Tree Care Articles

My articles page is the place where I have written about most aspects of arboriculture in Calgary. Everything in an arborists' trade, from tree care, trimming and pruning, arbor care, and even being a tree doctor. There are over 150 separate tree resource articles arranged alphabetically. Whether it's, "a mindset for healthy trees" all the way through to "yellow leaves", most of the important aspects of Calgary tree care are included. Have a look, prairie hardy fruit trees, selecting evergreens, tons on planting and pruning, please enjoy this free resource.

If you'd like to take a deeper dive into the internal workings of trees, check out my Botany Talks.

White Fly

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Written by Kevin R. Lee Kevin R. Lee
Published: 11 April 2018 11 April 2018

The white fly inhabits the Virginia creeper, a climbing vine. This hardy vine is
best known for its amazing fall color. The presence of white fly is hard to miss;
when the vine is disturbed a small cloud of white flies will appear, to investigate the disturbance, to see what's the matter, to assess the threat, to relieve their curiosity, to establish ownership. If left alone they will continue feeding, drinking sap, creating innumerable white spots on the leaf surface. With a new generation approximately every month, you will have to be persistent to control them. The vine's leaves can become considerably discolored but, overall, white fly does little damage to the vine.

Virginia creeper
Quaking aspen catkins

Spring?

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Written by Kevin R. Lee Kevin R. Lee
Published: 10 April 2018 10 April 2018

After many false starts and disappointments, three certain signs and changes have been seen.

Towards the west side of the city is a spot I sometimes walk my dogs. There are a few small groves of the native Aspen there. Yesterday upon close inspection, I noticed the first appearance of a grayish fuzz. This will turn into Aspen catkins, flowers. That was the first sign; the other two conclusive signs were a gopher running across the snow and the arrival of robins. I hear them everywhere. They have a two toned call, pleasant to my ear, something like
spring-time, spring-time.

(Photo credit: “2015-03-27 15 47 17 Quaking Aspen catkins at Great Basin College in Elko, Nevada" by Famartin, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.)

Redgall sawfly

Willow Redgall sawfly

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Written by Kevin R. Lee Kevin R. Lee
Published: 09 April 2018 09 April 2018

These conspicuous red galls, like a short string of small red jelly beans in the leaf, are caused by a small sawfly. They look bad but are really quite harmless.

Female sawflies are approximately 4 mm long and are shiny black. After emerging and mating in the spring, the female inserts the eggs into the leaf tissue, where the galls and larvae begin to develop.

Later larvae leave the galls, fall to the ground and pupate. There are two generations per year.

Willow is this sawfly's only host.

(Photo credit: “Willow Redgall Sawfly - Pontania proxima ?" by gailhampshire, licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

Wolf willow

Wolf Willow

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Written by Kevin R. Lee Kevin R. Lee
Published: 08 April 2018 08 April 2018

Wolf willow is not a willow at all, but is a cousin to olive trees. The name's origin is lost in history; perhaps some prairie denizen who appreciated alliteration coined a beauty and it is here to stay. A signature plant of the northern prairies, its mind-stopping scent takes prairie folks back home. Just ask Wallace Stegner; his description of coming home to the family farmstead in southern Saskatchewan fifty-plus years after his childhood is reminiscent of wolf willow.

It's a tough native with silvery blue leaves, and small annual yellow flowers with an amazing scent. You will either love it or not. These shrubs can get quite tall. Ten feet is not uncommon in maturity. I have favored a native garden for some time and feel that the wolf willow has to be included, but they thrive on the dry prairie, expanding into the grass through time. They are as tough a plant as you can find, and will have no trouble at all colonizing your garden, just like falling off a log. Ruthless cultivation and cutting back is my preferred method of control. Sounds tough, but necessary. This prairie ruffian needs constant guidance with his manners. It is worth the trouble, though; the color and early summer scent are priceless.

Another name not in regular usage is silverberry. This refers to the fruit, which has a sweet mealy flesh, edible and, well, strange. Inside is a beautiful seed, once used as a bead. The size of an XL grain of wheat, it has alternating brown, green and yellow stripes.

(Photo credit: “Silber-Ölweide (Elaeagnus commutata) 5824" by Hedwig Storch, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.)

Woolly aphid

Woolly Elm Aphid

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Written by Kevin R. Lee Kevin R. Lee
Published: 07 April 2018 07 April 2018

The woolly elm aphid's activity creates the obvious little "snowballs" in our American elm varieties. These snowballs are a small cluster of leaves covered with a white wax secreted by the adult aphids. These aphids also produce lots of honey dew. The first sign of their activity is the curling of elm leaves. Later the snowballs appear, which with time become clusters of brown leaves. The adults themselves are 3 mm long, black with legs. The clusters of brown leaves usually persist during the winter. This insect does no measurable damage to the host elm Tree.

(Photo credit: “Woolly aphid" by Tmaq97, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.)

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