Winter protection for plants in Balcony containers

I’m inquiring about a Ninebark, Moffat Blue Juniper, Hydrangeas and European Beech.  These plants are all on 8th floor of terrace with south west facing lake Ontario.  It gets very windy so should I also mulch the pots for insulation?…

Japanese Maple leaf problem

Hello The leaves on my Japanese Maple have brown spots – not particularly raised. Most, but not all the leaves are affected. I can’t see any insects on top or underneath the leaves. Are you able to identify the problem…

oak mast year

It appears that our oak and Ohio buckeye tree (and all nut trees in the area) are producing a huge amount of nuts this year. Can you confirm this year as a mast year? Can you explain why this phenomenon…

Bonsai seed propagation

Hello I’m interested in growing Japanese bonsai and I want to grow them from seed into seedling how do I do this and what kind of compost is good for this…

birch catkin bugs

Hello, We had what seemed to be birch catkin bugs since midsummer, ALL over our birch trees. Every single leaf had about 100 individuals, plus all the catkins, plus every leaf of the concord grape vine nearby. They smell when…

Harlequin maple – leaves not variegated

Our harlequin maple is 25 years old and has always been beautiful with green and yellow outline leaves. We know know to remove entire green leaves so the whole tree doesn’t become green leaves. This season (we live in Ottawa)…

Jesuit pear sapling move

Hi. A neighbour has offered me a couple of Jesuit Pear saplings. They are about 3′-4′ high and have, I think, been grown from seed. What would be the best time of year to dig them up and move them…

planting trees in ornamental pots without bottoms

Is it possible to plant a tree such as a European Hornbeam in a very large ornamental pot that does not have a bottom so the roots can eventually grow into the ground. The purpose is to increase the off…

Transplanting a Ludwig Spaeth Lilac tree (grafted)

Today I transplanted a Ludwig Spaeth lilac tree-bought at a garden center. The version is one which has the lilac grafted on to a tree trunk – the overall plant is about 7 feet high with a trunk about 2.5…