Ready to learn
If you read this blog consistently, you will know that I believe in non-stop learning. When you stop learning, there will be trouble. And as a Red Seal professional, I have to keep on learning to keep my edge.
Now, as I sat in my living room, sipping coffee and looking at the snowy park across the street, I tried to recall lessons from last year that really stood out. Meaning, they came up very easily. I didn’t have to search through my photo albums to find them. Let’s take a look.
Ember danger
As I made my way through Daniel Mathews’ book “Trees in trouble“, my sister was seriously worried about wildfire consuming her ranch, located east of Kamloops. She and her partner would spray down the roof of their home several times a day.
This is where I learned my first lesson. I had no idea why my sister was worried about her home when the building was buffered by grassy pastures. The fire looked dangerous but it was still beyond the ridge.
It was time to learn about ember danger. It’s the embers preceding the fire that set your roof on fire. And I think of embers as all the hot junk spewed by a fire and sent on its way by winds, sometimes several kilometers ahead of the actual fire. Now I know. It’s the embers that will light your roof on fire.
Repotting
In 2021, I finally answered my own question about repotting when I took an online gardening course from the Royal Horticultural Society. What size pot do you use when your potted plants get too big? It turns out, the answer is super easy.
Put your existing pot into the new one and you should just be able to stick your finger in the gap between the two pots. That’s it. Which surprised me because I always thought the new pot had to be much bigger. Now I know.
Tree pitch
Back to Daniel Mathews’ excellent book, “Trees in trouble“. I used to think that once beetles entered conifers, they murdered them with ease. I was wrong. Trees defend themselves with pitch (resin), a defensive secretion originating from vessels called pitch ducts, found in certain conifers.
When a female beetle enters the tree, the pitch or resin, floods in to immobilize her; or it stops the male beetle from reaching her and crushing his romantic dreams.
Trees can also flood the entire area around the beetle, thus depriving her of food to eat. Yes, trees are amazing. I always cheer for the trees. May the resin flow.
Plant with wires and burlap or no?
My mentor, Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott, advises against planting trees with wires or burlap. Remove everything and only stick the plant in your planting hole. This eliminates the possibility of burlap embedding root growth or wire baskets girdling the roots.
The counter argument says that disturbing the root ball by removing wire baskets or burlap is way worse than any harm coming from keeping the packaging.
So, what’s the answer? Personal choice! If Vas says remove all packaging, then that’s what happens. If your planting specifications say keep the wire or burlap, then that’s what you do.
The more critical issues are planting depth and post-planting watering. Which brings me to the last lesson.
Tree watering during establishment
Early into 2021, I planted two expensive conifers and removed the wire baskets. I’m sure the planting depth was correct and I personally watered-in both trees. Unfortunately, the news I received later was that the trees were declining. And no wonder, it took the people in the complex a week or two to start watering.
This is what the October, 2021, Arborist News magazine says on page 15: “Daily watering may be needed immediately following planting.” The recommended dose is 1.5-3 L per cm of tree diameter.
If I could go back in time, I would water those two conifers daily. As roots regenerate and explore the soil, you can ease up on the watering.
I hate losing trees. It still bothers me. Watering your trees is cheaper than replacing them later.
Never stop learning
I hope 2022 will bring many exciting lessons with it. Never stop learning.
