They say everybody should have a child, write a book and plant a tree!
While the first two might not be as straightforward and available to everybody, the last one, plant a tree, most certainly is. You might participate in activities in your community, be it in a garden or park, you might have friends or family who are planting an orchard or replacing a tree or even join a plant nursery as volunteer work.
Everybody should plant at least one tree in their life time. That would account for 7 billion trees. Not too bad! Inspired yet?
I am! And I have the pleasure of planting a lovely native tree in my yard. FOR MY BIRTHDAY! What a beautiful present I got.
Native to Canada and most importantly, Eastern Canada and Quebec, the tree is called Amelanchier Canadensis and it is gorgeous and useful. The tree is beautiful in all its entirety. The bark of a young tree is of a lovely grey and it will mature into hues of red. You can find it as bushes, which is the most common form of Amelanchiers, but many nurseries actually train them to be trees, having a main trunk. It is also something the owner will have to pay attention to, to make sure its shape will stay tree-like, via pruning and training.
This amelanchier puts out impressive small white flowers rather early in spring (late April for my area) which is a delight for bees. That, together with all my multitude of crocuses should feed the early rising pollinators.
After the flowers, an amelanchier grows lots of oval green leaves and the great news is that while it provides perching sport for birds and cover for some of them, the canopy is rather spread, so a lot of filtered light reaches the ground, providing a part-shade environment that lets everything around grow as well.
Finally, in summer, purple berries will feed my family and the birds, to everybody's delight. Now that will take some years, though, as an amelanchier is not quick in growing, but it is also not lazy. I would say in about 4 years it should be reaching its maturity, given the sunny condition we can provide. It willreach about 5 meters high with an open canopy of around 3 meters.
So, how to proceed to plant it?
It was actually super-quick. My soil is very heavy clay, so some ammendment with coconut choir, compost and even some rocks were called for. While a clay soil is usually very rich in nutrients, it is also too compact to allow for root expansion. Breaking down that structure is key for the rapid establishment of the tree.
We dug a whole that is as deep as the pot (1.5 feet), and twice as large. a first layer of crushed rocks provide drainage, followed by a mix of compost and aerated enriched soil.
It is normal that it makes the tree or shrub rather high compared to the actual level ground. Two important things will happen: The first one is that despite looking higher than the ground, over time and especially with the heavy snow of our Quebec winters the tree ball will go down a bit and the soil will try and re-compact. That is why we need all this preparation work of creating underground breathing spaces.
The second important element is that a tree flare should never be buried. Over time, the roots and the crown of the trunk will develop and they do not like to be under wet and mouldy conditions. That free flare is what will allow the tree to breath and nourish itself properly. Overtime it will look natural and some clovers or wild grass might develop around it. And that is also ok. But we should let it bare and high for now, so the tree does not face too much nutritional competition. Despite being tall, it is still fragile. It is not the tree it promises to be yet.
The final touches were mulch and a stake.
Now, this tree does not need heavy mulch nor a very rigid stake, so why did I do what I just did?
Mulch. Whatever does not decompose for next year will be removed. For now, it will protect the new dirt to not erode away, not to get squirrel holes in it, not to have weeds competing with the tree and also, levels up with the rest of the ground as far as moisture and temperature variations. In about a year that area will be established enough for me to remove the leftover cedar mulch and let nature take its course.
The stake. It is important because of the orientation of my house. My amelanchier is in an open space in which it will receive some of the north wind. Most of it is stopped by the hedge of cedars, but some of it is exposed and this tree will bounce a lot. It will also receive heavy loads of snow, both from nature and from the street snow removers. The stake is set in a way that allows the tree to move (and therefore grow stronger and used to this abuse) but without allowing it to succumb to the stress it is about to face. It is a temporary measure that in about two years will no longer be necessary.
It was a great project and I did not even mention much of the fun we had selecting our tree, walking on nurseries, touching and evaluating the candidates, until we finally brought home our forever green friend. All I knew is that I wanted an amelanchier and so much was left to be discovered on that warm September day. It was my birthday gift. To myself, to my family, to nature. Another tree to nurture and love.
So, if you do not know what tree you want to plant, reserve a day for discovering that. If you already know, honestly, in two hours you will go from grassy spot to planted tree spot. And it is so rewarding!
While the first two might not be as straightforward and available to everybody, the last one, plant a tree, most certainly is. You might participate in activities in your community, be it in a garden or park, you might have friends or family who are planting an orchard or replacing a tree or even join a plant nursery as volunteer work.
 |
| amelanchier canadensis getting acquainted to its new home |
Everybody should plant at least one tree in their life time. That would account for 7 billion trees. Not too bad! Inspired yet?
 |
| the beautiful bark of my amelanchier |
I am! And I have the pleasure of planting a lovely native tree in my yard. FOR MY BIRTHDAY! What a beautiful present I got.
Native to Canada and most importantly, Eastern Canada and Quebec, the tree is called Amelanchier Canadensis and it is gorgeous and useful. The tree is beautiful in all its entirety. The bark of a young tree is of a lovely grey and it will mature into hues of red. You can find it as bushes, which is the most common form of Amelanchiers, but many nurseries actually train them to be trees, having a main trunk. It is also something the owner will have to pay attention to, to make sure its shape will stay tree-like, via pruning and training.
This amelanchier puts out impressive small white flowers rather early in spring (late April for my area) which is a delight for bees. That, together with all my multitude of crocuses should feed the early rising pollinators.
After the flowers, an amelanchier grows lots of oval green leaves and the great news is that while it provides perching sport for birds and cover for some of them, the canopy is rather spread, so a lot of filtered light reaches the ground, providing a part-shade environment that lets everything around grow as well.
Finally, in summer, purple berries will feed my family and the birds, to everybody's delight. Now that will take some years, though, as an amelanchier is not quick in growing, but it is also not lazy. I would say in about 4 years it should be reaching its maturity, given the sunny condition we can provide. It willreach about 5 meters high with an open canopy of around 3 meters.
 |
| make a hole twice as large |
It was actually super-quick. My soil is very heavy clay, so some ammendment with coconut choir, compost and even some rocks were called for. While a clay soil is usually very rich in nutrients, it is also too compact to allow for root expansion. Breaking down that structure is key for the rapid establishment of the tree.
We dug a whole that is as deep as the pot (1.5 feet), and twice as large. a first layer of crushed rocks provide drainage, followed by a mix of compost and aerated enriched soil.
It is normal that it makes the tree or shrub rather high compared to the actual level ground. Two important things will happen: The first one is that despite looking higher than the ground, over time and especially with the heavy snow of our Quebec winters the tree ball will go down a bit and the soil will try and re-compact. That is why we need all this preparation work of creating underground breathing spaces.
 |
| it is ok to have the plant higher than the ground |
The second important element is that a tree flare should never be buried. Over time, the roots and the crown of the trunk will develop and they do not like to be under wet and mouldy conditions. That free flare is what will allow the tree to breath and nourish itself properly. Overtime it will look natural and some clovers or wild grass might develop around it. And that is also ok. But we should let it bare and high for now, so the tree does not face too much nutritional competition. Despite being tall, it is still fragile. It is not the tree it promises to be yet.
The final touches were mulch and a stake.
Now, this tree does not need heavy mulch nor a very rigid stake, so why did I do what I just did?
Mulch. Whatever does not decompose for next year will be removed. For now, it will protect the new dirt to not erode away, not to get squirrel holes in it, not to have weeds competing with the tree and also, levels up with the rest of the ground as far as moisture and temperature variations. In about a year that area will be established enough for me to remove the leftover cedar mulch and let nature take its course.
 |
| Ta-da! Now we just need to give it some squirrel protection |
The stake. It is important because of the orientation of my house. My amelanchier is in an open space in which it will receive some of the north wind. Most of it is stopped by the hedge of cedars, but some of it is exposed and this tree will bounce a lot. It will also receive heavy loads of snow, both from nature and from the street snow removers. The stake is set in a way that allows the tree to move (and therefore grow stronger and used to this abuse) but without allowing it to succumb to the stress it is about to face. It is a temporary measure that in about two years will no longer be necessary.
It was a great project and I did not even mention much of the fun we had selecting our tree, walking on nurseries, touching and evaluating the candidates, until we finally brought home our forever green friend. All I knew is that I wanted an amelanchier and so much was left to be discovered on that warm September day. It was my birthday gift. To myself, to my family, to nature. Another tree to nurture and love.
So, if you do not know what tree you want to plant, reserve a day for discovering that. If you already know, honestly, in two hours you will go from grassy spot to planted tree spot. And it is so rewarding!
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