P.E.I. tree nurseries ready for busy spring as post-Fiona replanting heats up

Anne Keuper is receiving a lot of phone calls, emails and messages from Prince Edward Islanders ordering large quantities of trees.

Keuper, who co-owns Island Pride Garden Co. in Wood Islands and Hunter River, says there's still plenty of people looking to replace the countless trees lost as post-tropical storm Fiona hit the province in September.

One person reached out to her wanting to have 150 trees planted, she said.

"We've certainly doubled our usual order of trees," Keuper said.

Island Pride Garden is just one of many P.E.I. tree nurseries seeing increased — and sometimes overwhelming — demand following Fiona.

With Islanders looking to replant, some of these businesses are encouraging people not to order just any kind of tree, but look for those better able to withstand future storms.

In Charlottetown, VanKampen's Greenhouses has also been getting lots of calls.

Operations manager Peter Meijer said many homeowners and landowners cleaned up their properties throughout the fall and winter.

Now that the weather is getting warmer and post-Fiona cleanup is done for many, Islanders are looking for trees to plant, he said.

Unable to meet the demand?

"We've ordered more trees in anticipation of having a larger season than what we'd normally have had in previous years," Meijer said.

Keuper said her business might not be able to meet the growing need for trees this year, despite reaching out to different suppliers.

In addition to placing large orders, customers are also looking for a wide array of varieties, from apple to magnolia trees.

All the jobs probably won't get completed this year​​​​​​.— Anne Keuper, Island Pride Garden Co. co-owner

"We can't all source everything that everybody's looking for," Keuper said.

To make things even more complicated, she said her business is facing staff shortages, just like many other companies on the Island.

Now, she is "hunting" for employees ahead of the busy growing season.

"All the jobs probably won't get completed this year," she said.

Looking for the right type of tree

Keuper said many people have been searching for large trees — between five and six feet tall — because they want to replace the old ones that fell during Fiona.

She suggests going for smaller trees instead.

"Just start small and gradually add trees to their landscape and letting them grow in," she said.

Meijer said many people contact VanKampen's Greenhouses looking for spruce trees, but that's not what he would recommend.

Though spruce trees are fast growing, they have shallow root systems, making them more susceptible to fall in future storms, he said.

The big thing for people if they're replanting is just to take their time, be patient.​​​​​​— Ian Simmons, Kool Breeze Farms co-owner

Ian Simmons, co-owner of Kool Breeze Farms in Summerside, said with the Island having been through a few tropical storms recently, people should consider planting trees that are "zone-hardy" for their area.

That means planting trees that are well suited to where they live, their type of property and where the wind would be coming from.

Islanders could also consider planting trees with deep taproots, which help anchor them to the earth, he said.

One example is oak trees.

"They should stand up maybe a little bit better than some of the trees," Simmons said.

"I think the big thing for people if they're replanting is just to take their time, be patient. Good landscaping always takes a couple years to kind of put [things] back in place."