This is a great time of year to prune most deciduous trees and shrubs so let’s cover some tips and techniques.
What is pruning? Pure and simple, it’s removing the undesirable parts of plants.
Good pruning improves plant health. It gets rid of dead and diseased parts and improves air circulation, shape, and appearance. It can also restrict growth, stimulate flowering and fruiting, and rejuvenate older plants.
February to early March is the ideal time to prune many trees and shrubs because they are dormant. The cuts you make will add vigor without trauma.
You need only a few tools. Start with hand pruners to clip small twigs and branches. Add a pair of loppers to cut larger branches. For tight spots, it’s hard to beat a folding pruning saw.
Proper pruning improves plant health.Tools such as this lopper can cut branches up to 3 inches thick.
No matter what tools you choose, keep them sharp and clean.
Good pruning cuts are smooth with no ragged edges. They’re made at an angle about 1/8 to ¼-inch beyond a bud or connecting branch, so that water runs away from the cut.
Don’t use pruning sealants which encourage disease and slow healing. Clean cuts heal themselves.
Never remove more than a third of a tree or shrub in any one year. Tackle neglected plants over several years to bring them up to snuff.
Now you’re ready to start pruning.
First, picture the ideal shape of your tree. You generally want a strong central leader and branches that go up and out. Keep that picture in mind as you prune.
Next, ask yourself some questions to guide your pruning cuts.
Are there any dead or broken branches? Remove them.
Do any branches cross? Get rid of one of the crossing branches to avoid damage from rubbing.
Are there areas where many branches are close together? Thin some out to improve air circulation and discourage disease.
Are some branches distorted, malformed, or growing toward the trunk? Get them gone.
Are skinny branches growing straight up from the main branches? Snip off these water sprouts.
Are branches growing from the base of the tree? Cut off these suckers.
Do some branches have tight, narrow connections to the trunk? Remove some. Strong branches come out at wide angles and resist breakage.
Remove branches with narrow crotches (left) to lessen the chance of breakage. Photo: University of Maryland Extension
Stop, stand back, and look at your tree or shrub often as you prune. Armed with all sorts of cutting tools, it’s easy to get carried away. And yes, I know this from experience.
Does every tree or shrub need to be pruned? No. Do most benefit from it? Yes. Are there different pruning styles for different types of plants? Yes. Fruit trees, grapevines, flowering shrubs, and evergreens all have unique needs.
Don’t let pruning intimidate you. Do your research. Arm yourself with good tools. Take your time. And step back often to evaluate what you’ve done. Before you know it, you’ll be a pruning pro.
By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.
This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media.
Small fruits give you lots to eat, Tree fruits often spell defeat.
I am 100% pro-fruit! I would love to see more fruit plants of all types grown across Maryland. But it saddens me to see gardeners become frustrated and disenchanted with fruit growing because their first attempt was with apples or peaches.
A National Gardening Association survey showed that 41% of U.S. households grew edibles in 2021, a 24% increase since the start of the COVID pandemic. Many new vegetable gardeners naturally see fruits as their “next frontier.” Most vegetable crops are annual plants while all fruit plants are perennials, living year-to-year in the same garden space for years and requiring year-round attention. You need to up your game for fruit growing.
My advice for the fruit-curious gardener is to start off with some of the small fruits that are well-adapted to Maryland’s climate and soils. Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, grape, and currants get their generic “small fruits” name because the plants and their fruits are small relative to tree fruits. Apple, European pear, peach, cherry, plum, and apricot are all popular tree fruits in the Rosaceae (rose) family. They also grow well in Maryland and many people plant or inherit them without fully understanding their requirements and challenges. As a result, we get a ton of tree fruit problem questions every growing season through Ask Extension.
‘Shawnee’ blackberry plant fruitingBlueberry fruit ripening (Photos from Ask Extension)
If you had your heart set on planting apple and peach trees this year, please put down the mail-order catalog or close the browser window showing an everyday gardener picking bushels of fruit from a pristine apple tree and consider this:
Small fruits are less expensive to buy and maintain and take up less garden space. Even dwarf apple fruit trees can take up 75 sq. ft. of space.
Small fruit plants are easier to incorporate into a home landscape. They are also easier to prune and manage and to remove if they don’t work out or eventually succumb to old age or disease. (Mature grape plants with their massive root systems are the exception). Removal of a fruit tree can be costly.
It’s easy to overcrowd a part of your yard with fruit trees by planting them too close to each other, to structures, or to other trees in the landscape. Shading leads to poor growth, pest and disease issues, and low yields.
Fruit trees need to be trained and pruned in a careful and timely manner, especially in the first 3-4 years. Small fruits tend to be more forgiving regarding training and pruning.
Yes, small fruits have plenty of potential pests and diseases but they can be grown organically with very good success. Some problems can be tolerated, like the fuzzy gray mold fungus that attacks strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry fruits in wet weather. Others can be prevented or managed through good gardening practices (like proper spacing and pruning) or applying an organic pesticide (like spraying lime sulfur in early spring to reduce disease pressure).
Tree fruits, conversely, have more insect pests and diseases that are more difficult to prevent and manage without synthetic pesticides. Trees must be monitored more closely for signs and symptoms of problems. Even if you spray effective pesticides at the correct time, you can end up with poor control if your sprayer is not capable of covering the entire tree including the tops and bottoms of the leaves. Multiple applications are usually needed to control the major pests and diseases.
For some reason, I feel that every time I think about what to plant for pollinators, the list of plants that comes to me is one full of herbaceous ones… however, it is odd that this is the case, because it’s not like our region lacks larger plants (e.g., trees, large shrubs) that are both fully able to support pollinators while also supporting other biodiversity and even contributing to flood and rain management! And because if we’re interested in going the large(r)-plant path, we need a bit of planning, in today’s post I would like to present some native shrubs and trees that are great resources for our pollinators. This way, you can start planning where to get them for planting in late winter to early spring.
Why consider trees and shrubs for pollinators?
Large perennial plants such as trees and shrubs have many characteristics that make them very attractive to any pollinator-friendly person in our region. Indeed, while there are many of these plants that act as wonderful food resources for many pollinators (both adult and larval stages), these larger plants represent long(er)-term and abundant resources that can serve different aspects of our ecosystem: they provide shelter and food for birds, they can assist in managing stormwater runoff, retain soil, reduce surface temperatures by their shading abilities, and provide structural complexity to our landscapes. Trees especially are a key component of creating climate-resilient landscapes. In fact, one of Maryland’s climate change mitigation goals is to grow 5 million more trees by 2031!
Planting trees is not necessarily expensive
From a financial perspective, although these plants may be costlier to obtain than the smaller herbaceous ones, there is a multitude of incentives, state vouchers, and programs that strongly reduce or sometimes completely cover the costs of obtaining them. In Maryland, for example, the state provides incentives through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (discounts to be used at nurseries; all details here), the PG County Rain Check program or the TreeMontgomery program, city incentives, and free tree plantings (e.g., see College Park’s here). In all of these programs, a lot of trees native to our region are covered. If you would like to participate in any of these programs, make sure to check the specific tree lists covered by each (also, see this list of recommended native trees for the state of Maryland). Note that these programs I mentioned here are just a few of the many that exist; if you’re interested in this, make sure to check your city, county, and state resources!
What to plant?
I hope by now I have at least made you curious about the idea of choosing trees and shrubs for pollinators. Below, I made a very small selection of a couple of plants that appear in the native lists, and that are great for pollinators. Let’s take a look at them.
Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
Tulip trees are a great native plant that can serve as a great pollinator resource. This tree is in the same family as Magnolia trees. It can reach a large size and it displays stunning yellow and orange flowers. This tree grows fast and is large (considered the tallest native tree in the eastern USA, along with sweetgums), so it can be a good choice for large spaces where a canopy is wanted relatively quickly. The flowers produce a lot of nectar, which attracts a massive number of pollinators. This makes it kind of fun to stand under the tree on warmer days during the blooming time: the buzzing coming from the tree is pretty impressive. Here are some more details on the conditions preferred by this tree.
Tulip trees are among the tallest trees in the eastern USA and have wonderful resources for pollinators that they carry in their stunning flowers. Photo: W. Cutler CC.
American linden or basswood (Tilia Americana)
This tree can reach relatively large sizes, and when it grows to full size it has a very rounded canopy. I personally love this tree, because of the fact that I feel it’s a “social” tree: one can sit with friends under its shade on hot summer days, and just enjoy the life it hosts and the cool breeze it forms under it. Once the season is coming to an end, this tree’s leaves turn a lovely yellow. The flowers of this tree are small and not very colorful, but they are extremely fragrant and full of nectar, which makes them a great magnet for pollinators. You can learn more about the requirements of this tree at Virginia Tech Dendrology.
The American linden has discrete flowers that are very attractive to pollinators. Photo: A. Zharkikh CC.
Hawthorns (Crataegus phaenopyrum and C. viridis)
These are mid-size trees that also sustain a variety of fauna through their flowers, fruits, and bird nest-friendly thorny branches. Their flowers are white, have a typical Rose-family structure (like those of cherry trees), and are attractive to bees, syrphids, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Besides being great for fauna, the two species do well in urban environments, because they both tolerate a wide variety of conditions. Here at pollenlibrary.com and on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center website you can learn more about each of these species.
Hawthorns have lovely white flower clusters. Photo: F. D. Richards CC.
Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus)
This small tree/tall shrub is a great addition to green spaces, and is ideal for hedgerows or just as a stand-alone plant. I am always surprised by the super cool shape of the flowers of this plant, which have very elongated petals that create long white fringes. These flowers attract bees and other pollinators, which come to collect some of the nectar that is produced. This plant is usually dioecious, meaning that one individual plant harbors either male or female flowers, but rarely both. This plant is ideal for areas that receive a lot of sun, because it is under those conditions that it will do best (although it can do fine in less-sunny areas as well). You can learn more about this plant by visiting this website.
The whimsical flowers of fringe trees are not just attractive to us, but also to many pollinators! Photo: 阿橋 HQ CC.
Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis)
Although all of them can provide very good resources for pollinators, I picked this one to showcase because this species grows relatively fast and does not get too large. This is indeed a larger shrub that has beautiful white flowers, and later on, delicious small berries. Because of all this good stuff, the flowers are visited by many insects, and the fruits are favorites of birds (so you’ll have to win over them if you want to get at the fruits! 😉 ). Here and on the University of Maryland Extension website, you can learn a bit more about this cool plant.
Serviceberries make everybody happy: pollinators in the spring with their flowers, and birds and humans in the summer with their berries! Photo: Henna K. CC.
By Anahí Espíndola, Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. See more posts by Anahí.
Anahí also writes an Extension Blog in Spanish! Check it out here, extensionesp.umd.edu, and please share and spread the word to your Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues in Maryland. ¡Bienvenidos a Extensión en Español!
Our landscapes are changing into their fall wardrobe which in many cases is brown, brown and more brown. Add some pizzazz with shrubs with colorful leaves and berries. As leaves lose their green chlorophyll, the underlying colors shine through in an autumn palette of red, gold, purple and orange. Many shrubs reveal these vibrant leaf colors.
I’m a sucker for sumac. Native varieties are already blazing red and orange along roadsides, but are often too big for the average backyard. A better choice is a shorter cultivar such as the 3-foot ‘Gro-Low’ sumac. It’s a tough drought-resistant shrub that can handle poor soil. Its botanical name – Rhus aromatica – hints at another bonus: scented leaves.
Fothergilla fall foliage – Image credit Miri Talabac
Also scented is native fothergilla. Fragrant white bottlebrush blooms cover the plant in spring and in the fall it can wear red, yellow, orange and sometimes all of autumn’s colors combined.
Related to fothergilla is our native witch hazel. Its leaves turn a sprightly yellow edged with orange in fall. In winter it flaunts spidery yellow flowers. Yes, it blooms in winter.
Oakleaf hydrangeas’ distinctive leaves deepen into a rich purple, red and bronze in autumn. Their whopping blooms – like lilacs on steroids – tinge from white to mauve as they mature.
Love red? Be kind to the environment and skip invasive burning bush which bullies out native plants. Opt for a highbush blueberry instead which flashes the same rich red and provides food for both you and wildlife. Berries are berry – um, very – striking additions to the fall landscape. Here are a few of my favorite berry-producing shrubs:
Viburnums are handsome, tough, pest-resistant shrubs whose praises I love to sing. There are over 150 species and sizes run the gamut. Flower forms range from snowballs to flat-top clusters and many are fragrant. Fall leaf colors range from rose to burgundy. Then their berries take center stage in shades of yellow, orange, pink, red, blue and black. Some even have two-tone berries.
I am not alone in my fondness for viburnum. Author and plantsman extraordinaire Michael Dirr says, “A garden without viburnum is akin to life without music and art.”
The native American beautyberry stops traffic in the fall. Somewhat nondescript much of the year, its cascading branches hold fistfuls of purple berries in autumn. If you see it, you want it.
Cotoneaster is another underused cascading shrub, this one dotted with red berries. Pronounced cah-toe-knee-aster (no, not “cotton Easter,”) it looks especially fine draped over the top of a wall
Red chokeberry – Image credit Miri Talabac
Native red chokeberry has dangling clusters of red fruits. The ones in our demonstration garden get rave reviews when they are loaded with fruit or their abundant snowball-like spring flowers.
Get thee to a nursery. Enjoy a pleasant stroll while you search for just the right shrubs to enliven your fall landscape.
By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.
This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media.
An infestation of Crapemyrtle Bark Scale on a crapemyrtle trunk. Sooty mold is darkening some of the outer bark layers. Photo: Jim Robbins, Univ. of Ark. CES, Bugwood.org
Q: My crapemyrtle has white stuff on the bark that I’ve never noticed before, though the foliage looks unaffected, if a bit dull lately. I thought these plants were pretty pest-free, so what might this be?
A: We’ve had a lot of inquiries about this lately. Your plant has Crapemyrtle Bark Scale (CMBS), a non-native insect pest that was discovered in Texas in 2004 and confirmed in Maryland in 2020. Incidentally, crapemyrtles also can host Crapemyrtle Aphid, and it’s possible for the two to be infesting a plant simultaneously; their impacts on the plant are similar.
While CMBS could potentially feed on other host plants, so far they seem to strongly prefer crapemyrtle. The aphid sticks to crapemyrtle. Both secrete honeydew, the sugar-water waste common to sap-feeding insects, which is dulling the leaf appearance and probably cultivating a bit of sooty mold.
Since mid-Atlantic gardeners have embraced crapemyrtle to such an extreme that it’s everywhere you look, that’s a big buffet enabling this pest proliferation. We really need to diversify our landscapes.
Scale insects lead relatively sedentary lives, generally only moving about to any notable degree as newborns, appropriately called crawlers. After roaming to find a feeding site, crawlers settle down and stay put, using their straw-like mouthparts to feed on plant juices. Layers of protective wax, in this case felt-like and white, cover their bodies as they mature. For our purposes, this also means they are harder to treat with contact-type insecticides like oils or soaps because that shell prevents the pesticide from reaching them. Crawlers, running around shell-less for that brief window of time, are the most vulnerable life stage any treatment should focus on.
The problem is, this pest is so new to our area that we are still collecting data on when those crawlers appear. Insect development is dependent on temperature, so while we can make predictions based on how CMBS behaves to our south, we’re still refining our knowledge for Maryland. Complicating matters is the likelihood of several generations per year, and they might overlap.
For such a tiny thing with limited mobility, you may wonder how it got there in the first place. Like plant mites, crawlers can blow around on the wind, and might also disperse by hitching a ride on other animals, like birds. CMBS arrived in our area the way many plant pests do – accidental introduction on plants with undetected infestations shipped-in from out of the area.
Management of an established scale population, usually booming by the time we notice them, takes time. Don’t expect one or two treatments to resolve the issue quickly, and you’ll probably need to employ the services of a certified pesticide applicator. Manually scrubbing scale off while not wounding bark is difficult and not highly effective, given the nooks and crannies they can wedge themselves into that you cannot reach.
Not only should certified applicators treat trees too high to reach, but they will have more effective equipment and the ability to apply chemicals the general public cannot due to the Maryland pollinator protection law. Overlapping the use of more than one type of pesticide may be needed, and re-treatment might occur for over a year. Dead scale won’t fall off right away, though treatments for scale will probably suppress aphids at the same time.
While we usually suggest trying other methods to suppress pests, once scale are numerous, there is little recourse than resorting to pesticide treatment. Certain species of lady beetle larvae will consume these scale and could knock-down their numbers somewhat, so avoiding contact-type pesticide use or enthusiastic scale-squishing attempts does at least spare them. Drastically cutting back a large crapemyrtle is not recommended since that can ruin its branching structure, though you could try it with dwarf shrubby varieties since otherwise-healthy plants should regrow over future seasons. With proper application timing to avoid impacts on scale predators and other insects (something well-trained pesticide applicators and pest scouts know how to do), treatments can be done with minimal risk to the biodiversity in your landscape. Or…just plant something different and rely on other plant species to provide summer color.
By Miri Talabac, Horticulturist, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center. Miri writes the Garden Q&A for The Baltimore Sun. Read more by Miri.
Have a plant or insect question? University of Maryland Extension has answers! Send your questions and photos to Ask Extension.
Irregular brown spots and blotches appear on lilac leaves, followed by leaf curling and defoliation in late summer. Photo: UME Ask Extension
Q: My lilacs look like death-warmed-over this time of year. Do you know what’s wrong, and is there anything I can do at this point?
A: Lilacs are sadly not very well-suited to our mid-Atlantic conditions. We’re at the southern edge of their heat tolerance, so while they weren’t among the best flowering shrub choices to begin with, climate change is only going to worsen their prognosis. Several types of leaf-spotting fungi and bacteria, plus general heat stress (which also increases their vulnerability to borers), results in foliage that looks quite beat-up by late summer. Brown spots, crispy leaf edges, and bare stems from premature leaf drop are all typical. You can explore lilac ailments and their management on our lilac diagnostic page.
No fungicide will reverse these symptoms once they appear, and while they might work as a preventative if applied before bud-break (and re-applied repeatedly well into the summer), it’s simpler to just grow something else if a plant is going to be that much of a hassle. This is especially true if the treatments don’t work and the plant still winds up looking horrible. Fungicides also carry the risk of harming other organisms.
For now, you can rake up and dispose of any fallen leaves, though this isn’t a foolproof way of removing a source of infectious spores. Cut down the oldest, thickest stems this winter (they tend not to bloom well at that age anyway) and open up the canopy by selectively removing some stems that contribute to foliage crowding. You can do this thinning after bloom next spring.
For anyone really wanting to grow lilac despite these challenges, try cultivars with above-average disease resistance and heat tolerance. While not immune to problems, they perform much better, even if they don’t look exactly the same or have blooms as large or heavily perfumed. ‘Miss Kim’ is a round, compact-growing cultivar with pale lavender-purple flowers that’s been around for decades. Other varieties are now available with pink or deeper purple blooms, some of which even rebloom a bit, sporadically producing flowers into summer and early autumn, though high heat could still hamper that.
Dwarf lilac species and hybrids handle Maryland conditions much better than the traditional varieties. Some recent introductions will also re-bloom sporadically later in the summer. Photo: M. Talabac
All lilacs, but especially the traditional, classic “French” types, should be planted in a location with great air circulation (so, not up against a fence or wall) so wet leaves dry quickly after rain, dew, or irrigation. Wet foliage is more easily infected by pathogens.
The main perk of growing lilacs is fragrance, so if you want a scented replacement, consider: Winterhazel (Corylopsis), Koreanspice Viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) and its hybrids, Summersweet (Clethra), Seven-son Flower (Heptacodium), Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus), various deciduous Azaleas (Rhododendron viscosum and several others), Mockorange (Philadelphus), and Fragrant Abelia (Abelia mosanensis). Their scent characteristics, flower colors, mature sizes, and preferred growing conditions may differ from lilac, but nothing is going to be an exact substitute. Plus, several of these species will offer the additional bonus of showy autumn foliage or (for the native ones) better wildlife value. These are just some shrub ideas; there are also fragrant perennials and, if you have the room, several fragrant trees.
The news is filled with references to global warming and climate change. In fact, 99% of scientists agree that climate change is real with negative impacts on the environment, weather, human health, and agriculture. In Maryland, climate change is already causing higher average temperatures, more drought, longer heat waves, more intense storms, and flooding.
So what can we do as gardeners to help the cause and help our gardens adapt to these changes?
Adopt sustainable practices. Environmentally smart practices build climate-resilient gardens and can slow future warming by reducing emissions and boosting carbon in soil and plants. Here are a few ways to get started:
Plant more trees
Trees filter air and water and are carbon sinks, capturing and storing carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. When placed well, trees can save up to 30 percent on heating and cooling costs.
Plant deciduous trees on the west, east or southwest side of your home to block summer sun then let it in to warm your home in winter. Site evergreens to the northwest to buffer winter winds.
Lean toward native trees. They’re well-adapted and need less water and fertilizer, the manufacture of which can contribute to greenhouse gases.
Add or nurture native plants
Native plants such as this chokeberry and golden ragwort support wildlife and build climate resilience.Native plants such as these purple coneflowers are pest- and disease-resistant and help build climate resilience.
Don’t stop with trees. Native shrubs, perennials, grasses, and groundcovers also help build a climate-resilient landscape. Native plants, once established, require less water and fertilizer, help store carbon, and reduce soil erosion. Since they co-evolved, native plants best support native pollinators and beneficial insects which provide chemical-free pest control.
Plant diversity also boosts resistance to pests and disease, so add many different types of plants to your gardens. Yes, more is better.
Save the soil
Washington County Master Gardener Gary Stallings turns compost, a tool in building soil health and climate resilience
Great gardens grow from the ground up. So protect and improve your soil which stores massive amounts of carbon as carbon dioxide and organic matter.
Keep soil covered since bare soil invites problems. Soil covered with plants, mulch, or cover crops best stores carbon, resists erosion, holds moisture, and has more even temperatures.
Minimize soil disturbance from digging and tilling which speeds up the loss of organic matter and disturbs the soil community.
Recycle nutrients by making and using compost. Compost adds organic matter, helps soil hold water and nutrients, and reduces the need for fertilizers.
Save water to make your garden more climate-resilient. Use a rain barrel or create a rain garden to capture and filter rainwater.
Water when plants need it, not on a fixed schedule. And plant in the spring or fall when plants need less water to become established.
A few more tips:
Limit the emissions that contribute to greenhouse gases. Use gas-powered mowers, trimmers, and other equipment less and opt for alternatives.
Shrink your lawn and replace it with groundcovers and other alternatives which need less water, mowing, herbicides, and fertilizer. When you do fertilize, do it based on a soil test to use only what you need.
Help more by growing some of your own food or supporting local growers to cut down on emissions from long-distance transportation.
You can make your garden more climate-resilient. Start with a few steps and build on them to help your garden successfully adapt to climate change.
By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.
This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media.
