archited
Senior Member
These are the potential bordering developments that surround the Warehouse District Park...
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- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
Glenco
Senior Member
roe_
Active Member
Burr oaks are super hardy -- I have a 60 year old one in my yard and it is massive. That said, they are super messy and park-goers will need to be prepared for a rain of small acorns pelting them around this time of year!
Glenco
Senior Member
They have the most extensive range of any tree in N. America all the way from Manitoba and S. E. Saskatchewan to Texas. That said they are not native to this region which is the point I was trying to make.
Although it is all the same species the tree does have slightly different growth habits in the different regions one of them being the size of the acorn being larger and less of an over cup as you get further south. Judging by the the acorns I see on the trees around here they seem to be of a strain from further south.
erudyk_29
Active Member
Glad to see a seemingly greater emphasis on deciduous trees than conifers. Conifers seem to be the default in some areas, and while it's nice they provide year round foliage. They're also incredibly messy, leaving cones, sap and needles all over the ground. They also basically make it impossible for anything else to grow below them as they acidify the soil. Also, Deciduous trees are way better at providing shade and shelter from the rain during summer time. Conifers have their place but personally prefer the look and overall impact of deciduous trees especially for urban areas and as street trees.
IanO
Superstar
Crickets on this... how is budgeting and scope looking?
David A
Senior Member
and if you are at all thinking about the future and climate change, conifers are probably not a good bet for the future when it will probably be warmer and drier and we know how good the city is at watering things.
I know they have been a go to here for decades, but we have to think about the future not the past.
erudyk_29
Active Member
Absolutely. Our natural forests are generally pretty mixed, but I would say that aspen and birch parkland are probably more wide spread than spruce and pine. As you say that will probably become even more so in the near future considering climate change. My guess is that conifers have been preferred for their hardiness and evergreen foliage (potentially even for contributing to albedo in winter, which is a plus). But we should shift towards using a greater proportion of deciduous, even though they may not be as cold or drought hardy.
Greenspace
Senior Member
Conifers are critical for bird and other animals like squirrels. Without them you won't have either.
erudyk_29
Active Member
True, not saying we have to get rid of them or stop planting them entirely but just that there should be greater emphasis on bringing in more deciduous trees in future parks and developments
Glenco
Senior Member
The city never plants cedars. They could do very well in a park setting add a nice accent, don’t spread out causing dead zones under their canopy, nesting sites for song birds and produce thousands of tiny cone as a food source. They can also be used as a wind break or screen or shade.
erudyk_29
Active Member
I agree, cedars are excellent plants, and they should probably be used more. Probably the reason they aren't though is they're very temperamental and basically can't survive an Edmonton winter without some kind of protection from the wind. This is why you'll often see them up against fences and the sides of houses. Junipers are very similar but are much hardier, I hardly ever see Junipers around though either.
Glenco
Senior Member
I posted this picture before of these cedars on 106 street that receive no care and are in the open. They do very well as long as they don’t have to tolerate salt and pollution. People like to plant them up against buildings as an accent.
erudyk_29
Active Member
I stand corrected, working in a greenhouse over the summer we were told to inform customers to be careful about where they planted their cedars for this very reason and that they were a borderline hardy plant for the Edmonton climate. Perhaps different varieties perform better than others.
Greenspace
Senior Member
For this reason the City does not allow infill builders to plant cedars as one of their coniferous trees as they do not consider them hardy for Edmonton.