Prairie oasis

Sara's picks for deciduous trees

Amur maple (Acer tataricum ssp. ginnala)
A graceful substitute for Japanese maple. Full sun or part shade. 4 m tall x 4 m wide

'Mancana' ash (Fraxinus mandshurica 'Mancana')
A seedless selection from the Agriculture Canada Morden Research Station. Full sun. 8 m x 5 m

'Patmore' Green ash (F. pennsylvanica)
Leafs out earlier and keeps its foliage longer. Full sun. 12 m x 7 m

'Thunderchild' flowering crabapple (Malus x 'Thunderchild')
Purple foliage, pink flowers. Resistant to fire- blight. Full sun. 6 m x 4 m

Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Plant smaller trees as the taproot is often twice the length of the aboveground stem. Full sun. 15 m x 7 m

'Ivory Silk' japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk')
Oval form, cherry-like bark, cream-coloured flower panicles. Full sun to part shade. 6 m x 4 m

Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)
White flowers in spring, fruit turns yellow to red to purple-black. Red fall colour. Full sun to part shade. 4 m x 3 m

Dependable evergreens

These do best in full sun:

Alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
Narrowly pyramidal; attractive purple cones. 8 m high x 2 m wide

'Depressa Aurea' common Juniper (Juniperus communis 'Depressa Aurea')
Best golden, mid-sized juniper for hardiness and drought tolerance. 1 m x 3 m

Creeping juniper (J. horizontalis)
Native groundcover; foliage varies from silver-blue to dark green. 'Prince of Wales' among hardiest. 15 to 20 cm x 175 cm

Savin juniper (J. sabina)
Upright to arching and vase-shaped. Stays bright green. 90 cm x 175 cm

Rocky Mountain juniper (J. scopulorum)
Cultivars vary in height, width, colour and density. 'Blue Heaven', 'Medora' and 'Grizzly Bear' are choice. 4 m x 1.5 m

Siberian larch (Larix sibirica)
Deciduous; better than tamarack for dry conditions. Green needles turn a soft gold before being shed. 5 m x 6 m

White spruce (Picea glauca 'Densata')
Dense, compact, symmetrical and slow-growing. 8 m x 3 m

Colorado spruce (P. pungens)
Seed-grown trees vary from green to silvery blue. Grows more slowly than pine, with a more shallow, spreading root system. 20 m x 8 m

Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra)
Extremely slow-growing with long, soft needles. (Note: attractive to deer.) 8 m x 5 m

Lodgepole pine (P. contorta var. latifolia)
Native to the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan and Alberta. 10 m x 3 m

Mugo pine (P. mugo)
Variable height, width and density. 2 to 3 m x 2 m

Scots pine (P. sylvestris)
Trees grown from Spanish seed won't survive a Prairie winter; those from Siberia thrive. Fast-growing, drought-tolerant. 15 m x 8 m