Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs

Excellent, but not superior

Note: I don't do affiliate advertising for books. The following is simply my opinion.

I have a new tree book in my library -- Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Michael A. Dirr. It falls a little short of my high expectations, initially, but I still expect it to be a very useful reference. Perhaps in time, I will cherish it as dearly as do most of its reviewers.

The book has hundreds of beautiful color photos of over 500 hardy species of native and exotic trees and shrubs. In the foreword, the author notes that the plants covered in the book will grow in zones 3 to 6, and most will grow in zones 7 or 8. For most species, a photo that depicts a typical, mature plant is provided, along with photos of any particularly ornamental characteristics of the plant.

Many of the plant descriptions include the names of attractive cultivars that are available through nurseries. Unique growing conditions needed by the species or cultivars are mentioned, as well as some of the negative characteristics such as unattractive winter foliage, susceptibility to disease, etc.

My main criticism of the book is that the type of information provided for one species may not be provided for the next. The author wrote about the characteristics of each plant that he considered most important. Sometimes comparisons of specific characteristics between two or more species are possible from his writing, but often not.

For complete sets of data for native species and for comparisons of species, I'll still be turning to Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America: A Planting Design Manual for Environmental Designers by Gary Hightshoe. For me, Dirr's beautiful photos and engaging descriptions will  be a supplement to, not a substitute for, the vast quantity of tabulated data presented by Hightshoe.

I should add that both of these books focus mainly on plants of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. If you live in the western U.S., many of your native species will not be found in either of these volumes.

Twelve native trees with large surface roots

Bad choices for areas near paving or sidewalks

Due to their large roots at the surface of the soil, these trees are not suitable for planting near sidewalks or  driveways. They will cause problems if planted within "wells" in paved areas, parking lots, etc., and they will be increasingly difficult to mow around, wherever they are planted.  Be careful that you don't plant them where their roots will be a trial and tribulation in your life.

Red maple (Acer rubrum)
Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)
River birch (Betula nigra)
Hackberries (Celtis spp.)
Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)*
American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Pin oak (Quercus palustris)
Willow oak (Quercus phellos)
Live oak (Quercus virginiana)
American elm (Ulmus americana)

From a list in Trees for Paved Areas, a 2002 publication of the Virginia Cooperative Extension.  Non-native trees in the list include weeping willow, London planetree, and Norway maple.

*Your nursery may recommend cultivars of the southern magnolia that are supposed to have fewer surface roots. It would be a good idea to do some thorough research of the cultivar on your own, before planting .

Why people like mimosa trees --and why I don't!

Beautiful, but messy and invasive

Such exotic shadows. You might think this a scene from a tropical paradise or a garden of the Far East. No, these leaf shadows were seen on the door of my funny little garden shed right here in central Kentucky. They are the shadows of mimosa leave.

The mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) tree truly is beautiful. Besides these interesting fern-like pinnate  leaves, they have fragrant pink blooms for a long period of time in mid-summer. The flowers are much enjoyed by hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.

These are the sorts of things that make people think they want a mimosa tree in their yard. Think twice before making such a decision! Please -- take my advice seriously. I know this tree well, and here are the reasons I don't like it.

1. It is a messy tree. The long stems of its leaves and its long seed pods have to be raked up.

2.It is an excessively prolific tree -- in other words, invasive. Little mimosa trees pop up in every flower bed, and if not caught right away, they very quickly establish themselves and grow big. That's why I have mimosa leaf shadows on my shed. This tree is growing in a bed of perennials.

3. It is a short-lived tree. Its average lifespan is 10 to 20 years.

4. It is a weak tree. Its brittle wood is easily broken in weather events like ice storms and high winds.

5. It is not a native tree of the Americas. It is originally from Asia. I prefer native trees.

Bottom line: Plant one if you must. But when the problems begin, don't say you weren't warned.

Still trying to kill their trees...

The bulldozing continues

A few months ago, I wrote about the trees at a construction site. I said that the few trees left standing on the lot had suffered a lot of abuse, and I expressed doubt that they would survive over the long term.

Last week, the bulldozer was brought back to level the ground some more. Look how the dirt is piled around the trunk of the tree in the photo. Any feeder roots that survived the original assault have surely been ripped off and shoved away now. In addition, the soil has again been compacted by heavy equipment.

Today, when I passed, a landscaping firm was heaping red mulch-nuggets around the trees. It hardly matters at this point, but that's one more stupid move if they want the trees to live. Trees don't do well with mulch piled high around their trunks. It invites insects, disease, rot, and rodents. (See "Proper Mulching Techniques" for trees.)

Mark my words -- the trees at this homesite are facing a premature death. I see that as a sad thing because the trees here were healthy before the construction began. It will take several decades to replace some of them. The homeowners have succeeded in making their wooded, rural lot look just like any large homesite in a suburban subdivision.

Related posts:
Will these trees survive construction?
How to compute a tree's critical root area

Acorn Caps Wanted

Removed

The very best firewoods

Six excellent woods for heat

Here's a list of six of the best firewoods. (The number in parenthesis is millions of BTUs produced by a cord of this wood under optimal conditions.)

• Sugar maple (25.0)
• Red oak (25.3)
• White oak (27.0)
• Black locust (28.1)
• Shagbark hickory (29.1)
• Osage orange (30.7)

(Source: Wood Fuel for Heating, a University of Missouri extension service publication)

A few years ago, I did a lot of research on wood stoves as we prepared to buy a new one. In one online forum, I read an interchange between a New Englander and a Midwesterner. The Midwesterner wondered whether a certain brand of wood stove would withstand the hot fires he liked to made with hedge (Osage orange) firewood.

The New Englander replied that he made hot white oak fires all the time in his wood stove of that brand. He said with considerable scorn that he doubted if hedge could burn as hot as the fine white oak of the East Coast. He should have done a little research because, according to the University of Missouri publication linked above, he was mistaken.

Three important things to consider when choosing a tree

Questions to ask before selecting a tree

This spring, you want to plant a tree. What things should you consider when choosing the species that you plant? Here are three important considerations.

1. How much space do you have for the tree?

The very first thing you should do is go out in your yard and determine the space you want the tree to occupy. Pound a stake into the ground at the proposed planting site to represent the tree's trunk. Tie a long string to it to represent the longest branches on the tree.

Walk the string all the way around the stake. Can you make a 20-foot circle (using a 10-foot string) without obstructions? Then you have enough room for a tree with a 20-foot crown. Can you make a 100-foot circle (using a 50-foot string)? Then you have enough room for a tree with a 100-foot crown.

Trees can be planted so that their branches intermingle, but for a tree to fully develop the distinctive shape that is typical of its species, it needs at least the space described above.

When you know how much room you have for the tree's crown, a little research will reveal trees that are the right size for the space.

2. What do you want the tree to do?

Do you want the tree to screen a view? How much shade do you want the tree to provide? Do you want the tree to provide wind protection or function as a sound barrier? Do you want it to provide bright color or interesting leaves? Are you interested in attracting wildlife?

Questions like these coupled with a little research will help you identify the best tree for you while eliminating others from the list of trees that you could plant.

3. How much care are you willing to give the tree?

Are you willing to spray your tree faithfully? If not, you should avoid species that are prone to diseases and pests. Will you have the devotion and the water to care for a moisture-loving tree in times of drought?

How do you feel about cleaning up broken branches after storms? Some of the fastest-growing trees have brittle branches that break easily. Do you mind raking leaves? Many trees that provide dense shade have lots of leaves that fall every year.

Is the tree going to send up suckers in your flower beds and the neighbor's yard? Will it seed itself profusely? Will you have the time and energy to keep suckers and seedlings under control?

If you're purchasing your tree from a nursery, the nursery staff should be able to describe any special care requirements or problems that a tree might have. Your local extension office probably has a horticulturist or arborist who can advise you. Your city may have an urban forester who can describe care requirements of the trees you are considering.

In addition, make use of the free resources your public library and the internet offer. Many excellent reference books are available. Many excellent extension service documents about trees are available online.

A single word sums up this entire post: research. Don't buy the first tree you see. Don't base your decision on the little bit of information that is provided on the tree's price tag. Do some research and make an informed choice based on your unique situation.

Weak branches are a problem with silver maples

Don't plant silver maples too close to your house.

During the recent devastating ice storm in Kentucky, we heard tree branches breaking all night, with terrible pops that sounded like gunshots. Limbs hit our roof with tremendous thumps. Daylight revealed an incredible scene of natural destruction in our yard.

The photo below was taken through the living room window the morning after the storm. This photo shows only a portion of the branches that broke from a large silver maple (Acer saccharinum), about 15 feet from the window. We have dents and a puncture in our metal roof as a result of the falling branches.

This big silver maple tree was planted by the original owner of our house in about 1960. At about 50 years of age now, it's in its maturity. It provides a lot of shade, but it's dangerous because its weak, brittle branches break easily. This is the great flaw of silver maples (also known as water maples or soft maples.)

The tree's main trunk ends at about ten feet. It has five long, massive limbs growing upward from the trunk, and each limb has smaller branches, of course. One of those limbs poses an ongoing (and increasing) threat to our house. I'm afraid that we need to completely remove that limb. It will be hard on the tree to lose it, but we don't have much choice.

Two more silver maples are planted too close to our house. They are younger trees, planted about 1980. One of them is even closer to the house than the tree outside our living room window.

I understand what the planter wanted -- afternoon shade -- and he would be happy to know that his trees provide that. However, as years pass, both those trees are going to be major problems. To prevent large branches from falling on the roof, we'll have to remove whole sections of the trees. It's very sad.

Silver maples have their merits. They aren't very fussy about where they're planted. They grow well in urban conditions. They will grow in compacted soil. They tolerate short spells of standing in shallow water. They are a valuable tree for wildlife -- especially in late winter and spring when their buds, blooms, and seeds provide food at a time that other food supplies are limited. They have a small-but-noticable, red blossom in early spring when not much else is blooming. They withstand drought and heat, and of course, they do grow very fast.

Unfortunately, silver maples also have a very undesirable characteristic -- weak branches that break in every ice or wind storm that occurs.

If you are willing to deal with the broken branches, silver maples will serve as a fast-growing, short-term (50 to 100 year) tree. They grow up to 100 feet in height with 100-foot canopies. You should plant them at least 50 feet away from anything that could be damaged by falling limbs. Consider power lines, roads, and driveways, as well as your house and other buildings when you select the planting site.

Take my advice and you won't ever have a story to tell about broken silver maple branches making dents in your roof.

Will these trees survive construction?

Many trees would die from such abuse.

Someone has purchased a couple of acres near a small river a few miles from our home. They are building a beautiful new home in a bend of the road.

In preparation for construction, they hired someone to bulldoze most of the trees and level the site. A few large trees, mostly sycamores (Platinus occidentalis), were left standing. I confess a degree of morbid curiosity about whether the trees will survive.

Fortunately, sycamores tolerate soil compaction, because I am sure that soil was quite compacted after the bulldozer drove back and forth, again and again.

When the soil is compacted, water, air, and nutrients cannot move freely. As a result, the tree may become stunted or weakened, and it may slowly die over a period of years.

I wonder how much of the root system of those trees was destroyed during the bulldozing. With all trees, the roots that are responsible for taking up nutrients and water are located near the surface of the soil and extend well beyond the tree's canopy.

Sycamores have a particularly shallow root system. In my experience, they often have very large roots radiating from the trunk at soil surface. If large roots have been broken, the trees may begin to lean or they may even fall down in a strong wind.

Look how the vehicles and equipment are parked right under the trees near the house (top photo). Construction materials are piled there as well. All these things are totally against the rules when you want to preserve a tree on a construction site. And their new road runs right over the roots of the two big sycamores they saved on one end of the property (photo below.)

I wish the property owners had taken some measures to protect the trees they decided to save. They could have fenced out the critical root area around those trees and protected their most important roots.

Rather than selecting individual trees and bulldozing the rest, the owners could have chosen clumps of trees to preserve. The few trees they saved are singled out now after a lifetime among comrades. They are unaccustomed to standing alone, and they will be more vulnerable to wind and weather distress than they were in the group.

In areas around the house where they couldn't avoid traffic, the owners could have decreased the likelihood of root damage by applying a thick (6 to 8 inch) temporary mulch under the trees. (Obviously, the mulch would have been most effective if they had not bulldozed the site already.)

Ask me in ten years, and I'll tell you how many of the trees are still alive. I'm not placing any bets, one way or the other. I think sycamores stand a better chance of living through this than many other tree species would. They're tough, but they've taken a good bit of abuse here.

(Some may know the sycamore by other names, such as American planetree, buttonwood, or button-ball. )

How to compute a tree's critical root area

Protect tree roots during construction

It's vital to avoid disturbing or compacting soil around a tree that you want to preserve on a building site. The best way to prevent damage to a tree's root system is simply to fence out the critical root area -- that is, the area that contains the bulk of the tree's roots.

How to determine the critical root area:
1. Measure the circumference of the tree's trunk at 4-1/2 feet above the ground.
2. Divide the circumference by π (3.14) to determine the diameter of the tree's trunk.
3. Multiply the inches of trunk diameter by 1.5. (This gives you the critical root radius -- 1.5 feet for each inch of trunk diameter.)
4. Measure the critical root radius in all directions from the tree's trunk and compare the resulting circle to the tree's dripline. The larger of the two is the critical root area that should be protected.

Walking, driving, or piling construction materials within the fence should be absolutely prohibited. In addition, do not spill or allow runoff or buildup of chemicals, fuel, "cement water", sheetrock dust, etc. in the protected area.

Several university extension services have published some excellent information online about protecting trees during construction. These include:

• Preserving Trees in Construction Sites (pdf, 801K, Mississippi State University )
• Protecting Trees from Construction Damage: A Homeowner's Guide (University of Minnesota)
• Construction and Tree Protection (pdf 1.7MB, North Carolina State University)
  

Weeping willows damaged by ice

Weak wooded trees with a weak structure

I've written previously in this blog about how I love weeping willow trees and how I planted two of them for sentimental reasons, even though I knew better. (See "Weeping willow, a weak-wooded tree" and "One tree not to plant"

I planted them about a dozen years ago. They grew fast, and they were beautiful for a few years. However, they've created a problem in nearly every episode of extreme weather we've experienced.

The devastating ice storm that hit Kentucky a few days ago was particularly hard on my weeping willows. I expect that we will cut them down and spray any sprouts with Roundup. I've had the experience of owning weeping willows now, and it wasn't nearly as pleasant as I thought it would be. I don't want to repeat it.

The tree in front of them -- the undamaged one -- is a black walnut that was planted at about the same time.

More photos of the ice damage to our trees

Preventing Wind Damage to Trees

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A big tree brought down by a violent windstorm

Violent winds (up to 70 mph) swept through southern Kentucky on the afternoon and evening of January 29, 2008, leaving behind many broken trees and damaged structures. The above photo is a dramatic example of a tree that didn't survive the storm.

This tree is on city property (between the Municipal Building and the Police Department) near Little River in Hopkinsville, KY. I doubt if it was planted by the city. It is probably just a tree that happened to be growing there. I'd be very surprised if it's received any sort of special care or attention over the years.

It appears that the top of this tree broke in the wind, and as it fell, the heavy branches ripped off the branches below it. The tree is beyond salvage.

What can be done to reduce the chances of damage like this?

1. Choose wind-resistant, appropriately-sized species of trees.

2. As the tree grows, practice good pruning techniques. Eliminate the following as they occur:
-- one branch wherever the stem splits into a "Y" that has two equal branches directly across from each other
-- branches that cross over or rub against another branch
-- any side branch that is taller than the main stem of the tree
-- one branch wherever the crotch is weak (narrow).
-- dead or broken branches

3. Keep the crown of the tree symmetrical. Don't allow the tree to become lopsided.

4. Reduce the density of a large tree's crown so it has less wind-resistance (so the wind can blow through the tree.)

5. Keep the tree in good health by controlling insects and disease.

6. Avoid injury to the tree's trunk and roots.

7. Do not cut large branches back to stubs. New branches that shoot out from the stubs will be extremely vulnerable to weather damage due to their weak attachment.

Bur oak favored by Minnesota tree experts

Quercus macrocarpa, a favorite Minnesota tree

Cliff Johnson, a Master Gardener and writer from Minnesota, took an informal survey of some Minnesota horticulturists, nursery owners, arborists, etc., asking this question:

“Assume you have moved into a new home and yard with adequate space and sunlight, good drainage and okay soil. What one large tree and one small tree would you plant in your new yard, and why?" (Source)

I'm pleased that Johnson reports a unanimous vote for bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) as the favorite large tree. It's one of my favorite trees as well. We have about half a dozen bur oaks planted in our yard, that we grew from acorns gathered from my husband's childhood home. ("Sentimental" only begins to describe my husband's attachment to these trees.)

Johnson's panel of experts mentioned several other trees that are North American natives or cultivars thereof:

• Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor)
• 'Shademaster' honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis)
• 'Autumn Purple' white ash (Fraxinus americana)
• Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

One quality that the experts liked about several of these trees was their appearance in winter. Truly, that's important to consider if you live in an area where the trees are leafless for several months in cold weather. A tree with a rugged, interesting form is a joy to behold during the bleak months of winter -- especially when the tree's structure is highlighted by snow on its branches.

Quercus macrocarpa at the
Heard Natural Science Museum,
McKinney, TX. Photo by Flickr
user Bonita La Banane

Image: A handsome, mature bur oak on Holly Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Resource: Cliff Johnson, the Minnesota Master Gardener who wrote the article I've been discussing, has a great website, "Putting Down Roots" where you can read dozens of his gardening columns.

I came across this Johnson article at the Shakopee (MN) Valley News. I went to Johnson's website to try to locate the true source of the article. Half an hour later, I still can't say if the article came from there. I got caught up in reading other interesting things!

Related: Article about a bur oak in Plano, Texas. Bur oaks are native to areas with an amazing variety of growing conditions, from north to south in the eastern and central U.S.!

A Champion White Oak in Maryland

Flora's Oak is recommended for honor.

The Wye Oak was Maryland's biggest white oak from 1925 to 2002 when a storm took it down. The apparent heir to its title is Flora's Oak, which grows on a farm near Barnesville in Montgomery County, Maryland (about 45 miles northwest of Washington D.C.).

The tree, named Flora's Oak in honor of a relative, is estimated to be 200 to 300 years old and stands 107 feet tall, with a trunk circumference of 22.3 feet and a crown spread of 115 feet. It doesn't have the girth of the Wye Oak, whose hollowed-out trunk was more than 31 feet around, and its crown is four feet narrower. But the Pepes' tree is 11 feet taller.

Source: "Mighty Oak Poised to Become MD State Tree") by Susan DeFord, Washington Post, December 28, 2007.

The Pepes family, owners of the farm where the big white oak grows, have been giving their tree some TLC since they became its owners. The steps they took will help most any tree achieve its maximum size and maintain its health:

-- Clearing away underbrush and competing trees
-- Allowing the branches to spread freely and achieve a natural balance
-- Installing grounding wires to protect it against lightning strikes
-- Having professional arborists check it for disease and insects
-- Avoiding herbicide use in the area
-- Applying fertilizer regularly

The article I read about Flora's Oak didn't say that the Pepes family had been watering the tree during dry spells, but surely they have been.

Flora's Oak has been growing since the Pepes family took over its care, 17 years ago. It's now 1.8 feet larger in trunk circumference, 17 feet taller, and 22 feet wider in the crown. Not bad for one of nature's slow-growers.

Officials of Montgomery County have recently written to the Maryland governor's office asking that Flora's Oak be declared the Maryland State Tree.

Maryland honors the white oak, its state tree, on its state quarter, and well it should because mighty white oaks do grow in Maryland.

Technorati tags: Wye Oak, Flora's Oak, Champion White Oak trees, Maryland oaks

Grafted black walnuts vs. seedlings

Is the high price of a grafted black walnut tree worth it?

The two main reasons that people buy grafted black walnut trees are 1) bigger nuts, and 2) easier-to-crack nuts.

About 14 or 15 years ago, we decided to plant some black walnut trees. We bought a couple of grafted trees from a nursery catalog, and they arrived in good shape and we planted them.

That same spring, someone advertised in the newspaper that they had black walnut seedlings to give away to anyone who wanted to transplant them. Supposedly, the mother tree had thin-shelled nuts, so the seedlings were expected to continue this trait.

My husband went dug up several of those seedlings and planted them in the part of our yard that we call "the meadow" because it has to be mowed all the time. His idea is that if we get enough trees there, the grass will quit growing.

From all that planting, we have four black walnut trees today. Two of them are the grafted trees, and two are the seedlings from the newspaper. All of the trees are well over 20 feet tall, and a couple of them are probably close to 30 feet tall.

One of the grafted trees died back so far early in its life that we were afraid it had completely lost its graft and had nothing left but rootstock. It produced the large walnut in the photo below, so apparently it didn't die back as far as we thought. This is the first year it has had walnuts. The other grafted tree has not yet borne nuts, though it is getting fairly big.



The seedlings have borne walnuts for several years now, and each year, they bear a few more nuts. Their nuts are, true to promise, fairly easy to crack (for black walnuts.) They're as easy to crack as the nuts from the grafted tree, but they're much smaller. One of their nuts is pictured at right in the photo above.

I don't know the answer to my question: "Is the high price of a grafted tree worth it?" It probably depends on the tree that you're getting seed from. I have one observation on the topic. If you're going to harvest and use the walnuts, you can crack out a cup of nut meats faster from big walnuts than from small ones.

How to grow a black walnut tree from seed

Black Walnut leaves and nuts
Wikimedia Commons image

Black walnut trees are easy to start from seed. In a favorable site, they often reach 80 to 100 feet in height and their crowns may spread an equal distance.

Choose the planting site carefully

Black walnuts secrete juglone, a chemical that is toxic to many plants. Locate your planting at least 60 feet from any sensitive plants or garden areas.

Black walnut trees will do very well in a moist bottom area that is well drained, or on a moist hillside or upland site. They will tolerate occasional dry spells, and they accept any soil pH from moderately acidic to moderately alkaline.

If you are planting walnuts as garden trees, space the plantings about 60-70 feet apart so their crowns can develop a majestic spread as they mature. However, if you're planting black walnuts for their valuable wood, plant them about 30 feet apart so their trunks will grow long and straight.

Planting the seeds

Gather the nuts as they fall from a tree in your area, and remove the husks. Place half a dozen nuts several inches apart in a cluster, four or five inches deep. If you have squirrels, lay a piece of hardware cloth over the planting spot and pin it to the ground with v-shaped wires. Lay a mulch of straw or leaves over the hardware cloth to reduce the freeze/thaw cycles. Mark the site so you can find it again.

After fall planting and a session of damp, cold weather, the walnut seeds will germinate in the spring. Remove the mulch and hardware cloth from the planting spot in late winter, and mark the spot clearly so you don't accidentally mow over it! After the baby trees have grown for a few months, choose the best one and eliminate the others.

Sad when the trees lose their leaves?

Autumn is part of a natural cycle.

I am usually so tired of hot weather by the end of summer that I am truly thankful for autumn when it finally arrives. Some people don't agree. They love the long sun-filled days of summer, and they are sad when the days grow cooler and shorter and the trees lose their leaves.

Feelings of sadness as autumn progresses can be caused by our bodies. As the hours of natural light decrease, we produce more melatonin, a hormone that can produce feelings of depression and generally slow a body down. If you think you suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), talk to your doctor, and try to spend more time in the sunshine or full spectrum light.

On the other hand, some who claim to be sad about autumn haven't given much thought to the life cycles and rhythms God has built into our wonderful world. The following wisdom about the change of seasons is still as true today as when it was written, nearly 150 years ago:

Some persons occasionally complain that this period of the year, this brilliant change in the foliage, causes melancholy feelings, arousing sad and sorrowful ideas, like the flush on the hectic cheek.

But surely its more natural meaning is of a very different import. Here is no sudden blight of youth and beauty; no sweet hopes of life are blasted, no generous aim at usefulness and advancing virtue cut short : the year is drawing to its natural term, the seasons have run their usual course, all their blessings have been enjoyed, all our precious things are cared for; there is nothing of untimeliness, nothing of disappointment in these shorter days and lessening heats of autumn.

As well may we mourn over the gorgeous coloring of the clouds, which collect to pay homage to the setting sun, because they proclaim the close of day; as well may we lament the brilliancy of the evening star, and the silvery brightness of the crescent moon, just ascending into the heavens, because they declare the Approach of Night and her shadowy train.

Source: A First Class Reader: Consisting of Extracts, in Prose and Verse, edited by G.S. Hillard. Published in 1861 in Boston by Swan, Brewer, and Tileston. This passage is from the chapter, Autumn, written by "Miss Cooper, a daughter of the celebrated novelist."

Technorati tags: SAD, seasonal affective disorder, change of seasons, trees losing leaves, natural life cycles, rhythms of nature

How to collect and plant acorns

Starting oak trees from seed

If you want to collect some acorns this fall to plant oak trees, here are some suggestions I've compiled from my own experience and from the sources listed at the bottom of this post:

1. Collect acorns soon after they fall, or (better) pluck mature acorns from the tree when you observe that the acorns are falling. Don't choose green acorns whose caps are difficult to remove -- their seeds are probably not mature. Don't bother with acorns that have lain on the ground for several days, baking in hot, dry conditions.

2. Collect the acorns in a ventilated bag that will preserve their moisture, such as a perforated plastic bag or a burlap or heavy cloth bag. Use separate bags for different species of acorns.

3. Make a note of the species and the location of the parent tree and put it in the bag with the acorns. When you get home, make a permanent record. You'll be glad you did

4. Avoid exposing the acorns to heat or to unusually moist or dry conditions that might kill the seeds. Keep them in the shade after you collect them, and put them in your refrigerator as soon as possible. Don't allow the acorns to bake in the sun, and don't store the acorns in your freezer.

5. If you're collecting the acorns for yourself, plan to plant them right away. Acorns of the white oak family will germinate soon after planting. Acorns of the red oak family will germinate in the spring. (You can store the red oak acorns over the winter, but why bother when you can plant them in the fall?)

6. Remove the caps of the acorns you're planting. Discard any acorns that are malformed, damaged, or light in weight.

7. In the place where you want your oak tree to grow, plant a group of acorns (10 or so) at a depth of about 1.5 to 2 times the size of the acorn. Keep the acorns several inches apart. Choose an open area that is free of ground squirrel activity. After the seeds sprout, you can choose the best of the seedlings.

8. Mark the spot where you planted the acorns so you won't accidentally mow over it next spring. It's a good idea to protect from wildlife damage by surrounding the area with a circle of hardware cloth (wire mesh), embedded several inches into the ground.

9. Be sure to water the spot where you've planted the acorns every few weeks through the winter, if natural precipitation is lacking.

We've had very good luck with planting acorns in the fall, soon after collecting them. It's not difficult to do. Mother Nature does it all the time. And it's a good thing to do -- by propagating the native species in your area, you help to preserve their genes.

More information on acorn collection, storage, and planting:
How to Collect, Store, and Plant Acorns
Acorn Collection and Handling Procedures
How to Grow Your Own Oak Trees
Grow Your Very Own Oak Tree From an Acorn
Planting Oaks - Restoration (includes good diagrams of wildlife barriers around seedlings)

Technorati tags: , planting oak trees, collecting acorns, planting acorns

Tree care after storm damage

What to do for wind and ice damaged trees

We're having an extreme drought in Kentucky, but our neighbors, Illinois and Ohio (and other states, as well, ) have recently had bad floods and storms.

The storms have been hard on trees. Damage to both publicly and privately owned trees is widespread. For example, CBS reports that 3300 Chicago trees are damaged or down.

I know the sick feeling of seeing your yard full of broken trees after a weather event. (It was back-to-back ice storms in our case.) Don't lose heart! With proper pruning and care, many storm-damaged trees can recover. How to procede?

You might start by following "the three D's of pruning," said Robert Polomski, a consumer horticulture specialist with the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service at Clemson, S.C.

"Remove dead, dying or diseased limbs at any time of year and especially after any storm event," he said. "If you're not sure about the health status of a limb or even its integrity, you can wait and look for any subsequent growth. When in doubt, contact a certified arborist or other trained professional."

"Plants, Trees Often Tough in Storms" by Dean Fosdick, Associated Press

Unless you're a trained professional yourself, don't get on a ladder to trim your trees, and especially, don't get on a ladder with a chain saw. If you can do some pruning from the ground, review the principles of pruning before you start cutting. Also, be very sure that you know where branches will fall -- and stand clear!

If you're hiring someone to prune the storm-damaged trees, make it very clear to them that you do not want your trees topped or headed back. You just want the broken branches trimmed back to the first undamaged branch.

Be sure the tree-trimmers understand how to make a pruning cut that will not rip the bark down the tree. Make them describe to you exactly what they are going to do, and then supervise them while they are doing it. After all, you are paying them and you want the job done right!

Agree on the fees in advance, and be sure that anyone you hire has insurance!

Sherry Rindels of the Department of Horticulture, University of Iowa, writes that the first priority is dangerous tree damage. If the tree branches are in a power line, call the power company immediately. Look for tree damage that threatens lives or property, and take care of it next. Then you can make decisions about the remaining situation. (Advice from Rindels's bulletin titled "Tree Care Following Storm Damage.")

A University of Arkansas Extension Service bulletin offers some practical suggestions for determining which trees to deal with first. Tree damage that is not urgent includes:

- Trees with broken tops, which still have four or more live limbs remaining.
- Trees leaning less than 45 degrees.
- Windblown trees with roots still in the ground

(Source: "Picking Up After the Storm")

Other helpful information:
Tree Care After Storms
Repairing Storm Damage to Trees
Hiring an Arborist

Free field guide for trees of the Northwest

Free tree guide to download

Washington Trails, a publication of the Washington Trails Association, has a free field guide for Washington trees in its August, 2007, issue. It's also available online as a pdf document.