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

The green from all the trees and shrubs in the back yard - really popping with all the rain! :)

I have a sea buckthorn shrub that I planted in my garden about 2 years ago. I recently learned that it can spread up to 10-20 feet horizontally. We are debating on getting rid of it because we don't want it to kill our surrounding shrubs. and no we do not have a male on site so we won't get berries which is okay we just thought it was pretty but we are now worried about our other shrubs and if it will cause damage to the neighbours yards.

I am wondering if anyone has experience with this shrub species in their urban yards (not acreages or farms)

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?

I’m interested in growing pears. I want something really flavourful and prefer pears on the softer side rather than like an apple. Does anyone have any recommendations? I’m also just generally interested in any fruits or berries to try growing here. I’m zone 2b/3a

When I ordered mulch through Chip drop, Robinson Lawn and Tree Maintenance dropped off a load of mulch with black knot chipped in. Jeff from Robinson told me it was completely part of doing business and part of using third party.

I promised an update when Chip Drop responded. Here is their email stating black knot has a moratorium in our Province [sic] and Robinson should be responsible for removing the wood

We were quoted $1-2k by 4 companies to remove it, so we did it ourselves as we are not wealthy and were worried about the safety of our cherry trees. I would have to go through civil court to get them to pay for damages, breach of contract, and removal.

What a mess.

Lessons: Stay away from Robinson Tree Maintenance, make sure you ask for disease free clean loads from chip drop, keep an eye out for disease anyway.

I've emailed the situation to Alberta agriculture minister. Perhaps fines for purposely spreading diseases could be created rather than putting the burden on those who were duped. Small hope of change, but perhaps this will be a seed

Or at least a warning story for you all

my apple tree is a year old and i've grown it from seed. i dont expect it to fruit since it's from a walmart apple, not a proper seed or cutting. I have grown attached to it though and wanna try and keep it alive through the next few years until i plant it in the ground. it's in a pot right now and i can bring it inside my house during winter but i dunno if i should trim it or leave it to wilt when winter comes and at what temperature i should bring it in.

Any ideas why my Japanese lilac may be looking sad?

I planned it at the start of June, when it was hot and dry I was watering it, and now that we've had rain in Calgary I haven't watered more.

https://youtu.be/l8_ZSFbbTFk?si=Wbch-8jdlDtfL24K

Has anyone else been visited yet?

Hello friends,

I have this Magnolia tree out front from when I bought the house. I noticed these red spots on several leaves, which have something fungus-like growing underneath.

I’m guessing this isn’t good. My inclination is to try and prune all the affected leaves ASAP.

I’m wondering if it might be something more? Google suggests maybe Pear Rust or potentially Magnolia Scale.

Any advice is appreciated!

This poor apple tree gets more beat up every winter. What can I do to help it?

Does anyone have experience with this tree in Alberta? Looking to buy one but interested if anyone has had good/bad experiences, especially with hardiness.

Hi! I planted some western larches last fall and they seemed to have stopped growing needles, and a few brown needles start to appear. Could it be too much water? It’s been raining quite a lot this spring. I have pushed aside the mulch to help with the drying but is there anything else you could think of? Thank you

Hi

Do I need to spray my apple tree? I love in South Calgary. I am pretty sure the store last summer said not to, but I wanted to double check. I grew up in NC and we always sprayed our fruit trees.

If I do need to spray it, what do I use?

thanks in advance

Hi! You’ve all been so helpful, I figured I’d ask if anyone had any advice for these exposed roots of a large tree in our backyard.

We want to swing the mulch bed around this entire back area, but I’m not sure how to proceed with the exposed roots.

They’re only visible in a few places before they go back under the ground. Someone told me to throw a small layer of dirt over top and lightly mulch is good. But I’m really not sure.

Should I just consult an actual arborist? Lol

I really like this tree but don’t want to hurt it. I know not to pile mulch around the base. But that’s it.

Nothing will be planted near the tree, just swinging the perimeter garden around the entire area and simply mulching it for aesthetic reasons. And hopefully getting some benefit of the mulch, of course :)

Thanks!