The spring season has finally arrived and so it’s time to start sprucing up your landscape by adding a fresh layer of mulch.  While this is beneficial to your plant material, the practice of adding too much mulch can be harmful.  The common term for this is Volcano Mulching; the piling up of mulch to the point where it looks like a volcano.
Volcano mulching hurts your plant material by rotting out the bark which is covered by the mulch.  This allows an area for diseases to enter.  Also, excess mulching promotes girdling roots.  This is where the roots of the tree or shrub grow in the mulch, and eventually grow around the trunk of the plant.  Over time the root will strangle the plant to the point of where the death is imminent.

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I’ve often been asked when is the best time to plant.  With the exception of seeding, fall is the optimum time to plant trees and shrubs.  In the fall, warm soil temperatures encourage root growth.   Roots will continue to grow through the winter until the ground freezes.  This allows fall plants to be better established in the spring where more moisture is needed as new growth develops.  In a spring planting, the soil temperatures are much cooler and root growth is much slower.  When new growth develops, the plant has a difficult time keeping up to the moisture demands of the plant.  Hence, transplant shock often occurs.  Also, fall has plenty of rainfall, cooler weather, and fewer pest and disease problems.   Remember “Fall is for planting”.

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Why do trees change color in the fall?

Many people feel that the drop in temperature is the cause. Although temperature has a small function in this process, sunlight is the main reason why leaves turn color. As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees “know” to begin getting ready for winter.

During autunm and into winter, there is not enough light for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can’t see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

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I’m often asked how you can get a nice lawn.  Most people first think that chemical fertilization and weed control are the best option.  Although this way of lawn care has a tremendous amount of success, a simpler and often more successful way of maintaining a healthy lawn is to cut your grass high.  The higher the better.  I recommend a cutting height of 2.5″ minimum.  Ideally 2.75″-3″ is preferred.  The simple fact of this approach is that the higher the blade of grass, the more photosynthesis can occur.  This creates better root growth, and a healthier plant.  Weeds can be drastically reduced when cutting high and your lawn will tolerate stress much better.

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Yes, spring looks like it has finally arrived.  I’ve seen many people outside starting to clean up the debris that this past winter has left behind.  I want to point out that you should keep your efforts to just cleaning up.  Be patient, now is not the time to fix any lawn areas that may need fixing.  It is important to note that while the air temperature feels warm, the soil temperature is much cooler.  When planting grass seed, soil temperature is a major factor in germination.  Typically, the soil needs to be at a temperature of around 55 degrees in order for seed to germinate.  That being said, we usually do not install grass seed until the end of April.  So, enjoy the nice weather take a breath of the fresh spring air, but be patient with any lawn restoration.

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As the snow in finally melting, you may notice that many of your plants have a substantial amount of animal damage.  With the winter being so cold and long, animals run out of things to eat and start getting bolder.  Stopping at your taxus or arboritae for a quick snack is an easy food source.   Many of the damaged plants will re-foliate and after some time and proper pruning, will be just fine.  If you find that the plant has had a substantial amount of the bark eaten,  there is a chance that it may not survive.  I would suggest that you wait until late spring when the plant comes out of dormancy to see if it needs to be replaced.  Look at the bright side, Spring is almost here!!!!

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