MENUOne of the oldest environmental observances will take place all over America on Friday, April 30. That’s when we observe the 149th Arbor Day. The first was held in Nebraska in 1872, and soon, each state scheduled Arbor Day during the best time to plant trees in that state. Since 1970, the last Friday in April has been recognized as National Arbor Day.J. Sterling Morton is credited with the birth of Arbor Day. When Morton, a newspaper editor and politician, moved from Illinois to Nebraska City in the Nebraska territory, he was surprised by the lack of trees, and set out to change that. One million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day, April 10, 1872.Arbor Day can be a real teaching moment for families. Sometimes schools observe the day by sending a tree seedling in a styrofoam cup home with each student. Some get planted and some don’t. Some get planted in the back yard with no protection around them and fall victim to the lawn mower. This year, hybrid and remote learning programs may cause cancellation of this tradition.If your child brings home a seedling, I suggest planting it in a container to give it a better chance of surviving. Find a container that’s big enough to hold all the roots. Don’t pick one that’s too big or weeds will grow in it and use up all the nutrients you want for the tree. Some seedlings may be small enough for a 4” nursery pot. Other seedlings may need a bigger container but I doubt if any will need one larger than one gallon.To plant the tree, put some potting mix in the bottom of the pot. Then have someone hold the tree up in the pot so the roots are just below the top of the pot. Fill with potting mix all around the tree roots. Then push down on the soil until the tree stands up on its own. Be careful not to compact the potting mix and don’t plant the tree too deep. Finally, water well.Trees aren’t houseplants. They have to live outside, so place it on the deck or patio, or in one of your planting beds. Keep it watered. For the winter, find a spot that’s sheltered from the wind but still gets sunlight. Wrap the pot in bubble wrap or other insulating material and put plenty of mulch around the pot. Each spring, transplant it to a bigger pot until it’s big enough to join the other trees in your yard and still survive.If you don’t get a seedling, you can schedule a family outing to your local garden center to buy a sapling or larger tree and plant it in the yard together as a family. Dig a hole two or three times wider than the root diameter but only as deep as the rootball. Remove the tree from its pot before placing it in the hole and backfilling. If it’s balled and in burlap, put the tree in the hole and cut the string or wire holding the burlap in place but leave the burlap. It’ll rot away. Backfill being careful not to plant the tree below grade level. Tamp down the backfill and water well. Don’t stake unless it is in a windy area.When selecting your tree, be sure it’s the right tree for the place you’re planning to plant it.Regardless of how you observe it, have a happy Arbor Day.
You might call the emerald ash borer (EAB) the invisible killer. That’s because they spend most of their life inside your stately ash trees. When the adults finally do emerge, they ‘re smaller than a penny and only live long enough to mate and start the next generation on its path of destruction.[caption id="attachment_950" align="alignleft" width="174"]
Photo: Howard Russell, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org[/caption]High up in the tree the females carve out indentations in the bark of the tree and deposit one egg in each. Each female can deposit 60 to 100 eggs. They hatch in about a week and the youngsters immediately begin boring galleries into the tree’s phloem, where they eat the food the tree has made through photosynthesis. The EAB starts its destruction at the top of the tree, which is why trees die from the top down.With treatment, that beautiful ash tree growing in your yard can fend off this tiny attacker. Without treatment, it’s doomed. Unlike some insects, the EAB isn’t drawn to weak or distressed trees. They like them all, as long as they’re ash trees. Granted, it would be cost prohibitive to treat a forest of ash trees but it’s a very good investment to treat that specimen in your yard, and you can have it treated for decades for the cost of removing and replacing it after it succumbs to the EAB.We have looked into all of the control products on the market and have found only one that we consider to be truly effective. This product is injected directly into the tree trunk near the base. Trees that haven’t been attacked by the EAB only need one treatment every two years. Control may be achieved on trees that have been attacked but only if the destruction is limited to a quarter to one third of the tree. These trees have to be treated annually.The product we use can only be applied by New York State Certified Pesticide Applicators. I wouldn’t apply anything else to my own trees. It’s just not strong enough. Ash trees are beautiful trees that deserve all the help we can give them to survive.
Few things are more frustrating than having a lawn full of weeds before the grass is high enough to mow. That doesn’t have to be. You can apply pre-emergent weed killer now, while the weed seeds are still dormant.You may be familiar with pre-emergent crabgrass killer. Applying this pre-emergent is really the only way to control the highly invasive crabgrass. There is no effective post-emergent product for crabgrass. For broad leaf weeds like dandelions, both pre and post emergent products are available. So, it’s easy to spread both crabgrass and broadleaf pre-emergents at the same time.Like annual flowers, weeds drop seeds to the ground before frosts and freezes kill off the plants. I believe Charles Darwin referred to that as survival of the fittest. And when it comes to strength, weeds are stronger than grass, or any desirable plant, it seems.Applying pre-emergent will prevent the seeds overwintering in the soil from germinating but it’s not one and done. Once untreated seeds from the neighbors’ yard or the side of the road begin blowing some are sure to take up residence in your lawn.One way to reduce the opportunity for weeds to set down stakes in your lawn is to be sure it’s nice and thick. If your lawn has thin spots, or you can see soil through the turf, overseed it with a good, hardy seed mix. Weeds are adventitious plants. They’ll germinate in a spot where they have the least competition from other plants. Thick turf discourages weeds from trying to compete.To overseed, rough up the soil with an iron rake. If you typically fertilize your lawn, spread fertilizer and then seed. Go over the overseeded areas with your rake, again to be sure the seed and fertilizer are worked into the soil. Then be sure it receives at least an inch of water a week, either from rain or irrigation. While doing the overseeding, pull any weeds that you come across before they get a foothold.If you’re a Birchcrest lawn care customer, you’ll receive pre-emergent crabgrass and broad leaf weed treatments. We also offer this service on an ala carte basis. Our lawn care professionals would be happy to help you achieve a weed-free lawn.
Spring is here. Your ornamental grass has done its thing. It provided texture and color poking above the snow. Now it’s time to press the refresh button…figuratively of course.The ornamental grass that graces your yard today is dead, thus the yellow or tan color. In order to repeat the show
next winter, the dead grass has to be cut to allow a new crop of green ornamental grass to grow. And now’s the time to do it.Your new crop will grow best if the old is cut as close to the ground as possible. Usually, that means three or four inches. You might notice new, green blades starting to show themselves among the yellow or brown stubble after you’ve trimmed away last year’s crop.The tools available for the job are numerous. Just pick the one that you feel safest using. Most people choose either power or manual hedge trimmers. These are great for large plantings of ornamental grass. Hedge trimmers cut wide swaths relatively level.If you don’t have a pair of hedge clippers and are going to buy them, I recommend that you shop both power and manual models. While the natural tendency is to go right to the power tools, they can be heavy and awkward to use. Gasoline powered models are the heaviest, followed by battery powered models and corded electric models. With corded models you also have be aware of where the cord is at all times so you don’t cut it.If you have had unpleasant experiences using old fashioned steel blade, wood handled manual clippers, be sure to check out the new ones on the market today. They have lightweight alloy blades and fiberglass handles. Be sure and try one with a geared pivot point. The old fashion models consist of the two blades held together with a pivot bolt. Today’s higher quality models have a gearing mechanism. Open them up and you can see the gearing. These are lighter weight and easier to use than even the best power unit, especially for a homeowner who only uses them once a year to cut ornamental grass.Loppers can also be used, especially if you only have a small patch to cut. Loppers are like extended reach pruning shears. Neither is very practical for a large patch. They take small cuts and the top won’t be perfectly flat. A string trimmer can be used but it scatters the clippings, making clean-up harder. Don’t even think about using a chainsaw. Besides the saw being dangerous, the grass stalks are too flexible for a good cut. This can lead to an accident waiting to happen.If you have to cut down a patch of ornamental grass, I’d suggest investing in lightweight, geared, manual hedge clippers. Whatever you use, though, the time to do it is now. If you wait too long, you’ll be cutting off green stalks, reducing the number of yellow or brown color next winter. And isn’t that the reason you planted ornamental grass?If you don’t have the time or the interest to do it yourself, we have landscape professionals who would be happy to do it for you.
Your spring bulbs – crocuses, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths – are starting to bloom. If yours haven’t appeared yet, it may be for one of the reasons listed below.
If your bulbs have bloomed in previous years but not this year, here are some causes:
• Did you cut them back to the ground after they bloomed last year? Removing green leaves when you remove spent flowers takes away the plants’ food making machines. When first planted, the bulbs had plenty of stored food. They used that food to bloom and leaf out in their first spring. It’s OK to remove flowers when they’re finished but keep the leaves on as long as they’re green. They’re making food through photosynthesis and storing it in the bulbs. The time to remove leaves is when they turn yellow.
• Did you fertilize them last year? You didn’t have to fertilize when you first planted the bulbs, but they need fertilizer in subsequent years. The time to fertilize is after the flowers are spent and the leaves are still green.
• Bulbs are naturally annuals in our climate, but many varieties have naturalized and now are perennials. You may have purchased an annual variety by mistake. Read the package to be sure you’re buying naturalized varieties that will bloom year-after-year.
• Check the bed to see if hungry animals dug them up for dinner.
If you just planted bulbs last fall and they don’t come up this spring…
• Check first for disturbed soil, which would indicate that an animal got to them.
• If the soil isn’t disturbed, dig up the bulbs to be sure they’re planted right side up. The pointed end should be facing upward and the hairy, root end should point downward. Orient them correctly and they should grow next year.
• When you have the bulbs exposed, check to see if they’re waterlogged and if the hole is too damp. If so, you’ll have to relocate the bulbs to a drier location.
Spring bulbs require little maintenance once they’re planted. Follow these simple suggestions and you will enjoy a sea of color next spring and for many springs to come.
This year, 2021, a natural phenomenon will occur that you can either marvel at or be scared of. It’s the return of the 17-year cicadas. This insect is commonly known as the 17- year locust but they aren’t even related to the locust. It’s thought that they received that misnomer because they were associated with the plague of locusts in the Bible.
Even the term 17-year cicada is incorrect, according to Michael Raupp, PhD, professor emeritus in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland. In a recent magazine article, Dr. Raupp refers to them as periodic cicadas because some take only 13 years to mature. He also notes there are more than one species of this insect. There are four species of 13-year cicadas and three species of 17-year cicadas.
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Periodic Cicada: Photo by Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org[/caption]
When we talk of them coming, that won’t be from afar like the birds in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie. In fact, if you didn’t have any in 2004 or 2008, you probably won’t have them now. They don’t go away for all those years. They’re living below the ground at the base of the tree(s) they occupied on their last visit.
For 13 or 17 years the immature nymphs live up to a foot below ground, feeding on plant roots. They go through five growth spurts, or instars. At the end of the fifth instar, they come to the surface, shed their exoskeleton and expand their wings. When their new adult exoskeleton hardens, thousands, even millions, of periodic cicadas take off all at once.
Dr. Raupp believes this swarming is for survival. Many predators like to feast on the periodic cicadas. (Some humans like them, too.) Emerging in huge swarms assures that, while many will fall prey to their hungry predators, they will overwhelm the enemy and a sufficient number will survive to reproduce.
If you’ve ever experienced periodic cicadas, you’re familiar with the din that comes forth from the trees hosting them. That noise is mating calls from the males wooing the females with their earsplitting choruses.
The females have a sharp appendage, called an ovipositor, with which they slit tender young twigs high in the crown of the tree, and deposit 20 to 30 eggs in each slit. Dr. Raupp says each female can lay up to 600 eggs. The slits in the twigs cause the tips of the branches to die.
Dr. Raupp cited research in which some trees were treated with chemicals and others with netting of various densities. The bottom line was that the only effective control was one centimeter netting. This is impractical for large shade trees, but those trees are big enough to survive. We may have to prune the dead branches, however. Small, young trees and fruit trees should be covered in netting to protect them. A periodic cicada infestation can cause significant damage to these trees.
All of this drama takes place in the spring, beginning in mid-May, and lasting until late June. After the nymphs hatch, they drop down to the ground and begin their subterranean life, until it’s time to emerge again in 2038. Reading this story almost makes you want to watch the movie (or musical play) Brigadoon, in which a Scottish village is visible for only one day every hundred years.
Petroleum jelly is good for treating burns and other human injuries. It’s also good for treating trees and shrubs for insect pests while they sleep. In the case of trees and shrubs, I’m referring to dormant oil spray.
Dormant oil spray is particularly effective against aphids, mites and scale. This material is highly refined oil – like very dilute petroleum jelly. Thus, the analogy above. The insects hibernate for the winter in the deciduous trees or shrubs whose leaves provide them with food in season. Spraying the trees/shrubs with dormant oil in early spring kills the insects while they are still asleep. Dormant oil can also coat gypsy moth egg masses to prevent the eggs from hatching.
We have a very small window of opportunity to apply dormant oil. That’s why we’re starting to schedule our applications now. It has to be applied after the temperature rises above 40 degrees and before the plants leaf out. Dormant oil coats the insects, smothering them. But plants transpire water through their leaves. Applying dormant oil to foliated plants can interfere with photosynthesis.
The dormant oil target insects are very small, scarcely visible to the naked eye. Aphids are small (adults are no more than an inch long), soft body insects that suck nutrients from the leaves. Mites pierce leaves and suck out the chlorophyl. Mite damage is easier to see than the mites themselves. Mites are black specs the size of a grain of pepper. Sucking the chlorophyl out of leaves results in yellow spots that are clearly visible. The best way to check for mites is to hold a piece of white paper under a branch and shake it. The mites will fall on the paper just like shaking pepper on food. Scale insects also pierce and suck the chlorophyl, leaving yellow spots.
A dormant oil application is part of our Plant Health Care (PHC) program. If you’re on a PHC program, you don’t have to do anything. We’ll apply it at the proper time. But we also offer it as a single application for those who aren’t on a PHC program. Time’s running short for you to arrange for an application. Act now if you want this environmentally sound protection for your valuable trees and shrubs.
Our arborists don’t take the winter off. In fact, winter is one of our busiest seasons for tree pruning. That’s because deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves) are dormant in the winter.
Removing branches during pruning wounds the tree, and winter dormancy acts as nature’s anesthesia. Pruning wounds have the rest of the winter to heal (actually callous) before the sap begins flowing again in spring. Tree wounds don’t heal like wounds to you and me. Rather, they form very hard callous tissue around the edge of the wound to prevent insects and disease organisms from gaining access to the tree. The cold temperatures also speed up the tree’s recovery process.
With no leaves to obscure our view, our arborists are able to see the tree’s “skeleton.” It’s almost like looking at an x-ray without any radiation. Examining bare limbs is like examining bare bones. We’re able to see the tree’s shape and determine where pruning is needed. Dead, broken, crossing, rubbing and hanging branches are visible from the ground, as are other hazards like cavities and rot.
Making diagnoses from the ground is always safer than having to climb into a leafed-out tree canopy before we know what awaits us. It is not only safer, it’s also more efficient. Pruning a defoliated tree results in less debris to be cleaned up. And pruning when the ground is frozen lets us get our equipment closer to the tree, further increasing efficiency.
Some trees shouldn’t be pruned in winter, except in emergency or hazardous situations. Then any time’s the right time. Ideally, conifers should be pruned in summer, specifically June or July. You should wait until flowering trees are through blooming to prune. These trees set both their flower and leaf buds in the fall, just after they lose their leaves. The untrained eye can’t differentiate between the two, so you may cut off this spring’s flowers.
I don’t recommend that you prune any of your trees, especially if you have to leave the ground. It’s definitely too dangerous, especially if you use a ladder. We read every about property owners falling off ladders while trimming trees. Often in the same column there’s at least one report of a property owner being injured or worse by a falling limb they cut overhead. Our arborists have the proper training, equipment and experience to do the job safely. Many of them have so much experience that they can tell the difference between a flower bud and a leaf bud on a defoliated tree. Therefore leave a dangerous job like pruning trees to the pros.
Every positive thing comes with some negatives, including 5G communications. Why would we want to talk about this subject in a landscape blog? Because it’s affecting our professionals and could affect you as well.
Certain 5G transmitting hardware has caused discomfort to arborists close to it. Earlier cell phone transmission depended on those ubiquitous cell towers that dot the landscape. We all know their shortcomings – flat spots where there was no service. One advantage of 5G is that this problem has been pretty much solved.
The way cell phone companies solved the problem is to install signal boosters all over the place. Called Small-Cell-Sites, most are installed on utility poles. Last month, a tree care trade magazine ran a story that featured two arborists who discovered this problem the hard way. They were working with cranes near Small-Cell-Sites, which were also near radio station transmission towers. The cell equipment and the towers were hidden by the surrounding trees, so they didn’t see them or the warning signs. The combination of both the Small-Cell-Site and the radio towers gave the arborists significant injuries.
Yes, Small-Cell-Sites have warning signs that include the name and contact information for the provider that owns the installation. Further research by tree care industry leaders found that arborists and landscape professionals who need to work near a Small-Cell-Site need only contact the provider a couple days before the work is scheduled and they’ll reroute the calls temporarily. It’s like calling the authorities to locate underground utilities before you dig. I don’t know whether the cell phone providers will extend the same courtesy to individuals as they do to professionals.
The takeaway is: If you see a can like object attached to a utility pole with a sign on the pole, read the sign before you start working. Then either contact the Small-Cell-Site owner or call us to do the work for you, and we’ll work with the cell provider. The one bright spot in this story is that the author contacted the American Cancer Society to see if these radio waves cause cancer. They were told that they do not. They were the same type of waves emitted by your cell phone or microwave oven.
Whenever I write or talk about tree work, I warn against the dangers of leaving the ground or being struck by a falling branch. To that, we add RF(Radiofrequency) radiation from a Small-Cell-Site. While you aren’t about to get cancer from exposure, appreciable discomfort is possible.
Many industries confer certifications on professionals who have met certain criteria. These credentials, usually sponsored by trade associations or professional societies, require candidates to successfully complete an examination and have a certain amount of experience in the field. Some require a specific degree as well. The tree and landscape industries have a number of voluntary certifications available to professionals in those fields. Here at Birchcrest, we encourage our people to become certified.
Once a person has met all the requirements for certification and the designation has been conferred on them, they aren’t set for life. They need to maintain that certification by earning a specified number of continuing education credits over a certain time period. Most are every two or three years.
Here at Birchcrest, nine members of our tree care team are Certified Arborists (CA) and one has gone one step beyond and earned the Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA) designation. These certifications are administered by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).
Nine members of our landscape team are Certified Nursery & Landscape Professionals (CNLP). This credential is administered by the New York State Nursery & Landscape Association. The CNLP is administered by state associations because of the dramatic differences in landscape designs and plant materials in every region of the country. If a landscape professional were to move here from the desert southwest, or vice versa, they’d have to become familiar with an entirely new plant palette and design style.
A dozen team members are Certified Pesticide Applicators. This stringent designation is a state license rather than an association certification. Becoming association certified is completely voluntary but anyone who gets paid to apply pesticides in New York State must be a Certified Pesticide Applicator or face hefty fines.
Certified professionals are encouraged to display their accomplishments by using the certification initials after their names. Some associations offer their certified professionals shirt/jacket patches and hard hat logos, as well as artwork they can print on their business cards. Additionally, the associations actively police unauthorized use of these identification items.
Our professionals are too modest to wear their accomplishments on their sleeves. That’s why I’m posting this blog – to share our staff members achievements and assure you of the highest standards of professionalism when you depend on Birchcrest Tree & Landscape.
La Nina is giving you an opportunity that you don’t have every winter. That’s a chance to get out and check on the condition of your landscape during the breaks from snow and bitter cold.
When your landscape is buried under snow and the temperature’s freezing or below, I bet you look out the window and wonder what’s going on under that blanket of white. This year, nature is giving you the opportunity to know what’s going on and to repair anything that needs fixing. Just bundle up and go out for a stroll around the yard. Here’s some of the things to look for:
• Debris that has blown in from the neighborhood. Take a trash bag with you so you can easily scoop it up and dispose of it.
• Leaves matted on the lawn. Even if you cleaned up your fallen leaves, the wind might have brought you some more. Lift the leaves up and put them in your trash bag. Check to see if the grass is all matted and discolored. If it is, you probably have one of the winter fungal diseases. Using a flexible lawn rake, rough up the area. The dry period will be long enough to kill the fungus if you’re lucky.
• Tree branches on the ground. The wind may have deposited some broken branches or they may be from your trees. Clean the branches up then look up into the crowns to see if there are any uneven branch stubs or broken branches still hanging in the tree. Any of these conditions indicate that we should prune the tree(s) this winter. Don’t be macho and attempt this job yourself. Tree pruning is best left to our professional arborists.
• Look for signs of deer browsing activity. Look for deer tracks in the soft ground, deer droppings or chewed ends on tender young branches. You may be able to remove lower branches to let the deer know they’re unwelcome. Or you may want to try one of the spray repellents.
• Check the base of your trees for rodent activity. If mice, rabbits and other rodents have begun chewing on the bark at the base of trunks you hadn’t wrapped in hardware cloth or plastic tree guards, take a trip to your local hardware store or home center to get some wrap. Hardware cloth is steel mesh that lets air get to the trunk but not rodents’ sharp teeth. If you don’t protect the trunk(s), the rodent can chew all the way around. Girdling the trunk will sever the vessels trees use to get water and nutrients from the roots to the crown, and this will kill the tree.
• Check your evergreens for any brown spots. Brown spots will indicate that the leaves or needles are losing water. If you didn’t apply anti-desiccant in the fall, we can do it now to protect the plants from further desiccation. If you did apply anti-desiccant, temperatures may have been mild enough to melt some of the material, indicating that you need a touch-up.
• Check plants for heaving. In the case of perennials and other herbaceous plants, you can right them and then tamp the soil down. Be sure to mulch around each plant or, better yet, mulch the whole bed. Fixing heaving trees is best left to our professional arborists.
Walking your property during a winter thaw is good for you and your plants. You get out in the fresh air and take in some exercise. Your plants will receive maintenance in winter when they need it rather than having to wait until spring. Letting some problems go until spring can require more aggressive, expensive work. Last but not least, you’ll have a good head start on spring clean-up, so you can begin enjoying your landscape earlier this spring.
Winter recently began. What kind of winter can we expect in this unpredictable year? Knowing the answer to that will give us insight into what kind of tree and shrub damage we can expect. It will also help us to plan our winter work.
It has already been reported that this will be a La Nina year. NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) defines La Nina as a weather pattern that occurs in the Pacific Ocean. It results in strong winds that blow warm water at the ocean's surface from South America to Indonesia. La Nina, which is the opposite of El Nino, is a weather pattern that can occur in the Pacific Ocean every few years.
These patterns, though thousands of miles west of us, influence our weather and our landscape plants especially our trees. Although La Nina generally means that we can expect a cold, wet winter, at least one Rochester meteorologist has been indicating that we’ll have short term cold snaps, frequent spells of mild weather and episodes of snow to rain and back to snow. It’s also predicted to be windy.
For most of us, a partially mild winter is a good thing. For our plants it may not be so good. Plants don’t like weather that oscillates back and forth from cold to mild. Those freeze/thaw cycles that we take in stride may result in trauma for some trees.
Frequent freezing and thawing can cause the fluids inside a tree to contract when they get cold and expand when they get warm. When these cycles become extreme, the expanding fluids can cause the bark to crack vertically. This is especially true for trees with smooth, thin bark. Frost cracks can become entry points for insects, diseases and rot-causing fungi.
There is no treatment for frost cracking. Healthy trees will form a callous around the wound as a defense against insects, diseases and other pathogens entering the wound. A customer owns the pictured ginkgo tree that he rescued from the trash heap. The tree developed the frost crack in the nursery. It has survived for about 25 years, including one move, 20 years ago, from the customer’s former home to his new yard. We deep root fertilize it once a year and prune it periodically and it’s very healthy.
Freeze/thaw cycles may also result in soil heaving as water in the soil contracts and expands. Damage may be mild heaving of the soil around the tree or shrub’s root zone. More often, however, the heaving will be sufficient to break roots, causing the tree or shrub to lean. In the most severe case, the tree will topple, especially if it’s shallow rooted.
We can often repair soil heaving damage if the tree is just leaning. On a warm day, we will examine the roots and then stand the plant upright and stake it. In the spring, we’ll determine whether the plant is able to regenerate enough roots during the growing season to stabilize itself after being staked for a year. We may opt for removing and replanting it or it may have to be removed. Toppled trees almost never can be righted and have to be removed
This is a time of uncertainty….for the weather as well as everything else in our lives. However, the early predictions I’ve seen indicate that this may be a mild winter with less than the usual amount of snow. The map I saw showed major snow events taking place north of Lake Ontario.
If this long term forecast is accurate, you’ll enjoy the mild weather but your landscape plants won’t. They’ll be subject to ongoing freezing and thawing cycles. Among other possible problems, the roots could heave, destabilizing the plant. In a cold winter, a near constant snowpack insulates the roots , protecting them. In a constantly changing winter, your plants need your help.
Organic mulch is a smart insulation choice for many reasons. Mulch moderates soil temperature and regulates the amount of water that the soil absorbs. While insulating the root zone, the mulch begins decomposing, returning organic matter to the soil. Organic mulch made from chipped and ground wood chips is good for the environment, too. It’s made from waste from our tree care operations. When pruning or removing trees, our arborists chip the brush in the field and bring it back to our facility where it is further ground into pieces of nearly equal size. It is then left to age and begin decomposing before it’s ready to be spread as mulch.
Although it’s December already, mulch can still be spread since the ground hasn’t frozen yet. If the area beneath trees and shrubs, as well as your perennial beds, already have a layer of organic mulch, you only need a top coat for the winter. It wouldn’t hurt to mulch your annual beds, too. As the mulch decomposes, it’ll fertilize the soil so it’ll be all ready for spring planting.
Ideally, your mulched areas should have a layer two or three inches deep. Before calculating how much mulch you need, it would be a good idea to measure how much is left. Dig down into the mulch with a garden trowel until you reach only the native soil. Measure it with a ruler. If the mulch is less than three inches deep, you should consider adding enough to bring it up to four inches.
Be prepared to remove the top inch or two in the spring. During the growing season, mulch should be no deeper than two or three inches. When preparing for the growing season, use the same method to measure the depth as you did to determine how much winter mulch to add. If you have to remove mulch in the spring, either use it in beds with less than two inches or add it to your compost pile.
Mulch is sold by the cubic yard. To calculate the amount you need, measure the length and width of the bed and multiply the two figures together to determine the area and multiply that by the number of inches you have to add to get the volume. It may be best if you calculate the length, width and depth in inches and divide by 46656 (the number of cubic inches in a cubic yard). If you can convert the depth to feet, measure the length and width in feet and then you’ll only have to divide by 27 (the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard). The area around the base of a tree or free-standing shrub will be round, so you’ll have to use the formula radius squared times 3.14 (Pi) for the area and then multiply it by the depth to calculate the volume.
Depending on how much mulch you need, it may be more economical to buy in bulk than in bags. We can dump bulk mulch in the driveway for you to spread, or we can spread it for you. If you spread it, don’t pile it against tree trunks or shrub stems. Leave a couple of inches exposed to discourage rodents from dining there.
Winter can be the doldrums for the person who likes to work outside maintaining their landscape. But it doesn’t have to be. You can work inside during the worst blizzard preparing for spring.
Starting to prepare for spring in the winter means you don’t have to hurry. You can spread the job out over several months, rather than rushing it in the spring because the grass is already growing around your ankles.
Begin by planning out the tasks that need your attention this spring. Then you will know what you need to get ready this winter. Here are some ideas:
• Are all your tools in good working order? Check your power tools to be sure the oil is changed, blades sharpened and power tools have new spark plugs. Are your hand tools old and heavy? This would be a good time to replace them with new, lightweight tools.
• Do your plans include any hardscape items like window boxes? You can buy the materials now and build window boxes in the basement. If your plans include larger hardscape material, you may be able to prefabricate parts and then assemble them outdoors in the spring.
• Does your landscape include a vegetable garden? You can save money and have some off- season gardening enjoyment by starting your early season crops from seed. You can buy seeds and starter kits at garden centers.
• If your plans include a major renovation, the winter would be the ideal time to begin drawing sketches, checking local nurseries or those on the the internet to get plant ideas. Better yet, meet with one of our professional landscape designers. Share your sketches, ideas and vision with them and then turn them loose to translate your thoughts into a design. During the winter our designers can work closely with you to have a design finished and approved before spring arrives. Then our installation professionals can source all the material and be ready to go to work as soon as the robins return in spring.
With our short growing seasons, it doesn’t make sense to start all these tasks when you see the first crocus. The season will be half over before you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Waiting to do your planning will put construction into the hottest period of the year when you should be lounging in the shade and letting nature take its course.
What is the new normal? After a topsy turvy year, I referred to Garden Media’s annual Garden Trends report for the answer. I wanted to find out what our customers might be asking for this spring. As in the past few years, this year’s report had a lot of social, as well as landscape and garden trends. I chose to concentrate on the landscape and gardening trends.
Last year, I reported on the growth in demand for houseplants by young professionals who were opting for urban apartment and loft living. This year, houseplants continue to be a major growth factor but for a different reason. People who are working from home are interiorscaping their offices. Also, families are creating garden rooms bringing the outdoors into their living space.
The road to urban living is two-way. While young people are flocking to the cities, families are fleeing them for safety reasons. They believe that they’ll be safer from the corona virus in less populated areas. With so many working remotely, they don’t have to worry about the time and expense of commuting, either.
Avoiding the commute, remote workers now have more time to devote to their families and property. Many of these newbies are trying their hand at both ornamental and edible gardening. The majority are 35 to 44 years old and have more discretionary, spendable income than any other age group. They aren’t spending that money on their lawns, either. They’re actually removing some of those lawns and replacing them with pools and patios, as well as vegetable, pollinator, bulb and cutting gardens.
This group of new gardeners still want some lawn but they also want a bigger variety of other plants. Due to perceived food scarcities, many want to grow their own food, and many will be doing so in raised beds. The report mentions interest in the full range of plant sizes from tiny plants to large shade trees.
One fallout from the pandemic that may temper your enthusiasm is that retailers are reducing the number of products they’re offering. If the big box stores are doing this, your local garden center is apt to also. Don’t let this discourage you, though. Work with one of our professional landscape designers.
A design professional can help the first time gardener make sure the right plant is in the right place, and that the plant and the placement enhance the overall aesthetics of the property. They can help you blend the ornamentals and edibles into a beautifully integrated landscape. After all, even edible plants bear flowers before they bear veggies. The edibles become part of the overall design rather than being stuck in the outback where nobody sees them. Imagine just stepping outside your kitchen door and picking your homegrown tomatoes for dinner. And picking fresh herbs from the containers on the step as you return to the kitchen.
Here’s another way our designer may be able to help. Let’s say your heart’s set on a specific variety of plant. You can’t find it because it’s one of the casualties of the garden centers’ shortened inventory. Our designer may be able to find the plant at one of the countless wholesale nurseries we work with. The designer will also check to make sure your plant will be happy in the site you’ve selected and, if necessary, make any modifications to make it, and you, happy.
Nothing’s as boring to look at as piles and piles of white snow. It doesn’t have to be so boring. Many landscape designs include ornamental grasses, hollies with their red berries, and trees. But the deck or patio still looks bland. Why not use hardscape to add winter interest?
I know you don’t want to expose your good patio furniture to the elements but it won’t hurt to leave unupholstered furniture in place or even set up a winter patio using furniture made of wood or steel. Metal or wood chairs that have cushions on them in summer will look just fine without the cushions when they are covered in snow.
You can pick up some pieces if you don’t have such furniture. Check ads in the local shopping news or an online marketplace. Garage sales may also yield results, as may cruising around the neighborhood on garbage day. I’m sure you can find someone who has what you need and would be happy to see it repurposed. Your winter patio set doesn’t have to be comfortable, just rugged.
Durable garden art, such as certain statues, can be left in place. Wind chimes or garden bells tickle your auditory as well as your visual interests, unless the snow gets too deep for them to work.
Some families like to grill outside the year around. If you closed up and winterized your outdoor kitchen, don’t compromise that serious investment. Instead, buy a charcoal or an inexpensive gas grill for the winter patio. It won’t have all the bells and whistles of the winterized grill but it will give you a taste of summer on a cold winter night. Be sure and get a cover for it. Keeping it clean and covered will help it last for years.
The photo is a customer’s patio in winter. He used to put everything away but as pieces developed a pantina, he began leaving them in place. He protects another bistro set and love seat by placing them in a sheltered corner of the patio out of the picture. They are made of cast aluminum and the wind can blow them away easily. When this picture was taken, he was still putting two concrete statues away for the winter. Now they stay in place.
The table, chairs and firepit are all steel and mosaic tiles. The chiminea is concrete on a steel base. They withstand the weather well and the patina improves every year. Now, instead of looking out over a barren patio of snow, these residents have an interesting view of a southwest style bistro set and firepit, along with a Mexican chiminea and weathered park bench peeking out of the drifted snow. An interesting juxtaposition, don’t you think?
I’m a big fan of anti-desiccant. That’s why I post a reminder every fall. It’s clean, easy to apply and protects evergreens very well. Best of all you don’t have to wrap burlap around most trees and shrubs protected by anti-desiccant.
Although it’s November already, you can still apply anti-desiccant. Just don’t pick a day that’s too hot (over 50ºF) or too cold (below freezing). It’s a wax like material that becomes too runny in the heat and too firm in the cold.
[caption id="attachment_1049" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Protect your evergreens to prevent dieback.[/caption]
If anti-desiccant is new to you, let me introduce you to it. Anti-desiccant is sold in garden centers in pump bottles. The best known brand is Wilt-Pruf. Landscape and Plant Health Care professionals buy in bulk and apply it with truck-mounted or backpack sprayers.
Unlike deciduous trees and shrubs that go dormant in winter, conifers and broadleaf evergreens’ life functions continue through the winter, although at a slower pace. Normally, water and nutrients are absorbed by the roots, and are taken up the tree where they become part of the photosynthetic reaction. Water is then given off through the leaves or needles to remove heat from the tree. This is called transpiration.
When the ground is frozen in winter, the roots can’t absorb water, so the plant reabsorbs the water given off in transpiration and reuses it. However, the wind often blows the drops of water off the leaves before they can be reabsorbed. Anti-desiccant keeps the wind from blowing the transpired water away.
Unprotected evergreens branches can develop brown spots, or even turn entirely brown and die when they can’t reabsorb enough transpired water. The only treatment is to cut out the brown foliage and dead branches.
Applying anti-desiccant to one or two evergreen shrubs yourself can be a good DIY project. But I recommend professional application for properties with a number of evergreens, especially large conifer trees. You’ll actually save money over buying all those small bottles. And your hand will feel better than it would squeezing the trigger on all of those bottles.
While there’s still time apply anti-desiccant, you never know when the weather will turn cold, drop below freezing and stay there. Conversely, if we get a January thaw and the temperature rises above 50ºF and stays there, your plants may need a touch up. But it’s a good investment.
Snow removal can be dangerous to the health of your landscape plants. Certainly the safety of your family and visitors is the first priority when planning your attack on Ol’ Man Winter but risks to the landscape plants should also be taken into consideration.
Here are just a few of the hazards that can befall your valuable landscape plants after a snowfall:
• Salt Spray. When the snowplow clears your street, it deposits a spray of snow and salt spray. The snow is thrown up by the plow on the front of the truck and it’s, possibly, saturated with salt water from previous plow runs. And, pure salt water is thrown out the back of the truck as part of the deicing operation. Salt can kill grass and damage trees and shrubs, especially young ones, in the path of the spray.
The only remedy for salt damaged grass is reseeding in the spring. Trees and shrubs can be protected by wrapping them in burlap like you would to protect them from the wind or sunscald. Wood A-frame tents are also effective protectors.
• Snow Piles. Trees and shrubs, planted near the driveway, can be damaged by snow being piled up against them. Damage can be caused by snow being
thrown from a shovel or a snow blower or pushed by a plow. A plow is the most powerful and can exert enough pressure to topple a small tree.
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer you can take care to throw or blow the snow on the other side of the drive or in such a way as to avoid hitting the tree. If you hire a plowing service direct them not to pile snow against the tree but to pile it on the other side of the driveway.
• Avoid Divots. Perhaps the most common snow removal problem is the appearance of divots in the grass. These usually are from a blade extending beyond
the pavement and digging up pieces of sod along the edge of the lawn. Some may be found in the middle of the lawn.
Of the three most common snow removal methods – shoveling, blowing and plowing – shoveling is the gentlest. You can see and feel the edge of the pavement and seldom venture into the lawn. Blowing is also relatively gentle on the lawn. You should be able to see the snow blower well enough to guide it away from the lawn. Plows most frequently violate that line between the pavement and the grass.
A truck with a plow can’t aim as accurately as a shoveler or a snow blower operator. They put fiberglass poles on the plow so they can locate it and at the edge of the driveway to help their aim but still miss occasionally. Dealing with divots is a price you pay for having someone plow your drive. In spring you can usually replace the divots. If they are missing or mangled, you can reseed very easily.
One reason perennials are popular is because they flower every year so you don’t have to plant new ones like you do with annuals. Herbaceous perennials are those that die down to the ground each year but whose roots remain alive and send up new top growth each year.
Although herbaceous perennials rebloom every year, they are not completely maintenance-free. One task that’s required every few years is dividing. Perennials like to keep growing. Some spread out and may try to take over the whole planting bed. Others grow new shoots within their original crowns, making them very dense or thick. And still others grow new shoots around the outer edge of the original crown, stressing the original crown.
I recommend dividing perennials after they flower. So, those that flowered in spring and summer should be divided now. Those that are still in bloom shouldn’t be divided until spring. Although the best time to divide is right after they finish blooming, it can be done any time before the ground freezes. The ideal conditions are when the weather is cool, overcast and damp.
It’s best for the plants if you water the ground around them the day before and that you prepare the holes for each section of transplanted perennial before you start removing the parent plant. The holes should be twice as wide as the plant section and just as deep. For best results you should plant all of the sections right after dividing them. If you have to store them, they should be wrapped in moist burlap or covered with mulch.
When digging the parent plant, dig the circle wide enough to keep the root intact. When you get it out of the hole, lay it on a sheet of plastic and remove just enough soil to make the roots visible. If the root system is the spreading type, such as asters, bee balm, Black-eyed Susan, it can often be pulled apart by hand. If you can’t split the roots by hand, use a shovel or garden fork. If the plant has clumping roots, such as Hosta, Lily of the Nile, a sharp shovel, axe or saw will be required to split them. A third type of root, rhizomes, such as Bearded iris, are very fleshy and may be able to be cut with a sharp knife.
To plant the sections, return one to the hole in which you removed the parent plant and plant the others in the new holes you prepared. Backfill, lightly tamping the backfill, water and then mulch.
Dividing does more than prevent your perennials from taking over your planting bed. It also promotes healthy growth, more flowers and makes them more insect and disease resistant. It’s good for perennial growth in the same way that pruning is good for trees and shrubs. As a bonus, divided perennials provide you with free plants for your yard or to share with friends.
If you would rather leave dividing perennials to somebody else, we have just the professionals who are up for the task.
Each year at this time, property owners ask for advice for keeping deer from eating their valuable landscape plants. There are no foolproof methods. When a deer is hungry enough, it will eat anything.
Each year, one of our customers puts a container of flowering annuals on loved ones’ graves in three different sections of a cemetery. The only plant he has tried that has any deterrent effect is wax leaf begonias. Up until now, they have lasted all season. This last August, he reported that the two pots of the begonias whose flowers were red were just fine, and they were adjacent to the woods where the deer live. The pot with white flowers in the middle of the cemetery were all chewed off. The moral of the story is that although deer are color blind they are also unpredictable.
The most effective deterrent is planting plants that deer don’t like. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County’s website has the most complete list of deer resistant plants I’ve seen. To review the Cornell list visit
http://warren.cce.cornell.edu/gardening-landscape/deer-resistant-plants.
There are also commercial repellants available for spraying the plants. These ideas may work or they may not.
Wrapping shrubs, evergreens and young trees with burlap, will not only protect them from becoming deer food but will also protect them from wind damage. Wrapping is a rather easy process. Begin by driving three long stakes or poles into the ground to serve as a frame. Then attach the burlap to the poles. Keep the top open so light and water can still get to the plant. Because deer can reach nearly eight feet when they stand on their hind legs, the burlap should be eight feet tall or a little taller than the plant. Hopefully, when the deer encounter the burlap, they will go elsewhere rather than trying to remove the burlap.
Deer will eat the tender branch tips on deciduous trees. Bucks will also rub their antlers on the trunk to remove the velvet that covers new antlers. The result is unsightly on any tree but rubbing thin bark trees also results in bark removal, which can kill the tree. The most effective deterrent is plastic trunk guards.
When they’re done rubbing their antlers, the deer may reach up and eat the tender branch tips. For this, you need our arborists to raise the crown by removing the lower branches so none is below eight feet. Don’t compromise your safety and the tree’s health. Let our arborist use their specialized equipment so you don’t have to use a dangerous ladder or work overhead. The arborist will also advise you whether removing the lower limbs will compromise the tree in any way.
While you’re protecting your plant against a big nucience – deer – don’t let the little guys – rodents – swoop in and help themselves. Extend plastic trunk guards all the way down to the base of the tree or wrap the trunk in hardware cloth. Finally, be sure the mulch is an inch or two from the trunk.
This has certainly been a unique year, like no other in our lifetime. As you weathered this challenging time, I hope you were able to embrace the bright spots like the flowers that bloom after a long winter.
As we head into the heart of the holiday season, I wish you and your family a happy and safe Thanksgiving from all of us here at the Birchcrest family.
When preparing your patio or deck for winter, don’t forget your containerized plants. Plants that have required common care during the warm growing season will need specialized care for the winter.
Plants that are hardy to USDA zone 3 or 4 should be able to survive the winter outside. As a precaution, though, I would move them to a location that is sheltered from the wind but gets a good amount of sun. You can do the same with plants hardy to our zone 5 or 6 but, as an extra layer of protection, wrap the containers in an insulating material like bubble wrap or Styrofoam insulation and place a layer of mulch around the container. Only the container stands between the plants’ roots and the freezing cold, and most container materials aren’t very good insulators.
Speaking of container material, many do not fare well in bitter cold weather. Terra cotta is one material that will break in freezing temperatures. Some ceramic and concrete materials will also break. These containers are usually manufactured in places where cold weather isn’t a problem. My personal preference is faux terra cotta made of heavy gauge plastic. Besides being weather safe, they are lighter to move around than the real stuff.
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Inexpensive, portable, folding cold frame for overwinterting containerized plants.[/caption]
You’ll have to make other arrangements for more tender plants. Those that are indoor plants just enjoying a summer vacation in the fresh outdoors, should be returned to their indoor home. Plants that can’t stand the extra cold that the winds bring should spend the winter under glass or transparent plastic sheeting. A greenhouse would be a perfect place for them but most suburban properties are too small for another structure. Instead, invest in a cold frame. Cold frames are available at garden centers, home centers and online in many different sizes and shapes using a variety of materials.
Wood and glass cold frames may be purchased in kit form or fully built. You can also build one from scrap lumber you have around the house and using an old storm door or windows to let the sunlight in. You can also purchase temporary, folding cold frames like the one pictured. If you have an annual bed that’s not being used for the winter, you can erect a temporary hoop house.
Super tender plants have to go inside for the winter. This doesn’t mean the garage, either. Most garages aren’t insulated or heated so they’re too cold for the plants. Few garages have enough windows to let in sufficient sunlight, and if the plants are sharing space with vehicles, they will be subjected to carbon monoxide and other pollutants.
If you have a three season room, also called a Florida room, that would likely work as a winter home for these plants. You might have to place a space heater out there to bring the temperature up to their liking. Be sure to follow the published safety precautions if you use a space heater.
No matter where you overwinter your containerized plants, they’re going to need some care. Outdoor plants would appreciate a drink of water whenever the temperature rises above freezing. Those stored inside should be watered on a regular schedule when they get dry, just as you do with houseplants. On a sunny day when the temperature is above freezing, it would be nice to open the cold frame and let them get some nice, fresh air.
We have to have our vehicles inspected every year to be sure they’re mechanically sound and many of us have an annual physical to make sure our body is working the way it should. The trees in your yard combine both biology and mechanics to stay healthy and sound. So, for the same reason you and your car need an annual check up, I recommend an annual check of your trees – a thorough biomechanical inspection by a professional arborist to be sure they don’t present a hazard to people or property.
Like us, trees have many natural enemies. They are being attacked by insects and diseases, many of which are invasive pests from other countries. Fungi attack them, causing them to rot. Often, you don’t even know rot is destroying your tree from the inside out until fruiting bodies that look like mushrooms appear on the trunk or the tree fails and limbs begin breaking off.
One tree enemy that is often overlooked is the wind. We realize the wind is a hazard only when a storm causes branches and whole trees to break and uproot. It doesn’t take a strong wind to break a rotted tree, though.
The most positive way to identify any hazards and to be sure your trees are healthy is with an annual tree inspection. Our arborists examine your tree from the crown to the roots, checking for insect activity, diseases, cracks in the trunk and major limbs, significant lean, narrow forks and signs of internal decay.
Many of these conditions can be repaired. Narrow forks, for example, indicate a weakness in which one of the limbs can break. We fix this condition by a process called cabling and bracing. We put a threaded rod through the two limbs near the fork, then secure it with big washers and nuts. The tree grows around the hardware. Up in the crown, we install a network of cables to reduce flexing in the wind.
Several devices are available for us to identify the presence and extent of internal rot. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the tree has to be taken down right away. The tree’s future depends on the location and amount of rot present. Trees can live for decades before rot becomes so extensive that they should be removed.
Some conditions that may need immediate action include the removal of limbs hanging over your house, pool, power lines or any other place where they can cause expensive damage. We would also recommend removal of any dead, diseased, crossing, rubbing broken/hanging branches.
Trees add value to your property. Like anything of value, your trees need care to retain that value. Unfortunately, when a problem is visible to you, it may be too late. That’s why an annual inspection is inexpensive insurance for keeping your trees growing in value.
If you fertilized your trees, shrubs and perennials in the spring, it should probably be done again now.
The best rationale for fall fertilization is explained in the process a plant uses to convert the nutrients it consumes into food. Although you place fertilizer around the base of your plants, you aren’t “feeding” the plants. You’re actually replenishing soil nutrients. Before arbitrarily applying fertilizer, we test the soil to determine if nutrients are depleted. If they are the soil cannot replenish them by itself. The only way to replenish them is with fertilizer and organic matter.
The nutrients that a plant receives from the soil aid in photosynthesis, which is the plant’s food making process that takes place in the leaves. The comparison between plant and animal needs that I find most easily understood is comparing fertilizer to the vitamin supplements that many of us take. Plants require three major nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, as well as, trace nutrients zinc, copper, selenium, chromium, cobalt, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, calcium, magnesium and sulfur. If you check these against the label on your multi vitamins, you’ll see that many are the same.
The plants that you fertilized in the spring have probably used most of the nutrients that were replenished during fertilization. They were needed for the plants’ intense spring and summer food making process. Although it’s October already, the plants still need to make a lot of food before all the leaves fall. Like animals that hibernate for the winter, deciduous plants have to binge feed so they have enough stored to sustain them through the winter and provide enough energy to break their buds to flower and leaf out next spring. Even after the leaves fall, the roots remain active until the ground freezes.
The fertilizer you would apply would no doubt, be granular, in which case, you’ll have to water the area thoroughly. Fertilizer only works when it’s dissolved or suspended in water. The roots then absorb the fertilizer laced water and send it up the plant. After the photosynthetic process has taken place, the food is distributed throughout the plant. Any food that’s left is stored in the roots until needed.
If we fertilize your plants, we place it directly in the ground, near the roots, in liquid form. No additional watering is needed and the roots can begin absorbing it and putting it to work right away.
Fall fertilizer can be applied until the ground freezes but the sooner it’s applied, the sooner it can go to work helping your plants get ready for winter.
Water features add so much to the ambiance of a landscape but whenever we try to tame nature there is work associated with the process. Keeping leaves from falling into your pond or fountain may be a year round task that intensifies as fall approaches.
Water features that have few trees between the path of the prevailing wind and the pond may get only a stray leaf blowing in. You may be able to remove these leaves by hand or with a pool
skimmer. In the fall when leaves are falling and blowing, you’ll probably have to skim the pond surface more often.
Property owners with more trees may have to take more aggressive action. First, try to determine where the leaves are coming from. See if tree limbs hanging over the pond are the major cause of the problem. If they are the biggest contributor, our arborists can naturally prune the offending trees so they will no longer hang over the pond, while still retaining their natural shape.
On a heavily wooded property, the offending leaves are, no doubt, blowing in from all the trees on the property, especially in the fall. In this case, a better tactic might be to invest in a pond net. Nets are on the market in many sizes and styles. Depending on the size and shape of the pond. You may be able to use a surface net that you stretch across the pond surface and stake to the banks. This works similar to a pool cover. Net tents are also available. These hold the netting above the pond surface.
When using a pool skimmer to remove leaves from the water surface, you’ll probably have to remove leaves from rocks and the pump filter using a leaf blower, vacuum or your gloved hand.
Regardless of whether or not you have fish in your pond, you should keep it free of leaves. Leaves that accumulate on the surface block sunlight and oxygen, creating an unhealthy environment for aquatic flora and fauna. When the leaves start to decay and fall to the bottom, they create a slippery mat on the bottom that is unhealthy as well as messy looking. Sinking leaves can be carried to the pump where they can clog the filter, causing the pump to burn out. Then you have a stagnant pond that attracts mosquitoes, algae and aquatic weeds. Stagnant water is unhealthy for fish and humans.
The place for falling leaves is in your compost pile, not in your pond. Whether you use a skimmer, pond net, blower or vacuum to keep them out of your water feature, place them in a wheelbarrow or other garden conveyance and get them in the compost pile where they can help return organic matter to your landscape next spring.
