By Master Gardener Volunteer Lesley Arrandale
mail@floridanewsline.com
In early February, I noticed some neighbors out pruning their crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica). While they aren’t my favorite group of plants, there is no doubt that they can find a place in many southern landscapes. From their beautiful flowers in colors from white through pink and pale mauve, to deep cherry red, and their varied sizes from small shrubs to mid-size trees, it can be argued that there is a crape myrtle for any yard. Do your research and you could find a crape myrtle the exact color and size to suit your landscape.
I was spurred to write about them when I saw one gardener taking great care in pruning his mid-size crape myrtles. If you need to prune a crape myrtle please take the advice in this article: http://tinyurl.com/2ej5jvdm. It shouldn’t be a quick cut over with electric shears, but a considered trim with suitable pruning tools like clippers and loppers. Minimize pruning to correct structural problems like rubbing branches, but if you have a plant that was badly pruned in the past, you can prune it more aggressively to encourage a more attractive growth pattern, although it might take a few years to show the results.
There are some lovely flowering trees around town. Redbud (Cercis canadensis) and red maple (Acer rubrum) are standouts. Our native plums, chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) and flatwoods plum (Prunus umbellata), which doesn’t tend to sucker, cover themselves with many delicate small white flowers. All these trees attract early bees and enable honeybees to begin replenishing their hives and solitary bees to build up their strength after emerging as adults. A little later, fringe trees (Chionanthus virginicus) bloom copiously before they leaf out, with bright white “tassels” of flowers. Female trees can produce many small black fruits (drupes) that are attractive to birds. It’s still a good time of year to plant shrubs and trees, so why not consider some of our native trees and shrubs (http://tinyurl.com/5n76mzz6).
Although dogwoods (Cornus florida) are beloved in the panhandle and north central Florida, climate and soil conditions are not ideal here in northeast Florida. Dogwoods easily fall prey to problems like powdery mildew and twig borers, which makes them a poor choice. Much of Duval County along the St. Johns River and east to the ocean is now in Zone 9b because of rising temperatures, so if you have an ailing dogwood tree it is probably time to remove it.
Larry Figart, our Extension Urban Forestry Agent, confirmed that the following advice would be useful to homeowners who are contemplating replacing a tree. And the city tree planting program is still available.
- Choose a tree that isn’t susceptible to the disease that may have killed the tree. This is especially important for mushroom root rot (armillaria). If your tree turned brown almost overnight, examine the trunk behind the bark, just above the soil line. A fine white lacy mycelium is indicative of this fungus.
- Don’t plant directly on top of a ground stump but choose a place two or three yards away from the root flare.
- Remove as many old roots as possible as well as any sawdust. The sawdust or stump grindings can be composted but only if the heap is managed well and generates heat. Layer brown and green material, keep it moist not wet, and turn it regularly (http://tinyurl.com/2s484xp2).
- If the ground is uneven, bring in good quality topsoil and incorporate it widely in and around the new planting area. Leave it to settle, without compacting the area.
- If the new tree is to be planted in the right of way, consider taking advantage of the City of Jacksonville’s free tree planting program: http://tinyurl.com/3stjbb33.
- If you are going to plant the tree yourself, go check out http://tinyurl.com/2t4uv3y3 for more information.
Spring is historically a drier season here, so take particular care to water any new plantings appropriately, especially woody shrubs and trees, which can be pricey investments. Make sure to mulch correctly — no “volcano” mulching please! Mulch heaped up around tree trunks just invites fungal diseases, so when replenishing mulch in established beds and around trees, always keep it away from the actual plants it’s intended to protect. For information about different types of mulch see http://tinyurl.com/4e39hcyz.
The next “New Leaf – Yard & Garden” newsletter will be out in early March (http://tinyurl.com/mw59am22). Don’t forget to check it out.
Photo courtesy Lesley Arrandale
Flatwoods plum blossom
