Fall wish list!

Getting to be that time of the year again!

Always looking for seed of cool trees and shrubs. I am specifically looking this year for seed of Northern Red Oak (Quercus borealis/rubra) from the far northwest portion(NW Ont.) of its range or anyone with seed producing trees in Zone 3 or colder. This is for a trial of adaptability in my area, southern Saskatchewan.

Other species of interest are Sugar Maple (same location requirements as the red oak), Apricots(Zone 3), Limber pine and Douglas fir from Alberta foothill locations. Limber pine seed should mature in the next week or two. If you have or can obtain any of the above seed please let me know and we will see what kind of arrangement we can make. If there is anything you would like let me know and I will see what I can do to help you. I am a seed/tree nut(emphasis of the nut part) with a fairly extensive and broad knowledge base with respect to woody plant seeds so don't be afraid to throw anything at me. Thank you.

An ad in the gardening sections of Craigslist or Used Ottowa is likely to reach the right people. The upper Ottowa Valley is home to both species. Sugar maple grown in the north develops black heart. It's fine for maple syrup and firewood but seldom yields useful lumber. If you draw a line from Owen Sound to Ottawa, most maples north of the line are firewood. Your winters are colder.

Dale Hodgins wrote:An ad in the gardening sections of Craigslist or Used Ottowa is likely to reach the right people. The upper Ottowa Valley is home to both species. Sugar maple grown in the north develops black heart. It's fine for maple syrup and firewood but seldom yields useful lumber. If you draw a line from Owen Sound to Ottawa, most maples north of the line are firewood. Your winters are colder.

Thanks for the info Dale. I don't expect any trees to get to timber size in my climate. I am just looking for something that grows. I have fairly ambitious plans for a tree crop system of some sort (exact form not yet determined). I have a lot of acres and have found there are not a lot of options for potential tree crops other than future energy crops. In addition plants sources (trees from the right seed source and a reasonable price) are just not available for my borderline area so I am always on the quest for useful seeds and plants. I currently have 400 butternuts and black walnuts that I will plant on a nice site next year but it took years to finally track down the appropriate(hardy) seed sources. At the moment I do not know if they will grow here but some time in the next decade I will! Oaks and nut pines are likely my best bet. I have a lot of these growing. I would like a variety of other plants, sugar maple included for specific sites, (sheltered, fertile soil and better moisture conditions). Correct seed sources are critical for me. I like both cost and selection potential of my homegrown seedlings. It is just really difficult at times to find the right sources for my objectives.

I'm just starting to gather resources for developing a 60 acre piece and hoping to make nuts a large part of it, both deciduous and coniferous. I'm in southern Manitoba and it's exciting to see someone who may be on a similar path this far north!!
I'm enrolled in PermaEthos online PDC and am reading anything I can get my hands on. I loved Mark Shepards Restoration Agriculture and am working towards an integrated system like that. Have you come across any prairie-specific courses or sources of info?

http://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/buy-ontario-tree-seeds-or-cones

you can ask for seed from a specific area of Ontario

Cee Ray wrote:http://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/buy-ontario-tree-seeds-or-cones

you can ask for seed from a specific area of Ontario

Thanks. I have purchased seed from them before. For some reason the web address that I had bookmarked before was no longer working, glad to get the new one.

there are apparently some sugar maple in morden, mb.. supposedly the westernmost range..

you might want to ask in gardenweb.com forum in the canada or far north sections, lots of albertans posting there it seems

Denis Huel wrote:I am specifically looking this year for seed of Northern Red Oak (Quercus borealis/rubra) from the far northwest portion(NW Ont.) of its range or anyone with seed producing trees in Zone 3 or colder. This is for a trial of adaptability in my area, southern Saskatchewan.

Best thing would be to pick 'em yourself! They're dropping like mad now, here in Vermont.

Denis Huel wrote:Getting to be that time of the year again!

Always looking for seed of cool trees and shrubs. I am specifically looking this year for seed of Northern Red Oak (Quercus borealis/rubra) from the far northwest portion(NW Ont.) of its range or anyone with seed producing trees in Zone 3 or colder. This is for a trial of adaptability in my area, southern Saskatchewan.

Other species of interest are Sugar Maple (same location requirements as the red oak), Apricots(Zone 3), Limber pine and Douglas fir from Alberta foothill locations. Limber pine seed should mature in the next week or two. If you have or can obtain any of the above seed please let me know and we will see what kind of arrangement we can make. If there is anything you would like let me know and I will see what I can do to help you. I am a seed/tree nut(emphasis of the nut part) with a fairly extensive and broad knowledge base with respect to woody plant seeds so don't be afraid to throw anything at me. Thank you.

If you can direct me where to find them in Alberta, I can see if I can collect some for you. It might be too late this year though eh?

Cee Ray wrote:http://www.jeffriesnurseries.com/lordselkirk.htm

Thanks. I had heard of the variety but I had assumed it was a clonally propagated variety but it is a seed propagated strain.

the unity maple is clonal, came from the streets of morden

Cee Ray wrote:the unity maple is clonal, came from the streets of morden

A nearby garden centre had several but as large 7ft potted trees they were too expensive for my budget and needs. I would like 1-200 trees.

Josey Hains wrote:

Denis Huel wrote:Getting to be that time of the year again!

Always looking for seed of cool trees and shrubs. I am specifically looking this year for seed of Northern Red Oak (Quercus borealis/rubra) from the far northwest portion(NW Ont.) of its range or anyone with seed producing trees in Zone 3 or colder. This is for a trial of adaptability in my area, southern Saskatchewan.

Other species of interest are Sugar Maple (same location requirements as the red oak), Apricots(Zone 3), Limber pine and Douglas fir from Alberta foothill locations. Limber pine seed should mature in the next week or two. If you have or can obtain any of the above seed please let me know and we will see what kind of arrangement we can make. If there is anything you would like let me know and I will see what I can do to help you. I am a seed/tree nut(emphasis of the nut part) with a fairly extensive and broad knowledge base with respect to woody plant seeds so don't be afraid to throw anything at me. Thank you.

If you can direct me where to find them in Alberta, I can see if I can collect some for you. It might be too late this year though eh?

I first saw Limber pine and Douglas fir growing as outliers on rocky hills on the edge of the foothills west of Lethbridge years ago as I was on my way to visit Head-Smashed-In. Too late to get seed this year. I often plan to make a special seed collecting trip during the last week of August but I am always too busy at that time of the year. I believe that Douglas fir has a lot of potential on the southern Canadian prairies if grown from the right seed sources. I have 45 small trees that I grew from seed collected in nearby Moose Jaw (don't you love the names!) a couple of years ago but would like a more genetically diverse population. Thanks for the offer.

A couple of years ago the University of Sask. had some clones of the weeping Aspens from Hafford Saskatchewan. which were neat. I took two for some people but should have taken more. Fast growing. They would be a great conversation piece.

I do not think southern Sk. has enough moisture to support Fir trees. If you can prove me wrong Denis more power to you. Personally I think someone needs to improve Scots pine to the point where the seeds can be useful and same goes for Mugo pine. They are nice trees with very little usefulness. If you can find the space I'd include a couple of ginko as well. One these days someone is going to find one that flowers in zone 3 I just know it.

we have abundant doug fir on our land and it is super dry here (west of kamloops, 5a, 2100ft)

it's as common as the ponderosa pine

those weeping aspens are super cool, I'd grow some here if I could.. aspens are pretty common around here

Hi Denis,
Glad to hear you're making progress with different trees. This year for me was a bust, with the move out to the country,trying to sell a house, busy at work and being pregnant, nothing got done this year as far as propagation/seeding...to be honest, I barely got anything out of the garden. There's always next year right? Haha!
Anyways, I started tasting bur oak acorns to try and find some that were palatable, and did find some at Wiggins park in Saskatoon...I don't know if this weird season is what made them good, but there was no bitter tannin taste whatsoever, it was truly bizarre. I gathered some and will keep you posted on how they taste next year from the same tree. Also, if you want Limber Pines, go to the corner of Broadway and 12th street (5 corners it's called) and there is a huge planter that contains about 4 or 5 mature specimens. Bring a trowel and simply dig out as many seedlings as you want, they're usually between 1 and 4 years old...I was there a few weeks ago and they were looking good, I just never got the chance to go back yet...I'd rather someone takes them to grow out rather than them getting weeded out by the city next spring! I've been doing this for years! I found a few more sugar maples growing throughout the city, but haven't been by any lately to collect seed...I could give directions if you're interested. I have a northern catalpa on my boulevard that seeded lots this year, could be something worth trying, has not died back in about 5 years. I hope to work with you someday (sharing seed etc) to get a nice variety of reliable food trees for our region. I'll see if I can get more Mandchurian Walnuts again this year, they sometimes take a few years to germinate when you don't prepare the seed well, so the sooner the better! I would like to get some butternut someday when I have some places prepared to plant them. Good luck!
Koren