolias at a mall parking lot in White Rock. The effect is stunning. It’s impossible to miss the parking lot trees.

Camellia japonica flowers totally dominate gardens at the moment.

Tulips and Daffodils are perennial favorites. Tulips are good for one or two shows and then best replaced. Daffodils can be naturalized and they will keep on wowing you every spring. One such event happened in 2014 at Como Lake in Coquitlam, BC. Volunteers were recruited to plant bulbs in fall on the west side of the lake. Many were ESL students and recent immigrants; this was the first time they planted anything. I hope they got to see the result of their work.

Bulb planting tip: look at your bulb height, double it and plant it that deep. Keep the planting depth consistent, otherwise your bulbs will emerge unevenly.

What color have you noticed lately?

Species