An Aspen to Be Saved
We have a beautiful trembling aspen at our cottage. About three years ago, a beaver came and took bites out of one side of the tree. We wrapped it in chicken wire about 1.2 meters (4 feet) high after coating it with a black spray product to protect its vulnerability. Following this event, it lost some of its lower branches.
This year, as its chicken wire corset was becoming too tight, we removed it. To our dismay, the beaver returned to tear off some more bark. So we reinstalled the wire, but less tightly. Unfortunately, our aspen is losing more and more branches, always the lowest ones.
Could you tell us if there is any way to save our beloved aspen?
Answer
It’s the chicken wire that has saved your tree so far. You’ll need to adjust it from time to time as the trunk thickens, that’s all.
Also, the loss of lower branches is completely normal: as trees grow, the new upper branches shade the lower branches, which weaken and die. That’s life!
However, the wound caused by the beavers will always remain a weak spot for your tree. It may close gradually, but tree wounds never “heal”; they simply become covered with bark and callus tissue. Even a well-hidden wound can become an entry point for fungi or other problems in the years to come.
Please note that black coating sold as paint or pruning paste, which is supposed to protect trees from fungi, does not actually protect them at all. In fact, by keeping the wound moist for longer, it often makes the situation worse. This product is now considered useless and its use is generally discouraged.
Rose Bush That Changes Color
About fifteen years ago, we planted a hardy rose bush in our yard, and it has always had pink flowers. We planted cream-colored hollyhocks right next to it. Now this year, the hardy rose bush is producing cream-colored flowers. How is this possible?
Answer
First, one thing is certain: the cream color did not come from the hollyhock. Despite its common name, the hollyhock (Alcea rosea) is part of the Malvaceae family and is not related to roses (Rosa spp.), which are part of the Rosaceae family. Their genes cannot cross, so hybridization between the two is not possible.
I can only think of three possible explanations for this change:
- A mutation: Plants sometimes produce spontaneous mutations, and it is entirely possible that a branch of a pink-flowered rose bush may start producing flowers of a different color. If the new flower is the same shape and size as the others, this is probably what has happened.
- Spontaneous sowing: your rose bush (or another rose bush in the area) has produced seeds that have germinated, and one of the plants from this sowing is producing cream-colored flowers. Usually, in this case, the rose will not only have a different color, but also a shape or size that differs from the original rose bush.
- A shoot from the rootstock: roses are often grafted. A rose bush with beautiful flowers (the scion) is grafted onto a rose bush with strong roots (the rootstock). But sometimes the rootstock produces a rejection from the base. If your pink rose bush had been grafted onto a cream-colored rose bush, this is exactly what you would expect.
Larry Hodgson has published thousands of articles and 65 books in French and English during his career. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This text was originally published in Le Soleil on July 30, 2011.
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