Adapt and Evolve

Today I sit at home looking out the window, listening and watching the birds at the bird feeder. My dog is waiting patiently to go for a walk or a run, she comes over to where I am sitting every few minutes. I am trying to remember what last month felt like; what my life was like where I thought it was fairly manageable and content, at times it is challenging to make sense of it. I am paused to remember to have gratitude for what I have today, and fond memories of all the communities that I have visited, and people I have met since Fitness 2J2 programming started in 2011. Marci Cho and Kinanaskomitin.

I intended to bring you up to date on stories and photos of a Basketball Camps for youth in all the Northern Communities partnering with NSCRD (Northern Sport Culture and Recreation District); Our first Saskatchewan Justice Security Guard course, and Security guard self-defense program that we partnered with PAGC (Prince Albert Grand Council). Both of these programs were to be at no cost to participate. Due to the COVID-19 protocol, we will postpone them; and look forward to bringing the programs once all our lives become manageable. A special ‘Thank you!’ to RCMP Stony Rapids Sgt. Desfosses, and his detachment’s support in providing CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre) checks for the applicants to our Security program. To all the Nurses, Doctors, First Responders, Hospital and Clinic staff, Community Leaders we will all be forever grateful for what you are doing for our health now; and to the next weeks and months that lay ahead.

The programming of Fitness 2J2 initially was about providing functional fitness for youth and adults of all ages and abilities, with communities that may not have had many options. To remove some barriers to health and positive lifestyle; empower community members to be fitness leaders for the health and wellness of the community. As I reflect on the beginning and from starting on the bottom not knowing much about business or entrepreneurship, Fitness 2J2 has come a long way. The focus is the same, and so now with fitness leaders and self-defense and security leaders, we can provide more programming and stories of success and hope for our communities.

Reviewing some of my recent notes and program assessments from participants, I believe and confirm that the formula of Physical; Mental; Emotional; Spiritual health is important to our overall well-being. At this time and space, there will be new challenges for you and your family. For some, we have the access to the northern forests, and open land, for some we are in cities, either way, as long as we are following the direction from health officials and respecting social distancing the outdoors can be healing for you.

Here are some strategies that I hope may be of benefit for your mental and physical health, and managing during Coronavirus.

REACTIONS YOU MAY FEEL

■ Worsening of chronic health problems. ■ Difficulty concentrating. ■ Change in behaviour and demeanour. ■ Fear and worry about your health and that of your family. ■ Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT YOURSELF

■ Keep a sense of hope and positive thinking, this too shall pass. ■ Try to eat healthy balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, avoid alcohol and drugs. ■ Avoid excessive exposure to media coverage of

Coronavirus. ■ Take care of your body, deep breathing, stretching and meditating. ■ Make time to unwind, remind yourself strong feelings will fade. ■ Connect with others through social media; share your concerns and feelings with your friends and family. ■ Maintain healthy relationships.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR WELL-BEING

■ Try to keep active mentally and physically. ■ Keep your mind stimulated. ■ Connect with people through social media. ■ Make a healthy routine. ■ Take care of the news and information. ■ Find ways to relax and be creative.

Joel Pedersen

Fitness 2J2

Fitness 2J2 is a socially responsible; community-based Indigenous Health and Wellness Company, providing programming to Indigenous communities. Follow on Facebook for no-cost home-based workouts, or check the webpage at www.fitness2j2.com for downloadable fitness system or DVD. 10% of proceeds will go back to community youth sports and programming.

TREATING OUR ASH ADDICTION WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?

Author Disclaimer: The only field in which I am an expert is my own. Pun intended. Please consult www.prairietrees.ca to see the results of the extensive trial conducted by the WNGG from 2007 to the present, along with a comprehensive list of tree ratings and recommendations compiled by Western Canadian nursery growers. It is my opinion that this list should be THE primary source for recommendations on trees in the Prairie Provinces of Western Canada.

Picking up where we left off in the last edition of DIRECTION, the question on everyone’s mind is:

“So what can I substitute for Ash?” followed by “Yeah but…”

Given any list, adding an exclusionary parameter makes it shorter. Let’s call not meeting these exclusionary parameters “Yeah buts”. The major 6 Yeah Buts are the parameters I listed for why we used ash previously. So let’s look at some of the genera that come to mind. I’m not going to go over all their attributes or all the selections available. What I’m going to do is explain the “Yeah But” and suggest how to adapt to using these trees in our landscapes.

Acer (Maple)

■ A rubrum (Red Maple). “Yeah but they are not adaptable to our soil chemistry.” There are selections out there that seem to be cold hardy. They are big. They are fairly clean. They are available from Ontario and the US. The hardiest ones have been selected in Manitoba. But they can be Sickly yellow in our high pH soils, and there is nothing permanent we can do to amend that.

■ A. freemanii hybrids. “Yeah but they aren’t Cold Hardy. No matter how much we try, Autumn Blaze and other Freeman Maples aren’t reliable crops on Prairie nurseries. Yes your neighbour has one and it’s fine. Yes there are some in your park that were planted last year and they are beautiful red right now. Under stress, and under turf, the hardiest selections of Freeman maple will survive until they catch and start to grow, and that’s the year it will likely take significant damage. It’s not January that kills the hardier selections. It’s October. It’s growing like crazy and staying green until hard frost that takes them down. New selections are being made though. Look to Manitoba in the future for better selections coming, unfortunately it takes time to build stock.

■ A saccharum (Sugar Maple) “Yeah but they aren’t Cold Hardy.” Also, “Yeah but they are hard to propagate and hardly available.” Again, new selections out of Manitoba seem promising. But it will be a few years until they are fully proven and significant stock is available. ■ A. saccharinum (Silver Maple) “Yeah but they aren’t ALL cold hardy”. Also they can be chlorotic in prairie soils over the long term. We use the selection “Silver Cloud” here. We root prune them every September to turn them off so they’ll winter in the nursery. Under turf they are quite reliable, but availability is sparse for now. I’m sure it will improve.

■ A. tataricum (Tatarian Maple) “Yeah but they are not big enough.” Hot Wings and other clones seem to be gaining popularity, but they are far from perfect. Skilled pruning in the nursery to bring it up to a good branching height is required. The Planting site must have good organic content in the soil, and good fertility must be present or they are off colour. They aren’t terribly clean either. Anthracnose is a fungal disease that can really make them sickly.

Alnus (Alder)

“Yeah but they aren’t drought tolerant. There are few species of Alder that form proper trees (some are shrubs). Alder are an understory tree and are adapted to sheltered sites with light soils and consistent moisture. They tend to scorch and tatter by August in open sites with heavy, dry soil. They are very fast growing but need decent soils and over time will stress out and stall in poor sites. The selection “Prairie Horizon” seems to perform the best in our zone as a landscape tree.

Betula (Birch) (Paper Birch, Asian White Birch)

“Yeah but they are not drought tolerant.” Nope they aren’t. Buggy too. Including irrigation in the design will make Birch Trees a viable choice. There are some selections that are resistant to Bronze Birch Borer. Regardless, a healthy irrigated tree will resist infestation for a long time. Other than the native Paper Birch, There’s some great Asian selections out there too. Prairie Dream, Parkland Pillar, and Dakota Pinnacle come to mind. The magnificent Cut-leaf Weeping has gone out of style due to the legendary Borer epidemic of the 1980’s and 90s. Try to move them in Spring. Mid-summer and Fall transplanted birch often disappoint, even if they were basketed in spring. Container grown stock is not sensitive to when they are transplanted, though remember container grown stock requires immediate and constant irrigation until established.

Celtis (Hackberry)

“Yeah but they aren’t Cold Hardy”, not across the entire zone anyway. They seem to hate my particular soil as well. There are a couple selections out there. If they aren’t on your local nursery’s list there’s a reason. If they are, use them!

There are a few hardy varieties out there. Snowbird seems to be the best tree-form one in my nursery. However, the “Yeah Buts” abound. Too small for streetscaping, Suckers. Drops fruit. Many pests and diseases. Every tree has a place and while I would never line a street with Hawthorns, they should be part of the mix.

Malus (Apples and Crabapples)

“Yeah but they aren’t big enough.” “Yeah but they aren’t clean.”

There are many options when it comes to Malus and in my opinion it is under-used. See your local nursery for details. Lots has happened since Thunderchild and Radiant were popular. It is a very adaptable tree when it comes to soil and varying moisture. Some newer varieties have no fruit or at least very little, some can be pruned high by a skilled nurseryman if they are pruned early enough in the production cycle. Many of the newer varieties are resistant to fire-blight and scab, and in time many grow quite large. But none will meet all the aforementioned parameters at one time. Plant them in clusters for impact if one tree won’t be big enough.Buy stock that has been worked as high as possible to get maximum branch clearance. Design wider boulevards to accommodate the lower headed selections.

Populus (Poplar)

“Yeah but its not clean.” You can say that again! Hybrid Poplars and the larger native Poplars (Cottonwood, Balsam Poplar) are awesome until they’re not. Bugs, cankers, suckers, and falling branches…’nuff said. Poplars still have a place. Open parks and wide boulevards is where they are useful. Especially if they are irrigated, Poplars will provide decades of shade. Just give them room.

Populus (Trembling Aspen)

“Yeah but (see above). Aspens are native to the zone, but cannot be held to the structural and pest free standards of street trees. So many struggles exist. Borers, fungus, canker. Use them in mass plantings, clusters, naturalized designs. In chinook zones where there are even fewer choices, I’ve seen them used in traditional designs and as feature shade trees, but groundwork and diligent fertility and irrigation and pest management for multiple years after planting is required to really get them going.

Prunus (Ornamental Cherries)

“Yeah but they are often messy and diseased.” Schubert Cherries and Maydays were heavily used up until very recently as the fungus Black Knot became recognized as a major problem in the East part of the zone and expectations from customers regarding cleanliness and branching structure changed. Amur Cherry is heavy with fruit and the trunk tends to split. Roberts Cherry is a stunted version of Shubert that seems quite Black Knot resistant. The hybrid selection “Ming” is a medium sized cherry with very little fruit and seems to be free from Black Knot. Both are promising selections for bed plantings where a high branching habit is not required. Planting Cherries in groupings reduces our obsessive need for each tree to be perfect and a couple trunk-splits and low branching then seems not to matter as much.

Pyrus (Ornamental Pears)

“Yeah but they are very messy”. GOOD NEWS! It only takes a few minutes to clean them up! Like I said, parameters reduce options and the pruning requirements to maintain, say, an Elm Tree are a far greater cost than sweeping up a few pears. Some varieties have fewer than others. The cold hardy varieties you will find in western Canadian nursery catalogues are also tolerant of multiple soil types and pollution. While pears are particularly sensitive to herbicide drift from my neighbour’s barley field (Grrrr), this is not an issue in urban settings. They can’t replace Ash in the size category or cleanliness category, but the upright and hardy variety ‘Navigator’ fits great in boulevards.

Quercus (Oak)

“Yeah but they’re so slow.” Oaks are slow in poor soils, and slow to establish, and there are few proven species/selections for our zone, but they can really be a rewarding tree in the long term if care is taken in the groundwork. Drainage and fertility are important to give them a good start. The only species with consistent hardiness is Burr oak, but there are particular selections of other species that seem to be proving useful. Stock of these is sparse due to the difficulty of propagation and rootstock compatibility.

■ Quercus macrocarpa (Burr Oak). Seed source is important, this tree occurs from Manitoba all the way down the Missouri River system and to the Gulf of Mexico via Texas, and some suppliers in the USA have stock that hasn’t proven hardy at my nursery. But Canadian suppliers are usually dealing with proven sources. Some great selections are showing up too!

■ Quercus alba (White oak). Generally not hardy here, but one suspected hybrid selection, “Admiration” is showing great promise and is being budded onto Burr oak. The mother tree is in Saskatoon. Magnificent.

■ Quercus ellipsoidalis (Northern Pin Oak). While some selections are cold hardy, the species is terribly chlorotic in high pH soils, to the point of failure, but the selection “Shooting Star” has proven viable when budded onto Burr oak. One that has become known recently is ”First Editions Majestic Skies”. I have two excellent specimens in my yard, however we still find them deathly chlorotic in the field. My lawn is fertilized regularly with elemental sulphur in the blend, maybe that’s why they are doing well. It’s only propagated by one nursery in the USA and they so far do not use Burr Oak as rootstock. Like I said, propagating oak clones is hard when Burr oak is the necessary rootstock, but I’m hopeful as the rising demand is increasing Canadian nursery’s efforts to provide more Quercus options.

- MOUNTAIN ASH IS NOT ASH! These lovely trees range from dwarf to huge, and are the ones “with the orange berries” that your dad hated cleaning up in fall. Well GOOD NEWS! It’s light work and your dad also hated that the lawn grew and needed mowing, and that his car got dirty every time it rained. There are several semi dwarf varieties of European Mountain Ash (S. aucuparia) suitable for streetscaping. One is referred to as “Columnar” or “Pyramidal” Mountain Ash and another is called “Rossica” or Russian Mountain Ash. The species Showy and American Mountain Ash (S. decora and S. americana) are low and wide and need room. All need good soil and fertility with good drainage. Compact, alkaline clay will not do. Susceptible to fireblight.

Tilia (Linden)

I love Lindens. “Yeah but they need particular soil and moisture conditions to thrive, and the Chinook zones seem to struggle with hardiness issues”. Little Leaf Lindens (T. cordata) and their North American counterparts known as Basswood (T. americana), and their hybrids, are promising species for streetscaping and there are magnificent sidewalk plantings and monstrous specimens in my home city of Saskatoon. More and more species and selections are being tested and marketed. Look for Manchurian Linden (T. manchurica) selections popping up, and some Mongolian Linden (T. mongolica) selections and hybrids have been around for a while. Many have been used for a long time in the Northern USA and we are only now finding they are suitable here. We are getting better at raising their branching heights in the nursery so they will suit streetscaping purposes. But plop them in a highly compacted, poorly drained, unirrigated, or infertile area, and they stall. 10 years from now they are the same size or basal shoots have taken over or they have started to decline. Lindens require diligent groundwork. Pay attention to the soil in the planting area like you would a vegetable garden.

Ulmus (American Elm)

“Yeah but Dutch Elm Disease” Sigh. Like I said at the beginning. I think the majestic American Elm and the selections already common to our zone will be around a long time and still have a place in our designs. Maybe we are choosing to hope, because I’ve noticed they are still being planted in monocultural designs in Alberta. But it will be a struggle. We have learned a lot since DED appeared on the East coast of North America in 1928. Winnipeg spends a lot of money combating it with some limited success in slowing its spread. Saskatoon spends a crazy amount maintaining and pruning its current inventory to mitigate its spread should it ever arrive.

There are DED resistant clones, but due to the tight restrictions on the movement of elm, we have had no legal way to move these clones into the DED-free zones for proper testing and to build up inventory.

Hybrid elm clones that are resistant to DED have proven to have limited success across the zone.

There is no easy substitute for Ash. Ash fit a particular set of parameters that has suited our needs for landscaping in a cold, dry climate, with imperfect soils. It has also suited the design specifications that have increasingly required clean, low maintenance trees that require little input once established and grow big enough and fast enough to match the traditional streetscaping designs of other cities in warmer zones.

It is our expectations and what we invest in our designs that will be our substitute for Ash. Creative thinking, unconventional planting patterns, more resources devoted to irrigation, soil preparation, and space will be required for a successful landscape. The old adage of right plant, right place is one we can lean on here.

Honestly, I think good things will ultimately come from the challenge we are facing. Our designs will become more diverse in the species used and the look of them will become more dynamic as we adapt them to accommodate trees of varying shapes and sizes. We will invest more in their sustainability with better plantsmanship.

As does any population faced with stress, we will evolve.

Aaron Krahn B.Ed.

Co-Owner of Lakeshore Tree Farms Ltd in Saskatoon Sk and President of the Western Nursery Growers Group www.lakeshoretreefarms.com

Lakeshore Tree Farms Ltd is a SPRA Commercial Member

Originally printed in Landscape Alberta Green for Life Magazine - November-December 2018 as part of “Treating our Ash addiction in Northern Prairie Zones”