Trees

Many gardeners are starting their fall garden and landscape clean-up - which is good and bad. Garden sanitation, if insects or diseases were a problem this year, is an important step to reduce problems next year. But we need to balance pest control with allowing habitat for beneficial insects and pollinators. So, how can that be done? 

Proper timing is one of the most important considerations for successful pruning. Getting the timing right helps ensure attractive, healthy, productive plants. Research has shown pruning wounds heal fastest when the cuts are made right before new growth begins. This knowledge guides pruning recommendations, with the goal of promoting fast wound closure and keeping plants as healthy as possible.

Whew, has it been hot! Scorching temperatures and dry conditions in the last few weeks have made it difficult for both people and plants. Our trees are still recovering from the last two years of severe drought and are not fully recovered yet. Fall watering is one of the best things homeowners can do to prevent further stress and help their trees continue to recover.  

But the drought’s over, why are trees still stressed? 

During severe drought, as we experienced in 2022-2023, trees were damaged in several ways as listed below.  

In 2024, National Arbor Day will be celebrated April 26. Arbor Day is a Nebraska creation. Early Nebraska settlers missed the trees they left behind in their homes. Their first sight and experience of the Great Plains must have been a shock and brought home the tremendous value of trees for environmental protection, wildlife habitat, food & fuel production and beauty. Often, the first sod broken was the site to plant trees. Fragile seedlings often were transported many miles to plant on barren homesteads.

Many gardeners have questions at this time of year about spring pruning. So, here are some common questions you may have been wondering about and your answers.

The keys to pruning trees and shrubs are a basic understanding of pruning techniques and knowing when to prune plants. For more information on these topics, check out the additional resources below.

But it's also important to understand the variety of tools available to make the job easier and use them correctly. The best tool for the job is determined by the size of the plant material to be removed and its location.

Caring for a lawn and landscape is a lot of work! Mowing, fertilization, seeding and weed control in a lawn, along with planting, pruning and pest management in trees and landscape areas requires more time than many homeowners have available or the equipment to accomplish. Plus, the identification of weeds and pests often needs a professional's knowledge.

Winter days may be gloomy and dull, but you can give your home a touch of spring by forcing landscape branches to bloom indoors. Spring-flowering trees and shrubs set their flower buds the previous fall. Once the buds have been exposed to cold for several months (usually by mid-January), branches can be cut and forced to bloom early indoors - giving you the opportunity to enjoy a touch of spring.

Cold temperatures, drying sun and wind, road salt, snow and ice can all take a toll on landscape plants during winter. But homeowners can use the strategies below to prevent major damage and minimize winter’s toll. Now, while daytime temperatures are still fairly warm, is the time to prepare your plants for winter.

Fall Watering

Did you realize some evergreen needles change color in the fall too, just like deciduous trees do? It's true and it often causes alarm in homeowners when their evergreen trees start to drop needles.

Popular plants can be overplanted in the landscape. Two examples of overplanted tree species in most communities includes ornamental pear varieties, such as Bradford pear, and red maple. Planting lots of one specific plant not only gets monotonous, but can lead to problems.

Low diversity plantings, consisting of only a few species, should be avoided for several reasons.

A weed is any plant growing where it isn’t wanted and, although they are less common than other weeds, trees and shrubs can also become weeds. Usually, these plants get started through seed dispersal by wind or wildlife and they can pop up in the most inconvenient places – fence lines, right next to a home’s foundation, planters or even in the middle of the lawn.

And it doesn’t matter what tree species it is, if it’s growing in the wrong place and can’t be moved, then control is necessary.