Russian Olive
The Russian Olive is the most drought hardy tree we can grow on the prairies. It was brought to North America by our pioneers as an ornamental tree for their homesteads. The tree is blessed with a silvery green foliage and small yellow flowers in the spring. It’s branches often grow handsomely gnarled and twisted. The leaves are small and velvety. The tree produces a small silver fruit that will persist on the tree over winter. The bark is known to peel as the tree ages. Recently, the tree has been persecuted for outcompeting native species in wild habitats. However, it is our opinion that the Russian Olive remains to be an unique and valuable member of our prairie gardens and green spaces.
Scots Pine
The Scots Pine is a beautiful evergreen tree that thrives in our region. It is very hardy and will bring year around green to any garden setting. The tree grows a medium length green pine needle in bundles of 2 and displays a distinctive orange bark when mature. It grows symmetrically with a strong dominant leader when young and tends to fill out into and open round tree with age. Scots Pines are very versatile and can be planted for accent, shade or a shelter belt. This species was brought to North America from Northern Europe.
Showy Mountain Ash
The Showy Mountain Ash features showy white spring flowers, pinnately compound leaves and striking red fall fruit. The berries often remain on the tree after the leaves fall, which provides a pleasant winter appearance. The tree is excellent at attracting birds to any yard. The leaves are dark green and transition to orange / red in the fall. Bark is typically smooth and grey, becoming scaly as the tree matures. The tree is slow growing and compact, making it a perfect addition to smaller sites. The tree can be planted as an accent or shade tree.
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.
True North American Linden
Bur Oaks are an exceptionally long lived tree that with time can reach truly massive proportions. They are an excellent selection for making a statement or as a shade tree with some authority. Bur Oaks are best suited for large open spaces. They are the most cold tolerant of all the oaks. When young, they are known to have a corky bark and branches. Their large acorns are prized by wildlife and are quickly carried off by birds and small mammals. When you plant a Bur Oak tree, you are really planting a tree for future generations.
Black Walnut
Black Walnut Trees are a relatively rare tree for Southern Alberta but they have long been successfully grown in Medicine Hat. They make excellent shade trees and offer a splendid dappled shade with their loose open canopy. As a delicious autumn treat they produce large bounties of rich tasting nuts. They are low maintenance and exceptionally pest and disease resilient. They produce a brilliant fall show of bright yellow leaves. All and all we can not say enough good things about the Black Walnut tree as a consideration for anyones yard with appropriate space.
Thunderchild Flowering Crab Apple
Thunderchild Flowering Crabapples are an attractive, compact and upright tree that make the perfect focal point for any garden. During middle spring, the branches are draped with clusters of vibrant pink flowers. Its fruit is perfectly edible and tends to remain on the tree long into winter. The tree displays a dark purple foliage throughout the growing season. Thunderchilds are strongly resistant of fire blight. They are an absolute delight for bees, butterflies and birds alike.
Colorado Blue Spruce
The Colorado Blue Spruce is an exceptionally hardy conical shaped evergreen with densely growing horizontal branches and stiff short needles. The tree can range in colour from green to silvery blue simply due to genetic variation. They require no maintenance, are deer resistant and drought tolerant. Colorado Blue Spruce are an excellent choice for taming the wind and year round privacy. They are the most common and reliable evergreen planted in the region.
Siberian Larch
The Siberian Larch is conical shaped deciduous conifer with gentlesoft needles that turn a golden yellow and are shed in the fall. Themain branches are often upswept with smaller drooping branches.The tree grows with a very dominant central leader and requireslittle upkeep. They are exceedingly cold hardy, deer resistant andpest free.
Evans Cherry
The Evans Cherry is hardy producer of an edible moderate sweetness cherry. The tree puts on a brilliant show of white flowers in the spring and then produces bright red fruit weighing 4.5g - 5.0g that ripens in mid August. The cultivar is self-pollinating, cold hardy and has a long history of growing in Alberta. The cherry can be eaten right off the tree once ripe, or used for making jams, jellies, pies, and even wines.
Laurel Leaf Willow
The Laurel Leaf Willow is an extremely hardy, large sized tree that is native to Northern Europe. It is noted for having a rounded form, dark green glossy leaves and twisted trunk bark. It produces catkins that are golden yellow in colour. The tree is normally allowed a low canopy and is perfectly content in wet sites. Laurel Leaf willows are very eager to leaf out in the spring and reuctant to drop their leaves in the fall.
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.
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.
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.
