Small Trees – Spring Beauty & Fall Glory


Small trees contribute positively to any yard as their shade retains moisture on the ground which provides natural cooling for surrounding plants during high summer heat. New lots often feature nothing but bare dirt and new home owners don’t even know where to start with developing their landscape. Does this require to hire one of the busy landscape companies which can easily drain a budget ? The answer is simple – the purchase of just one small tree can be a good start. And where huge landscape projects can feel overwhelming, a good strategy is to beautify small areas and then to sprawl from there. 

Small trees should be hardy enough to sustain the local climate of summer heat and winter’s cold. Growing size at maturity may also play an important role when it comes to privacy from neighbouring properties. Luckily, all important criteria can be met with widely available tree specimen and varieties. Spring blooming tree flowers including the scarlet foliage of fall colours greatly enhance any landscape with their spectacular appearance.


Crimson Cloud Hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata ‘Crimson Cloud’)
Adaptable to a wide range of soil types and best grown in full sun, the Crimson Cloud Hawthorn with its spectacular prolific single bright red flowers, star-shaped white in the center, makes for a striking specimen tree in any landscape. This thornless and fragrant variety grows up to 20 feet in height and up to 15 feet in width at maturity. Fully established, this tree can bloom up to three weeks in spring. Hardiness zone 4.


Amur Maple (Acer ginnala)
A hardy deciduous tree or shrub with distinctive 3-lobed leaves and red fall colour, the Amur Maple tree is is a small deciduous tree or shrub native to northeastern Asia. It is valued for its cold hardiness, attractive fall colours, and adaptability to various soil types. It grows typically 20 feet tall and wide at maturity. Hardiness zone 3 to 8.


Sweetheart Mayday (Prunus padus ‘Sweetheart’)
Also known as Birdcherry, the Sweetheart Mayday is a deciduous tree with a shapely oval form. Early leaves are followed by pendant clusters of tiny but fragrant white or pale pink blooms. Introduced throughout North America from Saskatchewan, this hardy tree grows up to 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide with an open crown structure. Narrow dark-green leaves feature deep purple undersides which make this plant a spectacular sight throughout the growing season. Hardiness zone 4.


Showy Mountain Ash (Sorbus decora)
A hardy accent tree for small landscapes, featuring showy clusters of white flowers in spring and attractive compound leaves that turn red and orange in fall. Orange fruits are held in abundance in spectacular clusters from early fall until dark-red in following spring when they are harvested by swarms of cedar wax wing birds. This hardy, native tree grown 15 to 20 heet in height and about 15 feet wide. Hardiness zone 3.


Hot Wings Tatarian Maple (Acer tataricum ‘Gar Ann’)
A spectacular addition for smaller home landscapes, this tree features blazing red hot seeds in late summer and the fall colour is an excellent mix of yellows and reds.. It is drought-tolerant once established and can grow in sandy, clay and dry soil conditions. It blends well into various landscapes and can be used as an accent, screen, or for mass planting. At maturity, this tree is about 15 feet tall and wide. Hardiness zone 3 to 6.


Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas)
Native to Asia, this tree features tight clusters of small star-shaped yellow flowers bloom that in early spring, covering the tree before leaves emerge. It thrives in well-drained urban conditions as a specimen plant, in masses, near a patio, or as a hedge. Tolerates full sun or part shade and can grow in alkaline soil. Grows up to 25 feet in height and width at maturity. Hardiness zone 4.


Newport Flowering Plum (Prunus cerasifera)
The most cold hardy of Purple leaf Plum varieties, ‘Newport’ is a small tree 15 to 20 feet tall and wide featuring deep purple leaves that retain their colour throughout the season. In spring, rose-pink buds open to soft-pink flowers that contrast beautifully with the deep reddish-purple stems and the new reddish-purple leaves that begin to emerge with the bloom. Ideal for use as a specimen, in groupings or straight and staggered rows to line a drive, walkway, property line or landscape border. Also nice to frame the corners of tall homes and to provide beauty and some shade around patios, porches and other outdoor living spaces. Hardiness zone 3 to 5.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

.

Dormant Spray For Fruit Trees & Shrubs


Dormant spray, also known as horticultural oil, serves as a protective measure for fruit trees and fruit bearing shrubs, roses and deciduous ornamentals. It contains refined petroleum products or vegetable oils and acts by suffocating pests such as aphids, spider mites, and scale insects. Dormant oil, should be applied before buds open during late winter to early spring, when temperatures hover just above freezing. It coats the tree’s branches and trunks, preventing these pests from overwintering. Applying spray products which contain oil plus fungicides such as copper sulphate or lime sulphur ensures that trees enter the growing season healthy and robust by combatting also fungal diseases. The spray forms a barrier that inhibits the development of spores that can infect trees. 

Application Techniques: Applying dormant spray correctly ensures that fruit plants get the maximum benefit. Choose a calm sunny day to apply the product. Coat the plant thoroughly to ensure all cracks in bark and branches are covered. Spray Equipment: Use a pump sprayer or backpack sprayer for even coverage. Ensure your equipment is clean to avoid contamination. Protective Gear: Wear gloves, goggles, and a mask to protect yourself from chemicals. Copper sulphate and lime sulphur are hazardous to human health. Weather Check: Confirm a dry, calm day with temps above 0 degree Celsius or 40°F. Ideal conditions prevent spray drift and ensure even absorption. Dilution: Follow product instructions for proper dilution. Too strong a mix may harm plants; too weak may not provide adequate protection. 

How to Make Dormant Oil: A homemade dormant oil spray can be a game-changer if an “all organic” approach is desired. The mixing ingredients are oils, liquid soap and water. Types of Oils: Mineral Oil suffocates pests effectively and creates a protective barrier. Vegetable Oil is an eco-friendly alternative that can also help target pests. Canola Oil is effective and readily available and non-toxic and safe for the environment. Essential Oils (optional) A few drops of essential oils, like neem or clove oil, for additional pest-repelling properties. These can enhance the efficacy of the dormant oil spray. 

Measuring Ingredients: Oil: Use a 1:1 ratio of oil to water. Liquid Soap: Add 1 tablespoon of liquid soap to act as an emulsifier. Blend Thoroughly: Use a whisk or a hand blender to mix the ingredients until they form a consistent solution. Check consistency to ensure there are no separate layers; the mixture should look uniform. Fill the mixed dormant oil spray into a clean, dark glass or plastic container. The container should be labelled with the contents and the date of preparation. Store container in dark and cool place to maintain its efficacy.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

.

The Limitations of Google – DuckDuckGo To The Rescue


The Limitations of Google – DuckDuckGo To The Rescue – What once was a delightful task to use Google for all of your research projects has nowadays become a bit of a headache. Anyone who does online searches using Google has noticed that the experience is something different of what it used to be. Instead of relevant information, loads of excessive ads disrupt the search experience. Organic search results are often buried beneath layers of paid ads, making it harder to find non-commercial, authentic insights. Google’s business model heavily relies on advertising income, which has led to increased amount of “pollution” in search results, sometimes at the expense of organic content. As more and more search results are contaminated by ads, spam and with articles optimised for search engines, many users take on a long-standing belief that the search engine is getting worse.

Granting forums priority over well-researched articles, the changing algorithms of Google often lead to irrelevant results and outdated pages. Even insightful forums cannot match the depth and accuracy of professional content. Websites overstuffed with keywords to achieve higher search engine ranking, sacrifice readability making it harder for users to find genuinely helpful content. Even misinformation driven by economic incentives makes Google struggle to filter out fake news and misleading content. Google’s answer to the problem of depleted search result quality is to continuously work on algorithm improvements, spam detection, and user feedback, though the effectiveness and pace of these changes is debatable. 

Not this again !

Luckily, there are excellent alternatives that provide much better results that are also ad-free. DuckDuckGo, Bing, Brave Search, and specialised AI search engines like Perplexity or Kagi offer better results, especially in terms of privacy. DuckDuckGo for instance prides itself of being the most privacy based search engine on the web.

Unlike DuckDuckGo, for decades, Google has been tracking user’s searches, embedding trackers in the Chrome browser, and hiding even more trackers on the most-popular websites. Google’s best alternative lets users browse the way they want and puts them back in control of their private data.

Yay!

DuckDuckGo is an independent Internet privacy company that aims to make getting privacy simple and accessible for everyone. their free web browser for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows lets anyone search and browse the web. Unlike Google Search and Chrome, they don’t track searches or browsing history, but block other companies from trying to track users, all by default.

Get DuckDuckGo !

DuckDuckGo Web Tracking Protection – DuckDuckGo never tracks you. And when you leave our search engine and use our apps or extensions to browse other sites, we aim to protect your privacy as much as possible. To be effective, browser tracking protection needs to continually evolve to mitigate how trackers attempt to evade specific protections. That’s why we offer multiple types of web tracking protections. Other browsers offer some of these by default, like cookie and fingerprinting protections, but we also provide many other protections that most browsers do not offer by default, like 3rd-Party Tracker Loading Protection, Global Privacy Control, Link Tracking Protection, CNAME Cloaking Protection, Google AMP Protection, and more, which all help cover different tracking angles.

For example, most browsers’ default tracking protection focuses on cookie and fingerprinting protections that only restrict trackers after they load in your browser. Unfortunately, that level of protection leaves information like your IP address and other identifiers sent with loading requests vulnerable to profiling. We offer our 3rd-Party Tracker Loading Protection to help address this vulnerability, which stops most 3rd-party trackers from loading in the first place, providing significantly more protection. We created this page to explain how each of our web tracking protections works, how our protections work across supported platforms, and how they work together to provide overlapping protection. More

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

The 3 Numbers on Fertilizers Explained


The three numbers on fertilizer are the N-P-K ratio, which stands for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These three nutrients have separate functions and are essential to a plant’s growth and health. Fertilizers can be organic or synthetic, and come in a dry or liquid form.

Feeding your plants is an essential routine to care for them. Plant fertilizers increase a plant’s fertility and encourage growth. Fertlizers are either plant- or animal-based (organic) or man-made chemicals (inorganic), and some are water-soluble while others are dry granular. It can be confusing when it comes to choosing the right fertilizer for different plants. That’s why it is essential to find out what nutrients plants need and in which proportions. 

What Does Each Number Mean? The three numbers on the label indicate the ratio of each nutrient, or N-P-K ratio. The first number is for nitrogen (N), which increases leaf production and makes plants greener. Plants that are almost all leaves need a lot of nitrogen. The second is for phosphorus (P), which promotes root development, fruiting and flowering, and the third is for potassium (K), also known as potash which helps the plant fight off diseases, promotes hardiness and is essential to the metabolic process. Different amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium will impact the growth of a plant in different ways. 

Each number represents the weight percentage of each nutrient in the package; for example, if a plant fertilizer contains a 10-15-10 ratio, this means it has 10 percent nitrogen, 15 percent phosphorus, and 10 percent potassium. The remaining 65 percent is a combination of other micronutrients such as iron, zinc, boron, and copper.

A higher concentration of any of the three nutrients will impact a plant’s development. High amounts of nitrogen will cause greater leafy growth, high phosphorus will cause more fruiting or blooming, and high potassium will cause greater hardiness. Fertilizers with higher ratios are more concentrated than those with lower ratios. High numbers need diluting with more water before applying to plants.

Fertilizer Types – Choosing between wet and dry is more of a preference. Granular fertilizers are mostly used for outdoor plants. They are generally cheaper and have a longer shelf life. For indoor plants or small container plants outside, liquid fertilizers are recommended. Diluted with water, they can get down to where the roots are rapidly.

Organic vs. Inorganic – Organic fertilizers work in a slow and natural way, while synthetic fertilizers work rapidly. Synthetic fertilizers tend to be more concentrated and need to be diluted. Organic fertilizers are made from natural ingredients, are less concentrated and take longer to break down once applied. This helps avoid over-fertilizing and provides steady nutrients over a longer period of time.

For gardens with edible crops, granular or dry fertilizer should be mixed in with the soil before planting in the spring. For gardens with perennial flowers, fertilize before the spring growing season. Over-fertilizing plants is usually worse than choosing the wrong numbers since over-fertilization can cause the plants to burn and leave them weak. If the plant’s requirements are different than what is indicated on the fertilizer numbers, they will show signs.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

.

Eastern Redbud – Drought Tolerant ?


The Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a early spring blooming Oklahoma native. It’s a multi-trunked shrub or tree with vibrant magenta flowers appearing before heart-shaped leaves. The plant has a graceful, spreading habit, and its horizontally arranged branches form a round canopy.


The bark of the Eastern Redbud sometimes starts with a smooth, grayish colour that turns reddish-brown and develops deep fissures and a scaly texture, as the tree or shrub matures.

A delicate and sweet fragrance throughout spring adds a mild, subtle aroma as pleasant element to the visual beauty.

Eastern Redbud trees are versatile and can thrive with minimal care under normal conditions. They are cold hardy to a temperature of minus 28 degrees Celsius. However, the hot and dry climate of the Okanagan and Shuswap regions are a challenge for Redbud plants to survive. They require sun to part shade exposure and frequent, deep, regular watering and moist, well-drained soil. Claims that Eastern Redbud plants are drought tolerant are incorrect. The climate conditions in Oklahoma where these plants originate are completely different from that of the BC Interior.

Oklahoma has a southern humid belt merging with a colder northern continental one and humid eastern and dry western zones that cut through the state. The result is normally pleasant weather and an average annual temperature of about 16 degrees Celsius, increasing from northwest to southeast. No region is free from wind. As the collision point for warm and cold air masses, with sudden rises and falls in temperature, the state has heavy downpours in summer, thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes. Final thoughts: The Redbud plant requires humidity and lots of moisture to thrive. Rock beds and drip line are not favourable.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

Butterfly Bush – A Devastating Beauty


Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
A hard to miss, common sight in our region’s gardens and landscape plantings, the Butterfly Bush with its fragrant conical blooms is fluttering butterflies and buzzing bees. Originally from central China, the Butterfly Bush grows easily in the Okanagan and Shuswap climates.

However eye-catching, hardy, and extremely attractive to butterflies and other pollinators, Butterfly Bush is far from beneficial; in fact it impairs the health of our local ecosystems. Butterfly Bush is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 15 feet high. The opposite-growing leaves, 5-10 inches long, have jagged edges. Butterfly Bush blooms from mid-summer to early fall.

The flowers of the Butterfly Bush form drooping or upright spikes at the end of branches. The wild-origin species is white-flowered with orange or yellow centers. Varieties bred for the garden are typically purple; or they may have pink, blue, magenta, yellow or maroon blooms.

The Butterfly Bush is extremely successful at reproduction as a single flower head can produce over 40,000 seeds giving it a competitive advantage over native flowering shrubs. 

The extremely lightweight, winged seeds travel far distances by way of water or wind and can remain viable for three to five years in soil. Any cut stems can also sprout again. Butterfly Bush benefits pollinators but only at one stage of their life cycle. The problem with the Butterfly Bush is that it doesn’t offer any viable food source for freshly hatched eggs (caterpillars) of the butterfly. The butterfly reproduction cycle ends at this plant as it has been observed that newly hatched caterpillars don’t feed on the leaves and therefore starve. 

In addition, the Butterfly Bush also tends to spread enormously shading out other plants that support the life cycles of butterflies. It establishes in sunny, well-drained sites including fields, roadsides, woods edges, and riverbanks, where native shrubs would have grown. Those vanished native shrubs were also essential food sources for caterpillars. Without caterpillars, there will be no adult butterflies. Without caterpillars, birds will not survive. 

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

Cedar Hedge Alternatives For Okanagan & Shuswap Gardens


Cedar hedges are grown just about anywhere in the world as they feature a number of positive attributes. They are easy to grow, create an almost instant privacy hedge and they are easy to maintain on a drip water system once established. The claim they need a lot of water is a myth. Cedars need just about as much or as little water as many other tall shrub plants intended for hedging.

There are however a number of undesirable negatives attributed to this and other coniferous hedging plants. Most evergreen conifers including deciduous evergreens are laden with oils and resins which make them extremely flammable. With today’s FireSmart practices in mind, coniferous plants in general should all be avoided in gardens and modern landscapes.

The BC FireSmart plant program features a guide about lower risk plants for hedges, privacy and screening that contains a lot of plants for a lot of places. Many suggested plants species are not everywhere available, or they aren’t heat tolerant or cold hardy enough to survive Okanagan winter cold snaps. Following are a few lesser known, tough plants worth considering as alternatives as they are also fire, deer and drought-resistant.

Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius) – A super fragrant deciduous ornamental hedging shrub with beautiful white flowers makes for an ideal summer privacy screen in backyards. A upright growth with stiff and woody branches featuring dark-green and oval leaves that can grow from 3 to 12 feet tall and wide, depending on the variety. Mock Orange requires full sun, well drained soil.

Forsythia, (genus Forsythia) – The brilliant yellow blooms early in the spring belong to the Forsythia, a member of the olive family. A cheerful backdrop commonly known for its long branches and an excellent privacy screen or center piece in urban settings. With proper watering, the Forsythia is a fast growing shrub that can reach up to 10 feet in height and width.

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) – Another local native is the Lilac shrub which is extremely easy to care for and can be pruned so that their dense leaves create a hedge with pink, purple, or white fragrant blooms in late spring and early summer. The size of Lilac ranges from 4 to 20 feet in height and width. Grown in full sun, Lilac requires fertile, well drained soil. It is hardy and can grow almost anywhere.

Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) – The Saskatoon is a deciduous native shrub that grows from western Ontario to British Columbia and the Yukon. It can grow up to 30 feet tall, although typically its height ranges at 3 to 18 feet. Before it leaves out in the spring, clusters of small fragrant white flowers emerge which bloom for about a month. Saskatoon berries Edible to both humans and animals, the plant produces small, sweet berries, that ripen in early summer. The twigs and leaves of the Sakatoon if eaten in large quantities by animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep, can be a fatal poison.

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) – An attractive plant, the Ninebark is native to the eastern and central regions of North America. It is an upright arching shrub that grows up to about 10 feet and wide, depending on variety. They are well loved for their showy floral display of small white or pink blooms that appear in the late spring and early summer. Ninebark can grow in a variety of soil conditions and the plant is drought resistant once established.

Red Twigged Dogwood (Cornus servicea)Red twig dogwoods are deciduous shrubs with variegated leaves in a deep green-gray colour with a white edge, making them especially pleasant on the eye. Their white flowers emerge during the springtime or in early summer, and are followed by equally charming white berries with blue undertones The characteristic red coloured bark makes these shrubs a wonderful focal point in any garden. Sizes vary according to the variety. Dwarf forms can reach just 2 feet tall and wide, while the largest varieties can be up to 15 feet tall and wide.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

Cedar Hedge Alternatives


Cedar hedges are grown just about anywhere in the world as they feature a number of positive attributes. They are easy to grow, create an almost instant privacy hedge and they are easy to maintain on a drip water system once established. The claim they need a lot of water is a myth. Cedars need just about as much or as little water as many other tall shrub plants intended for hedging.

There are however a number of undesirable negatives attributed to this and other coniferous hedging plants. Most evergreen conifers including deciduous evergreens are laden with oils and resins which make them extremely flammable. With today’s FireSmart importance in mind, coniferous plants should be avoided in gardens and modern landscapes.

The BC FireSmart plant program features a guide about lower risk plants for hedges, privacy and screening that contains a lot of plants for a lot of places. Many suggested plants species are not everywhere available, or they aren’t heat tolerant or cold hardy enough to survive Okanagan winter cold snaps. Following are a few lesser known, tough plants worth considering as alternatives as they are also fire, deer and drought-resistant.


Hazel – Corylus Avellana shrubs make for excellent hedging plants. They are extremely fast and dense growing and offer also good shelter for birds. Depending on variety, hazelnut shrubs can easily grown up to 15 feet tall and wide. They tolerate full sun and are extremely cold hardy.

Peking Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster acutifolius) A great choice for privacy hedges along fences and walls. A hardy, upright shrub with dense branching and glossy foliage. Dainty summer blooms are followed by tiny, non-edible, red berries. Depending on variety, cotoneaster shrubs can easily grow 10 feet high and wide at maturity. It can be planted virtually in any location in full sun and is drought tolerant.

Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius) – A super fragrant deciduous ornamental hedging shrub with beautiful white flowers makes for an ideal summer privacy screen in backyards. A upright growth with stiff and woody branches featuring dark-green and oval leaves that can grow from 3 to 12 feet tall and wide, depending on the variety. Mock Orange requires full sun, well drained soil.

Forsythia, (genus Forsythia) – The brilliant yellow blooms early in the spring belong to the Forsythia, a member of the olive family. A cheerful backdrop commonly known for its long branches and an excellent privacy screen or center piece in urban settings. With proper watering, the Forsythia is a fast growing shrub that can reach up to 10 feet in height and width.

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) – Another local native is the Lilac shrub which is extremely easy to care for and can be pruned so that their dense leaves create a hedge with pink, purple, or white fragrant blooms in late spring and early summer. The size of Lilac ranges from 4 to 20 feet in height and width. Grown in full sun, Lilac requires fertile, well drained soil. It is hardy and can grow almost anywhere.

Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) – The Saskatoon is a deciduous native shrub that grows from western Ontario to British Columbia and the Yukon. It can grow up to 30 feet tall, although typically its height ranges at 3 to 18 feet. Before it leaves out in the spring, clusters of small fragrant white flowers emerge which bloom for about a month. Saskatoon berries Edible to both humans and animals, the plant produces small, sweet berries, that ripen in early summer. The twigs and leaves of the Sakatoon if eaten in large quantities by animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep, can be a fatal poison.

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) – An attractive plant, the Ninebark is native to the eastern and central regions of North America. It is an upright arching shrub that grows up to about 10 feet and wide, depending on variety. They are well loved for their showy floral display of small white or pink blooms that appear in the late spring and early summer. Ninebark can grow in a variety of soil conditions and the plant is drought resistant once established.

Red Twigged Dogwood (Cornus servicea)Red twig dogwoods are deciduous shrubs with variegated leaves in a deep green-gray colour with a white edge, making them especially pleasant on the eye. Their white flowers emerge during the springtime or in early summer, and are followed by equally charming white berries with blue undertones The characteristic red coloured bark makes these shrubs a wonderful focal point in any garden. Sizes vary according to the variety. Dwarf forms can reach just 2 feet tall and wide, while the largest varieties can be up to 15 feet tall and wide.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

Okanagan Shuswap Gardens – Leaf Scorch


The browning of plant tissues, including leaf margins and tips is a condition known as leaf scorch, a common condition caused by various factors. In hot and arid regions, this is mainly caused by excessive heat during droughts. Other possible causes which also lead to leaf scorch are improper plant care, soil compaction, transplant shock, nutrient deficiency or over-fertilization. Exposure to bacterium carrying insects, herbicides or salt toxicity may also lead to symptoms of leaf scorch. 

Leaf Scorch Caused by Environmental Conditions
Leaf scorch caused by weather conditions can affect almost any plant. High temperatures, dry winds, and low soil moisture are favourable. When water evaporates from leaf surfaces, plant roots are unable to compensate for the transpiration loss. Leaf tissue then dies as a direct result. Young trees that are stressed by insect infestations, diseases, or other factors are more susceptible than those growing vigorously and in good condition.

Japanese maples, Norway and sugar maples, beech, ash, oak, linden, birch, alpine currant, horse chestnut, white pine, rhododendron, viburnum, and flowering dogwood tree and shrub plants are particularly prone to leaf scorch. Understanding and meeting the specific needs of plants and maintaining proper soil conditions, including proper watering practices, are all vital for preventing leaf scorch effectively.

Leaf Scorch Caused by Bacteria
Bacterial leaf scorch is a chronic, eventually fatal disease that has devastated many shade trees in landscapes and street plantings. Bacterial leaf scorch (BLS) is a systemic disease caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which invades the water and nutrient-conducting tissues of trees. 


Bacterial Leaf Scorch of Shade Trees


Bacterial leaf scorch is most common with pin, red, shingle, bur, and white oaks, but can also affect elm, sycamore, mulberry, sweetgum, sugar maple, and red maple. Tissue-feeding leafhoppers and spittlebugs spread the bacterium from tree to tree. Bacterial leaf scorch can easily be mistaken with symptoms of drought and heat stress and the only way to confirm its presence is through laboratory analysis.

The best time to test for the presence of this disease is in late summer or early fall when the bacteria count is at its highest. Transmission between trees through root grafts has also been reported. 

Infected leafhoppers and spittlebugs feed on the succulent, terminal shoots of susceptible host trees, transmitting the bacteria. Water transporting tissue vessels become clogged with bacteria as they travel within, multiplying and infecting other parts of the tree. There are no viable control options for the insects.

The cold-sensitive bacteria overwinters in protected areas within the tree, and populations begin to climb again as the next growing season progresses. 

Leaf Scorch Management
Maintaining the vigor of plants by keeping susceptible specimen healthy and thriving can help them resist infection and survive longer once they are infected. Branches that have died due to bacterial leaf scorch should be removed. Infected trees in a severe state of decline should also be removed. Disinfect pruning tools with a 10% bleach solution between pruning cuts.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.

Leaf Scorch


The browning of plant tissues, including leaf margins and tips is a condition known as leaf scorch, a common condition caused by various factors. In hot and arid regions, this is mainly caused by excessive heat during droughts. Other possible causes which also lead to leaf scorch are improper plant care, soil compaction, transplant shock, nutrient deficiency or over-fertilization. Exposure to bacterium carrying insects, herbicides or salt toxicity may also lead to symptoms of leaf scorch. 

Leaf Scorch Caused by Environmental Conditions
Leaf scorch caused by weather conditions can affect almost any plant. High temperatures, dry winds, and low soil moisture are favourable. When water evaporates from leaf surfaces, plant roots are unable to compensate for the transpiration loss. Leaf tissue then dies as a direct result. Young trees that are stressed by insect infestations, diseases, or other factors are more susceptible than those growing vigorously and in good condition.

Japanese maples, Norway and sugar maples, beech, ash, oak, linden, birch, alpine currant, horse chestnut, white pine, rhododendron, viburnum, and flowering dogwood tree and shrub plants are particularly prone to leaf scorch. Understanding and meeting the specific needs of plants and maintaining proper soil conditions, including proper watering practices, are all vital for preventing leaf scorch effectively.

Leaf Scorch Caused by Bacteria
Bacterial leaf scorch is a chronic, eventually fatal disease that has devastated many shade trees in landscapes and street plantings. Bacterial leaf scorch (BLS) is a systemic disease caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which invades the water and nutrient-conducting tissues of trees. 


Bacterial Leaf Scorch of Shade Trees


Bacterial leaf scorch is most common with pin, red, shingle, bur, and white oaks, but can also affect elm, sycamore, mulberry, sweetgum, sugar maple, and red maple. Tissue-feeding leafhoppers and spittlebugs spread the bacterium from tree to tree. Bacterial leaf scorch can easily be mistaken with symptoms of drought and heat stress and the only way to confirm its presence is through laboratory analysis.

The best time to test for the presence of this disease is in late summer or early fall when the bacteria count is at its highest. Transmission between trees through root grafts has also been reported. 

Infected leafhoppers and spittlebugs feed on the succulent, terminal shoots of susceptible host trees, transmitting the bacteria. Water transporting tissue vessels become clogged with bacteria as they travel within, multiplying and infecting other parts of the tree. There are no viable control options for the insects.

The cold-sensitive bacteria overwinters in protected areas within the tree, and populations begin to climb again as the next growing season progresses. 

Leaf Scorch Management
Maintaining the vigour of plants by keeping susceptible specimen healthy and thriving can help them resist infection and survive longer once they are infected. Branches that have died due to bacterial leaf scorch should be removed. Infected trees in a severe state of decline should also be removed. Disinfect pruning tools with a 10% bleach solution between pruning cuts.

Hi, I am Matt – the owner of Chasing Sprouts website. The blog, resources and plant database segments feature a wealth of information to master all sorts of gardening projects. Feel free to share my articles with your world. Bookmark Chasing Sprouts to stay in the loop!

❀❀❀

NEED HELP
WITH YOUR PLANTING PROJECT ?
.