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Author Archive for MLF Webmaster

Q&A for Potential Nursery Partners this week!

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 January 8, 2021

Maple Leaves Forever’s Nursery Partner Program offers nurseries and customers a special incentive to sell, purchase and plant Native Canadian Maple Trees. We will promote your nursery as part of our program, and your customers can access our 25% Rebate on purchases of eligible maple trees (restrictions apply). View Rebate Details here.

You can review our Nursery Partner Requirements here on our website.

As part of Landscape Ontario’s online conference Congress Connect January 12 – 14, Maple Leaves Forever will be presenting ZOOM Q&A for potential nursery partners on Thursday, January 14th at 9:45am. Please contact our Nursery Liaison Caitlin Ayling at nurseryliaison@mapleleavesforever.ca for details to join the Q&A, and to submit questions in advance.

You do not need to attend the Congress to join the meeting, but please consider it! There are over 140 exhibitors and counting, and many fascinating presentations as part of the 3 day conference. The Marketplace is free to register and will be available online all year, while the video presentations will be available to paid ALL ACCESS PASS Conference registrants for the year.

See you at #LOCongress this week! Register today at LOCongress.com

News Questions & Answers

Winter Update from our Executive Director, Deb Pella Keen

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 January 6, 2021
Deb Pella Keen

I hope this finds you well and enjoying some recharge time at the end of a unique and challenging year. At Maple Leaves Forever, 2020 was a very successful year as we continued to provide support to those programs that are important to our mandate.  This year we supported the planting of almost 1400 native Canadian maples along roadways and laneways across rural southern Ontario! Thank you to all who participated in the program and are caring for those trees as part of our unique cultural landscape.

In addition we supported forest education at the secondary school level with Forests Ontario Envirothon program and the planting of over 175 native maples by the Highway of Heroes project in Picton.

We have had some significant staff changes in 2020 and hope you will join us in congratulating our long time “tree guy”, Carl Mansfield on his retirement.  He will be missed, but fortunately for us, he is just a phone call away and continues to support our mission whenever he can!
 
We are happy to announce that we’ve added two new and very capable part-time members to the MLF team: Andrew Cowell (currently working full-time as a municipal arborist) and Caitlin Ayling (currently working as the IPM and Plant Health Technician at NVK Nurseries).
 
Andrew, as MLF’s  Arborist, will focus on our outreach to the public, handling inquiries about tree care, site conditions etc.  Caitlin, as MLF’s Nursery Liaison, will focus on developing nursery partnerships  and advocating for native maple production in various forums.

New staff – Caitlin Ayling, Nursery Liaison and Andrew Cowell, Arborist

As the winter settles in and the leaves on the forest floor are covered in snow, it is time to pause and be grateful we live in a country that has universal health care and supports native tree planting through various programs such as ours  and the recent federal announcement to plant 2 Billion trees over the next 10 years.

We wish you all the best for your good health and good growing conditions for trees in  2021!

– Deb Pella Keen on behalf of the Maple Leaves Forever Team

News

Rockwood Forest Nurseries joins Maple Leaves Forever’s Partnership Program

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 January 2, 2021
www.rockwoodforest.com
905-301-4115

We are very excited to announce the newest addition to our Nursery Partnership Program: Rockwood Forest Nurseries!

Santosh Patel, Owner
Rockwood Forest Nurseries

“Rockwood has been growing trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials, annuals and supplying other ‘green’ products such as mulch, soil and aggregates/gravel for over 30 years. We are based in Cameron, Ontario (Kawartha Lakes near Lindsay, Ontario) which allows us to serve residential (condos, cottages, homes) and commercial landscapers, landscape architects, arborist, garden centres, green roofers, city and municipalities, golf courses and plant lovers in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.” 

Santosh Patel has recently taken over as owner and manager of Rockwood Forest Nurseries. He brings a certain sincerity, dedication and integrity to his operations that pours over into his passion for native trees and plants. We are looking forward to working and growing with Santosh and his team, as we expand our connections into this new geographic location.

Interested in Joining our Nursery Partner Program?

We are pleased to announce an exciting new program for aspiring nursery partners. The new Trial Partnership Program has launched and we are looking forward to hearing from you! Is your nursery passionate about growing and promoting the use of our native maples? Do you share our vision of Ontario’s rural roads and laneways exploding with beauty and fall colour?

Reach out to us and let’s start this conversation.
We can’t wait to grow with you!

FIND OUT MORE
CONTACT US

News Nursery News

To Prune or Not To Prune Maples in Winter?

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 December 29, 2020

As your beautiful native maples drop their leaves and their branching structure becomes more evident, you may be tempted to perform some winter pruning. Generally, for deciduous trees, this would be the ideal time. When the trees lay dormant and the branches are more easily visible, it is very practical to perform the removal of dead, dying or interfering limbs. For maples, any pruning or wounds created during this period may cause an excessive loss of sap known as ‘bleeding’.

Photo Credit:
https://livinginaurora.ca/nature/bleeding-red-maple-trees-the-cry-after-winter/

Although this bleeding is not fatal to the tree, and is mainly an aesthetic issue, it can be an open invitation for harmful pests and disease to feed on the sweet sugary sap. This coursing liquid is mainly composed of water and nutrients that travel up from the roots to feed the buds as they begin to swell in preparation for spring. This pathway from roots to buds is made possible by the vascular system. A network of conducting tissues that support the movement of water, dissolved minerals and food throughout the tree. The pressure of this upward movement through the tree’s vascular system is greater in spring than in any other time of year due to the rise of outdoor temperatures.

Photo Credit: https://www.tcia.org/TCIA/Blog_Items/2015/How_to_Prune_a_Bleeding_Tree.aspx

Unless you’re tapping sugar maples in the anticipation of making syrup, native maple trees are best left untouched throughout late winter and into spring. The best time for pruning a maple tree is in mid-summer, when the leaves have fully expanded and have turned a dark green. The exception would be the removal of any dead branches, which can be done at any time of year, or those that are of imminent threat to person or property. This time of year provides a great opportunity to view the branching structure and make plans for any future pruning needs. Placing a ribbon or tie on any branches that need to be removed or pruned back can aid as a reminder once the leaves have flushed and the branches are not as easily visible.

For more information about how to properly prune your maple tree go to:

Pruning young sugar maple trees

Other Resources:

https://www.tcia.org/TCIA/Blog_Items/2015/How_to_Prune_a_Bleeding_Tree.aspx

Written by Caitlin Ayling, MLF Nursery Liaison and Andrew Cowell, MLF Arborist

Caring for your maple News

Niagara Escarpment Views Magazine features Ken Jewett and Maple Leaves Forever

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 December 4, 2020

Warm thanks to Niagara Escarpment Views magazine, who published a beautiful four-page feature on Maple Leaves Forever and our founder Ken Jewett in their Fall 2020 issue. Free copies of the magazine are available from local businesses and back issues can be viewed at NEViews.ca

Excerpt: “Have you noticed how country roads are lined with big old hardwood trees about 40 feet apart? It’s as if long-ago farmers and landowners were following a landscaping style guide. Yet these trees are not just the result of fashion. There was a financial benefit to planting them. In 1883 the Ontario Tree Planting Act gave 25 cents per tree that was still alive three years after planting.

“But the subsidy applied to roadways, where wind and snow interrupted traffic,” writes Patricia Bowley in her academic paper on farm forestry, published in 2015 in Scientia Canadensis, 38.

It was an influential piece of legislation. According to the 2018 Environmental Protection Report by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, that Act resulted in the planting of 75,000 new trees. Often, these
trees were transplanted from interior forests and given space to grow large
on the edges of properties…”

Read full Article:Download PDF

View article as slideshow:

News Press

Globe & Mail article about invasive Norway Maple – and MLF’s response

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 November 3, 2020

The Globe and Mail posted this article on October 31, 2020: “How the foreign Norway maple tree is changing Canada’s fall palette”.

Link to full article

Excerpt:

“The forest floor of Mount Royal Park in autumn is a many-coloured carpet of maple leaves: orange, yellow, and every kind of red. The scene looks ready for a patriotic postcard.

But woven into this Canadian tapestry is a foreign interloper.

To an untrained eye, it could be mistaken for the sugar maple that adorns our flag and litters Montreal’s famous park with dazzling mulch. But that resemblance is just one of the Norway maple’s cunning tricks…

It has been a slow but steady invasion. A 2003 inventory of saplings on Mount Royal found three times as many Norways as sugars. Within 100 years, 25 per cent of the park’s trees could belong to the species, estimates Christian Messier, a professor of forest ecology and urban forestry at the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) and à Montréal (UQAM).”

MLF Founder Ken Jewett responded to the article:

An interesting discussion on the Norway Maple. The choice of planting a Norway or one of the 12 Native Canadian Maples should be a easy one. The NATIVE Canadian Maple is Canada’s ARBORAL Emblem it’s on our flag-a artists concept of a Maple Leaf. The Native Maple truly represents the best of Canada’s environment.

To learn more about this subject go to theoldmanandthetree.com or mapleleavesforever.ca.

Maple Leaves Forever campaigned for seven years to get the NCC to plant Native Maples. In desperation MLF took a half-page ad in the Ottawa Citizen pleading our case.  Dr. Christmanson NCC’s Chair saw our ad and agreed to when called for to only plant Native Maples in Ottawa.

Ken Jewett, Founder
Maple Leaves Forever

MLF Executive Director Deb Pella Keen sent a letter to the editor in response to the article:

Dear Globe and Mail,

Thank you for your informative article about the Norway Maple and its invasion of Mont Royal: “How the foreign Norway maple tree is changing Canada’s fall palette”.

Maple Leaves Forever (MLF) is one organization working to promote the planting of  native Canadian maple species through advocacy, education and a Thank You Rebate program which provides landowners with an incentive to plan native maples across southern Ontario.

In 2014, after years of lobbying by MLF founder, Ken Jewett, MLF printed  a half page letter in the Ottawa Citizen in a final attempt to persuade the National Capital Commission (NCC) to make a formal commitment to planting native maples. As a result,  later that year, NCC issued an official commitment to “planting Canadian native maples on its urban lands, whenever the planting calls for a maple tree.”  

We encourage other jurisdictions to take similar action, and commit to planting native trees, and specifically native maple trees, across Canada wherever they are appropriate.

Sincerely,

Deb Pella Keen, Executive Director
Maple Leaves Forever

News Press

Gypsy Moth Update – Informative Webinar and Collecting Egg Masses Contest

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 October 14, 2020

This year has seen a rise in the number of Gypsy Moths and caterpillars, which affect native maple trees as well as other species. In areas with severe outbreaks, “trees and shrubs are completely defoliated over large areas; despite the trees’ ability to produce a new crop of leaves over the summer, the damage causes significant growth loss” (https://www.ontario.ca/page/gypsy-moth)

One effective way to reduce the spread of this invasive pest is to collect and destroy their egg masses before they hatch.

The Invasive Species Centre and Eastern Ontario Model Forest are currently running a contest to encourage residents to remove EGM egg masses from their trees. They hope to limit the spread of the destructive caterpillars and moths by working together to collect 500 or more egg masses across Ontario. There are even prizes being offered as incentive to collect as many as possible!

Find out more and enter the contest here: www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/take-action/edrr-network/european-gypsy-moth-egg-scraping-contest/

Learn more about the European Gypsy Moth and how to manage this pest by watching this webinar:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A70AoBORNQ4

All About Maples Caring for your maple News

MLF Supports Special HOH planting in Trenton

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 September 30, 2020

St. George’s Anglican Church in Trenton is celebrating its 175th anniversary, and they wanted to commemorate the event with a tree planting celebrating our Canadian heroes. The Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign will plant 175 native maple trees at Bain Park, home to Trenton’s Afghanistan Memorial.

As one of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign’s founding sponsors, Maple Leaves Forever is excited to be able to support the planting project as well.

(Please note, plans for a public planting event have been canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.)

News

Fall colour driving tours in Ontario

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 September 25, 2020

Native Maples – the Monarchs of Colour!

Are you a ‘leaf peeper’ (vs. royal watcher?)   If you drive many kilometres to witness the magnificent fall foliage displays in Southern Ontario, you can be proud to be a leaf peeper! 

Driving tours are a great way to spend a fall day appreciating the landscape of Southern Ontario when it is ablaze in magnificent colour.  

Different types of native maples display varying colours of yellow, red, orange and burgundy colours in the fall.  The colour of an individual tree can sometimes vary from year to year. Factors such as location, weather, and genetics also play a role in timing and colour intensity.  Colour is generally better when trees are healthy and not stressed by drought or pests.  

While it is difficult to predict when colours will peak, Ontario Parks has a nifty fall colour report that might help you plan your trip to various parts of the province:

www.ontarioparks.com/fallcolour

For suggestions on driving tours, check out the following links! Please be sure to post your photos on social media and tag #canadianmaples or #mapleleavesforever so we can share them!

www.wheels.ca/top-ten/10-best-fall-drives-in-ontario/

www.ontariotravel.net/en/play/tours/fall-colour-and-harvest-tours

www.discovermuskoka.ca/things-to-do/driving-tours/

All About Maples News

Fall Update from our Executive Director, Deb Pella Keen

Posted by MLF Webmaster on
 September 23, 2020

Canada is a nation of forests – approximately a third of Canada is covered by forest! This year is the 100th anniversary of National Forest Week (NFW) which is celebrated this week from September 20-26, 2020 and National Tree Day which is on Wednesday, September 23, 2020.

I think it’s a wonderful coincidence that our founder, Ken Jewett is celebrating his 90th birthday on National Tree Day this year!

One of the best birthday gifts for Ken would be to plant Native Canadian Maples through our Thank you Rebate program this fall! Fall planting applications will be accepted until November 6, 2020.

Thank you for contributing to Canada’s rural landscape by choosing to purchase Native Canadian Maple Trees!

Deb Pella Keen
Happy 90th to our Founder,
Ken Jewett!
News
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MLF News Posts

  • Q&A for Potential Nursery Partners this week!
  • Winter Update from our Executive Director, Deb Pella Keen
  • Rockwood Forest Nurseries joins Maple Leaves Forever’s Partnership Program
  • To Prune or Not To Prune Maples in Winter?
  • Niagara Escarpment Views Magazine features Ken Jewett and Maple Leaves Forever

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benefits of native maples caring for your maple Carl Mansfield featured article maple news maple seeds MLF Award nursery news planting planting tips Political action rebate sugar maple

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