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by Rett Davis | |
Gardening Q&A by Rett Davis appears in
Alamance County's daily newspaper, The Times-News,
every Sunday in the Accent section. Each week's installment is
posted to this
website, beginning with January of this year. Scroll to the bottom of
this page to navigate to other Gardening Q&As. Please contact
Rett via e-mail with questions
or
comments in regard to this column.
Question:
This recent ice storm did more damage to our trees than the one in December. Several of our leyland cypress have tilted as well as a dogwood. The roots are showing on most of them. Should we go to the effort of pulling them back up and staking or should we just cut them down?
Answer:
The answer to this question should be based on actual
observation and evaluation of each tree. Many partially uprooted trees
can be saved if they are under 25 feet in height. Trees that are
leaning no more than 45 degrees can often be saved. These trees can be
straightened with a winch or 'come-along'. After straightening, the tree
should be staked and guy wires attached to a point 1/2 to 1/3 the way up
the trunk. Next tamp the soil to remove air pockets and water
thoroughly. If the trees are laying down on the ground or pretty close
to it, I would elect to remove the tree. Most of the roots of those
trees have snapped and broken off. Success with restraigtening any tree
will depend on how much of the rootball remains intact. Some trees that
are leaning have a root ball that looks like it just shifted and there
are no exposed roots. The more intact the rootball, the greater chance
of survival once straightened. If the roots from a tree that is leaning
are exposed, have little soil on them, and you can see they are cracked
and broken, chances for survival are grim. Even if you did straighten
the tree and stake it, the tree will often fall over again once the
stakes are removed.
Question:
The tops of our leyland cypress are all crooked. Can I top
this tree to make it look better?
Answer:
Leyland cypress can be topped if necessary. Most tops will
recover from bending naturally. However, once topped, these trees will
put out new growth from beneath the cuts this spring. Unfortunately you
will no longer have the attractive single leader or stem. Topping will
give you a lot of new shoot growth. Many homeowners are faced with
difficult decisions on what to do to storm damaged plants. In order to
salvage many plants and still keep them in the landscape, more radical
forms of pruning are often needed. This often results in plants taking
on new appearances and a different habit of growth than we originally
hoped for. You have to decide whether you want to nurse these storm
damaged plants for several years or is it better just to replace them.
Many storm damaged plants will never look the same.
Question:
We have large natural areas around our home. Many of the
hardwoods have broken limbs in the tops. Most of the pines have broken
tops. Should we leave them alone, will they die, or should I hire
someone to come in a prune them all?
Answer:
Breakage is the most common type of storm damage. Hardwood
trees are seldom killed by limb breakage. Even when the tops are
completely gone, new branches will sprout and the tree recover. If the
breakage is in the trunk or large branches, then you will need to act.
Trunks that are broken, split, or cracked need to be removed as do large
limbs that are the same way. Hardwood trees with broken tops or
branches less than 3 inches in diameter can be left alone. Most species
of pines will die if the tops are completely broken and no live limbs
remain. If three or more live limbs are left in the tops of pines, the
chance of survival is very good. The trees will continue to grow but
they will experience some growth reduction. For pines with less than
three live limbs, remove them as soon as you can. Always remove any
limbs that are hanging over anything of value or would do damage when
they fall to the ground.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Are your pastures a muddy mess? Is all the grass from last year gone
except for the weeds? These an many more problems are common after the
summer of 2002. On Monday night, March 10th at 7 pm, you are invited to
our program on getting these pastures back in shape for spring and
summer. We will discuss your options, replacement grasses for summer,
and how to deal with other problems such as weeds and fertilization.
This free program will be held in the Agricultural Building, 209 North
Graham Hopedale Rd. in Burlington. For directions or further
information call the Cooperative Extension Service at 570-6740.
Lawn care will be topic of discussion for homeowners on Monday night, March 17th, at 7 pm. What a year it has been from record droughts, grub worm invasion, and now record rainfall. Spring is coming fast and now is the time to improve that home lawn. You can learn how by attending this free program at the Agriculture Building, 209 North Graham Hopedale Rd. in Burlington. Call 570-6740 to register. Seating is limited.
Gardening Q&A Navigation Options
If you have any horticultural questions, please direct them to Rett Davis