 March 17, 2021 Pruning Spring Blooming Plants I’ve been working as hard as I can to get caught up with my winter pruning jobs. Unfortunately, I got behind because of the snow, ice, and rain. If you are still waiting for me to prune your landscape ornamentals or fruit trees, I hope to be caught up within the next couple of weeks…weather permitting! I prefer to do my pruning while the plant is dormant and leafless; this way, I can see the branch structure and make selected cuts. However, it does not hurt the plant if I prune these plants after they are done blooming. In fact, many gardeners prefer to wait until spring-blooming plants, like crabapples and cherries, have completed blooming before pruning. This way, they get to enjoy the flower show before removing any of the bud-heavy branches. If you have ornamentals that need to be pruned, please contact me and get on my waiting list.  17-Year Cicadas Due to Emerge This Year This year we are due to see the emergence of Brood X of the 17-year cicada. These “periodic cicadas” are some of the most fascinating insects in the world. They spend 16 years underground as larvae, feeding on the sap of tree roots. In May and June, these cicadas emerge by the millions to mate and start their life-cycle all over again. The adult cicadas do not feed on trees or shrubs. They can cause some damage by the females laying their eggs into the twigs of trees. The most troublesome aspect of a cicada emergence is the incessant whining sound of the males as they call to females for mating. In areas with large emergences, this sound can be nearly deafening. Brood X of the periodic cicada is supposedly found throughout Indiana, with the emergence being heaviest in south-central Indiana. Through my years in Extension, I kept good records on where people called in to report cicada emergences in southwestern Indiana: according to my records, the last time Brood X emerged in 2004, I only had reports in some isolated spots of western Vanderburgh County and eastern Posey County. I expect that to be repeated this year; if you see or hear cicadas emerge this spring, please send me an email so I can update my records. There is no need to try to control cicadas. Again, the adults are not feeding, so insecticides will have little to no effect on them. My only advice would be to try to protect young, recently planted trees. The best way would be to cover them mesh screen, with openings less than 1/2 inch, which will prevent the adult females from laying their eggs on the twigs. For more information on periodic cicadas, including some pictures of the adults and the egg-laying injury, please check out this article from Purdue: https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-47.pdf. Some other good sites include Cicada Mania (https://www.cicadamania.com/) and the University of Connecticut (https://cicadas.uconn.edu/).  Pre-Emergent Weed Control Many annual weeds begin germinating in the spring. These weeds can become nuisances or outright probelms in lawns, gardens, and landscape beds. Some of the most troublesome annual weeds include crabgrass, chickweed, knotweed, and prostrate spurge. There are several very effective methods of keeping annual weeds from becoming a problem. The most environmentally friendly method is to use mulch in garden and landscape beds. A two- to four-inch mulch layer will prevent weed seeds from germinating from the soil and reaching the sunlight. Unfortunately, mulching does not control perennial weeds, like Bermudagrass and wild garlic, since they are regrowing from roots, rhizomes, and other underground plant structures. Mulching also doesn’t work in turfgrass lawns. Another option is to use a pre-emergent herbicide. This type of chemical weed control is meant to be applied BEFORE the weed seed germinates and emerges from the soil. There are numerous such products, marketed as “crabgrass preventers,” for lawn situations. For garden and landscape beds, one of the most common and effective pre-emergent herbicides is trifluralin, marketed as Preen to home gardeners. Preen can be used in a wide range of vegetable and flower gardens, especially if you are planting from transplants. Be sure to read and follow all label directions; these chemicals cannot tell the difference between weed seeds and crop seeds. Pre-emergent herbicides do not work against perennial weeds. Again, these weeds are regenerating from underground plant structures, and not from seeds. The most important concept in using pre-emergent herbicides is to apply them and water them in before the weed seeds germinate. We are already way too late to use these products against annual bluegrass, henbit, and chickweed, which have already been up and growing for a couple of months. However, for weeds like crabgrass and other warm-season annual weeds, we can use these products for another few weeks and still get excellent control. Crabgrass, for example, tends to germinate at about the same time that forsythia shrubs bloom, so as long as you can apply the product before that happens, you’ll get good control.  Tree Appraisals and Risk Assessments I have been commenting in numerous recent newsletters about upcoming construction in the tri-state, both for road-widening and utility work. In northern Vanderburgh County, road-widening has already begun to close off certain main roads. If you have been notified about such work coming to your property, please be advised that the developers and utility managers do not have the same love and respect for trees that you property owners do. I have performed numerous appraisals for landowners, who notified me that the project managers were “graciously” offering about $100 for each tree they were going to tear down. When I performed my appraisal, many of these same trees were each worth between $1000 to $4000. If you want to get a fair offer for your trees, you need to have a Certified Arborist, such as myself, perform a landscape tree appraisal. The local electric company in the Evansville area has sent crews out to northern Vanderburgh County to clear trees from around the power lines. I’ve always tried to be fair with these crews; often, the work they do seems extreme, but is actually being performed to industry standards. However, this winter’s cycle is a little different. I have seen in my own neighborhood some of the most outrageous tree butchery I have ever seen. Much of this does not follow any industry standards, and has ruined these trees. Now, granted, since these trees WERE planted in the utility right-of-way, that’s considered a functional limitation which greatly reduces the value of the tree. However, if your trees have been butchered, you should be able to get an appraisal that will at least cover the remove of these trees, and possibly the purchase of replacement plants. Another service that I offer, which I’ve written about previously, are Tree Risk Assessments. These are performed when a customer is worried about the safety of their tree, or of their neighbor’s tree. Large trees, while valuable, can also cause severe damage to property and people if they fail. In February, we had ice and snow storms, which caused some significant limb breakage. Some of these branches may pose a safety risk. These trees should be examined by me now, before the leaves come out, so I can see the defects. Another safety concern is trees falling over. Trees with compromised roots may blow over during a storm. This is quite common in urban areas, where natural root spread is hindered by roads, houses, and driveways. Add to this that long periods of saturated soil make the tree less stable in the ground. The rain and snow melt in February, plus the batches of heavy rain we are experiencing now, are making the ground soft and soupy. If we get a wind storm during these moist periods, some trees could be uprooted. There are certain things I look for to see if this is an imminent concern, including soil heaving up on one side of the tree, increased leans, and so forth. If you are suspicious of whether a tree is safe or not, please contact me as soon as possible.  I’m Here to Help!If you have questions or wish to have me visit your property, please contact me! Phone and Text Messages: 812-449-7067 Email: Larry@CaplanTree.com Copyright © 2020 Caplan’s Tree & Landscape Consulting, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Larry@CaplanTree.com |
March 17, 2021 Newsletter
March 17, 2021