The Tree Year: Update

Whoa! Have I ever been seriously remiss on my Tree Year posts. My last ones were in March. I should have known that once gardening/foraging/wildcrafting season got going full swing, other things would get put on the back burner (like most of my dirty dishes!)

I mean the catalpa is in full bloom. It's almost done blooming in fact.


Aren't they gorgeous? They look like orchids, and smell wonderful. I love having such an exotic, tropical looking tree in this northern climate.

I'm not sure how many more posts I'll manage to get in over the summer, but I am still observing my trees and watching for changes throughout the seasons.

Identity Crisis!

Guys!!! I was pretty darn sure that the other tree I'm observing for the Tree Year is a balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera). But now I'm not so sure.



I was looking closely at these pics I took last year of some branches that came down in a storm and I noticed some differences from the pictures of balsam poplar I've seen online and from the tree I've visited at the arboretum in Ottawa (I know for certain the tree in the arboretum is a balsam poplar because it has a label!)



Here's a pic of balsam poplar leaves. And another picture.

The balsam poplar leaves are quite a bit narrower than the leaves on my tree.

So I started looking at other poplar species and ruled out the obvious ones, like white poplar and quaking aspen. I ruled out the Lombardy poplar too. Then I came across the Eastern cottonwood or Populus deltoides.

Check out this pic. I think I might be on to something here.

Now, I had always just assumed my tree was a balsam poplar, because the sources talk about the distinctive and tell-tale scent of the balsam poplar being one of the ways of identifying it. I've spent enough spring days inhaling the perfumed air around the poplar trees in my park to figure I had a correct i.d., and I previously ruled out the Eastern cottonwood because I found no reference to a distinctive scent in the sources I looked at. But then today I found this reference that notes, "The buds have a resinous strong scented odor." This source limits the range to New York, but Wikipedia has the range into Southeastern Ontario and Quebec.

I guess I'll wait until the catkins and later the leaves come out on my tree and compare them with samples from the tree in the arboretum and see if I get any closer to a correct i.d. I'll go back to my guide books and try and key out exactly what species I've got. To complicate matters somewhat, I've read that balsam poplars hybridise easily on their own and by human intervention.

I'm excited to solve this mystery and I really love how this project is helping me to get to know these trees so intimately. The more I look and observe, the more I see. More questions arise, which leads to more understanding. This is so fun and satisfying.

Oh, and as always, if anyone has any insights to add, I'd love to hear them. J.G. do you think your tree lady might know what tree it is I've got?

The Tree Year- Catalpa Observations

I spent some time with my Tree Year trees last weekend. The balsam poplar is loaded with buds, which will soon turn into pretty little catkins. I'll post about that another day. But today let's take a look at the catalpa tree I'm observing for the year.

As you can see, not much is going on here. Nary a bud in site. While plenty of other trees put out buds in late winter through early spring, the catalpa is truly a late bloomer in this department. But once she does finally leaf out, she'll be the prettiest tree in the park. I'm excited to watch for the first signs of this!

In my last post I expressed some concern about the splits and cracks I noticed in the bark. I went to see Diana Beresford-Kroeger give a talk recently and afterwards I asked her if she had any insight into what might be going on. She said that it was a common problem with catalpas and had noticed it on her trees. She thinks it's a fungus that weakens the bark and then it splits. The good news is, she doesn't think it does any long-term, or life threatening damage to the trees and they seem to recover and thrive well enough. Phew. That's a relief. And from the looks of things, this tree seems to be recuperating. The exposed inner bark is no longer raw looking.

However it appears that some creature has decided to take advantage of the openings. There are two construction sites going on. Something trying to carve out a home perhaps?

I have no idea what creature might be at work here. The two sites are about four feet up the trunk. The second site has a gnawed on look which makes me think it might be a squirrel as opposed to a bird. Any naturalists or wildlife experts out there who might have some thoughts on this?

Well, it won't be the first time this tree has had some mod work done on it. Do you see the wire cable anchored into the trunks up there? My guess is the city was worried those two trunks might break and split apart, so they took preventive measures here. My mom has catalpas in her yard and over the years the upper trunks do tend to break off.

This large branch has four water sprouts growing out of it. I wonder if that's a stress response from the splitting and gnawing? Water sprouts are undesirable on a tree, and not just for aesthetic reasons. The are more susceptible to pests and disease and weaken the tree. I'm thinking of maybe pruning them myself.



Finally, I just had to include this pic of some of the bark. I love the texture and lines of it.
Stay tuned for more tree year posts!

Update: Uh, I guess I should make an effort to get my tree anatomy correct and learn the difference between a trunk and a branch. I don't think this tree has 'two trunks' rather it has a forked trunk. And when I referred to the 'upper trunks' of my mom's catalpa trees, I actually meant large branches. I think.

The Tree Year: Bark Life Part II

This is the catalpa tree I'm observing this year.

There are two in the park. I'll be spending time with the one in the foreground.
I love the gently curving branches.
The most notable thing about the trunk of this tree, are the splits and cracks in the bark.
Some of them look quite fresh, exposing soft, white wood within.
These cracks have me a little worried. How did they happen? Is this normal? Is it a sign of distress in the tree?
One of the cracks ends here. Anybody home?
The catalpa is native to North America, tropical in origins but extending its habitat northwards, so that now it thrives well in the more southerly parts of Canada. It is grown as an ornamental tree in Zones 4-5.

According to Diana Beresford-Kroeger in Arboretum America, the catalpa tree can deal well with climate change. "The catalpa is basically a tropical tree that has, by adaptation, moved itself into all of the north temperate regions of the world. It can withstand the ravages of sun, drought, snow and ice. It produces good quality shade during the heat of summer. Because of its flowers and fruit, it extends nature's food basket northward. Seed-eating birds such as the cardinals...have learned to use their beaks to split open the seed pods while they are still hanging on the tree. The cardinals release the seeds on to the ground to eat them." She goes on to say that, "Catalpas will keep pace with the needs of a moving bird and beneficial insect population." The trees are important to beneficial, non-flying insects as well as butterflies, bumblebees and wasps. They feed seed-eating birds, squirrels and smaller mammals.

I'm looking forward to getting to know this tree better and will keep on eye on those cracks and see how they might be affecting the tree.

The Tree Year: Bark Life Part I

"Those who have ventured beyond the great North Woods, out on the arctic prairies, where all the rivers fall into the polar sea or Hudson Bay, tell us of the surprising beauty of the isolated groves of Balsam Poplar there. How fair it must look then is something we can hardly realize when we encounter this species in the United States, for even when it is a fine tree…it is still a forest tree, crowded upon by others…" ~Donald Peattie, A Natural History of Trees

I spent some time in the park on Saturday observing my trees. This time I got up close and personal with them examining the colour and texture of the bark.
There's so much going on with this balsam poplar.
I love the blue and gold lichens growing all around the trunk.


This tree bears some cool looking scars where chunks of deeply fissured outer bark have broken off.

This deep orange streak is interesting.

Balsam poplars are often planted in parks because the upper branches are attractively smooth and pale coloured and the trees give off a lovely smell when the buds open in the springtime, due to the high resin content and other constituents in the buds. This is what also give the buds their medicinal properties.

Poplars are fast growing, cold-hardy trees. They are the northernmost occurring trees of all The North American hardwoods. They require a lot of sunshine and like wet areas but can get by in drier soil. As a timber tree they are valued for use in making plywood, wafer board, veneer, pulp, and in construction. There is potential to use these trees in soil stabilization projects as well.

In the wild, balsam poplars are eaten by moose, deer, and snowshoe hare in small amounts, with moose stripping bark in times of winter food shortage and used by beavers for food and building materials. Other animals browse balsam poplar like some rodents, elk and ruffed grouse. From what I've read, it's mostly the twigs and stems that are eaten. The leaves are eaten less and the resin in the buds is a deterrent to snowshoe hares.

Next up, I'll post the catalpa pics I took...

Populus balsamifera and Catalpa speciosa

After giving it some thought, I've chosen one of the balsam poplars in the park next door, to observe for the year. I walk by it everyday, making it really easy to notice and track it through the seasons.

It's one of three poplars in the park and I'm looking forward to getting to know this one better.

It's already starting to develop buds! They'll be ready to harvest soon, though I doubt I'll be able to reach any on this tree, unless the wind blows off a branch or two.

While in the park I remembered the lovely catalpa tree growing across from the poplars and on a whim, I've decided to study it too!

I love catalpa trees. They are so exotic looking with their tropical looking leaves and orchid-like flowers. I only just learned recently that catalpas have medicinal uses too, which I'm excited to discover more about.

Stay tuned for more updates from the Tree Year!