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Top 10 Trees
Fruiting Trees, Shrubs & Edible Perennials
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Ten Tremendous Trees
What grows best, here on the Winter wet Summer dry Northwest Coast? Where in the world do we look for comparable climates with interesting and unusual (to us) trees, and who's going to do the research? Who's going to do the hard work and suffer the trials necessary to figure out what actually works in this region? Short answer: us. After 11 years of seeding, propagating, growing, losing, re-trying, coddling, neglecting, sometimes giving up on and sometimes being surprised by promising plants from around the world, we've settled on ten outstanding trees that grow well in this climate, look good doing it, and provide some sort of yield: call them 'three things trees'...Each has ornamental, edible and practical utility. Together, one of each would make an instant food forest. These aren't your usual coastal recommendations: most of these are little grown trees that deserve more love, and have a lot to give. These trees are for those who'd like to inject a little more diversity into the local landscape, shock the horticultural bourgeoisie, and feed themselves doing it.
AKA "Northern Macadamia", "Popcorn Shrub"
The tree everyone wants, but few know. Why? It's highly ornamental, all parts are edible, it produces delicious nuts akin in texture to macadamia (earning it the name "Northern Macadamia"), it's drought tolerant, and the oil produced in the seeds is an up and coming star in the biofuel world. Airy small tree/shrub to 25' tall and wide (though it seems to stay smaller in our cooler climate). Leaf shoots and leaves are edible (though not exactly delicious. Think survival food). The flowers are the big show in late spring: hundreds of them cover the tree in white and red, so profuse the plant has earned the nickname 'Popcorn Shrub'. Flowers are followed by fruits containing small nuts with a firm, crisp white flesh reminiscent of Macadamia. These are slow growing trees in our climate, but extremely drought hardy, and grow well in the ground or in containers. They should be planted while young and relatively small, as they form an extensive root system for the first few seasons that is sensitive to disturbance. We've been fascinated by this tendency: ours planted in the ground have shown little top growth for the first two seasons, but when dug up have established finger to carrot thick roots extending up to 4'. Clearly, these are a sleep and leap type plant (at least here on the west coast): extensive roots first, then top growth. Bullet proof in terms of drought: these are extremely tough trees, and thrive in hot sun. Those growing in ten gallon pots in sunny locations are proving to be fairly quick to establish, likely due to the greater heat this affords: this suggests it might be faster to put on top growth in hotter, more Continental climate zones. Outstanding candidate for container gardening. It's compact size, utility, beauty and love of heat make this a fine candidate for urban situations, backyards, fencelines and hedgerows, and gardens. Reputedly hardy to USDA Zone 4 (and certainly hardy for us in Zone 7). You'll wait a while for flowers and fruit, but it's worth the wait.
1 gallon (6"-1' tall) $15 SOLD OUT FOR SPRING 2016, Available Fall 2016.
Chinese Toon, Fragrant Spring Tree, Northern Mahogany
Toona sinensis, Cedrela sinensis
An amazing, useful and ornamental tree, little known in North America. Grown in Northern China as a vegetable, where it is grown in rows and coppiced to yield numerous shoots. Young leaves and shoots are eaten and have a savoury onion-garlic flavour. We add the young shoots to stir-frys, and dry the young leaves into a spice powder that goes well in winter soups and stews. The leaves are highly nutritious, containing 9.8% protein (!!), Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 and B2. To. As if this wasn't enough, Toona sinensis is the northernmost member of the Mahogany family, and the wood has many of the qualities of tropical mahogany. Toona has been our fastest growing tree, exceeding even Paulownia. A 5 year old seedling in the garden is presently 16' tall and growing. We grow the Chinese strain "North Red", bred specifically for aromatic shoot production. Fully hardy in our climate, these thrive in a garden setting. Where the mature height is too tall, grow it Northern Chinese fashion, and keep it coppiced. Seedlings exhibit an unusual characteristic for the first few seasons: they do not branch. For the first two or three seasons, they drop leaf and stipe leaving a bare stem until spring, when growth emerges again at the top and at each branch node. By the third or fourth year, permanent branches begin to develop and the tree takes on it's characteristic form. This has all the trappings of a fine tree for temperate permaculture: it is edible, tasty, nutritious, is quick to produce a quality timber, and can be kept small in a backyard or small garden setting by maintaining it as a coppiced perennial vegetable. Reputed to be fairly hardy, with reliable reports to USDA Zone 5 and some sources indicating Zone 4.
1 Gallon $15
Black Mulberry
Black mulberries are ideal for coastal B.C. If you don't already love the black mulberry, then you likely haven't tried one. That, or your driveway is beneath one--the fruit is incredibly juicy, and makes a stain. Incredible fruits, looking somewhat like a blackberry. Or, if you prefer your botany precise, a compound cluster of drupes. An attractive small tree, suitable for small urban gardens or farmsteads alike. Up to 60' tall in some parts of the world, but more like the size of a standard fruit tree on the west coast: 30' at a maximum. Of all the mulberries (and there are many) the black mulberry is considered the gourmet's mulberry, with the richest flavour (by most accounts). It is an ancient tree, cultivated for so long that it's ancestry is lost, but it's extraordinarily high chromosome count (unique amongst the mulberries) indicates centuries of human use: it is clearly a tree we have loved, tended, and propagated for millenia. Rich in all the good things, including Vitamin C, Iron, B & K Vitamins and a remarkably high number of anti-oxidants (with much more besides: see https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2278?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=morus+nigra for the full profile). Self-fertile, tolerant of a range of soils, every garden should have a black mulberry tucked in a corner. Patience is required, as seedling take up to a decade to fruit, but they will produce reliably thereafter, and do so for generations to come. Unlike the other mulberries, black mulberries can live to 300+ years of age. There's your legacy, all for a measly twenty bucks. Note these are seedling trees, and fruit quality will vary. You will get mulberries: you might get great mulberries.
1 gallon $20 -In stock, large seedings: 16-24" tall
Strawberry Tree
European cousin to our native Arbutus, but very different in habit. Evergreen tree to 30' tall and nearly as wide, forms numerous spherical fruit which hang on the tree and ripen over a year in shades of yellow, orange and red. Although the latin moniker 'unedo', which means "I only eat one" is usually taken to mean the fruit is insipid and not worth seconds, in our experience the fruit is outstanding: juicy, with a ripe citrus flavour. Left on the tree to fully ripen, the fruits will ferment in place: on account of this, there are stories in Spain of bears getting drunk and unruly on the fruits. The coat of arms for the city of Madrid depicts an arbutus unedo being assailed by a jonesing bear. So plant one now, and live out your golden years like a drunken Spanish bear. Self-fertile, quite fast growing, drought hardy and deer resistant...not to be confused with the commonly available 'Arbutus unedo Compacta', which is a more dwarf form, this is the full sized species tree. The main drawback here on the coast is it's tendency (along with it's native cousin) to get fungal leaf spots early in the season. Unlike the native madrone, however, which often gets hugely afflicted, our unedos seem to drop the affected leaves as summer progresses and produce clean, unaffected leaves for the remainder of the season.
1 gallon $15--SOLD OUT until Fall 2017--
Persian Walnut
Julgans regia, AKA English Walnut, Carpathian Walnut, Persian Walnut
Stately tree with large compound leaves, eventually to 50-60' tall (though local specimens seem to be more in the 30' range). Self-fertile to a degree, but you'll get more nuts if you plant two or three. Stories of walnuts being toxic to plants grown around/near them originate with the Black Walnut, which has much higher quantities of juglone (which can be toxic to other plants). Persian walnuts are much better companions in this regard. We sell seedling trees of select parents, and have both the regular species and a special thin-shelled variety (so thin you can crack the shells by hand) which is a cross between Black and Persian Walnut. Seedling variability (the tendency of seedling trees to have traits different than the parents) is less of an issue with Persian walnuts, with each generation tending to keep most (if not all) of the qualities of the parent tree. Translation: these trees will produce good walnuts.
1 gallon seedling $12
Now in Stock Dooley 69-E Persian x Black Walnut seedlings, thin-shelled walnuts you can crack by hand; seedlings reliably retain this trait.
Italian Nut Pine
Pinus pinea
This is the source of genuine Italian pine nuts (though most commercially available nuts these days are from the Korean nut pine). Iconic tree of Italian skylines with it's umbrella top on a long trunk, this pine grows well in our climate. Don't be deterred by sources claiming a 30-40 year wait for nuts: this refers to commercial quantities. Expect the first few cones and nuts within 7-10 years, with increasingly more thereafter. Spreading tree which requires a space of it's own: begins life as a squat bushy tree, then elongates with age to form the tall, open frame apparent in old plantings. Self-fertile, drought and deer tolerant.
Korean Nut Pine
Pinus koraensis
Not as picturesque or evocative as the Italian pine, but the Korean pine makes up for it with (relatively) precocious fruiting habits. Most of the pine nuts sold in markets today come from the Korean pine, and it is a solid choice for reliable pine nuts. Eventually a large tree (to 100 or more feet), but self-fertile. Said to produce crops of pine nuts as early as 6 years from seed.
1 gallon $12 --SOLD OUT until Fall 2017--
Heartnut
Juglans ailantifolia
Also known as the Japanese Walnut. Related to other walnuts, the heartnut is distinctive with it's heart shaped shell and sweet nuts. 50-60' tall at maturity, the heartnut is one of the best nut trees for ornamental effect, with it's extremely long, tropical looking compound leaves. Amongst the fastest growing nuts, a seedling (properly cared for) will be a substantial tree in a few short years. We sell seedling trees from select orchard parents, but heartnuts are known for their variability, and some seedlings will have nuts different from the parent tree. As a one off nut tree, however, the heartnut cannot be beat for it's combination of fast growth, beautiful form and foliage, and food production. Nuts form in clusters, adding to the ornamental effect in season.
Ficus carica Varieties 'Brown Turkey', 'Desert King', 'Negronne' and 'Tait's Jumbo'
Every garden needs at least one fig: relatively short tree (wider than it is tall), big tropical looking foliage, tough as nails (the worse you treat it, the more it fruits...), fast growing, and--in our opinion--one of the finest temperate fruits. We grow and sell a few varieties proven in this climate: all stock comes from producing trees here on Denman Island. "Brown Turkey" and "Desert King" are the two best choices on the coast, with "Negronne" being a good choice for container culture. In addition, we propagate a special form of Desert King, from a local parent tree with apple sized fruit.
1 gallon $10 --SOLD OUT --
Empress Tree
PPaulownia tomentosa, AKA Foxglove tree, Princess tree
Oft-touted as one of the 'fastest growing trees in the world' (though in our experience Toona sinensis grows faster), the Paulownia is in all respects an outstanding tree. Fast growth to 50' tall (in our climate), with downy heart shaped leaves. Flowers (which precede the leaves) are amazing upright clusters of purple flowers which look like foxgloves. Can be grown in smaller gardens by cutting back to a stump every year: instead of growing to a tall tree, it will behave as a small shrub/tree and produce giant (up to 2 feet across) leaves instead of flowers. The wood is noted as a fine cabinet wood, with some sources describing it as the "aluminium" of woods: lightweight, but strong. It is edible, but only technically: the leaves have been used as a survival food in the past, and the flowers are sometimes served with miso. An outstanding tree, well worth growing.
​SOLD OUT UNTIL FALL 2017