The Rains Came and the Seeds Germinated!

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weedsHiking through two different local areas this past  weekend,  I’ve observed frightening arrays of young, but obviously fast growing plants of various  species, by far the majority  of them not native.  I saw masses of oriental bittersweet, miniature forests of  Chinese privet and burning bush along with gross stands of non-native lespedeza.  And most surprising, even new clumps of English Ivy with its small, shiny new leaves.

 The winter of 2013 will go down in history, not just for its relative mildness  and copious rainfall, but for the unleashing of a renewed onslaught of invasive plants. 

 Any homeowner or property owner ought to take a stroll over their property, particularly fence lines and  the edges where shady forest or dense brush meets the sunlit corridor of a roadway. That’s where birds congregate to enjoy their lunch of berries and other fruits, but leave behind the indigestible but very viable seeds.

 For help in identifying the plant and determining appropriate control measures contact your local Cooperative Extension Service.  Unfortunately, just pulling the plants often leaves behind a fragment of root which is enough to emerge as a new plant. A chemical attack may be suggested.

 

Rosette Disease Knocks Out Roses

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Rose Rosette Disease

Rose Rosette Disease                                                                                  

The deadly rose rosette disease (RRD) is already making itself known in our wild and ornamental rose population, including Knockouts.  Symptoms vary with the type or species of rose,  but generally include small shoots, off color new growth with smallish leaves,  or a combination of unusual growth or discoloration in any part of the plant, including flowers and thorns. On hybrid teas and some tea roses,  the new growth may be lime-colored. The shoots may also have many small thorns such that the stems appear almost “furry”.

Some herbicides can also cause the witches brooms, distorted growth, and discoloration, but they do not cause the prolific production of thorns. In addition, chemical injury would probably appear on all the roses or broad-leafed plants in the area, whereas rose rosette will generally show up first in just one rose bush.

This contagious disease is transmitted by microscopic wingless eriophyiid mites.  Eliminating rose rosette through mite control has not been shown to work with any consistency. Insecticides are not appropriate and would be a threat to valued pollinators.

Unfortunately, although RRD does not cause the immediate death of infected plants, it cannot be cured or salvaged.  However, the disease may be prevented from spreading by completely removing suspect roses including all the roots.  Any root or plant material not removed could play host for future problems.  Do not put the plant debris in the compost.

It’s speculated that RRD came into the country with the Multi-flora rose which is very susceptible to the disease, showing some of the symptoms as described. That’s another reason to make a survey and encourage the eradication of invasive Multi-flora from your neighborhood.

What are the purple-flowered trees?

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This is the time of year when people ask what are the purple flowered trees  “we see along the highway?”

There are two possibilities, the most likely being the Princess tree, Paulownia tomentosa.     The other possibility is Oriental Wisteria, Wisteria sinensis.

Wisteria sinensis

Wisteria sinensis

 

Paulownia tomentosa

Paulownia tomentosa

Native to China, the Paulownia tomentosa  (common name being princess tree or empress tree)  is a fast-growing, deciduous tree that is primarily grown for its profuse spring bloom of foxglove-like flowers and its large catalpa-like green leaves. It was first introduced into the United States in the mid 1800s, and has since escaped cultivation and naturalized in many areas of the eastern U.S.   It is an upright to spreading deciduous tree that typically grows to 40’ tall with a rounded crown.    It is noted for its profuse bloom of fragrant, tubular, funnel-shaped, pinkish-lavender flowers (to 2” long) with interior dark purple spotting and creamy yellow striping.   Flowers appear in spring in clusters (to 14” long) before the foliage.   Flowers are followed by oval, woody, dehiscent seed capsules that emerge sticky green and ripen to brown in fall, at which point they split open releasing abundant, very light winged seeds that are widely dispersed by the wind, which is why we see them growing high on the cliffs in the rocky gorge of Interstate 40 west toward Tennessee, for example.   According to the US Forestry Service, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Linville Gorge Wilderness Area, the Paulownia’s ability to colonize rocky or infertile sites makes it a threat to rare, endangered species of plant life that require these marginal habitats.  Paulownia is often advertised as a “miracle tree” for its flowering beauty, rapid growth and tough constitution.  However, its weak branches and messy habits make it unwelcome in the landscape.

Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria) is a woody, deciduous, perennial climbing vine, native to China.   While the plant is a climbing vine, it  can be trained into a tree-like shape, usually with a wavy trunk and a flattened trunk.   The flowers hang downward in showy clusters.   The wisteria was introduced to North American in 1816 and has secured a place as one of the most popular flowering vines for home gardeners due to its flowering habit.    However, it can be weedy and has become an invasive species.

Although, wisteria sinensis is a vine, when it climbs and envelopes a tree, it can be easily confused with Paulownia, being about the same shade of purple or violet.   Both Paulownia and the oriental Wisteria are considered invasive plants, definitely not the kind of plants you’d want to bring home to meet the family.

 

Spring Pest Management

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GranulateAmbrosiaBeetle

  • If you haven’t put out your alcohol based traps for Ambrosia beetles, it is best to go ahead and do so….but, it is getting late.  Granulated Ambrosia beetles have already begun to emerge and control measures should be applied now.   Other insect monitoring devices or methods should begin in earnest now.
  • Watch for Azalea and Hawthorn Lacebug adults.  Both of these pets are most active now (and again in August).   Unlike most insects, the best time to control the Azalea and Hawthorn Lacebugs is during their adult stages.   Montior plants such as azaleas and pieris for azalea lacebugs and hawthorns;   monitor pyracantha and cotoneaster for Hawthorn Lacebug.   Insecticides should be applied while these pests are most active.

  • Monitor evergreens for cool season mites and apply a miticide at this time.   Plants that showed damage last summer are likely to already be infested.

  • Boxwood and Holly Leafminor are likely be at most active peak during April so control measure should be introduced into the nursery or landscape site.BlackSpot
  • Spray a fungicide to newly emerging foliage to reduce anthracnose, black spot, or powdery mildew on susceptible plants.
  • Fungicide treatments for various diseases of conifers such as Juniper, Arborvitae and Leyland Cypress need to be made this month.

  • Weed scouting and control will continue through the month of May.  Continue to scout for clearwing moth and various scale insects.   Watch for the second flush of Hemlock Wooly Adelgid nymphs as these may pose a problem if left unchecked.JapBeetleLifeCycle

  • Plan to place traps out for Japanese and Oriental Beetles as well as Mask Chafers.   Likely adult flight patterns will start in early June, but there may be some micro-climate sites where you will see with  earlier flight.   Plan to apply insecticides to the foliage of susceptible species for adult control. (see archived blog post on Japanese Beetles in Feb. 2013 posts)
  • Fireblight and Scab Control measures should be applied on crab apples, flowering pears, serviceberry, and hawthorn at this time.
  • The second application of pre-emergent herbicides to landscape sites should likely take place mid to late May and into June.
  • Apply insecticides for grub control in turf 10 days after finding adult Japanese and Oriental beetle adults in your traps.  This will vary from year to year and typically is in late June to early July.
  • PowderyMildew
  • The mountains are having a wet spring, therefore, a regular application of preventative fungicides may be necessary on many disease prone plants.
  • Monitor for Brown Patch and other pathogens in cool season lawns.
  • Monitor and apply control measures for needle cast fungi on Spruce, Pines, and Fir.

 

 

 

When will my young dogwood bloom?

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April,10 011With so many dogwoods in bloom at the moment,  it is difficult to be patient for new landscape trees, like dogwoods, to grow mature enough for blooms.   In our landscape, there can be various causes for delayed blooming.    Just as genetics, nutrition and the environment all determine the growth of humans, so do they affect plants.

Trees started from seed take longer to bloom than those started as cuttings from older trees. The cuttings are clones so their cells are more mature and typically might bloom in two or three years. Seedlings will naturally take longer – typically 7 to 10 years.  Maybe one of the parents was a late bloomer anyway,  so that’s just nature’s way.

To a tree, nutrition means sunshine, soil nutrients and moisture.   Understory species in a forest sometimes have to wait for years before the canopy above them opens up to let in enough sunlight to spur their development.  Shade can certainly be a factor.   Often our open land has been repeatedly farmed or grazed in the past so perhaps the soil has been badly depleted.  Low levels of phosphate, potassium, or calcium will delay flowering. Fertilization would be the ticket in this scenario.  On the other hand, we can feed a tree too well..  Too much nitrogen can lead to lots of top growth and leaves but little inclination to produce flowers.

So, as you plan your landscape choose plants to match the environment that you offer.  Have a soil test made and fertilize and lime accordingly.

What are those webs in my trees?

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tentcatapillar

Any time now, depending on nature’s whims, many of our trees will be hosting the tents of the native Eastern Tent Caterpillar. This handsome black caterpillar with white, yellow and blue markings is not related to gypsy moth caterpillars, with which they are sometimes confused.  Last fall the female, a small, brown moth, laid her eggs on the branches where they overwintered as a firm brown mass.

The trees and the caterpillars have coexisted for centuries and both survive so for a mature tree it’s not a panic situation. New leaves will grow back after the caterpillars leave in late spring but defoliation of a small tree for several years could weaken it.

If you need exercise, prune or simply pull the nests out of the tree.  Do this on a cloudy day or in the morning when most of the caterpillars are still in the nest.

Do not use a torch to burn the nests!  This can do more harm to the tree, the torch bearer, and the surrounding property than the caterpillars will.

In the fall we’ll be seeing similar nests located at the end of the branches, not in branch crotches.  These are the offspring off the Fall Webworm, a smaller, darker, and hairier nonnative.  Again, because by this time the tree will already have completed its growth, the damage is more cosmetic than systemic. Not to worry.

 

Should I fertilize my trees?

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imagesCAAAUVMR

Unless an established tree shows symptoms of distress, such as die back at the tips of branches, discolored leaves, sparse foliage or maybe just slow growth, they generally don’t need additional fertilizer.

Sometimes in an urban environment a tree will need help.   Mechanical or physical problems can be the culprit … such things like being planted in a very constricted area, receiving contaminated runoff from a parking lot, or where traffic has compacted the soil over the tree’s root zone.

A soil test, representing the entire planting area,  would be helpful to check acidity and availability of major nutrients‑ phosphorus and potassium.  If fertilization is needed,  it’s best to apply it… either on the ground’s surface or through holes drilled or punched in the soil, while the upper part of the tree is dormant from late fall to early spring.  Fertilizing during the summer may cause new growth which wouldn’t have time to harden off before cold weather.

How much fertilizer to apply?  The phosphorus and potassium should be governed by the soil test. For the nitrogen apply 10 to 20 pounds of 10 percent nitrogen per 1,000 square feet based on the area within the tree’s drip line.   Reduce the amount of fertilizer for any area covered by sidewalks or such.  Spread the fertilizer over the area.   A slow‑release product will help the tree get the most from the feeding.

Those same symptoms (leaf dieback, discolored leaves, sparse foliage, or slow growth) can also indicate stress from heat and drought conditions.   Generally speaking most trees, young or old, urban or rural, will benefit much more from water during dry spells than they will from fertilizer.

Originally printed in Citizen Times in March, 2002

How much sunlight for a vegetable garden?

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July,2010 007    Six hours as a bare minimum is the common answer, but most crops really need eight hours.   I have always wondered though what time of year that meant.   If you have a spot that gets those hours on June 21, the longest day of the year, it may well be that you’d get something less by the end of August…just because the elevation of the sun and the length of day has changed.

If, on March 1, you had six hours to the northwest of a big maple tree, what happens when that big tree leafs out? You might have enough time for an early garden of peas and greens starting in February, but the main crop, the beans and corn that grow from May into September, may suffer.   Don’t kid yourself.  If there’s not enough sunlight, your veggies won’t be happy and neither will you

So here’s a suggestion.   Make a plan of your homestead.   Show anything that may cast a shadow on the area you’re considering….including trees, buildings and ridge tops from neighboring properties.  Then, early in the season, say mid April, devote a day to charting the sun’s progress.   Draw a line separating sun from shade each hour, and mark it so you can identify the time later.   At the end of the day you should be able to outline the area that gets the most sunshine.

Check again in late June, and, for fall crops, again in mid-September to make sure you have got the whole picture.  You may be surprised how much the sun exposure changes during the year.

July,2010 005

 

Keep in mind though that time may change the picture.   Times do grow.

Originally published in Citizen-Times 1/20/2005

Growing Your Veggie Starts

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Cold frames, sun boxes, and hot beds are relatively inexpensive, simple structures for providing a favorable environment for growing cool-weather crops in the very early spring, the fall, and even into the winter months. Some are elaborate and require a large investment, but are reasonable for those who are serious about having fresh vegetables during the winter.Cold frames and sun boxes rely on the sun for their sole source of heat. Hot beds are heated by soil-heating cables, steam-carrying pipes, or fresh, strawy manure buried beneath the rooting zones of the plants. Heat is collected by all these frames when the sun’s rays penetrate the sash made of clear plastic, glass, or fiberglass. The ideal location for a coldframe is a southern or southeastern exposure with a slight slope to insure good drainage and maximum solar absorption. A sheltered spot with a wall or hedge to the north will provide protection against winter winds. Sinking the frame into the ground somewhat will also provide protection, with the earth for insulation. To simplify use of the frame, consider a walkway to the front, adequate space behind the frame to remove the sash, and perhaps weights to make raising and lowering of glass sashes easier. Some gardeners make their cold frames lightweight enough to be moved from one section of the garden to another. Another possibility is the Dutch light, which is a large, but portable greenhouse-like structure that is moved around the garden.

New designs in cold frames include passive, solar-energy storage. For example, barrels painted black and filled with water to absorb heat during the day and release it at night. The solar pod is one design that provides this type of heat storage. Other new cold frames are built with a very high back and a steep glass slope; they are insulated very well. These structures also include movable insulation that is folded up during the day and down at night or during extremely cold weather.

In early spring a cold frame is useful for hardening off seedlings that were started indoors or in a greenhouse. This hardening-off period is important, because seedlings can suffer serious setbacks if they are moved directly from the warmth and protection of the house to the garden. The cold frame provides a transition period for gradual adjustment to the outdoor weather. It is also possible to start cool-weather crops in the cold frame and either transplant them to the garden or grow them to maturity in the frame.

Spring and summer uses of the cold frame center around plant propagation. Young seedlings of hardy and half-hardy annuals can be started in a frame many weeks before they can be started in the open. The soil in a portion of the bed can be replaced with sand or peat moss or other medium suitable for rooting cuttings.

Fall is also a good time for sowing some cool-weather crops in cold frames. If provided with adequate moisture and fertilization, most cool-season crops will continue to grow through early winter in the protected environment of the cold frame. Depending on the harshness of the winter and whether or not additional heating is used, a cold frame may continue to provide fresh greens, herbs, and root crops throughout the cold winter months.

Growing frames can be built from a variety of materials; wood and cinder block are the most common. If wood is preferred, choose a species that will resist decay, such as a good grade of cedar, or use pressure-treated wood. Never use creosote-treated wood or wood treated with pentachlorophenol, because these substances are harmful to growing plants. Wood frames are not difficult to build. Kits may also be purchased and easily assembled; some kits even contain automatic ventilation equipment.

There is no standard-sized cold frame. The dimensions of the frame will depend on the amount of available space, desired crops, size of available window sash, and permanency of the structure. Do not make the structure too wide for weeding and harvesting: 4 to 5 feet is about as wide as is convenient to reach across. The sash of the frame should be sloped to the south to allow maximum exposure to the sun’s rays.

Insulation may be necessary when a sudden cold snap is expected. A simple method is to throw burlap sacks filled with leaves over the sash on the frame at night to protect against freezing. Bales of straw or hay may be stacked against the frame.

Ventilation is most critical in the late winter, early spring, and early fall on clear, sunny days when the temperatures rise above 45F. The sash should be raised partially to prevent the buildup of extreme temperatures inside the frame. Lower or replace the sash each day early enough to conserve some heat for the evening.

In summer, extreme heat and intensive sunlight can damage plants. This can be avoided by shading with lath sashes or old bamboo window blinds. Watering should be done early in the day so that plants dry before dark to help reduce disease problems.

A cold frame can be converted to a hotbed. For a manure-heated bed
1. Dig out an area 8 or 9 inches deep (deeper to add gravel for increased drainage)
2. Add an 18 inch layer of strawy horse manure
3. Cover with 6 inches of good soil

For an electric heated bed:
1. Dig out an area 8 or 9 inches deep
2. Lay down thermostatically controlled electric cable in 6 to 8 inch long loops, evenly spacing the cable but never crossing it
3. Cover with 2 inches of sand or soil
4. Lay out hardware cloth to protect cable
5. Cover with 4 to 6 inches of good soil

ColdFrame

Shade Gardening

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Simply saying a plant will grow in the shade is too simplistic a statement because not all shade is the same. There is filtered shade, partial shade, open shade, and dense shade. Shade changes with the time of day and from year to year as trees grow. Sites that might be in full sun part of the year may become heavily shaded as the season changes or as trees leaf out. Light is also influenced by topography. For example, a south-facing slope receives more light than a north-facing slope.Types of shade
Filtered shade (dappled sunlight) is suitable for growing many plants — even plants that prefer full sunlight such as iris or daylilies. Light intensity is relatively high with sunlight and shade constantly changing from minute to minute during the day. Filtered shade occurs under birch, mimosa, and honey locust trees. Partial shade changes as the day progress. The area may be in the shade until some point in the day then the area received full sunlight. Open shade occurs where there are no trees overhead to block sunlight but the plants are in the shade due to the shadows of a building. Open shade is well lighted but does not receive direct sunlight. Deep shade is the most restrictive type of shade. Deep shade is found in heavily wooded areas and in landscapes where large evergreens or broadleaf deciduous trees (maples, oaks, hickories, beeches) occur. Deep shade can also occur in a narrow side yard on the north side of the house when another building is located close by or in a recessed entry way on the north side of your house.Many shade plants are native to wooded areas and grow best in soils exposed to decomposing leaf litter and compost. Moisture in shaded areas is different than sunny areas. The cooler temperatures and less exposure to wind decrease water loss. However, competition from tree roots and the large, tender leaves of many shade-loving plants can cause moisture shortages. Trees vary in their competitiveness for soil moisture. Some shady sites can be quite dry. Many plants will grow in the direction of the strongest light; one side of the plant will be thick and full while the other side will be sparse.Tree shaded gardens become more shaded with time. As trees grow taller and wider they cast larger shadows and less light will penetrate the increasingly dense shade. The quickest way to admit more light is by removing lower tree limbs thus raising the height of the shade. This will decrease humidity and allow some filtered light to reach understory plantings especially in the morning and afternoon.Canopy thinning involves selectively removing trees limbs. This could involve removing a few, large limbs or many, small limbs throughout the tree. The results is a less dense shade or even perhaps a dappled sun-shade situation. Thinning is not a one time procedure; it will need to be repeated as trees grow. The same process can be used on large shade-casting shrubs. Some shrubs can be pruned into a tree form thus allowing more light to plants growing near their base.Tree Roots
Trees differ in the number and depth of their roots. Maples, for example, have numerous shallow roots which makes digging, planting, or growing plants under them difficult. While tilling, creating raised beds, and root pruning are methods to cope with tree roots, these methods can lead to the decline or even death of the tree. The worst location for starting a raised bed is at the base of a tree; the additional soil can lead to decay organisms attacking the trunk or the main roots that support the tree. These methods are temporary at best since tree roots will grow into the newly amended soil or raised beds. In order to protect the tree, limit tilling and the addition of topsoil to a small percentage of the total root system. Dig individual holes for shrubs and flowers instead of preparing beds. Filling around trees with compost, bark, and sandy loam for a raised bed is another option — provided it is done in moderation.