Saturday 10 November 2007

Saturday Photo: The Last of the Leaves


Leaves have been clinging to the trees in Montreal longer than usual this year, but I think we've just about reached the end. Friends say that north of the city in the Laurentians the trees have been bare for three weeks. In town, however--perhaps because it's been warmer in the city, or perhaps because, when October rains ended a long dry summer, the trees were stimulated to keep going--leaves have been slow to turn colour and slower to fall.

Last weekend I raked up five big bags of maple leaves in front (so much from two trees on a lot 25 feet wide!) and this weekend I'll have at least that much again. In back the pears--always the last to turn--have some yellow and orange leaves, so it may be next weekend before they're all on the ground.

I used to compost all the leaves, but when the pears developed fire blight I stopped saving their leaves. Now with tar spot on the maples everything will go out for the city pick-up. We're told they'll be composted properly so the fungus which causes the diseases are killed, which is something you really can't do at home. One thing is certain: planting the same kind of trees everywhere presents problems. On my walks I've noted that tar spot is much less present on maples where oaks and other trees are interspersed in the urban forest.

2 comments:

mollymew said...

Hi Mary,
We just got back to Winnipeg last weekend after spending a week in Montreal. I was astonished by how much later Fall seemed to be coming down there as opposed to out here. We saw many trees that were still compeletely green, and the colour charnges in the leaves occurred weeks earlier here out west. Thanks for disillusioning me of the illusion that this is normal for Montreal.
Mollymew

Mary Soderstrom said...

Just filled another five big leaf bags, and there are that many to fill yet, I think. Not only is it later this year, I think there are more leaves. I don't know how that can be, but certainly I've fill nearly twice as many sacks.

Hope you enjoyed your stay in Montreal. I enjoyed your post on your blog about Halloween. Never been to the celebration, but it must have been fun.

Mary