What's in this Issue:

#2 Lynne's Backyard Gardening Tips

#3 New Gardening Product of-the-Month

#4 Odd & Strange Gardening News

#5 Great Plant of the Month

#6 Invasive Plant of-the-Month

#7 Garden Pest of-the-Month

#8 Plant Disease

#9 Feedback - Anonymous

Planting Trees

Choosing the correct tree for your situation is the first step. Look at the area you want to plant your tree and consider these aspects:

* How large of a tree do you ultimately want

* What is the soil like in regard to soil pH and drainage?

* How much sunlight is there for the tree especially when smaller if next to larger trees?

* What climate zone do you live in?

* Do you want an evergreen to provide privacy or not?

* How fast do you ant your tree to grow?

* Do you want to plant flowers or other plants in the future around or nearby? The reason for this question is to determine the amount of shade produced.

An experienced nurseryman can help you narrow your choices down and give you hints on planting that tree in your particular region.

The very best time to plant a tree is during its dormant season which is usually early spring before bud break or in the fall after leaves have dropped. NOTE: Trees that have been properly cared for in garden centers or a nursery can be planted any time during the growing season but extra care will be needed.

The most common mistake when planting a tree is to dig a hole that is either too deep or too narrow. Too deep and the roots don’t have access to sufficient oxygen to ensure proper growth. Too narrow and the root structure can’t expand sufficiently to nourish and properly anchor the tree.

As a rule, trees should be transplanted no deeper than the soil in which they were originally grown. The width of the hole should be at least 3 times the diameter of the root ball or container or the spread of the roots in the case of bare root trees. This will provide the tree with enough worked earth for its root structure to establish itself.

When digging in poorly drained clay soil, it is important to avoid ‘glazing’. Glazing occurs when the sides and bottom of a hole become smoothed forming a barrier, through which water has difficulty passing. To break up the glaze, use a fork to work the bottom and drag the points along the sides of the completed hole. Also, raising the bottom of the hole slightly higher than the surrounding area. This allows water to disperse, reducing the possibility of water pooling in the planting zone.

Your final step is to mulch. Add two to four inches around the base of the tree, but not against the trunk. Make a doughnut, not a mound. Mounding mulch around the trunk and covering the root flare inhibits gas exchange and can cause disease and decay of the living bark at the base of the tree.

Brown Bats

Sometimes people worry when they see bats and fear bites and rabies. While that is possible, it is exceptionally rare. Only 10 people in the USA and Canada in the past 40 plus years have developed rabies. This is less than the number of people who die each year from dog bites.

Brown bats are about 3-1/2 inches long, have a 10 inch wingspan, and weigh only ¼ of an ounce. Such a small thing considering the large volume of pesky insects including mosquitoes they consume each night.

Bats gather in hollow trees, loose bark on trees, rock crevices, buildings, and anywhere where there is protection. This also includes shutters, under shingles, and the eaves of buildings. There are bat homes available for purchase and they mimic circumstances bats love.

Rabbit Scram

Rabbit Scram rabbit repellent is different because Rabbit Scram is more than just another offensive scent or unpleasant taste to foraging rabbits. Blended from selected organic and natural components, Rabbit Scram rabbit repellant is sniffed off the ground by foraging rabbits before they enter your gardens.

Rabbit Scram is guaranteed to keep rabbits off your plantings because, through their uncanny sense of smell with their nose on the ground, it convinces rabbits that harm is nearby.

Rabbit Scram will change rabbit behavior. As they near the applied barrier of Rabbit Scram, rabbits actually alert to a sense of danger – even death! Rabbit Scram's unique scent of death reaches the rabbit and triggers a genetic biological defense mechanism to flee from predators.

Regular application of Rabbit Scram rabbit repellant creates a barrier -- 24 hours a day! – that rabbits will not cross to reach your plants. And Rabbit Scram’s granular application won't wash off with rain as many spray repellents do.

Rabbit Scram is ...

Granular ... No mixing or spraying!

All Natural ... It's organic!

A Perimeter Barrier ... Sprinkle a protective strip around your plants and beds rather than spraying repellent on leaves, flowers and vegetables!

Rain Resistant! ... Rabbit Scram won't wash off or dissolve in water. Rabbit Scram Lasts up to 45 days!

Not Offensive! ... Rabbit Scram doesn't smell terrible like many
Click to read Full Article...

Strangler Figs

Strangler figs are tall canopy trees which can grow to 148 feet in height. The manner in which they reach the canopy is a strange story. The forest floor of a rainforest is a difficult place for seedlings to grow. There is little light and a lot of competition for water and nutrients.

Strangler figs have made an adaptation to avoid these difficulties. Unlike most plants, strangler figs start out their lives as epiphytes in the crook of a tree or on its branches. Tiny, sticky seeds are deposited high in a tree by animal droppings. The seeds are not affected by the animal's digestive tract and soon germinate.

The strangler fig has an aggressive growth habit that insures its survival in the rainforest. The seedlings grows slowly at first, getting their nutrients from the sun, rain and leaf litter that has collected on the host. The stranglers send out many thin roots that snake down the trunk of the host tree or dangle as aerial roots from its branches.

When the roots reach the ground they dig in and put on a growth spurt, competing with the host tree for water and nutrients. They also send out a network of roots that encircle the host tree and fuse together. As the roots grow thicker they squeeze the trunk of its host and cut off its flow of nutrients.

In the canopy the strangler fig puts out lots of leaves that soon grow thicker than the host tree and rob it of sun light. Eventually the host dies from strangulation, insufficient sunlight and root competition, and the strangler fig stands on its own. A hollow center is all that remains of the host.

Sweet Woodruff

• Great Groundcover
• A Herb
• A perennial
• 6-12 inches in height
• Hardy to zones 4-9
• Good in sun or partial shade
• Can be invasive
• Flowers are very fragrant
• Blooms white flowers
• Blooms late spring to early summer
• Soil pH from acidic to neutral
• Moist but well drained soil

Sweet Woodruff will take over a perennial bed quickly unless confined by pots or tiles buried in the garden soil. However, if you want a beautiful under planting for your shady shrubs, this is the plant for you.

This plant has also long been used as an insect repellent, and it was scattered in sick rooms and root cellars to keep the air smelling sweet.

Giant Hogweed

Giant Hogweed is a phototoxic plant. Its sap can cause photodermatitis, skin inflammations when the skin is exposed to sunlight or to UV-rays. Initially the skin colours red and starts itching. Then blisters form as in burns within 48 hours. They form black or purplish scars, which can last several years. Hospitalisation may become necessary. Presence of minute amounts of sap in the eyes, can lead to temporary or even permanent blindness.

Giant hogweed is a member of the parsley or carrot family, Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). As its name indicates, it is characterized by its size and may grow 15 to 20 feet tall. Giant hogweed is native to the Caucasus mountains and southwestern Asia.

Giant hogweed has been introduced to Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States as a garden curiosity. Because of its tenacious and invasive nature it soon becomes a pest within the ornamental garden and readily escapes. It has naturalized in many of the places where it was first introduced.

Habitat: Giant hogweed may colonize a wide variety of habitats but is most common along roadsides, other rights-of-way, vacant lots, streams, and rivers. Because giant hogweed often grows in wet areas, we are considering it to be an invasive freshwater weed.

Aphids

About 4,000 species of aphids are known, classified in 10 families; of these, around 250 species are serious pests for agriculture and forestry as well as an annoyance for gardeners. They vary in size from 1-10 mm long.

Aphids are distributed world-wide, but they are most common in temperate zones. It is possible for aphids to migrate great distances (mainly through passive dispersal riding on winds) depending on the weather patterns.

NATURAL ENEMIES

Beneficial insects, such as lady beetles and lacewings, will begin to appear on plants with moderate to heavy aphid infestations. They may eat large numbers of aphids but the reproductive capability of aphids is so great that the impact of the natural enemies may not be enough keep these insects at or below acceptable levels.

Aphid control is most valuable for new plantings, where excessive sap removal is more likely to affect general plant vigor. Established and otherwise healthy plants can tolerate moderate to heavy aphid infestations, although affected leaves may wilt and turn yellow and there may be some premature drop.

If aphid colonies can be found on about 5% or more of foliage tips of a plant or planting, then a control measure should be considered Good cultural practices, such as watering and fertilization, will help to reduce stress by these insects. Problems with honeydew and sooty mold may develop but tend to be temporary and disappear after the aphids are gone.

Early detection is the key to reducing aphid infestations. The flight of winged colonizers cannot be predicted, so weekly examination of plants will help to determine the need for control. Examine the bud area and undersides of the new leaves for clusters or colonies of small aphids. The presence of these colonies indicates that the aphids are established on the plants and their numbers will begin to increase rapidly.

Canker Disease in Trees

Canker disease mostly occurs on ornamental woody plants, forest trees, and some fruit trees such as apple, peach, and pear, etc. It causes dieback of twigs and branches, reduces tree growth, affects lumber quality, and causes significant yield losses on fruit trees. Sometimes, it kills the entire tree if the canker girdles the trunk of a tree.

Furthermore, canker disease on a tree will be seen as an inverted blister on the bark of the tree which, during some time of the year, may ooze sap. A canker forms on branches or trunks of trees. Fungi, very small organisms that produce spores and mold-like material, cause most canker diseases.

Leaves of a tree affected by these fungi begin to turn yellow and may drop to the ground. Some limbs may not develop new leaves in the spring. In severe cases, trees may die if canker disease isn't treated for a few years.

Most canker-causing fungi overwinter in dead or infected bark tissue in which fungal fruiting bodies, spores or mycelia are present. In the spring, fungal spores are transmitted by wind, rain, water, or pruning tools to other trees or other parts of the same tree. If spores reach a stressed or injured tree and find desirable infection sites (usually those injured spots or natural holes on the bark), they germinate immediately and then penetrate into the bark tissue.

The first step to detect a canker disease is to look for symptoms. The most common symptom caused by canker disease is dieback. Check the tree to see if any twigs or branches are dead or not growing well (for example, buds are not open, or leaves are dead, etc.).

As most of the canker fungi are opportunistic and like to attack those weakened trees, keeping tree’s growth vigor is very critical to lower the chance of infection. Avoiding wounding or severe pruning also will reduce opportunities for fungi to attack. Removing cankers and treating with a disinfectant will prevent further expanding of the canker area.

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