American Elm
American Elms are a large, long lived, stately tree. They are considered amongst the most beautiful and graceful trees that can be grown in the prairies. You will positively enjoy how their long slender branches gently sway in a breeze. Their leaves turn a golden yellow in the fall. American Elms are the trees that magnificently shade both North and South 1st Street in Medicine Hat with their cathedral-like ceiling of branches. They are exceptionally hardy and tolerant of even the most harsh planting site.
Bailey Select Sherbert Chokecherry
The Bailey Select Sherbert Chokecherry is a cultivated selection of the same chokecherry that grows wild in our region, with foliage that emerges green in spring and turns a rich purple by mid-summer. In spring, the tree produces a beautiful display of white, wonderfully fragrant panicles, followed by large crops of astringent black cherries that are mostly enjoyed by foraging birds. True to tradition, the fruit can also be used to make delicious chokecherry jam, just like in the old days.
Fall Red Apple
The Fall Red Apple is an exceptionally cold hardy apple tree that will grow a delicious apple right in your own orchard. The apples are best eaten fresh off the tree or can be used in baking and juicing. On average apples measure 7 - 8cm across, have a dark red skin and white flesh. They are crisp and sweet (12.4 °Bx) with a pleasant flavor. We find that the apple has a some what traditional flavour which in the industry is referred to as being “moderately acidic”. As it’s name describes, apples are best harvested later on in the fall. The apples can be stored in your cold room for up to 90 days. The tree shows moderate resistance to fire blight. The tree tends towards alternate bearing.
Golden Willow
The Golden Willow is a hardy shelter belt tree that grows with a round form and slender drooping branches. The tree will grow to a large stature and tends to prefer a low canopy. As implied with it’s name, young stems are adorned with a beautiful yellow hue. The tree grows with glossy green, narrow (lanceolate) leaves. In autumn the leaves will turn golden yellow. As the tree ages the trunk’s bark will become deeply furrowed. The tree is typically found growing in a multi-trunk form, how ever we also have single trunk selections.
Ivory Silk Lilac Tree
Mayday
The Mayday tree is a medium sized tree that produces beautiful five petalled white flowers clustered along short stalks know botanically as racemes. The tree is native to Northern Europe and has for a very long time been a part of our history. The best part of having a Mayday tree in your yard is they are by far the first species to bud out in the spring. You will often see flowers and leaves at the very beginning of May if not the end of April. After a long winter they are a true delight for both gardeners and hungry honey bees. They produce very small cherries that are readily eaten by birds. They are a very hardy tree and require little maintenance. At maturity they can grow to 10m tall, but we know of a specimen or two down on river side that would put that measurement to the test.
Nobility White Ash
The Nobility White Ash is a seedless selection of the American Ash with an excellent oval form and an orderly branch structure, noted for its well-mannered growth habits that require little pruning or training. With the right fall frosts, it develops deep purple fall color, and it is a very hardy tree that tolerates adverse urban planting conditions with minimal fuss.
Ohio Buckeye
The Ohio Buckeye tree is an exotic looking medium sized tree that produces long bouquets of beautiful little flower clusters. They have very dense foliage that is early to leaf out. They are exceptionally cold hardy and require little maintenance. They have a slightly foul oniony odour when their foliage is crushed so the deer thankfully leave them alone! These trees are prolific produces of nuts which may annoy our more prim and proper tree owners. This messy quality can easily be mitigated by planing the tree with a mulched bed around the trunk which will simply welcome and absorb the fallen nuts.
Prairie Dream Birch
The Prairie Dream Birch is a paper birch with beautiful fair white bark and attractive green leaves. With time the bark on the lower trunk peels into neat little rolls that are a favourite for youngsters. The leaves are pointy and dark green with a doubly serrated margin. They turn a golden yellow in fall. This cultivar is low maintenance and more adaptable than other varieties of birch. The Prairie Dream Birch has demonstrated exceptional resilience to the the birch bark borer.
Silver Cloud Maple
The Silver Cloud Maple is a selection of the native species that is seedless, has superior cold hardiness and a more balanced branch structure. The tree is adorned with bright green 5 lobed maple leaves that shimmer in the wind with a silvery underside. This Maple also stands out due to it’s attractive silver bark. The tree is fast growing and drought tolerant. The Silver Cloud Maple is an excellent addition to any grounds with adequate space as a feature or shade tree.
Tatarian Maple
The Tatarian Maple is a compact, exceptionally hardy and low maintenance accent tree. The tree will display showy red samaras in late summer. Fall colours are vibrant, and leaves often remain on the tree well into winter. Interestingly, the tree will often grow wider than it is tall. The trees trunk is a striking light grey with black markings.
Toba Hawthorne
The Toba Hawthorne is hardy and compact ornamental tree that displays double white flowers that slowly turn to pink. The flowers are followed by small pomes that ripen to red in the fall. These pomes can be made into jellies or used in tea. The tree grows with bright glossy leaves that turn yellow. As the tree matures it develops a sinewy trunk full of furrows and twists.
Top Gun Bur Oak
The Top Gun is cultivar of the Bur Oak with a smaller and morecolumnar form that grows with a strong central leader. All Bur Oaks grows with a distinctive gnarled appearance. When young the bark of Top Gun tends to be much more silvery than the native selection. The underside of the leaves also tend to have a silvery / grey appearance. Their large acorns are prized by wildlife and are quickly carried off by birds and small mammals. When you plant a Top Gun Bur Oak tree, you are really planting a tree for future generations.
