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Can you believe this is nearly the middle of summer? That means that all the spring landscape work’s done and it’s too early to begin fall work. Does that mean you’re getting bored just sitting on the deck or patio enjoying the results of your labor? Here are some maintenance tasks you can still do now to spruce up your yard before the dog day of summer that roll around in August.
• Change out faded annuals. Annuals are only temporary plants. They grow, they go to seed and then they die. Thus, the name – annuals. If weather conditions in your area have caused your annuals to begin fading already, now would be a good time to replace them. It’s too early for fall plants like mums so more spring/summer flowers would be appropriate.
• Continue to deadhead. Deadheading is the practice of removing spent flowers before they can go to seed. This encourages the plants to direct their energy to another flush of flowers rather than dropping seeds. Hopefully, you have been deadheading since you first planted your annuals. Continue this practice on all that are still flowering, and you may not have to change out the plants until closer to fall. Then you can save at least one changeout this year. Deadheading is also known as pinching. Although some people insist on pinching the stem just below the flower, it’s often easier to use scissors or pruners.
• Fluff mulch and replace if necessary. A good, organic mulch like ground wood chips can moderate the soil temperature when the heat gets oppressive. (It also holds heat in the soil when the air gets cold.) Mulch also holds water, either from rain or irrigation, and releases it into the soil over time, which is better for the plants than to deluge them with water, as in an intense rain shower, only to have a substantial amount run off before the soil can absorb it. Over time, mulch gets matted down, decomposes and sinks into the soil. This is good because it’s returning organic matter to the soil. In summer, two or three inches of mulch is sufficient. If you appear to have that depth of mulch but it’s matted down, fluff it up with an iron rake so there are plenty of air pockets. For beds with less than two inches, add the necessary much. Raking it out should fluff it sufficiently.
• Be ready to water. If meteorologists are calling for a dry August, be sure your irrigation system is ready. Drip irrigation is more effective than sprinkling. Less water evaporates before reaching the soil. Drip irrigation for most consists of soaker hoses, those porous black hoses made from recycled tires. Be sure your soaker hoses are positioned correctly and working properly before they’re needed.
With these tasks finished, you can truly relax, confident that your landscape is ready to take on whatever summer dishes out. As for you, you shouldn’t feel guilty about staying in the air conditioning on really oppressive days.
Summer’s not even over and I’m already writing about spring blooming bulbs like crocuses, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. Soon you’ll be seeing garden centers advertising bulbs. That’s because these bulbs have to be planted this fall in order to have blooms next spring.
Bulbs are among the very first plants to bloom as spring approaches. I think you’ll agree that they’re a welcome sight after a long, harsh winter. If you really enjoy this annual flourish of color, start thinking of where you’d like your bulb garden to be. Do you want all one color? Or a mix of colors? Do you want big splashes of color? Or a random array of color like a kaleidoscope? It’s a good idea to measure the space in which you plan to plant your bulb garden and then plot it out on paper.
Bulbs should be spaced two to three inches apart for a big splash of color. Planting them four to five inches will give your bulb garden a looser look. These numbers will help you calculate how many bulbs you’ll need for the space you’ve allocated.
Garden centers sell bulbs in bulk and pre-packaged. Package labels should contain the number of bulbs, color(s) and planting instructions. Those sold in bulk are usually in bulk containers with a tag on the container indicating the color. Be wary, though, of other customers handling the bulk bulbs and inadvertently returning them to the wrong tray. There should be no doubt about the colors in sealed packages.
When you get the bulbs home, keep them in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to plant them. There’s no hurry; they can be planted anytime before the ground freezes. Depending on how many bulbs you’re planting, you can either dig a row and plant them as you would vegetables in a garden, or you can plant them individually. Either way, the holes should be twice as deep as the length of the bulb. For instance, bulbs two inches long should be planted four inches deep.
If you’re planting in rows, dig the row to the proper depth. Stretch out a string with knots tied at the planting intervals, or use another measuring device to assure proper spacing. Place bulbs root end (the flat, hairy end) down in the row at the proper intervals. Be sure the pointed end is facing up and push the bulb into the loose soil at the bottom of the hole to keep it from tipping when you backfill. Backfill the row before digging the next row. When finished, give the whole planting bed a good watering.
To plant individual bulbs, use your measuring device to determine the spacing. Lay the bulbs on the ground next to where you’re going to plant them. Using either a trowel or a bulb planter, dig a hole to the proper depth, place the bulb in root end down and backfill. If you’re using a trowel, you just have to plunge it into the soil and pull it toward you, place the bulb in the hole, remove the trowel and smooth out the soil. Water the whole bed when you finish.
You don’t need to fertilize when you plant bulbs. They have plenty of food stored in the bulbs. However, they’d probably appreciate it if you spread some fertilizer around the bed in subsequent autumns.
I recommend that you take photos of your bulb gardens when they bloom each spring. As time goes on, bulbs can fail to bloom for various reasons. The photos can help you pinpoint where you have to replace bulbs in the fall.
Summer’s not even over and I’m offering you advice for saving money next spring. It’s really quite simple. Just take cuttings from this year’s annuals and propagate them yourself. It’s really easy to do, and you might find that you’ve begun a most enjoyable gardening hobby.
Begin by deadheading your annuals. That’s the practice of removing spent flowers before they can go to seed. Keep the leaves and stem intact. Obtain a supply of small pots (4” max.) and a container of rooting hormone. It’s a powder that helps the stems sprout roots. You can find it at any garden center.
Cut three-to-four inch sections of green stem from the plants you’re planning to propagate. Dip the bottom end of each stem into the rooting hormone, the same way many people dip scallions in salt before eating them. If you don’t want to use rooting hormone, or don’t have any, go directly to the next step. Your plants should still develop roots but it may take a bit longer.
Place each cutting, root end down, in one your pots filled with potting mix. Don’t use soil because it’s too dense and heavy. Soilless potting mix is made up of lightweight, water retaining materials like peat, Perlite and vermiculite.
From now until next spring, your plants should live in shaded spots indoors. They like to be kept moist but not soaked, so don’t overwater. Soon little leaves should begin to appear, and you may even have a flush of winter flowers.
Depending on the flower(s) you choose for this experiment, and the size of your pots, you may have to transplant them partway through the winter. Larger plants may outgrow small pots rather quickly. Warning: Newly propagated plants may need more care than your other houseplants.
In spring, when the last frost threat has passed, your propagated plants should be ready to live outside. To prepare them for their new lives, move them outside onto the deck or patio and let them get used to their new environment. This is called “hardening off.” If a late frost is predicted during this time, take the plants indoors at night.
After your new plants have hardened off sufficiently, transplant them in the ground, in decorative containers, raised beds or elevated beds – anywhere you’d plant the annuals you buy at a garden center. You’ll be using the same process at home as commercial growers use in their greenhouses.
When friends and neighbors find out that you propagated your annuals rather than buying them, they’ll be envious and you can beam with pride over this accomplishment. And, you can use the money you saved to buy more plants. Maybe you’ll save enough to buy a tree or shrub.
Going to see parks and other public and private gardens is one of the best ways to get ideas for improvements to your own landscape. It’s also a way to have fun during these hot summer weekends when there’s not much to do in your own landscape. Here in the Rochester area there are plenty of opportunities.
Highland Park is open year-round, not just during the annual Lilac Festival. Now, after the festival you can take in the scenery of this Frederick Law Olmstead designed park without the crowds that visit the park during the festival. If you want to see more of Olmstead’s work, visit Genesee Valley, Seneca and Maplewood Parks, too. Olmstead referred to these magnificent local gems as the Emerald Necklace.
If you want a break from looking at all the labeled plants, you can visit the Lambert Conservatory at Highland Park and the zoo at Seneca Park. The conservatory has a variety of year-round displays of plants from other climate zones, including a desert and a tropical plant display.
You can visit formal gardens at the George Eastman Museum on East Avenue in Rochester or Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion in nearby Canandaigua. The latter was the summer home of Frederick Ferris and Mary Clark Thompson. Besides the beautiful, formal gardens, the restored mansion is an excellent example of opulence in the gilded age.
If smaller gardens are more your style, you might shuffle off to Buffalo the weekend of July 30 and 31 for Garden Walk Buffalo. Owners of more than 400 urban gardens open their beautiful backyards to the public. These gardens can offer you great ideas for your own landscape, especially if yours is small. The owners have done creative, amazing things with their limited space. Best of all, this self-guided tour is free. To find out where to pick up a map for Garden Walk Buffalo, visit gardensbuffaloniagara.com.
If your interest is trees, one of the newest public gardens is Draves Arboretum in Darien Center. It was established by my friend and fellow arborist Tom Draves, and has many unusual specimens, including one named for Tom. Draves Arboretum, which hosts individuals and garden clubs, as well as weddings, parties and colleges, is open by appointment only. For individual tours, the arboretum asks for at least a day’s notice before you plan to visit. You can phone them at 585.547.3341 or email dravesarboretum@rochester.rr.com.
Our area is a horticultural and landscape design wonderland. You can get plenty of ideas that you can adapt to your own property without spending a lot of money simply by day tripping.
Trees form the skeleton of any landscape. Their size and stature are what define your landscape. When designing a landscape, the trees are selected and put in place first. The selection and placement of the other plants are governed by the mature size, aesthetics and placement of these trees. As a result, the loss of a tree, especially a large shade tree, would create an obvious void in your landscape.
The loss of a large shade tree would affect more than visual balance and composition of your landscape. It could lead to the decline and eventual loss of other plants that depend on the tree(s) to create an environment in which they can thrive. If understory or nearby plants prefer shade to full sun, removal of the tree that’s been providing the shade that they need completely changes their environment, and not for the better.
Trees also contribute to the value of your property, increasing as they grow. One way to protect this valuable investment and the integrity of your landscape is to have your trees inspected at least once a year by a professional arborist. An arborist knows what signs point to problems and the action to take to make necessary repairs.
A tree inspection is like a physical for people. Our arborist will check the trunk for cracks and signs of decay, including conks or mushroom, which are the fruiting bodies of the fungi that cause decay. The presence of certain insects, birds and even small mammals indicate that they’ve found a home in the hollow of decaying trees. Our arborists also have instruments that help determine if there’s rot inside the trunk. From the inspection results, the arborists can determine if the tree can be saved or whether it’s hazardous and should be taken down.
Trees that are leaning indicate root rot and those that are healthy only on one side indicate the presence of girdling root. We have a tool that uses air to gently remove the soil around the roots so we can examine them close up. Removing a girdling root is a relatively easy procedure for a professional arborist. We can also easily determine whether the rotted roots can safely be removed without compromising the tree’s stability. The soil can then be replaced after the inspection is finished.
The arborists will also be on the alert for dead, dying, broken, crossing or rubbing branches, which they can remove. They will pay special attention to branches hanging over your house or close to electric wires. These should be pruned to provide clearance. Don’t try this yourself, though! Leave pruning to the professionals. They have the knowledge, training and specialized equipment to do the job safely, and we have arborists with the special training necessary to work near energized wires.
A landscape without trees has no real structure and no height. Even with the most beautiful, colorful flowers, treeless landscapes can be rather bland. Trees are large, complex, living organisms that need regular attention, beginning with an inspection by our professional arborists.
Not all plant deaths are caused by insect or diseases. Many are caused by humans and the environment. These causes are called abiotic and those attributed to insects and diseases are called biotic.
While biotic plant damage is often obvious, diagnosing abiotic damage is usually more difficult. Some common contributors include…
• Planting too deep. Trees and shrubs are often subjected to deep planting. The hole should be no deeper than the root collar (The point at which the trunk/stem joins the root). It’s better if the root collar is above rather than below grade. Planting too deep makes it difficult for water and air to penetrate down to the feeder roots.
• Planting in too small a hole. While the planting hole should be only as deep as the rootball, it should be two or three times bigger in diameter. Spread the roots out and make sure none are crossing each other before backfilling.
• Girdling roots. When one root crosses another, it chokes the root it’s crossing, causing that side of the tree to die back. If there are crossing roots all around a plant, they can kill the whole plant. Crossing, or girdling, roots are most common in plants that come from the nursery in pots. So be sure to spread out the roots and cut the offending root on either side of the root it’s crossing.
• Mulch volcanoes. Piling mulch up against a tree trunk can cause stress, and even death, to a tree. Mulch volcanoes can trap moisture between the mulch and the trunk. Trees don’t like this, and if there’s even the tiniest crack in the bark, that moisture can carry life threatening rot fungi into the tree. Also, rodents like field mice hide in the mulch while they chew on the bark, eventually girdling the trunk.
• Planting the wrong plant in the wrong place. Some plants like full sun while others prefer shade. Some like lots of water while others hate “wet feet.” Some will only flourish in acid soil while others will do just fine in our basic soil. You don’t have to be a plant expert to determine which plants go where. Just read the nursery tags or ask one of the horticulturists at your garden centers.
• Disturbing the roots. Raising or lowering the grade around the root zone of a tree will put it in imminent danger. Try to avoid this practice but if it’s unavoidable, plan to build a retaining wall if the grade must be lowered or a tree well if the grade needs to be raised. Avoid cutting the roots. If you must excavate near tree roots, hire an arborist with an air gun. It’s friendlier than a shovel or backhoe.
• Soil compaction. I’ve seen people park vehicles under shade trees to keep them cool in the summer. This added weight compacts the soil and deprives the roots of water and oxygen.
Often one or more of the abiotic conditions cited above stresses a plant and the decline makes it a good target for insects or disease organisms. When the plant dies, the owner blames it on the biotic cause rather than the abiotic problems that made the plant so attractive to pests or pathogens.
Our Plant Health Care (PHC) professionals can diagnose abiotic as well as biotic causes of plant decline. The prognosis will probably be more positive if you have your plants inspected as soon as you notice signs of stress, rather than taking a wait and see attitude. Left to the plants natural defenses, it’ll get worse before it gets better.
Beautiful, large trees are often what attracts potential buyers to home sites. Years after the construction’s finished, though, these owners may begin noticing that the trees around which they built their home are declining and dying. That’s when they call me, a Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA).
The time for that call was when they were first considering that site. Tree protection should’ve begun long before the first shovel of dirt was turned. Trees may be the largest living organisms on earth but they’re still sensitive to environmental changes, especially the upheaval and trauma that construction can cause.
Like all aspects of a construction project, tree preservation should begin with a plan. That plan should address all risks the tree(s) can be subjected to on the construction site and steps to prevent damage. Your consulting arborist is the most qualified person to write that plan. Then it should be presented to the owner, architect, building contractor and landscape contractor for review. If any of them can’t work within the plan, even after negotiating any tweaks or modifications that can be made without endangering the trees, my best advice is to search for replacements who can work within the plan.
The first step in implementing the plan should for the owner, arborist and architect to walk the property. At this time, select the trees that you prefer be saved and those you’d like saved if possible. The arborist should then inspect these trees to be sure they’re sound and healthy. If any on the “must save” list aren’t safe to keep, they should slated for removal.
The architect should then sketch the house’s footprint on the plot plan and the arborist check it to be sure that the home’s orientation won’t cause changes, such as adversely changing the light or wind pattern. This could result in the wrong tree in the wrong place, and a stressed tree can become the target for insect and diseases. It will then be a liability rather than an asset. This problem may be eliminated by just changing the house’s orientation slightly.
Before the first builders enter the property, an area around the base of the tree should be fenced off with bright colored material. The critical root zone (CRZ) for the fencing is one foot out from the trunk for every inch of trunk diameter. Penalties for contractors and others who violate this area with people, building materials or vehicles should be written into the contract.
Heavy weights in the CRZ compacts the soil, reducing the amount of water and air that can reach the roots. Stacking building materials and parking vehicles in the CRZ can also break branches and damage bark. The resulting tree health problems may not become apparent for several years.
Changing the grade near the trees even a few inches can disrupt their life functions. If there’s no choice but to change the grade, it’ll be necessary to build a retaining wall if you’re lowering the grade and a tree well where the fence is if you’re raising the grade. One more precaution: Don’t let the contractors running your utility lines to the house trench inside the fence. They’ll sever roots. Insist that they drill. That’ll move the roots out of the way, rather than sever them.
Trees may be the largest organisms on earth, but they don’t fare very well when the status quo is disturbed. You paid a premium for the lot because of these trees that were there long before you, and retaining a qualified arborist for your team and following the advice presented here will help to assure that those trees will be healthy and magnificent long after you’re gone.
This is the time of year when it’s best to prune your evergreen trees and shrubs. I’m not suggesting that you must prune them just because it’s June/July. Prune them only if they need it. As with any pruning, evergreen pruning, whether needled conifers or broadleaf plants, should be undertaken for a specific purpose. That may be to shape or thin the plant, to remove broken branches, to reduce its size or raise its crown by removing the lower limbs.
This timeframe is when the new growth is finishing its maturation process. New growth is the lighter green foliage at the ends of the branches. That new growth is also softer to the touch and the new wood has yet to harden. Soon, the new growth will darken and be indistinguishable from previous years’ growth. The buds for next year’s new growth will begin forming in late summer or early fall so it’s best to do any pruning before those buds appear.
Shaping taxus (yew) borders or foundation plantings is probably an annual ritual. If you’re just removing the new growth, don’t wait until the it matures. It’s much easier to prune when the new growth has finished growing but before it matures (turns color). The soft wood cuts easily and cleanly, and the color differentiation is a good guide for shaping. Don’t prune too early, though, or the new growth will grow right back, and you’ll have to repeat the job.
Broadleaf evergreens like rhododendrons and boxwoods should also be pruned now. They, too, put on new growth in early spring and are ready for pruning right now. Pruning broadleaf evergreens should follow the same procedures as pruning deciduous shrubs. Prune only at a fork. In the case of tight plants like boxwood, cuts can be made just above a leaf’s attachment to the branch. Cuts on looser plants like rhododendrons should be made at a branch fork or at the base of the offending branch. If you can see a branch collar, leave it rather than cutting flush to the stem or bigger branch. Don’t leave stubs.
Shrubs look better when they have a natural shape, rather than the tight geometrical shapes that result from shearing. Also, shearing may leave ragged cuts because branches may be too big around for hedge shears to make a clean cut. Save your shearing for such broadleaf evergreens as boxwoods. Boxwood branches are smaller so hedge shears will leave cleaner cuts.
Please wear eye protection, no matter what size evergreen you’re pruning. If you’re pruning overhead, wear a hard hat. And, if you are using power tools, wear ear protection, too.
Notice that I’ve only advised pruning evergreen shrubs. Pruning a large pine, spruce or other conifer tree can be dangerous in several ways. You’ll, most likely, need to leave the ground to reach the upper branches. The tight, springy branching adds to the difficulty of working in and around these trees. The needles are sharp, especially if they fall on you, or whip around and hit you. And each cut lets more messy sap ooze out and get all over you. That’s why the pruning of conifers is best left to our professional arborists who have the knowledge, experience and specialized equipment to do the job safely and efficiently.
Our arborists don’t just lend their expertise to pruning trees. They’d be happy to prune your shrubs as well, so all you have to do is enjoy your nicely manicured landscape.
Have you noticed that weeds flourish in July heat? You haven’t noticed? Well take a look outside. Many of your desirable plants are showing stress from the summer heat. Leaves are shriveling, the grass is going dormant and turning brown, and flowers are drooping (unless you’ve kept everything watered). Yet the weeds look green and healthy.
Weeds may be the greenest thing in your lawn. And they are very healthy in your flower beds and vegetable garden as well. The first challenge is to define a weed. Weeds have been described as plants that grow in places you didn’t plant them and don’t want them.
Plants coveted as beautiful or delicious by some people are scorned by others as weeds. Consider the hated dandelion. While most of us labor to eradicate them, others harvest them to make wine or use as salad greens. Pulling out those tall Queen Anne’s lace with their big, doily like blooms is stress relief for most of us but florists actually buy Queen Anne’s lace to use in floral arrangements.
Getting rid of weeds as soon as you see them can reduce the number of seeds they drop, thus potentially reducing the number of weeds that will replace those you’ve just eliminated. There are only two ways to control weeds – pull them out or apply an herbicide. In summer, pulling out is the safer method. You’ll avoid collateral damage to your desirable plants.
The best time to pull weeds is right after a rain while the soil’s still damp. If it hasn’t rained lately and rain isn’t in the forecast, you can water the area around the weeds. Let the water soak in for a few minutes, then tug at the weed. Chances are it’ll be reluctant to come out without a fight. Insert a weed extracting tool or a sharp trowel into the soil at an angle to the root. Use the tool to cut the root at as deep a point as the tool can reach. At that point, you’ve won the battle. Just pull the weed out and go on to the next one.
If you decide to use an herbicide, be careful. If you choose a non- selective product, any overspray that gets on nearby plants will kill them as well. Use a selective product labeled just for the target weeds. Even though the product is selective, be careful to avoid overspray; it can still damage surrounding plants.
Protect yourself by wearing personal protective equipment to shield you from the sun and from any chemical that you’re using. That includes gloves, long sleeve shirt, long pants, eye protection, and a wide brimmed hat.
Weeds are the bane of most people but there actually are people who enjoy and find relaxation pulling weeds. Try it. You may find you’ll be one of them, especially during the summer if you aren’t finding relaxation mowing the lawn.
Professionals in the landscaping, lawn care and tree care industries are required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for safety. While the government doesn’t have specific mandates for individuals, wearing PPE for the job you’re doing just makes good sense.
Some PPE should be worn for health reasons whenever you are working in the garden. Others should be worn for jobs that present safety risks. When pruning shrubs for example, safety glasses will protect your eyes from twigs that may fly toward you when you cut them. Gloves can protect your hands from scratches and cuts from rough wood. Ear protection is encouraged when using power equipment, even your lawnmower. Hearing loss is progressive and creeps up on you, so getting in the habit of wearing earmuffs or ear plugs should begin right away.
Arborists are required to wear helmets when there’s a risk of being struck from above or even from the side and steel toed boots to protect their feet. Arborists also must wear chaps or special pants with Kevlar panels in the front of the legs when cutting wood to reduce chainsaw cuts. Compared to gloves, eye and hearing protection, helmets, chaps or Kevlar pants may seem like a major investment. It is but it’s worth it. But I have a better idea: don’t do your own tree work or use a chainsaw. Leave specialized work like that to the professionals who already have the equipment, along with the training and experience to do the job quickly, safely and correctly.
Although we welcome the sun, it’s also important to take precautions to protect your exposed skin and eyes from harmful UV rays. The problems caused by the sun this summer may not manifest themselves until decades in the future. Sun burn is dangerous at any age and, decades later, can result in trips to the dermatologist twice a year or more, often for periodic spritzes of liquid nitrogen or even surgery to remove skin cancers.
The most important protection from the sun is to slather exposed skin with good sunscreen before you set foot outside and touch it up while working. Always wear a wide brimmed hat. Be sure it keeps the sun from your ears, face and the back of your neck. All these areas are very sensitive to the sun. That’s why a baseball cap doesn’t provide sufficient protection.
Be sure you wear a good pair of sunglasses. They’re more than cool. They may save your vision. The sun’s UV rays can exacerbate cataracts and macular degeneration. Both are very common conditions that appear as people age.
Avoid dehydration. Be sure you take frequent rest/hydration breaks from your yard work. Find, or make, a shady place where you can take frequent breaks. Stock it with a cooler of water and drink every time you rest. Balance problems and lightheadedness are common symptoms of dehydration, and the inability to keep your balance can lead to falls. Something you don’t want to happen when you’re outside alone.
Whether you reluctantly do outside work or are an avid gardener, following these recommendations will help your experience be safe and healthy now and for decades to come. For us, it’s government regulations. For you, it’s just common sense.
Memorial Day is next Monday (May 30). Originally called Decoration Day, it began in nearby Waterloo soon after the Civil War, as a day set aside to place flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers. Today we honor all fallen military members.
Aside from the parades and ceremonies, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the growing season in upstate New York. It was selected because we can be relatively certain that we’ll have no more frosts or freezes. It’s when you can safely plant vegetables and annual flowers. In the interest of full disclosure, you can usually plant these safely a week or even two weeks before Memorial Day.
Why not use this three-day weekend to plant a flower garden, or gardens, in your yard? I think you’ll agree that color adds life to every landscape. These days you have more varieties of plants available and infinite ways to display them.
You can enhance curb appeal by planting perennial borders on either side of the walk leading up to your front door or on either side of the driveway. Hang baskets of annuals from the eaves or the front porch. Plant a border of annuals around the planting beds containing shrubs. Most of the spring blooming shrubs have finished blooming and this splash of color will add pizzazz to an otherwise monochromatic area.
Other beds can be dedicated flower beds with perennials, annuals or a mixture of both. These beds can be free form in shape. Make them big enough that you can plant enough of each plant to provide masses of spectacular color. Be sure to plant the taller plants to the back and progressively shorter plants toward the front. For planting beds that can be accessed all the way around, place the taller plants in the middle and the cascading look 360 degrees around.
Flower gardens can be any type you want. Consider a wildflower or cottage garden. Refer to some of my earlier blogs and thoroughly research these types of gardens before tackling them. All your flowers don’t have to be planted in the ground, either. Some can be planted in containers and window boxes. They can be planted vertically and in raised beds, too.
I realize that many of you are shaking your heads, thinking this is a nice idea but more than you want to tackle. In that case, I recommend a meeting with one of our professional landscape designers to share your thoughts and then let them demonstrate their creativity. Once you and the designer have agreed on the layout, we have professionals who can obtain the plant material and install your gardens for you. All you have to do is enjoy you landscape’s newfound beauty.
As you look at big, majestic trees, realize that you’re only viewing half of the tree. The rest is below ground – the root system. Without the below ground portion, the above ground beauty that we enjoy so much couldn’t exist. So, don’t be surprised when our arborist recommends a root excavation.
Contrary to popular belief, most trees don’t have a giant tap root that descend deeply into the ground. Rather, most roots are concentrated within the first few feet below the surface. And they spread out to the dripline (the extreme edge of the crown) or beyond. The job of some roots is to stabilize the tree while others have the task of seeking out and absorbing water and nutrients.
Roots share the subsurface world with a host of microbial organisms. Most of these are beneficial but a few are not. The latter can be lethal. I’m thinking specifically of fungi that cause root rot. If left unchecked, these microscopic organisms can, eventually, cause the tree to topple.
Beneficial soil borne organisms range in size from earthworms to microscopic fungi, called mycorrhizae, that colonize the roots, extending their reach. Worm waste, called castings, is rich in organic matter, which is returned to the soil. It’s like nature’s fertilizer. Some organic gardeners buy worms to raise in a controlled environment. They harvest the castings and work them into the soil around the base of their plants to provide natural fertilizer. It’s called vermiculture.
As fungi, mycorrhizae have no chlorophyl to manufacture food. Also, they’re below ground and have no access to the sun, needed to manufacture food by photosynthesis. So, they enter into a symbiotic relationship with the roots. The mycorrhizae extend the length of the roots and help them find water and nutrients and the tree allows them to partake of a portion of the food stored in the roots.
Much of the time when arborists diagnose stress in the crown, it’s associated with a root problem. The cause is mechanical, or abiotic. Girdling root is by far the major culprit. This condition is caused by the roots outgrowing the nursery pot or the planter not checking the roots to make sure they’re growing outward instead of around the tree. It’s very visible as one root grows over another, virtually choking it to death.
A girdling root can be corrected by a simple surgical procedure. However, it used to be more time consuming than it is today. We used to have to dig into the root zone with a trowel, being careful not to sever the many feeder roots. Today, we use a device called an air spade. This tool uses high pressure air to blow the soil on to a tarp, leaving the root structure intact. The soil is then put back in place after the procedure.
Compost is one of gardeners’ favorite materials these days. Garden writers and “experts” believe that every home should have the facilities to make compost. Some even refer to it as black gold. I agree with them, and one of the reasons I do is because compost is free. It’s made with waste products, diverting them from landfills.
Compost is easy to make. You can use almost any organic waste. The leaves that drop in the fall, landscape debris that you prune, flowers you deadhead are just a few of the materials you can compost. You can also add vegetative table scraps (no meat scraps), newspapers and even coffee grounds still in their filters.
Facilities to make compost can be as simple as a big wooden box you can make yourself to various types of commercially available composters. Using a rake, you’ll have to turn the material in a DIY composter. Many of the commercial composters can be turned by a crank. Commercial composters are available at home and garden centers, as well as online.
Compost is cheap fertilizer. It’s loaded with nutrients that plants need, which the compost releases as it decomposes. Compost also improves soil structure, which much of our soil needs. It’s a shame to throw that rich material into the trash and let it decompose in a landfill, when you can use it to grow spectacular plants with minimal effort.
There’s quite a bit of discussion on the internet about compost acidifying the soil. It won’t make our basic soil ericaceous (able to grow acid loving plants). Depending on what you’ve put into your compost, it can move the pH needle a little bit. Evergreen material like pine needles, or oak leaves is particularly acidic, as are citrus peels.
Part of compost’s job is to act as a buffer to keep soil neutral. Ideally, it’s pH should be between six and eight. So, don’t try to make compost do what it’s not intended. Its primary purpose is to return organic material to the soil. It’s a natural source of the nutrients your plants need.
Best of all, you can enjoy all compost’s benefits with almost no cash outlay and very little extra effort. Besides improving your landscape, you’ll also be doing a good turn for the environment.
Soon enough mowing your lawn will be a weekly task, so don’t rush it. Make sure it’s sufficiently dry before mowing. If the soil feels soft to walk on, you’ll not get a clean cut and you’ll leave tire tracks in the lawn.
That first mowing of the season should be viewed as the culmination of a series of tasks, rather than the beginning. Your lawn will look nicer if you pick up fallen branches and debris before mowing. If there are leaves on your lawn, waiting for them to dry before mowing will eliminate having to rake them. Instead, you can mulch them when mowing. This returns essential nutrients to the soil, nutrients that you would have to replenish with fertilizer. The first fertilizer of the season can be applied anytime after it’s safe to walk on the lawn. Otherwise, the spreader’s tires will leave track marks just as the mower will.
Weeding before the first mowing will assure that there’s still plenty of the weed’s broad leaves, which is helpful no matter how you go about the job of weeding. If you choose the manual method, the weeds will be easier to see than they will after you’ve mowed off the foliage. Also, you’ll have the leaves and strong stem to help you pull the weeds out of the ground. It helps even if you cut the roots with a tool.
For those opting for chemical weeding, broad leaves give you a good target for broadleaf weed killer. And, you’ll also have a good “handle” with which to pull dead weeds out of the ground. A word of caution though: be sure to use a product labeled specifically for broadleaf weeds. Anything else is probably a non-selective herbicide, which means that it will kill any plant it touches, even your grass.
Wait until after your first mowing to repair any winter damage. Rake out patches of grass that succumbed to the various winter fungal diseases. Then rough up these areas, as well as any other bare spots. Spread fertilizer or compost and seed on those spots, rake it in and water. Keep those spots well-watered but don’t flood them. You’ll probably start seeing grass poking up from the soil in seven to 10 days.
If digging weeds is difficult and the soil is compacted, consider aerating. This is best done before the weather heats up. A specialized machine, which can be rented from equipment rental stores, punches holes in the soil and pulls out plugs of soil. Soil can then loosen up, creating more pores for water and oxygen. This is a job that you may want to turn over to our lawn care professionals because the machine is heavy and cumbersome, and you will have to transport it from the rental yard to your yard and back.
One last tip: set your mower blade height at three to four inches. Your lawn will be thicker and healthier. This will discourage weeds and there will be more leaf surface for the grass to make food through photosynthesis. This length lawn is easier to maintain than one that’s putting green length.
Some gardeners have been using raised beds for years but they’re really just coming into their own. In fact, they’re becoming downright trendy for a variety of reasons.
Until recently, raised beds were used primarily for growing vegetables. Some were nothing more than railroad ties that raised the bed up only the height of the tie. Their primary purpose was to define the planting bed or to provide extra depth in which to add top soil or organic matter. Other utilitarian planting beds are simply large boxes made of plywood nailed to a dimensional lumber frame. Both styles did the intended job of providing a defined, enhanced environment for growing crops in the backyard.
As the gardening population began to age, raised beds began to be built waist high with a wide, flat top cap so the gardener could work standing up or sitting on top. Either position could be less painful for ailing knees and backs.
People have been planting flowers in window boxes for a very long time. They must have realized more recently that raised beds are like big window boxes that can hold a lot more plants. Now raised beds can be seen with all kinds of flowers, herbs, mixed plantings and even water and aquatic plants. The raised bed can be lined with rubber pond liner material and planted with water lilies and other aquatic plants.
Look through online garden supply catalogs and you’ll find raised beds on legs. Some even have wheels attached so you can roll them to different locations on your patio, deck, yard or garden. For the rural look, some people began using horse troughs for plantings and resourceful
companies responded by making troughs in various shapes and sizes, and marketing them through the garden supply outlets.
Whether they are on legs or directly on the ground, raised beds function like really big container gardens, giving you plenty of garden versatility. They can define borders, provide accents for in ground planting and even serve as a temporary garden if something happens to a permanent planting bed.
The photo, courtesy of bulb importer and distributor Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, illustrates the ultimate versatility of raised beds. These form a roof garden on their home in Virginia. Clever idea, professionally crafted.
If you think raised beds will be a good addition to your landscape but would like them customized, talk with one of our professional designers. They can create just what you’re looking for, and we have access to some of the most talented craft people in the area to build them and landscape professionals to install them. All you have to do is enjoy them. And glow in the satisfaction of being the first in your neighborhood to embrace the raised bed trend.
This Friday, April 29, is, arguably, one of the most underrated holidays on the calendar. There’s no gift giving or partying. Arbor Day is only observed by schools, service organizations and some communities. But what about families?
Unlike gifts given during popular holidays, giving the gift of a tree is literally giving a gift that keeps on growing, often beyond the giver’s lifetime. Trees can keep growing for hundreds of years. As they grow, they keep sequestering the carbon that’s said to cause global warming.
During their centuries of growth, trees give us the gift of life. They take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and use it in the food making process known as photosynthesis. The waste products given off by the tree are the oxygen we need to breathe and water. This alone should elevate the status of Arbor Day.
It’s fun to celebrate Arbor Day as a family. If you can’t do it on Friday, postpone your celebration until the weekend. Your celebration may be as simple as planting the seedling your child brought home from school or as elaborate as a trip to the garden center to select a tree and then bringing it home and planting it.
For best results, I suggest that you plant the seedling in an appropriate size pot and then transplant it in progressively larger pots for several years until it’s big enough to live on its own. Otherwise, it could get stepped on, eaten by animals or run over by the lawnmower. When the tree grows to the same size as nursery shrubs, then it’s safe to plant it in the ground.
Before going to the garden center to select your Arbor Day tree, select a planting site. When making your selection, read the nursery tags so you buy the right plant for the planting site. When ready to plant, involve the whole family. Dig a hole two or three times bigger around than the root ball but only as deep as the ball. Place the tree in the hole and have someone hold it straight while you backfill. Periodically, tamp the soil lightly as you backfill. This eliminates air pockets. Finally, water well. Don’t stake unless it’s planted in a very windy place.
Happy Arbor Day to you and yours.
Even before our pandemic, ash trees were suffering from their own pandemic. An invasive insect, the emerald ash borer (EAB), had arrived on our shores. It was hidden in packing material but soon made its presence known by decimating ash trees throughout Michigan.
Soon the emerald ash borer had spread to neighboring states. When it made its debut in our area of New York, we were ready. Over the years, we’ve treated thousands of trees. But the owners of thousands more chose not to treat. Most of their trees are firewood today, because that’s the only legal use for infested ash wood. What a fate for the majestic trees that helped make baseball America’s pastime. (Wood bats were traditionally made of ash.)
Your ash trees can survive. Trees not yet infested need to be treated every other year. Infested trees need a professional inspection to determine if they can be saved. If one third to one half of the canopy is still alive, the prognosis is fairly good if the tree is treated annually.
Now is the time to schedule an inspection and treatment for your ash tree(s). One of our Plant Health Care (PHC) professionals will visit your home, conduct an inspection to determine if EAB is present, and if it is, how much damage has been done. From there, they’ll make recommendations.
We use the same material as a preventive and a treatment. It has to be injected into the tree trunk annually as a treatment, every two years as a preventive. At the strength required to be most effective against this prolific pest, the material is only available to licensed professional applicators. We have tried all the products labeled for EAB control but found only the material we use provides sufficient protection.
One reason EAB is so hard to control is that it spends most of its life inside the tree. Soon it will be time for the adults to emerge and mate. The photo shows how small they are. The adults bore “D” shaped holes from which they emerge. The small holes are hard to see from the ground because the EAB lays its eggs at the top of the tree and works its way down in subsequent generations.
After mating, the males die. The females bore indentations in the bark, deposit an egg in each indentation and then die. Each female can deposit 60 to 100 eggs. When the eggs hatch in about a week, the new larvae begin boring into the tree, disturbing the tree’s vascular system that’s so vital to its life. Xylem transports water and nutrients from the roots to the crown where photosynthesis takes place. Phloem distributes the food made by photosynthesis throughout the tree.
Preventive treatments can be made for a good, long time before equaling the amount that it costs to remove a dead ash tree and replace it. That’s why I urge you to schedule an inspection and control.
Hopefully your spring is being brightened by gardens of beautiful crocuses, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. If so, here are some tips for maintaining the plants so you’ll be able to enjoy an encore performance next year.
Plants from spring bulbs flower only once a year. When the flowers fade and die there’s a tendency to cut them off at ground level. Resist the temptation. Instead, just remove the dead flowers and keep the green leaves and stems until they, too, turn brown.
It’s best to remove spent flowers before they go to seed so the plant won’t waste energy on this process. It’s better that their energy be directed to the bulb where food is stored until it’s needed to grow again next spring.
Retaining the green leaves even after you remove the spent flowers is necessary if you want the bulbs to grow again next spring. The leaves continue to make food through photosynthesis, and sends it to the bulb, where it’s stored until it’s needed to bloom in the spring.
When it’s time to cut back the dead leaves. I suggest you leave an inch or two of the stem sticking up so you know where the bulbs are. Don’t worry about those stubs attracting squirrels and other wildlife. Any animal who wants to feast on your bulbs knows where they are regardless of whether there’s a marker sticking up or not.
New bulbs don’t need fertilizer when first planted. They have plenty of food stored in them but they’d appreciate being fertilized in subsequent years. Some people dig up their bulbs after the foliage dies and store them inside until fall. When you replant them, put a little fertilizer in the hole before you replant the bulbs. If you leave your bulbs in the ground year round, you’ll want to sprinkle fertilizer on the ground in the fall. Don’t use bonemeal fertilizer, however. It’s too much of an attractant for dogs. They probably won’t eat the bulbs but will dig in search of an actual bone where they smell the bonemeal.
If you are one of the few who have such good topsoil that you don’t have to fertilize your other plants, your bulbs shouldn’t need fertilizer either. The role of fertilizer is to replenish essential elements in the soil, not to feed the plants. Plants make their own food through the process known as photosynthesis.
Are you one of those people who does their best thinking when riding around on your lawnmower every week of the growing season? If so, you’re in the minority. Most people spend that time trying to think of ways to get out of that weekly chore.
Few of us would argue with the statement that the lawn is the most expensive, highest maintenance piece of your landscape. But most don’t do anything about it. Some because they like a lush, green, weed-free lawn. Others because they want their yards to fit in with the others in the neighborhood. And then there are those who just don’t know what alternatives are available.
The idea of going grassless hasn’t caught on in our area of the country, perhaps because we don’t have the number one problem that exists in many parts of the country – lack of sufficient water. We seldom have to irrigate established lawns.
In many parts of the country, property owners are replacing all or portions of their labor intensive lawns with alternatives that are attractive while requiring far less work. Those who want the look of a lawn without the work may plant groundcover or even evergreen moss. The more adventurous may opt for wildflowers or even annual or perennial beds. Front yards in desert communities often consist of stones with cactus and succulents, and possibly a few rocks for accents.
Depending on the species you select, ground cover or evergreen moss may never need mowing. Some species may need mowing once a year. Wildflower gardens need mowing once or twice a year. Annual or perennial bed maintenance varies with what plants are in them.
If you have children, planning your landscape without any lawn becomes a bit more complex. Natural lawns are good, safe playing surfaces for children. The soil usually has some “give” and the grass is soft. This doesn’t mean you have to have to give up on your idea of no lawns. Modify your plans. Only remove and replace the grass in areas where the kids don’t play. They usually play in the back yard, so why not keep that in grass and replace the front lawn?
Removing sod isn’t a particularly hard job but designing and selecting the best replacement for your situation can be intimidating. If this is a project you’d like to undertake but are a bit overwhelmed by the challenge, we have professional designers experienced in developing just what you’re looking for. They would be happy to work with you to create the perfect design, and our landscape professionals can handle the installation. Then all you have to do is enjoy your low maintenance, environment-friendly landscape.
Is your green thumb itching? Are you having a tough time resisting the urge to get outside and start working on your landscape? Well, it’s too early for most landscaping tasks but there are a few you can do now.
As long as the ground’s thawed, you might start by dividing overgrown perennials, if you didn’t do it last fall. Dig up the whole plant and lay it down on a tarp. Remove the soil to expose the bare roots. To keep your lawn or planting bed clean, keep the soil on the tarp.
The next step is to cut the plant into quarters. First cut the root in half and then cut each half in half. The tool you choose depends on the size and thickness of the root. If it’s thin and hairy, you may be able to use sharp, ratchet pruning shears or loppers. A thick, woody root may require a saw. The best choices are a pruning saw or bow saw. I don’t recommend that any untrained person use a chainsaw.
When you have the plant quartered, replant one section back into the hole where the whole plant once lived. Backfill with the soil on the tarp, tamp down the backfill and water. Plant the other three sections in other beds in your yard or give them to family or friends. Charity plant sales might also appreciate your contributing the other sections to them.
Another early spring task is to remove the extra mulch you spread for the winter. Three or four inches were fine for winter but you should only have two or three inches in spring and summer. Spread the excess mulch in another bed or compost it if you have no other place for it.
If you have ambition left, this would be a good time to rake or blow any leaves you didn’t get to last fall into the compost bin. Two other tasks you can do now are to clean up debris that blew into your yard and check your trees and shrubs for visible signs of insect or disease activity.
Plants that look less than healthy may be suffering from nutrient deficiencies in the soil. A soil test will give you the answers. Most DIY soil test kits available at garden centers only measure the pH – the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. Our Plant Health Care (PHC) and lawn care professionals send soil samples to a professional lab, which also reports on all the elements present in your soil. Our professionals use this data to prescribe a fertilization program, if necessary. They can also apply fertilizer at just the right time.
While testing the soil, our PHC pros can also inspect your trees and shrubs for insect or disease activity and present you with a proposal for managing any pests they find.
As the holidays come to a close for 2021, it’s time to look forward to Spring 2022, and one place you can spice up your life is to make your landscape more trendy. One good resource for finding out what looks as though it’s trending this spring is the annual Garden Trends Report (GTR), published by the Green Media Group. This post is an overview of the 2022 report and, in upcoming posts, I’ll detail how you can implement some of the trends in your landscape.
As it has in the past few years, the first third of this report deals with social issues. Namely, how the pandemic and quarantine has influenced how we view our homes, and how that has changed since we are able to get out more and do more things. I’ll move beyond that and share ways in which Americans are going to enjoy their landscapes in the future.
Starting at the entrance, people are creating zones, both inside and out, and appointing them with plants and hard goods that are appropriate for the use to which that zone of the property has been designated. Start with the front yard’s curb appeal and move to the backyard where you can divide the area into zones for entertaining, playing, a secret or meditation garden or any other space that will make your backyard your special place.
Many people took a new interest in their landscapes during the pandemic. And this trend doesn’t seem to be diminishing as we emerge from quarantine and isolation. It’s estimated that 18.3 million Americans took up gardening for the first time. Their interest is across the board, but many are welcoming birds, pollinators and all sorts of wildlife to their properties. To this, I caution: be careful what you wish for. Butterflies and birds are fun to watch. It doesn’t take much to satisfy their basic needs and they seldom leave any damage behind. Mammals, especially deer, aren’t so considerate. They may look nice in your backyard until they begin dining on your plants. If you really want mammals to visit, consider planting their favorite plants in a far corner where the damage won’t detract as much from the landscape. Then, hope they get the message.
Fresh, cut flowers sales skyrocketed last year and don’t appear to be subsiding this year. You can conveniently enjoy cut flowers in your home for at least three seasons of the year by planting a cutting garden this spring. When discussing bringing fresh flowers inside, it should be noted that the tremendous interest in houseplants in 2019 was sustained in 2020 and continues into 2021, and there’s no reason to believe it will slow down in 2022.
One in five of the world’s plants are at risk of extinction. Of those, 4,400 are in the United States. The trends report outlines ways that landscape and related professionals can help their customers save plants from extinction. It also has information on ways we can help with biodiversity, increase use of native plants and serve the needs of rare plant collectors. If you’re interested in any of these areas, we’d like to hear from you.
Last but not least, remember the color of the year for 2022 is…GREEN.
It’s a fact: We can love our plants to death. I’m not talking about the common practice of overwatering house plants. I’m talking about practices involving outdoor plants – trees in particular.
Most trees, even when newly planted, don’t need to be staked, unless they’re in the path of strong winds. Even then, the stakes should be removed after the first year. Stakes are like unnecessary crutches. As they’re getting established, trees should be developing tissue that will protect them from the buffeting of wind. Instead, staked trees direct that energy elsewhere, resulting in weak trees.
Another questionable practice is wrapping all trees and shrubs on your property in burlap for the winter. The only reason wrapping is recommended is to protect them from the spray of road salt or if they are near the limit of their hardiness zone. Tender plants you planted last fall may also benefit from wrapping but most evergreens will do fine with just anti desiccant protection, and deciduous plants protect themselves by shedding their leaves.
With the pending arrival of spring, it would be a good idea to schedule an unveiling of any wrapped plants. Give them a chance to grow and thrive on their own.
You can help your landscape plants grow on their own by providing them with an optimal growing environment. They need good soil loaded with the essential elements and teeming with the beneficial microbes to help plants thrive. To do this, add organic matter like compost. Fertilize if your soil needs mineral replenishment.
After adding compost and fertilizer, top it off with organic mulch. Mulch will moderate soil temperature and moisture. It serves as a gate keeper for plant roots, keeping the soil at an even temperature so the roots don’t get too hot or cold. When it rains, mulch holds water, releasing it over time. If mulch isn’t there to run interference, rainwater can just run off without soaking into the ground where the plants can use it. In other situations the ground can absorb water so fast that it drowns the plants. Mulch can keep this from happening.
The best way to minimize the need for such extreme measures is to plant the right plant in the right place. Do your research before you buy plants or work with one of our professional landscape designers for real peace of mind.
We always remind you to refrain from pruning trees and shrubs that flower in spring. Most of them flower on old wood, which means this spring’s buds were set last fall. You’ll probably remove those buds if you prune now. But what about trees and shrubs that bloom on new wood?
The ever popular hydrangeas top this list. Rose of Sharon and Buddleia (butterfly bush) are other examples. Although these can be pruned anytime in the fall after they bloom, they should be pruned by the time they begin putting out new growth in spring. Otherwise, the old dead canes will detract from the fresh, new growth, and the flowers won’t look as spectacular.
There are some varieties that bloom several times a year or even throughout the growing season. These endless summer varieties bloom on both old and new wood. Reblooming plants include Boomerang® lilac, Sonic Bloom™ weigela and Bloom-A-Thon® azalea*.
Don’t prune these in spring. Rather, prune them after each flush of flowers, cutting the stems to about half their length. This will encourage them to put on new growth, including flower buds. Give these plants a final pruning, cutting their stems in half in the fall, after their last blooms have faded.
Plants that bloom only on new wood should be cut back to four to six inches at this time if you didn’t do it last fall. This may seem like radical pruning but you want to keep them growing in the shape nature intended, rather than spread out with new canes and flowers mixed with long, dead canes.
If you want to enjoy the blooms of these prolific plants without having to do the maintenance that goes with them, our landscape professionals would be happy to identify your varieties and prune them at the proper time to assure you of maximum blooming. The first pruning should be made quite soon so it’s imperative to act now.
* Trademarks and Registered Trademarks of Proven Winners.
As March dawns, winter begins to loosen its grip as spring pushes its way in. For many, the tan or gray of ornamental grasses poking their seedheads above the snow was the only thing breaking up the endless expanses of white in our landscapes. Those seedheads have done their job; now it’s time for the next generation to take their place.
It’s time to give your ornamental grasses their spring trim. This is one of the earliest landscape tasks of the season because the new year’s new growth will soon begin appearing in between last year’s stalks. Wait too long and you’ll remove new grass right along with the old. That means no seedheads giving your landscape that bit of color you’ve come to expect next winter.
The tool to use is whatever’s comfortable for you. I’ve heard of people using hedge clippers, loppers, chainsaws and even pruning shears. For most plantings, hedge clippers are, arguably, the easiest and safest, especially if they’re new, lightweight models with geared pivot points.
Ornamental grasses should be cut as close to the ground as possible without cutting new growth. If you cut them back very soon, you should be able to trim them back to within a couple inches of the ground. Later in the season, you may have to trim higher to avoid cutting the new growth. The best way to know how high to trim is to begin low from the outside. If you begin seeing green among the brown, raise the cut so it’s above the new growth. When the new growth reaches its mature height, you won’t be able to see where you changed height.
Getting rid of the clippings can be a problem if you don’t compost. Check with your trash hauler to see if you can put them out for pickup. If not, check with your town. Some pick up landscape waste during spring clean-up. If you’d rather not worry about trimming height, disposing of the debris or timing, we have landscape professionals who would be happy to handle the whole job for you.
Winter isn’t usually thought of as a time to spray your plants. As spring approaches, though, two come to mind – anti desiccant and dormant oil.
When we enjoy enough warm winter days, your evergreens may need an anti desiccant touch-up. When the temperature rises up into the 50s, the sun can melt anti desiccant. It’s a wax like material designed to melt off in the spring. When spring teases us with previews of what’s in store, the temperature rises sufficiently to melt the anti desiccant.
If you applied anti desiccant yourself last fall, just repeat the procedure now. You probably don’t have to apply it as heavily as you did the first application. We have crews out touching up those applications we made. So, if you want us to revisit your plants, just contact our office.
The second application is dormant oil. Although it’s a little early for applying this material, we’re beginning to take requests for this service. Like anti desiccant, there’s a small window of opportunity for dormant oil. So, we’re planning our routes so we can serve as many property owners as possible who want this service.
Dormant oil is a horticultural oil formulated to smother overwintering insects while the trees, shrubs and insects are dormant. The target insects wake up just before the plant leafs out. Target insects include such common pests as aphids, adelgids, mites, lacebugs and mealybugs.
This product is like diluted petroleum jelly that is used on burns and other human wounds. When sprayed on a plant, it covers the plant and the sleeping insects. Since the target insects breathe through their skin, or exoskeleton, the dormant oil coats them and they don’t wake up.
The window of opportunity for applying dormant oil begins when temperatures rise to 40-50ºF and stay there for 24 hour periods and ends just before the plant’s leaves break bud. Spraying dormant oil on leaves can have the same effect as it does on the insects. It clogs the leave’s stoma (pores) and interrupts transpiration.
Like anti desiccant, dormant oil is sold in spray bottles at garden centers. Also like anti desiccant, these are fine for a couple of perennials, small shrubs or dwarf conifers but you can get very tired using this application method on all the plants in your landscape. Also, you can’t reach to tops of tall trees. This is when professional application is preferred. Besides being kinder to your body, it’s also more economical than buying all those bottles at retail.
