Electronics Recycling

Every year, the city arranges for electronics recycling.  It is coming up THIS WEEKEND, Saturday, March 24th from 9:00AM to 11:00AM at the Kato Knight Parking lot (downtown by the old city hall and the tank).  Bring TVs, old monitors, VCRs...pretty much ANY old electronics that you want to get out of the house.  It saves it from going to the landfill and is a great excuse to unload stuff that's just taking up space.

Remember...trees have roots!

Something often overlooked when deciding what tree to plant is the fact that trees have roots!  These are vital for nutrient and water uptake as well as anchoring the tree in the ground.  The new rule of thumb that has been developed is 2 cubic feet of soil for every 1 square foot of tree canopy. 

That ratio is a little abstract, so here's a few numbers:

• A tree with a 60’ spread has an area of about 2,800 square feet. 
• You are looking at 5,600 cubic feet of soil.  Assuming a soil depth of 18” in an urban planting, that would mean a 42' circle of unobstructed space.

So what happens if you don't give it that space?  The tree will grow as large as is can in the space provided.  When the roots fill the space provided, they either find new space to move into or the tree starts to suffer from insufficient resources.  Without additional care, the tree will begin to show signs of stress which can predispose the tree to decline and other damage agents. 

To make a lasting investment in developing a landscape, we have to consider all directions that the trees will grow, even the ones that are normally hidden.

Deciding what to plant

I've added two guides on trees for South Georgia under the "Helpful links" section.  They are called "Trees and Shrubs for Landscaping in South Georgia" and "Tifton/Tift County Recommended trees and shrubs". We are rapidly running out of time to plant trees while they are dormant, but they may help in starting your plans for next year.  These were published a while ago and we are planning to make an update, but they are still useful in figuring out some of the trees and shrubs that may do well in your landscape.  Look for more posts under the 'Tree Selection' topic for future information on choosing the right tree for the right spot.

Enhancing flowering through pruning

Recently I've seen a few people out pruning some of there flowering shrubs.  While I applaud the effort, this may be reducing the amount of flowering that you'll see this year.  Azaleas and other plants that flower on "Old wood" or last season's growth are best pruned after flowering.  This way, the plant can spend all spring and part of summer growing new twigs and stems that will hold next years flowers. 

Photo by Joseph LaForest, Bugwood.org

Spring is here!

Spring is definitely coming on fast.  As many of you work on your spring cleanup, it's a good time to take a good look at your trees for scale problems.  Scale insects suck the sap of the plant, draining it of the energy it needs.  Soft scales can be extremely problematic as they excrete a sugary substance called honeydew.  It's a nice name for liquid bug poo.  It's a food source that sooty mold loves and homeowners dread for the black, fuzzy blanket that it creates. 

If you find your plants affected by a soft scale that produces honeydew, there are several products containing imidachloprid, including Bayer Tree and Shrub.  They are applied at the soil surface and are taken up by the trees roots.  The chemical is taken to the branches, twigs, and leaves where the scale is feeding.  Unfortunately, it takes a while (up to 6 weeks) for the product to take full effect since it has to move through the tree.  Treating now, will help to get the chemical in place for when the young scales start feeding.

Adult Scales photographed by James Solomon, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org