Trees

from Prime Senior News May 2022

Healthy Tips For Spring

Trees are amazing. Think about all trees do for us, our community, our country, our world. Trees cool the air, block the wind, hold topsoil in place, clean our water. Trees provide privacy and add value to your property. They produce edible fruit and provide food

and shelter for wildlife. {We get lumber from trees—a renewable resource. Two of trees’ most important properties are their production of oxygen and, of course, their beauty. In these sometimes-divisive times there is one thing that everyone can agree on—we all love trees! Arbor Day (Arbor means tree in Latin) was established by J. Sterling Morton, once U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and later governor of Nebraska, in 1872 for the purpose of encouraging the planting of trees. He and his wife had moved to Nebraska and could see the need for planting trees in that Plains State. Other states followed suit, naming their own Arbor Day. States in the northern part of the U.S. have officially chosen the last Friday of April as their Arbor Day—a good time of the year to plant trees there. Southern states like Mississippi and Georgia have chosen the third Friday in February for their Arbor Day and Florida’s is the third Friday in January. For years Cashman Nursery along with the Gallatin Gardener’s Club members have planted a tree on Arbor Day at one of the local schools. The schoolchildren help. Here are some of the trees planted on Arbor Day in Bozeman schoolyards over the years: Maples-Although taller maple trees are not native to our area, they are beautiful trees with stunning fall color and mostly disease resistant. Most maples do prefer more acidic soils than our soils, which tend to be more alkaline. The hybrid maple Autumn Blaze is relatively fast growing, drought tolerant and adaptable to most soils. Autumn Blaze Maples have been planted at Morning Star elementary and the new Gallatin High School. Other maples that have been planted at local schools include sugar, Norway, and Schwedler. A Hawthorn tree was planted at Hawthorn School. This small tree with an interesting twisted trunk has pretty flowers in the spring and later, fruit for the birds. Plum and apple trees-Plum trees were planted at Irving School so

}the students could watch the fruit form until it is ripe in the fall; apples trees were planted at Meadowlark School. Pie cherries & crab apples-Fruiting trees at Hyalite and Hawthorn Elementary Schools provide the children the chance to watch the fruit form from beautiful flowers with bees pollinating them in the spring, then growing to edible fruit for the birds. Ponderosa Pines and spruce trees have been planted at Sacajawea Middle School, Morning Star and Willson schools. These two evergreen trees are green all winter during the time when school is in session and not much else is

green. Besides being beautiful, Jan evergreens block the wind and

Cashman

has operated Cashman unsightly views. Nursery in Bozeman Mountain ash and green ashwith her husband,

Jerry, since 1975. These two unrelated trees, despite their names, were planted at Chief Joseph Middle School. Birds love the bright orange mountain ash berries. Green ash selections such as Prairie Spire are some of the hardiest shade trees for our area.