Trees and Shrubs for Northern Climates
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2019‐01‐15 INTRODUCTION TREES AND SHRUBS Stick with the tried & true? or Sift through the FOR NORTHERN CLIMATES masses of new cultivars? Some change is 200 SHRUB CULTIVARS PLANTED OVER 4 YEARS necessary! Improved global genetics NORTHERN GREEN 2019 New pests Smaller, lower maintenance yards EVALUATION: Determining the impact of climate, soils and pests on PHILIP RONALD, PH.D. long-term plant survival 260 TREE CULTIVARS AT 4 SITES OVER 6 YEARS ERRATIC CLIMATE WEATHER Minnesota: “beachhead” for Is Arctic warming Arctic cold producing hot/cold weather April 5, 2018 Zone map: an extremes in the attempt to U.S.? match plant survival with a The new normal? set of weather > summer drought conditions > April cold snaps > Min. winter temp > Frost free period “Arctic invasion” > Precipitation of April 2018 damaged plants at a time of Do zone maps limited hardiness reflect recent trends? Watch out for Less extreme winter cold extreme cold during More erratic acclimation or weather deacclimation! Dakota Pinnacle Birch – June 2018 Downtown Winnipeg, MB Thief River Falls, MN LANDSCAPE SOIL pH SOILS Bur Oak Typical scenarios Determined by for urban >parent material landscapes: >summer moisture Top-soil often stripped MN is divided: 1/3 alkaline Compaction of 6.5 - 8 subsoil 2/3 acidic Freeman Maple 5.5 – 6.5 Poor drainage Soil alkalinity: Minimal water Major impact on infiltration micro-nutrient availability Little organic matter Severely restricts growth for some Contamination plants Same site – 1 year later 1 2019‐01‐15 PESTS OBJECTIVES Ornamental Revisit the plants face aesthetics of many abiotic plants challenges BUT Not just cultivars, The greatest but rather threats are ornamental living concepts with cultivar General vs examples specific pests Let’s talk less about what’s Invasive alien new and more species about what’s Japanese beetle outstanding and Emerald Ash Borer adapted! EVERGREENS REMEMBER: No deciduous foliage - 5-6 months of the year ‘Baby Blue’ Colorado Spruce H: 40’ W: 10’ “Cultivar-like” uniformity Intense blue foliage Fuller branching vs other types FOLIAGE ‘Baby Blue’ ‘Sky High’ ‘Medora’ ‘Turkestan’ Euonymus BROAD-LEAFED EVERGREENS EVERGREENS Juniper: “one of the toughest” Flowering plants Adaptable to most with perennial soils leaves Tolerates hot, dry locations Change our perception of ‘Good Vibrations’ fall and winter Horizontal Juniper H: 1’ W: 7’ Soft to the touch Turkestan ‘Good Vibrations Gold’ Yellow foliage Euonymus H: 3’ W: 3’ ‘Sky High’ / ‘Medora’ Unique capsule fruit Rocky Mtn. Juniper Blue-green foliage Columnar form Blue Ice Bog Rosemary ‘Blueberry Delight’ Common Juniper H: 1’ W: 2’ H: 1’ W: 4’ Blue foliage Blue fruit when Pink spring flowers pollinated ‘Blueberry Delight’ ‘Blue Ice’ Bog Rosemary 2 2019‐01‐15 ‘Ivory Halo’ Acer triflorum 1515 Sugar FALL COLOR VARIEGATION Short duration, Still a desirable but another trait for contrast dimension to the landscape ‘My Monet Purple’ ‘Ivory Halo’ Dogwood Fall color is the H: 4-5’ W: 4-5’ product of warm Top seller days and cool Red winter stems nights ‘Cool Splash’ ‘Red Rocket’ Chlorophyll Diervilla breakdown H: 3-4’ W: 3-4’ unmasks new Yellow flowers colors ‘My Monet F.C. should be: Purple’ Weigela > early H: 1-2’ W: 1-2’ Purple-pink flowers > long-lasting > intense ‘Northern Empress’ Japanese Elm ‘Cool Splash’ MARCESCENCE HYBRID OAK Retention of dead leaves that Interspecific normally are hybrids with shed marcescent foliage Contributes to winter value ‘Prairie Less fall labor Stature’ robur x alba ‘Prairie Stature’ NDSU More rare in Red fall color zones 3 & 4 Zone 3b ‘Admiration’ N. Pin Oak ‘Admiration’ White Oak bicolor x alba Swamp W. Oak Exfoliating bark Ironwood Sparse fruited Musclewood Zone 2 Beech Bailey - Oregon ‘Admiration’ BARBERRY NINEBARK Most significant Compact form shrub genus in zone 3: Colorful foliage Ornamental and adaptable Heat & drought Excellent foliage tolerant Respond well to pruning Zone 3 ‘Royal Jubilee’ ‘Concorde’ Purple revolution H: 2’ W: 3’ began with Tidy ball shape ‘Diabolo’ in 1999 ‘Concorde’ Purple foliage “Escapes winter” Newer cvs: ‘Royal Jubilee’ Zone 4 H: 3-4’ W: 3-4’ ‘Emerald Carousel’ ‘Admiration’ H: 2’ W: 2’ ‘Fireside’ Bicolor foliage H: 5-6’ W: 4-5’ ‘Fireside’ September 29/16 3 2019‐01‐15 Spring foliage AMBER May 23, 2018 JUBILEE ELDER NINEBARK Outstanding foliage plant Foliage colour Compound, cutleaf breakthrough foliage ‘Diabolo’ x “Wakes up early” ‘Dart’s Gold’ Red Elder Golden foliage H: 5-6’ W: 4’ Ultra hardy ‘Lemony Lace’ Fall foliage Spring foliage: ‘Morden Golden Glow’ Yellow-orange Black Elder Fall foliage: Purple foliage Red, purple Edible fruit ‘Black Lace’ ‘Laced up’ ICEBERG SUMAC ALLEY WILLOW ‘Tiger Eyes’ Cutleaf Staghorn H: 3’ W: 3’ H: 6’ W: 6’ Selected as a A “must have” native plant in Newfoundland Compound, cutleaf foliage Silver pubescence Soil tolerant covers plant Suckering Interesting Contrast with spring catkins purple & green Excellent shrub Fall colour: for contrast orange, red FLOWERS Often the showiest part of a landscape plant SMALL Typically given a high priority TREES when choosing landscape plants Usually the component with the shortest FLOWERS duration Double Flowering Plum 4 2019‐01‐15 WINTERED LOTUS MOON FLOWER PEARL BUSH BUDS Outstanding, but H: 4’ W: 4’ short-lived spring display An example of wintered flower Many flower at buds or before the time of leaf emergence “2 week wonder” but still worth planting Flower bud hardiness Hardiness revision – now Most trees zone 3 Forsythia Flowering Plum Has survived 4 Lilacs Manitoba Viburnums winters! Differing flower bud hardiness across cultivars (Photo credit: U of Minnesota) NEO-FORMED BUTTON BUSH FLOWERS Neo-formed Alternative to flowers wintered buds Fragrant, ball- Flowers shaped produced on blossoms current season’s attract/feed growth insects ‘Fiber Optics’ Extends bloom Glossy foliage period over months vs days Unique red fruit Buttonbush Cultivars for False Spirea zone 4 Hydrangeas ‘Fiber Optics’ Potentilla H: 6’ W: 6’ Roses Spirea ‘Sugar Shack’ ‘Marmalade’ Potentilla ‘Sugar Shack’ H: 4’ W: 4’ ‘Marmalade’ ‘Mandarin Tango’ CAMPFIRE POTENTILLA ROSE Dwarf, drought H: 3’ W: 4’ tolerant Neo-formed Best rose for blooms from zone 3 June until frost Blooms Flowers vary in: continuously > Diameter > Petal count > Color: Yellow double White, yellow, blossoms are pink, orange, red edged in red FE Cultivars gradually turn ‘Crème Brulee’ deep pink ‘Lemon Meringue’ Jeffries Cultivars Very disease ‘Mandarin Tango’ resistant ‘Crème Brulee’ ‘Lemon Meringue’ ‘Marmalade’ 5 2019‐01‐15 ‘Annabelle’ ‘Diamond Rouge’ FLOWER SMOOTH DURATION HYDRANGEA Why are Flowers occur hydrangeas so popular? in dome- shaped 1. Large, terminal inflorescences inflorescences – panicles, corymbs (corymbs) 2. Long period of bloom initiation – ‘Annabelle’, flowers on new the standard wood for cultivar 3. Long-lasting, comparison “indestructible” flowers Major Sepal-based, more durable than breeding petals developments in flower color Sterile, no fruit development and plant size ‘IV Limetta’ SMOOTH ‘Diamond Rouge’ PANICLE HYDRANGEA HYDRANGEA Incrediball series 20+ cultivars in ‘Incrediball’ the marketplace ‘Incrediball Blush’ ‘Incrediball Blush’ Red flowered ‘IV Spirit II’ cultivar = “holy grail” Invincibelle series ‘Diamond Rouge’ ‘IV Limetta’ H: 4-5’ W: 3-4’ ‘IV Mini Mauvette’ ‘Fire Light’ H: 5-6’ W: 4-5’ ‘Invincibelle Ruby’ ‘IV Ruby’ ‘IV Wee White’ Tree-forms ‘Limelight’ - tree ‘IV Spirit II’ selling well; (3-4’) concerns about hardiness in ‘IV Wee White’ zone 3 (1-2’) ‘Fire Light’ (L) ‘Quick Fire’ – ‘Limelight’ (R) PANICLE ‘Snowbird’ Hawthorn ‘Emerald Spire’ Rosybloom DATE OF FULL FLOWERS ON BLOOM IN HYDRANGEA TREES MANITOBA: BLOOM TIME Very early bloomers Medium/Large (July 20): Time of bloom ‘Quick Fire’ trees: initiation is ‘Lil’ Quick Fire’ Apetalous, more important ‘Bobo’ wind-pollinated the further July 31, 2008 Early bloomers north you go! (July 30): Few exceptions: ‘Little Lamb’ Buckeye ‘Pinky Winky’ Want to Linden ‘Vanilla Strawberry’ maximize Pear flowering Mid-season bloom duration in (August 10) Small Trees: summer ‘Limelight’ Amur Maackia > Hawthorn ‘Little Lime’ > Maackia ‘Fire Light’ Mix and match > Crabapple Late-season bloom cvs for all- > Cherry / Plum summer (August 20): > Mountain Ash ‘Mega Mindy’ blooming > Tree Lilac September 29, 2008 Showy Mtn Ash 6 2019‐01‐15 FLOWER FRAGRANCE Can be a swing factor when choosing trees & shrubs Consider: Buttonbush Daphne Lilac Linden Mockorange Rose Summersweet FRUIT Ussurian Pear FRUIT FRUIT DROP The product of fertile flowers A major issue for trees with Very large / fleshy ornamental, fruits but can be messy! Landscape placement is Sterility crucial for: option? Buckeye Pear Retained fruit Walnut is an excellent some source of crabapples winter color ‘Green Spires’ ‘Russian Olive’ WEEDINESS STERILITY Female-sterile Greater issue than Flowers, but no fruit drop fruit e.g. ‘Spring Snow’ Flowering Crab Wind-dispersed fruit/seed A way to High germination “tame” invasive Original plant in shelterbelt ‘Silverado’ species Unwanted volunteers Green Spires Caragana Boxelder arborescens x Russian Olive frutex Green Ash Cottonwood Silverado Siberian Elm Olive angustifolia x Green Ash volunteers Flowers but no fruit commutata 7 2019‐01‐15 ‘Hot Wings’ July 1, 2018 TATARIAN WINTERBERRY MAPLE Perhaps one of ‘Hot Wings’ the best displays H: 20’ W: 18’ of retained fruit in winter ‘Hot Wings’ ‘Ruby Slippers’ “Traffic-stopper” Outstanding red Suitable for samaras are planting in slow to senesce saturated areas - July 1 to