August and September can be great months to plant trees in, the days are starting to get shorter so there is less heat stress on the plants. The soil is warm so the trees can root easily and quickly and if we ignore the smoke it can be a very pleasant to be outside gardening at this time of the year.
I always enjoy bringing attention to little known trees so that Kamloops gardeners can plant some unique trees in their gardens.
The Magar Ginkgo is a narrow growing Maidenhair Tree which is great for shallow front yards or in corners of the landscape. Ginkgo trees have been around since prehistoric times and are Conifers, each leaf is actually made up of needles all stuck together. They shine each Fall by putting on a brillant golden display of colour..
You can’t talk about Fall trees and not include a Maple. October Glory Maple provides lots of shade for your landscape through the summer and then turns a deep red to purple in the Fall. Plant this Maple if you want a great climbing tree for the kids!
Some lucky Kamloops gardeners have shady spots that they can plant a tree in, usually not a large area but enough shade that many trees will not thrive. The Pagoda Dogwood is the perfect tree for these small areas. It is a small multistem shruby tree that has a lovely horizontal growth habit that is quite unique. Each spring it puts on a show of white blooms that grow in flat clusters then black fruit follows in July and August. This tree, like all Dogwoods enjoy growing in moist, acidic well drained soil so don’t forget to dig in some sulphur 90 or peat moss when you plant it.