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Hardy Trees and Shrubs
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by Diana Roberts |
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Category:
Trees
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| Flowers in a garden are wonderful as they bring cheeriness to any setting with their brilliant colors and heavenly scents, but the mainstays of any landscape are the trees and shrubs. The robust, sometimes towering, shrubs and trees are imperative for any home landscape. |
Lilac
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| There are certain trees and shrubs that we see again and again here in the north; the reason being that these are the hardy trees and shrubs that make it through our winters year after year. When it comes to shrubs, the Saskatoon serviceberry, hedge cotoneaster and silver buffalo-berry are all hardy for zone 1, so you should not be afraid to plant any of these shrubs. Another shrub that will hold up to the coldest winters is the lilac. |
Siberian
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| The Siberian pea-tree and Siberian dogwood are both hardy to zone 2 and both make a great hedge if that’s what you are looking for. The European cotoneaster and silverberry are also hardy for zone 2. The common juniper is hardy to zone 2a, and as we all know they are a very hardy shrub, though I do find that the golden variety of juniper is not as hardy as the green varieties. |
Zone 3
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| For zone 3 we have the winged euonymus, burning bush, birds nest spruce, purple leaf sand cherry, dwarf Alberta spruce, staghorn sumac and smooth sumac. I have grown the staghorn sumac with great results and would recommend it. The Canadian yew is hardy for zone 3a and the peegee hydrangea is hardy to zone 3b. |
Zone 4
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| With zone 4 we are getting into the variety of shrubs which may grow in our northern regions, but a bad winter could take its toll. The bouquet blanc mock-orange, Japanese yew and black chokecherry are all hardy to zone 4 and the American hazel is hardy to zone 4a. If you really want to try your luck, why not go with the common smoke-tree, early forsythia or fragrant viburnum, which are all hardy to zone 5. |
Trees
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When it comes to trees, the white spruce, lodgepole pine and tamarack are all hardy to zone 1 and the laurel willow to zone 1b. For zone 2 there is the European white birch, river birch, and white elm, though the elm is not commonly seen here. The cranberry viburnum is a zone 2a and the Manitoba maple, ponderosa pine, Ohio buckeye and hackberry are all hardy to zone 2b. The little-leaf linden, Rocky Mountain juniper, weeping birch and red maple are all hardy for zone 3. I have grown the red maple here and they have done very well and are a beautiful change to the yellows of fall. The black walnut and white ash are both hardy to zone 3b. For zone 4 we have the ginkgo/maidenhair tree and the black locust, though I have never seen them grown in our area. The Rocky Mountain Douglas fir and sugar maple are hardy to zone 4a and the yellow-wood and Scotch elm are hardy to zone 4b. I have grown the sugar maple, though it did struggle a bit and the main trunk died back one year. The Norway maple and English oak are both hardy to zone 5 and the Douglas maple to zone 5a. |
Fruit trees
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When it comes to fruit trees, there are any number from which to choose. The Cornice, Anjou and Bartlet pear are all hardy to zone 4. The Stella, Bing, Lapin, Montmorency, Sweetheart and Van cherry are also hardy to zone 4. I have grown the Montmorency cherry for years and they have thrived. I also know of a full grown Montmorency cherry in our area that gets so many cherries on it that the owner sells them!
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Apples
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As for apples the Braeburn, Cameo, Winesap, Cortland, Gala and Golden Delicious are all hardy to zone 4. The Methley plum, Snowdrift crabapple and Tilton apricot are also hardy to zone 4. As a kid growing up in Washington State, I remember we had a Winesap apple tree in our orchard; it is an old variety but very good. The Alberta gold and Collet apples are hardy for zone 3 and the Goodland, Alberta Buff, Norland and Parkland apples are all hardy for zone 2. I have grown the Collet, Goodland, Norland and Parkland and they have all done very well.
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Expensive
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When it comes to choosing trees and shrubs from zones other than your own I suggest being very careful, as they are expensive. If you have the money to experiment, then go for it. If resources are limited, I suggest you talk to other gardeners who have tried certain trees to be sure of their hardiness. Another suggestion is to wrap your tree trunks in the late fall to keep the young trees from getting sun scald in early spring. Remember there is never a sure thing when it comes to gardening and even the hardiest plant can succumb to a bad winter.
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