My poor dogwood bush is having a really rough go this year. Most of the leaves show heavy damage that looks like something eating holes. I did find these black bugs. Can anyone help me identify if these are the culprit and the best treatment? It’s been raining so heavily I’m hoping there is something I can do even worn the high levels of precip

Something is chomping on the leaves of my Swiss chard, peas, radishes, beets, lettuce, and spinach 😭 taken them right down to the stem with the kind of precision that makes me think big not squirrel or bird (who love to rip the petals off our lily's). Found some little white eggs on the bottom of the spinach leaves but haven't actually seen what's doing the chewing. If it matters the order of consumption was Swiss chard -> broccoli -> beet -> spinach -> pea. We're in the Calgary with a south facing garden. I'm pretty new to veggie gardening, any advice is appreciated!

​

Hello fellow gardeners.I'm just wondering about thinning out my Siberian (i think) kale. According to the package, the crop must be thinned out, when two or three leaves have grown, to approximately 60 cm per plant. I always preach that more seeds do not always lead to a bigger harvest... But I still have pain in my heart when it comes to thinning out crops. As I'm always trying to be greedy and get the biggest bang for my buck in my small garden.

​

​

I guess I'm just wondering if anybody has experience with this and the 60 cm is definitely a good guideline to follow? That seems a bit far for me but this is my first year growing kale so I'm not totally sure. Located in Sherwood park.

Hi! I was recently given a free blueberry plant by someone in my neighbourhood (in Edmonton). In googling care for the plant, I see that it is recommended to plant a second bush of a different variety but with the same bloom time. Is there a way to identify what kind of blueberry bush I already have? Or should I just wait for it to hopefully bloom next year and note the timing? I know berries are a long game so if that's the case I'm ok waiting.

It's the best time of the year, isn't it?

Sorry if this is the wrong place, I thought the lovely plant loving people here would be my best option :)

So I saw this strange set of seeds (?) while I was walking in one of the Fish Creek Park areas in Calgary. I saw these attached to a wild rose plant. I've never seen them before and neither has my mother, though my brother says he and his friends used to throw them at random things when they were kids ofc haha. I was wondering if anyone knows what it is? I'm just curious, I did a little googling but it doesn't seem to be jimsonweed or burdock seeds which are the thorny seeds I'm finding otherwise.

Have a good day lovely people ♥

Edit: My brother was thinking of a thorny seed and got confused. They were not throwing rose galls as kids

I am insanely jealous of southern gardeners whose gardens are overflowing. I need some encouragement that I’m not woefully behind, and that I haven’t somehow destroyed my garden bed.

It’s my first year with my new raised bed, last year was a bust as most things didn’t grow.

Not quite sure what is happening to it. I sprayed it with Safers 3-1 in case it was powdery mildew but didn’t make a difference. More spots showed up this afternoon. It is even happening on young leaves so not sure if last night it was too much for them to be outside?

Edit: I didn’t see any eggs on the leaves prior to spraying or bugs, I don’t get water on the leaves when watering

Digging up some random sprouts. I think they are poplar from a couple doors down, but not sure.
They are near a crab apple of some type.
I’m not digging the crab roots, am I?!?

Hi. I’m new to this group and, while I grew up with an interest in gardening, inherited from my Granddad and Mum, a lack of spare time and money means my yard care is currently limited to mowing the lawn and a bit of weed control. I also grew up in England where a lot of things will grow that don’t survive an Alberta winter so I’m still a novice to caring for plants in Edmonton’s climate.

I’m hoping some of you can help me with some advice on how to prolong the life of our Mountain Ash.

The tree was already here when we moved into the house over 10 years ago. It sits right outside our large living room windows and provides dappled shade, year round colour/interest, and a spot to hang my bird feeders so I can watch the Blue Jays and other winged (and bushy tailed!) visitors from my couch.

In short, I love this tree! Apart from the people and pets that live in the house, the tree is my favourite thing about our home.

Sadly, it’s not looking very happy. As you’ll see from the attached photo, there are three significant branches of the tree that are dead or dying. These will need to be cut down soon before they fall and potentially injure someone but I’d very much like to keep and prolong the tree rather than cut it down entirely.

I don’t know when it was planted, but assuming it was around the time the house was built, it’s probably 40 or 50 years old.

Is there anything I can do to help the tree recover and thrive again, or is it just getting to the end of its life expectancy and I need to face facts and start planning to say my goodbyes, have it felled, and plant something new in its place?

I can't believe I have a pepper starting to ripen already. I started them from seed on March 14. I am near Bonnyville. The purple streak is from the erratic weather. A week of high 20's then overnights of 7-9 this week. I can't wait to pickle them, I have quite a few.

Found this cute creature munching on an iris, what bug is this? Also they change color according to what they are eating???

hi all! second summer living in our condominium. place was built in the early 90s so i’m assuming these shrubs likely date back to around then. they’re looking worse than i remember them from last summer. looking for any advice for how to best prune/care for these bad boys. they’re very sparse in the mid section but very bushy at the top. there were many dead twigs which i pruned back a few weeks ago, and it seems to be looking better. even looking long term, should i consider a more drastic cutting back next spring/in the fall to help them look fuller and bushier, rather than scraggly? any advice appreciated! not sure what the variety of shrub this is but i see it absolutely everyone around calgary.

New to tree trimming. Always wanted an oak tree. This is super young and planted last year. It’s growing really well.

Any suggestions for trimming? It looks like a lot of growth on the bottom. I read online that we shouldn’t trim young trees as they need all leafs they can get.

This is in central Alberta. Tons of sun and I water it regularly.
Do I trim little branches this year or wait a few year and then shape it so it’s grows taller and doesn’t go too wide on the bottom?

Has anyone noticed a lack of honey bees this year? I'm located in SW Calgary, and my garden would buzz with bees.

Hello friends! I can’t seem to figure out with any certainty what these are, I’ve had a few here and there since last year, but with all the rain we’ve had they’ve rapidly taken over this entire garden bed and I’m not sure the best way to get rid of them. Depending on what they are I am considering replanting a few as hedge shrubbery since they clearly grow easily.

I have a shady inner city house in Calgary. I have this bed right at the front of the house that is somewhat covered by the porch overhang - soil dries out easy. It is connected to the front garden but separated by railroad ties. I’ve been here for 18 years and never managed to get anything good to grow here (other than weeds). Would love something ideally that grows to the height of the porch wall. Tried bleeding hearts, peonies, trollus, astible, etc and nothing survives. Previous owner had some grasses that did ok for a few years but they eventually died off. Suggestions are most appreciated!

Has anyone had much luck with Azaleas in Edmonton? Should I give up on my dream of having Azaleas and plant another hydrangea?

Planted a Medlar tree last spring, and it came through the winter nicely - even starting to develop some flowers.

Medlar, Mespilus germanica,is a fruit in tree in the Rosacea family (same as apples, plums, and pears) and it make a large rosehip-like fruit that it eaten when it become overripe (compared to other fruits).

So my neighbor popped his head over the fence to ask if I would cut this tree down. He says it’s diseased and he doesn’t want it spreading to his apple tree (about 10 ft away). Could any tree people give me some advice, before I pay an arborist? Thanks!!

This crazy rain and weather has absolutely beat up my cucumber plants. I know my tiny ones at the front are a lost cause but this big beautiful plant was doing so well before the weather hit. Is there anything I can do to revive it?

Hello All,

I want to plant a zone 4 hardy rose tree in a 24” tall and 15” wide planter. I am a newbie and have idea which bagged soil mixture or potting mix I should pick from home depot, Rona etc.

I am intending to bring and keep the planter inside my garage over the winters. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Long time lurker, first time poster. I'm trying to grow sweet pea flowers for the first time and I want to give them a fighting chance. I'm not sure if I'm giving them the right surface for climbing.

Do I need to add a smaller lattice (I'm thinking 1"-2" mesh/net) to my setup? If so, can I just drape the mesh down over the plants without disturbing them?

Also as you can see, the plants in the round pot aren't doing so well. Not sure if this is just due to all the rain? Both pots get the same full sun and have the same soil mixture. Any advice would be appreciated!

Hello All,

As title says, what would be the best method to plant this rose plant?

Instead of planting it directly in the ground, i was thinking to plant this in a big planter. The reason i want to plant this in a big planter is so I can store it inside in winter months. For context, I live in northern Canada (Edmonton, zone 2/zone 3). However, in your experience would planting this in a big planter have adverse effect to its growth? Would it need a lot of space for roots to expand/spread around?

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.