The English word arbor comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree, and Arbor Day is a day set aside for planting, nurturing and celebrating trees.
Arbor Day celebrations began in 1872 in Nebraska, and Arbor Day is now celebrated worldwide.
However, California is unique. Rather than celebrating Arbor Day, California has been celebrating Arbor Week, March 7-14, since 2011.
It’s a week in which to learn about, plant, care for and appreciate the more than 65,000 trees that call Redlands home.
Research shows that trees clear pollution from the air, catch significant rainwater, add to property values, cut energy use, reduce stress and enhance recreation opportunities. They also reduce the heat-island effect in parking areas and can aid in fighting climate change, absorbing carbon dioxide and other pollutants and emitting oxygen — which both animals and humans breath.
In addition, trees throughout Redlands have dramatic color displays several times during the year. There were the summertime dramatic pinks, bright reds and lush lavender blooms and the showy fall foliage displays of maroons, rusts, oranges and golds.
This winter in Redlands has been unusual, and some spring blooming trees are already starting to fill with beautiful blooms, including the Pyrus calleryana or ornamental flowering pear tree.
The flowering pear tree is a member of the Rosaceae or rose family, which includes the apple, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, plum, crabapple, pyracantha, cotoneaster, hawthorn, photinia, quince, mountain ash, loquat, spirea and the rose.
One of the most popular cultivars, the Pyrus calleryana “Bradford,” was introduced into the United States from China in 1908 as an alternative to native pears that were subject to severe fireblight. The “Bradford” pears tended to be blight-resistant and they now grow in nearly every state.
This tree has urban toughness. It is tolerant of pollution, it is noninvasive and with its all-season attractiveness, it is now one of the most frequently planted urban trees.
On the U.S. side of Niagara Falls, one of the most beautiful sights in the spring is the huge drifts of flowering pear trees covered with white blooms.
This tree is well suited to more than just urban plantings. Because of its masses of beautiful white spring blooms, pleasing shape, thick glossy green leaves and striking mahogany-red fall color, it is considered by some to be the perfect front-yard tree.
This deciduous tree likes Redlands’ full sun, provides much-needed shade, tolerates most soil types and is very drought-tolerant, one established. It can grow rapidly 30 to 40 feet tall and wide and has a moderate lifespan of 25 to 30 years.
Pyrus calleryana is pest-resistant but some cultivars are not as resistant to fireblight. Be sure to select only to resistant varieties including “Bradford” and “Cleveland Select.”
For information about trees or Arbor Day and Arbor Week celebrations, call 909-798-9384.
Source: Joyce Dean, a member of the Garden and Floral Arrangers Guild
