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January 7: Pruning Trees
January 14: Master Gardener Home Gardener Series
January 21: Poinsettias - Relatively Easy Houseplant
January 28: Details About EAB - Not Good News
January 7: Pruning Trees
Another great question came my way from Tim Bucey, who not only is a News-Sun reporter but also is an avid gardener.His question was a multi-pronged one about pruning. The first part was "how often should your have your trees trimmed?"
Initially, I gave my standard horticulture answer: "it depends." I frequently answer questions this way because there usually are so many variables involved.
The rest of the answer begins with it depends upon the tree species. Some trees grow faster (silver maple) than others (most oaks). The faster growing the tree is, the more often it needs pruning.
Next, it depends upon the treeıs location. Large trees, for instance, planted in a small, tight spot probably require more frequent pruning. It also depends upon the species of tree and how it was cared for in its early stages. Itıs a good idea to prune young trees almost yearly to get their structure established.
This doesnıt mean that you never have to prune it, but it will reduce the amount of pruning thatıs required as the tree ages.
The overall health of the tree also comes into play as does Mother Nature (storms, wind damage, etc.).
Another important factor is how itıs been pruned earlier. If a treeıs been topped, it might have to be pruned more often. If itıs been properly pruned, it may have to be pruned only once.
Given the right species planted in the right location, a tree may never have to be pruned. Iıve seen some baldcypress, gingko, and dawn redwood trees grow to maturity never having been pruned.
You can see that thereıs no easy answer to this question. I can say this, however: after a tree reaches maturity (given some of the above factors), it may have to be pruned only once every five to 10 years.
This leads to the next question: "what do you look for when searching for someone to do this (prune)?"
I recommend that you look for an arborist who has International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certification, which requires arboriculture knowledge and skills.
We have a great fact sheet available on "How to Hire an Arborist" ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1032.html. One of the sheetıs recommendation is to see the trees that the service has pruned so ask for references.
Tim also asked about the best time to prune. In most cases, itıs in the later winter or early spring. I prefer February and March. Do it before the trees leaf out because itıs easier to see the branching structure.
His final question centered around pruning pines and other evergreens. Youıll be glad to know that thereıs a specific answer.
Pines should be pruned in the spring when the new growth expands. The new growth is referred to as "candles" and the "candles" can be cut in half to make the plant bushier.
Spruces, arborvitaes, boxwood and other evergreens can be pruned in late winter along with other plants.
January 14: Master Gardener Home Gardener Series
Itıs time for the annual Master Gardener Home Gardener Series and your chance to brush up on gardening techniques.Weıve developed an educational program to help you make sense of your garden and landscape by using an integrated approach.
The first class will focus on landscape design basics. Iıll be teaching "When Inspiration Becomes a Plan." Iıll tell you where to start your design and how to lay out your landscape "canvas." Come to class with your ideas in mind.
Next, landscaping expert Terry Fredrich of Habitat Creations of Ohio Inc., a local landscape company, will teach "Laying the Framework." His focus will be trees and shrubs that provide the form, foliage and flowers to paint your landscapeıs structural foundations.
Fredrich will discuss his favorite trees and shrubs and will provide effective uses for them in your garden and landscape.
Carolyn Allen, a Clark County master gardener, and I will follow up with "Beyond the Color Wheel." This class will focus on perennials.
Starting with basics perennial design, we will show how to use a chart to make sense of perennial bloom times, heights, textures and more. Also, youıll learn the best plant combinations to create the most pleasing "painting" of perennials.
Jamee Nirider of Scarffıs Nursery and Landscape, an extraordinary plantsman, will talk about "Brushstrokes: Creating Movement." His focus will be ornamental grasses and heıll show how they add extra punch and pizzazz to the landscape. Niriderıs love of grasses will challenge us to move from "coloring books" and pictures to "canvas."
No landscape is complete without accent plants, such as roses, annuals, fruits and vegetables. Learn about the shading, highlights and accessories that make your landscape "painting" complete. Fredrich, Allen and Master Gardener volunteer Fred Rufener will share their talents in those areas in a program titled "Still Life and Vignette."
The final class, "Conserving Your 'Work of Art,'" will feature Terry and I and a panel of "artists" who will address your landscape questions. Participants in the first five classes will submit questions that will be answered in the last class.
The classes will be offered Feb. 14, 21 and 28, and March 14, 21 and 28. Theyıll be held at Wittenberg Universityıs Shouvlin Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Participants can attend the entire series, which includes a pruning class, or take each class individually.
The entire series of seven classes costs $90; individual classes are $15 each. At the door, individual classes will cost $20. You should call 328-4607 to see if space is available because seating is limited.
The hands-on pruning workshop will be on April 1 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Clark County Extension office.
Check out our Web site for a registration form; go to clark.osu.edu and click on workshops and classes.
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County Ohio State University ExtensionJanuary 21: Poinsettias - Relatively Easy Houseplant
Iıve seen some nice poinsettias in the past week or two. They look great and
add a splash of color in the house and may do so for another month or
more.
Poinsettias are relatively easy to keep as a houseplant. After they finish
blooming (or when the red or any other color bracts begin to fade and drop
off), cut them off.
The bloom is the plantıs center portion and it sometimes fades before the
bracts. When cutting off the bloom, cut below the bracts to the next leaf.
Put the poinsettia in a sunny window and care for it as you would a normal
houseplant. They are attractive plants even without the flowers.
Around late February or early March, cut the plant back to about six inches
to encourage new growth and additional branching. Begin fertilizing in late
March.
In the summer, you can take it outside and place it in a shady area of the
garden. Take care of it as a normal perennial. They can get lush in the
garden.
If your poinsettia is getting too tall and lanky, pinch out the growing
shoots back to about three sets of healthy leaves to encourage branching.
Do this as often as needed to get a full plant. Stop pinching around
mid-August.
In the fall, before the temperatures regularly fall to 50 to 60 degrees at
night, bring the plant indoors to the sunniest window.
When you bring the plant indoors, reduce the fertilizer because growth is
slower than when itıs outside.
Now comes the hard part: trying to get it to bloom again. Up to this point,
itıs been easy to take care of them. Coaxing them to bloom again is a
challenge, however.
Flowering in poinsettias is "photoperiodically" induced or when days reach a
certain length and, more importantly, when nights are longer. Without long
nights, the plant continues to grow foliage but wonıt set flowers.
For poinsettias to set flower, they require short days and long nights. To
get poinsettias to bloom around the holiday, youıll have to make them
"think" theyıre getting long nights.
The standard recommendation is to put them in a dark closet overnight. This
is not practical, however. Itıs easier if you find a heavy paper bag (thatıs
big enough), an opaque black cloth, or something thatıs light-tight to cover
the plant overnight.
If you go the closet route, donıt open the door at any time during the night
because the slightest exposure to light interrupts or prevents the plant
from flowering.
Whatever method you choose, you must have uninterrupted darkness from at
least 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. On top of this, you have to do this from September to
when the bracts start to color. This treatment might have to go until
mid-December.
Flower buds may form earlier, but you must continue with the darkness until
the bracts (color) almost fully develop.
During the day, give the plant as much light as possible. Iıve had people
tell me that they forget to uncover them during the day.
Night temperatures should be between 50 and 70 degrees. High night
temperatures also may delay flowering.
That said, I donıt want to sound like Iım discouraging anyone from doing
this. Itıs the kind of challenge that if youıre successful, you have
achieved something.
January 28: Details About
EAB - Not Good News
Most gardeners have heard about the dreaded pest, the emerald ash borer
(EAB). I attended a conference this past week and learned more details about
this pest and itıs not good news.
First of all, the EAB is an insect that was found in the Detroit area about
four years ago. Since then, it has killed all ash trees in the area and has
expanded its infestation zone.
The emerald green borer feeds on the cambium of ash trees, all species,
healthy or stressed, and eventually kills the tree.
It is suspected that the EAB was in the Detroit area for at least 10 years
before it was discovered.
It has moved into northwest Ohio and is slowly spreading through this area.
There have been infestations in Franklin and Delaware counties as well.
These have been eradicated.
This pest is quite significant and we are likely witnessing history. Those
of you old enough to remember the beautiful American chestnuts that used to
grace our landscape also might remember the chestnut blight.
This blight devastated the natural and urban forest of American chestnuts.
Today, you would be hard-pressed to find one.
The EAB is likely to have this type of impact it could wipe out all ash
species in the country.
In the last couple of years, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has
focused on an eradication program in Ohio, in an attempt to keep this pest
out of Ohio and from spreading across the country.
The eradication program consists of removing all ash trees within a quarter
mile of any known infestation. Those infestations in Franklin and Delaware
county were eliminated in this manner. The idea is to remove all food
sources for the insect in order to prevent its natural spread.
Recently, however, Gov. Bob Taft asked the federal government for $50
million to assist in these efforts and Congress only allotted $10 million.
This money is not enough, therefore, ODA has determined that they will
continue the eradication efforts in other areas of the state but eliminate
eradication efforts in the quarantined areas in northwest Ohio.
Dr. Dan Herms, one of my good friends and colleagues who is right in the
heart of battle and research on this pest, noted that the insect likely will
continue to spread.
When asked how long it will take to kill ash trees in Ohio, he speculated
that it might take around 20 years.
It really is pretty devastating to think that we might lose all of our ash
trees in Ohio. Ash is one of the major trees in Ohio; it is estimated that
Ohio has 3.8 billion ash trees with a timber value of more than $1 billion.
This doesnıt include the impact to the nurseries with ash trees in stock.
There is a product that one can use to treat ash trees called imidacloprid.
However, this has not shown 100 percent efficacy in killing the pest.
What can we do? First of all, be vigilant about bringing firewood into
Ohio. Human beings will spread this pest faster through moving wood than by
the natural spread.
Revised --
January 2006
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