Beware of Storm Damaged Trees

This past weekend Northeast Tennessee as well as most of the coastal eastern U.S. was hit by heavy snow, 7 inches and more of heavy, wet clinging snow. Many of my neighbors lost electric power, telephone and cable.
A driveby survey of tree damage around the neighborhood found that the following tree species suffered the most breakage (in order of severity):

• Chinese (Siberian) elm
• Silver maple
• White pine
• Weeping cherry (pictured)
• Topped trees
• Bradford (callery) pear
• Red maple
• Dead or dying trees
• Sycamore (London planetree)
• Southern magnolia
• Sweetbay magnolia
• Yoshino cherry
• Dogwood

The type of injury ranged from large falling limbs two inches or more in diameter (Chinese elm, white pine, and silver and red maples) to many small branches less than one inch diameter (weeping cherry. magnolias and dogwoods).

Lessons learned:

1. Select a tree species that is reliably storm resistant. Expect some limb breakage on any tree species, but fast growing trees like Chinese elms and silver and red maples, and those that are not properly maintained, suffer the most damage. When homeowners properly prune landscape trees every 5 years, storm damage is considerably less.
2. Old mature trees, which have outlived their expected life span, should be removed and replanted with younger specimens. For example, Chinese elm, silver maple and white pine reach full maturity within 40 years. Bradford pear has a short replacement time of 15 years. Pruning maintenance on all landscape trees should be every 5-7 years.
3. Topped trees suffered considerable limb losses as the weakened re-growth is exceptionally susceptible to breakage. The topping of trees is never a recommended practice. In my opinion, if a large tree threatens your home, personal property or utility lines, either seek care advice from a professional arborist or have the tree removed by a licensed and bonded arborist.
4. Previously dead or dying trees pose a bigger hazard during in a storm.

Smiling Pansy Faces

Success in blooming pansies and violas in the winter season depends on two key factors: date of fall planting and soil nutrition. If you live in USDA plant zone 6, pansies must be planted by October 15th, two weeks earlier in northerly zone 5, or two weeks later in zone 7. Early fall planting promotes faster and deeper rooting of plants before the cold weather arrives.

Pansies need feeding bi-monthly with 10-10-10 or equivalent fertilizer to achieve maximum bloom potential. Either organic-based or slow release fertilizers are good nutrition sources.

Other pansy ideas:

Offer plants a weekly drink of water if rainfall in your gardening area is low.

In the fall consider interplanting tulip or hyacinth bulbs among the pansies or violas.

Warm weather in mid-May will stretch pansies plants and look "worn out". It is time to plant summer annuals. Remove pansies and add them to the compost pile. Add finished compost to the flower bed before digging in summer annuals.

Baptisia - 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year

Baptisia (Baptisia spp.) is a long lived, low maintenance perennial. This American native thrives in rich well-drained soil under plenty of sunlight. Treat the roots as fragile and permit baptisia one year to establish itself. It will reward you for many years ahead.

Modern day cultivars are usually hybrids. Lovely spikes of purple (B. australis), lavender blue (B. minor), white (B. alba), bright yellow (B. sphaerocarpa) and bicolors appear in May or June and each species blooms for 4-5 weeks. Its blue-gray foliage and sturdy upright shrubby form are assets in the summer garden.

Baptisia is heat and drought tolerant and almost invincible to diseases and insects. Plants grown in partial shade may appear stretched or leggy, requiring some staking. Few flower spikes are produced in shady areas.

Surprise lily (Lycorus)

Surprise lily or resurrection flower (Lycorus radiata) should be ordered in January because of limited available supply. Divisions are shipped fresh dug in June for immediate planting. Flowers emerge in late July and August. Lycorus is long-lived garden perennials, hardy in USDA hardiness zones 6-b thru 9. In the past I have ordered mine from Brent and Becky's Bulbs on-line.

Dogwoods for Spring

More available in 2010 are 5 new disease resistant dogwood varieties from the University of Tennessee. Supply should be better than in past years, but order from your local garden center early before the spring sales rush.

Powdery mildew resistant varieties: 'Appalachian Snow' (pictured), 'Appalachian Blush' and 'Appalachian Mist'

Anthracnose resistant variety: 'Appalachian Spring'

Poet's laurel-great shade garden shrub

Alexandrian laurel or poet’s laurel (Danae racemosa) is a lovely 2-4 foot, low arching, evergreen shrub. It thrives in shady areas of the garden, spreading slowly from root suckers. Poet’s laurel stays in its intended place and does not overwhelm other plants around it. Tiny greenish-white flowers appear in late spring and are often overlooked. By early fall the ½- inch round berries turn bright orange-red and persist to year’s end. Poet’s laurel prefers a moist well-drained soil in the shade garden. You can cut its glossy waxy-green foliage for indoor floral arrangements.

Hardy Forms of Deodara Cedar

• 
  I am surprised by the increasing numbers of deodara cedars (Cedrus deodara) prospering in Zone 6-b and 7 gardens. Perhaps, deodara cedars are much hardier than once thought. The buzz at the recent American Conifer Regional meeting held in Richmond, VA is this list that I am posting here for you to try.
  
  Tree forms:
• 'Karl Fuchs'
• 'Shalimar'
• 'Eisregen'
• 'Eiswinter'
• 'Polar Ice'
  
  Shrub forms:
• 'Feelin Blue'
• 'Glacier Blue' (photo)
• 'Divinely Blue'
• 'Snow Sprite'
• 'Cream Puff'
• 'Aurea'
  

Deodara cedars grow in deep, moist, well-drained, acidic loams in full sun. D-cedars are intolerant of poorly drained wet soils. D-cedars are very drought tolerant once established. I urge providing some protection around young plants from drying winter winds until they become established after two years.