Punxsutawney Phil says... More Ice?

Not that I think anyone is surprised, but Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter. Happy Groundhog Day?

As a gardener, I appreciate the snow cover acting as a blanket for many of my plants, especially some of those funky new perennials in my trial garden. But the ice is a nightmare this year. From the ice dams on the roof to the low point where my driveway meets the street, the battle against ice has raged for several weeks now and I have clearly been losing.

So this brings me to Eco-friendly/Green ice melt options. Do they exist? Do they work? Are they truly eco-friendly? I did a little on-line reading over the weekend, and gleaned a bit of information if not knowledge.
I found 3 products which seem to be the most promising (I am not endorsing anything here, just blogging!) but I would love to hear back from others on this as well.

1) Safe Paw by Gaia Enterprises – This seems to be the easiest to find, sold in some grocery and pet stores. There is no salt used, although I am still unclear as to the active ingredients (crystalline amide core infused with special glycols is the most detail I could get). And it claims to work in temps a couple degrees below 0.
2) Environmelt by Kissner – The active ingredient on this product is the chemical compound CMA (calcium magnesium acetate), which is purported to be non-corrosive, safe to use and biodegradable, but it also seems to be the most expensive.
3) IceClear – A liquid preventative, so it is best applied before the storm, with any spray equipment (Hort oil or fertilizer pumps seems to fit the bill). It’s compound is “potassium carboxaylates, carbo-hydrates and a corrosive inhibitor” effective to -50’F.

As always buyer beware, but seems to me that steering away from salt or salt-based products is the important first step. The next step is determining your need for your situation and then using only what you need. Remember too much fertilizer can burn or even kill plants, and fertilizer is a common substitute for salt in ice melt. And after all is said and done, I am still not sure of the cumulative effects of any of these products have on ground water or fish populations. But I’d love to hear!

A garden is a place, not an object.

Years ago when I used to teach classes at the Dedham Community House this was one of the hardest ideas to teach because we were all sitting in a class room either looking at slides, books or playing with little pieces of tracing paper. But every now and then a student would bring in a picture (or series of pictures) which showed space, usually back yard space and I would doodle a little something on the trace over those pictures and their eyes would light up and they would understand and see the potential of how their space could become the outdoor room of their dreams.

Historically the word garden referred to a place outside, like your yard or a portion of your yard. But unfortunately we have all become so micro-focused that we have reduced ‘garden’ to a thing – like a perennial bed or a planting of annuals. It reminds me of a cell phone ad campaign ‘Micro Man’ (a few years ago) where the people are so focused on details they missed all the funny things happening around them. Until this miraculous phone shows them the big picture. It is the same in the garden, you need to step away from the things and take a wider view and see the space. Don’t focus on that one azalea that keeps dying or that one patch of grass under your Maple tree which is always brown, step back further and look at your whole garden – do you have a garden or has your yard been reduced to a thing?

You need to walk into a garden to experience it, like your living room, or wherever you go to enjoy a cup of coffee or read a book or play with your kids or whatever activity brings you joy. Then you have a garden. A three-dimensional space, which draws you out of your home and helps to reconnect you with the world outside your kitchen door. 

Tree removal = New Opportunities

Despite the bitter cold this week, work in the landscape goes on. Tree work. On this property we had a situation where a dozen Red Pines (Pinus resinosa) had been in decline for years and removed them to contain the spread of the Diplodia tip blight. They had been under an arborists care for several years, trying to manage the disease but we lost this fight, and decided to remove these trees to stop the spread to neighboring Pine species.

The upside to tree removal is new opportunities. First, there is a big gap after removing 12 trees, lots of potential for new plantings! And we have the winter to consider rethink and redesign that area. Second, making adjustments in the landscape. For instance, in one section a Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) had been crowded out, caught between 3 Pines and a couple Rhododendrons, this constrained growing area had started to malform the trees shape (see image below). The tree has not shown signs of Dogwood Anthracnose and is otherwise in great health. I am so excited to see how it responds to its new openness and more sunlight and should start to balance out its shape quickly.

Anyone interested in learning more about Diplodia Tip Blight (Spaeropsis sapinea) or Dogwood Anthracnose (Discula destructive), the Cornel University website has very readable and helpful “Fact Sheets” including photos to help id symptoms and of course suggestions for treatment strategies. Link Here: http://plantclinic.cornell.edu

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." --Greek proverb

November's Orchids

As the New England weather turns cold and our landscapes go dormant, the insatiable gardener turns indoors for our fix. And where better to inhale the scent of humus soil and dripping perfumed flowers than the Boston Flower Market. If you are not in the trade get a friend to take you, because with the New England Flower Show having closed, it promises to be a long winter unless you have frequent flier miles and lots of friends down south to visit.

This week the Orchids were in awesome display! Waves of elegant white blooms, which were truly breathtaking. But in just another week or two the display will be entirely Christmas, from Boxwood trees to Pointsettias and Amaryllis. 

The Right Plant for the Right Place

The Right plant for the Right place. No one plant will be happy in every location, there are some plants, which seem to survive anywhere, but even a daylily has its limits.  

The key is plant culture – the closer you get to putting a plant in its ideal location the happier and more stress tolerant it will be. Conversely a stressed out plant (one who is struggling to survive) may throw in the towel after a tough year like last summer and winter. Just like humans – if things are going well in our lives and we are happy a traffic ticket may catch us off guard but we can take it in stride. If we are having a bad week – boss yelled at you, kids lost their third sweater in 2 weeks and your husband forgot about the Momma Maria tickets and scheduled and important business meeting out of town. Then when you get pulled over for speeding, you just may start to cry for real.

1) Site analysis – What are the different areas of your yard? Full sun, part shade, slope, exposed or protected, infertile soil, etc. Knowing this first helps you to select the “Right plant for the Right place”.

2) Culture of plant – magic formula. What does the plant prefer? Acid or more neutral soil? Full sun, sun, light shade, part shade, and full shade? Moist, well-drained, sandy or infertile soils? Hardiness Zone (heat and cold tolerance)? Try to stick to the ‘does best in’ criteria as much as possible – if you can’t find an exact match, pick 3 out of 4.

3) Correct planting procedures – For Shrubs and Trees - Start by digging the hole 3 times the width of the plant’s root ball but no deeper. Digging the hole deeper than root ball can result in the plant being too deep due to settling. Be sure to expose the tree flare to determine proper depth, the flare is where the trunk or branching stops and the roots begin. Backfilling the hole should be done with existing surrounding soil not peat moss or other soil amendments.

4) Water efficiently - Do you have plants that are never happy? Review their culture maybe they would be happy somewhere else or maybe you just need to try a different plant. Do you have an irrigation system? Do you get it checked annually? Is it set up to vary with the different water needs of different plants? (i.e. North side of house doesn’t need as much as south; trees and shrubs, once established, need less than lawn and Perennials). Remember too much water is often deadlier to plants than too little water.

March in the Garden

Winter lasted a little bit longer than Punxsutawney Phil predicted this year, but finally the ice is receding and the ground is beginning to thaw. And I suspect that spring will happen very quickly when it finally comes. So be prepared.

It is hard to tell to what extent the extreme cold and ice of the past month or so will have on our landscape plants. We may see some drying out and burning damage on broadleaf evergreens since the bitter cold set in before we had any protective snow cover, but we won’t see the full extent of this damage until the weather warms further. The solid ice cover over large expanses of lawn may create a problem…...  

The Hemlock Wooly Adelgid appears to have taken hold again and has been active all winter. This is the insect, which appears as a white cottony mass on the underside of Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis and Tsuga caroliniana) branches. If left untreated this non-native pest can kill even mature Hemlocks in as little as 3 years. Horticultural Oil spray and a systemic including Merit are the most popular treatments for this pest, but contact your arborist for more specific information on how to care for your trees. The Arnold Arboretum research study on this pest is expected to be completed this fall, this is the foremost study on this pest, which began in 1997. If you would like more information on this, check out their website: www.arboretum.harvard.edu/research/hemlock_hill.html

To help in your selection of a new or replacement tree, visit the Arnold Arboretum or Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Both locations accurately label their plant material and seeing trees, as mature specimens and seeing them ‘off-season’ will help you make an informed decision.

The New England Spring Flower Show opens Saturday, March 12 and runs through Sunday, March 20 at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston. This year the theme is ‘A Fresh Perspective’ for more information visit The Massachusetts Horticulture website at www.masshort.org.  

Q. When does season start for tapping Maples trees and how long does it last?

A. Great Question! And like most ‘crops’ harvesting depends on the weather. Last week when we had warmer days the sap of our Native Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum) started to flow, and tapping began in certain areas. According to the Maple specialists at UVM, the Vermont season is typically from March 1 to March 20 with optimal temperatures of 40 deg F during the day and 25 deg F at night. Vermont is well known for Maple Sugar production (or sugaring) but we have a number of Sugar Shacks here in Massachusetts as well. And many of these are open to the public for fun outings. For more information www.massmaple.org has listings of local activities and sugar shacks.

Questions for Cory?
Send to: Cory Landscape
PO Box 1059
Dedham, MA 02027

April in the Garden

We have had a few sunny days promising a glorious spring around the corner, the Crocuses, Chionodoxa, Galanthus and Scilla are in bloom and Magnolia buds are swelling. My fingers are itching to get into the garden and along with starting my spring clean up and I have been able to divide a few Crocuses and plant a few bulbs I kept cold (not freezing!) over the winter. If you were lucky enough to receive arrangement of potted, forced bulbs (like Grape Hyacinths or Daffodils) you can transplant them into your garden after the blooms have passed, for a perennial show next spring. Be careful if your soil or lawn is still wet, too much traffic on a wet lawn can cause compaction and reduce oxygen to the plant roots with adverse effects later in the season.

The Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) appears to have taken hold again and has been active all winter. This is the insect, which appears as a white cottony mass on the underside of Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis and Tsuga caroliniana) branches. There is finally some good news in the area of a biological control for HWA a scientist in the Canadian Forest service has identified a beetle, Laricobus nigrinus, which feeds on HWA, research and testing is underway. For more information check out this website: www.invasive.org/hwa/laricobus.cfm Please note - if you have infected Hemlocks, and are currently treating them do not stop. This beetle is great news for the future, but HWA can still kill a mature tree in 3 to 7 years if untreated. Horticultural Oil is a topical treatment which can be applied this month when temperatures are at least 45’ F (and not freezing for 48 hours after application) also Imidacloprid is a systemic which can be injected into the soil or tree trunk but severely damaged trees may not be able to transport the pesticide to the infected areas in this case tree removal or Hort oil is the best solution.

Winter Moth this pest is my other nemesis, and early indications are that the insect was actively breeding over the winter and the “little green caterpillars” may be out again in force this spring. Check fruit trees Crabs, Cherries, etc. for caterpillars and other pests. If you noticed a lot of moths flying around outside in November and December that was probably the cankerworm moth and the caterpillars usually start to feed on tree and shrub buds just about now. Can treat with horticultural oils or consider hiring a certified arborist.

Apply pre-emergent crabgrass killers to your existing lawn now. This stops the annual weed seeds from germinating (starting to grow). The grass we want in our lawns is a perennial (comes back every year) and the existing lawn grass won’t be effected by the pre-emergent.
Begin removing mulch from your perennial beds, and gently cut back any remaining perennial husks, you may be surprised at how many new sprouts are starting already. Also check the depth of landscape mulch, the optimum depth should be 2” to 3” deep and should not touch or cover any plant leaves, branches or trunks. Improper application of mulch can be very damaging to plants.

Remove stakes, tree wraps and guy wires from trees planted last fall. They can pose long-term problems for trees if left on too long.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in ‘Questions for Cory’, keep those great questions coming. I will try my best to answer those questions here. This question is a repeat from 2 years ago, but it is still a hot topic here in Dedham.

Q. I have a real problem with Skunks digging up my lawn, how can I get rid of the problem without dumping a lot of chemicals on my lawn?

A. Skunks, moles and voles love to eat white grubs (many of which are Japanese beetle larvae), which are feeding off your grass roots before they change into beetles and eat the rest of your garden plants. Your best non-toxic defense in this case is multi-staged. For March to May, The Mass Audubon Society recommends loosely placing fruit netting over the lawn areas under attack by the skunks, birds and mammals don’t like walking across the netting and are therefore discouraged. In the summer when the beetles are on the attack if you keep their numbers down they will produce fewer offspring. Trapping, hand picking, and even vacuuming the beetles can do this, as can encouraging their natural enemies (such as nematodes, cardinals and Spring Tiphia). In late summer and early fall keep your lawn grass longer (and soil temperature cooler), several studies have shown that the shadier cooler areas are less attractive to the grubs. And finally there is Milky Spore Disease (Bacillus popilliae) a bacteria like Bt mentioned earlier, which attacks only white grubs and is harmless to the beneficial insects in your yard, humans, mammals, birds, etc.

Questions for Cory?
Send to: Cory Landscape
PO Box 1059
Dedham, MA 02027