Dakota Gardener: A pleasant surprise

I travel a lot throughout North Dakota. It’s part of my job. While it’s sometimes hard to be away from home so much, I do get to see a lot of the state, enjoying both its natural beauty and the variety of the many small towns.

I’m always on the lookout for rare or unique tree species during my travels. Recently, I was in Hettinger, North Dakota, and saw a newly planted ‘MN Strain’ redbud tree. I was glad to see the folks in this town trying something new and different. I was also a little worried, as this cultivar hasn’t had much testing in the challenging environment of western North Dakota. I hope for the best.

Testing new tree varieties is challenging. Trees are expensive and let’s face it – you have to wait a long, long time to get results. Not many organizations want to fund the kind of research where it may take a whole decade or more to find an answer to the research question.

City foresters also do some limited “testing” with their new plantings, but that can be small-scale as well. As public servants, they have to make wise choices about which tree species they plant so they generally choose those species that are highly likely to survive and thrive.

But they’re all willing to experiment with new varieties, at least a little bit. I once surveyed the North Dakota city foresters and asked what percentage of their planting budget they were willing to spend on varieties that weren’t proven. On average, they were willing to spend about 7% on untested varieties. One person was even willing to go as high as 15% of the planting budget.

I appreciate what the city foresters do for our communities. Maintaining a healthy and diverse urban forest is a tough job.

I also look to the citizen-scientists out there, who try unique trees in their yards. I’ve had a lot of surprises over the years.

The biggest one was in Williston. Someone had an Anjou pear tree in their backyard. I heard about it from a colleague and we knocked on the door and received permission to check it out. I couldn’t believe it. The fruits were just like the ones you find in the grocery store, only smaller.

A recent inventory of the public trees in Williston showed a couple of silver lindens on the boulevard. Their scientific name is Tilia tomentosa – tomentose means covered in short hairs. The leaves are very soft. This species is native to the Mediterranean, though it’s often found at higher altitudes.

What are those trees doing in North Dakota? They shouldn’t be able to survive here.

But they are.

I’ve chatted with a number of homeowners through the years who’ve shown me their rare gems. They’ve included a bristlecone pine in Hettinger, a Manchurian striped maple near Grafton, and an eastern hemlock in Park River. There’s at least one sycamore tree in Jamestown, a shagbark hickory in Larimore and a blue ash tree in Carrington.

I’m amazed by what I’ve seen and I appreciate the experimenting that people are doing. I can’t recommend these species or varieties in general because of limited testing. Clearly, though, some exceptional trees are found throughout our state.

If you haven’t heard of these species or varieties, that’s okay. In fact, that’s actually the point – these types of trees are incredibly rare and we generally don’t expect them to survive in North Dakota. But occasionally, in the right spot and at the right time, they do survive. And they thrive.

What unique species are in your area?