Forewarned Is Forearmed

Posted on April 23, 2013 by shobha

As gardeners, we often take it as a personal failure when a plant succumbs to disease or dies in spite of our best efforts. There is always the question of what more could one have done that nags us in those quiet hours of the night. Okay, so they hound the likes of me and other plant obsessed people.

As frequent as it might be sheer negligence or excessive nurturing that kills a plant, there are in actuality more universal, insidious reasons at work. Pests like the long horned borer, fungi that kill Impatiens, the red lily beetle are all devastating and none are the direct result of an individual gardener. Some of these ‘criminals’ are stowaways from foreign lands – ensconced in the wood of crates and other packing material. Still others are brought in surreptitiously by gardeners keen to have an exotic in their garden. Cuttings, seeds, bulbs and entire plants have all been smuggled by those not ever intending to cause any harm. But, much harm has indeed been done.

Often, bugs from elsewhere have no natural predators in their adopted country. Hence, they can be unstoppable till humans come up with a choice poison. The pests can go undetected for several years. Then, when weather conditions support their growth, we suddenly notice a dreadful disease affecting a specific plant specimen. Thus, we see that there are actually two factors at work here. The murderous bug as well as the climate.

It is all too obvious our climate has changed. According to experts, we will be seeing more of the likes of hurricanes Irene and Sandy. The USDA plant hardiness zones have all been ‘upgraded’. So, if you are in Zone 5, you can probably now consider yourself in Zone 6. Pretty incredible right? I personally find it a bit disconcerting that one day my treasured agapanthus that grow in pots and spend the winters cosseted in the greenhouse, will one day, in the not so distant future, be a happily thriving clump in a sunny corner of the garden all year round.

But, coming to the immediate, at the Rocky Hills talk given by the highly respected plant pathologist Margery Daughtery this past Thursday, the audience was confronted with the problems of both boxwood blight ( Calonectria pseudonaviculata) and Impatiens afflicted by powdery mildew ( Plasmopara obducens ). In each of these cases, the epidemic is a result of the climate providing the best conditions for the pests. For the time being, these diseases are here to stay. It is safe to assume that scientists are busy trying to find ways to counteract the problems. But until such time, Daughtery advices that we refrain from planting new boxwoods and impatiens. Something else to know, the ubiquitous pachysandra is in the boxwood family and susceptible to the same blight.

Instead of boxwood, she suggests finding alternatives that could work just as well. Who knew that Lonicera, our native honeysuckle, can be trimmed to give similar shape, structure and function! I’m itching to try this and will do so as soon as I decide on a good location in the garden.

The familiar bedding staple that is Impatiens walleriana, is for the time being, a lost cause. Daughtery’s alternatives are New Guinea impatiens or begonias. Simple enough right?

Nurseries will not be carrying Impatiens until an all clear is announced. Most will also be cautious with selling boxwood. Instead of lamenting the loss, we gardeners must stand in solidarity and do our part. First and foremost, no sneaking in plants or seeds from foreign countries. Maintain good garden hygiene and strict organic practices. This includes composting kitchen and garden waste, mulching thoroughly, watering only as necessary and getting rid of all diseased material in tightly closed garbage bags with the regular trash. We need to fill our gardens with plants appropriate to our climate, preferably native to our country and with due consideration to genetic diversity.

Boxwood blight and the powdery mildew should be seen as the serious signals that they are. We’ve been warned.

Red Lily Beetle

Healthy boxwood hedge trimmed to shape.

We The People

Posted on November 12, 2012 by shobha

When mighty trees lie strewn like fallen heroes, it unsettles our minds, shocks our senses and disrupts our lives. We mourn their demise and our loss. Amongst the non-humans dearest to us,trees are perhaps only second to pets.

The question I’ve been asking myself most since hurricane Sandy passed this way has been – what more could we have done? With no power, heat, phone or Internet to distract me, I’ve had a lot of time to ask questions and think about such matters. Several days worth of time.

It was all very well to wait for the necessary people to come and set things right, to rail at the powers that be for not getting my life back in order and complain about the hardship of being cold even under several layers of fleece to anyone even remotely willing to listen but what could I have done to lessen the impact of such an event?

First and foremost, let me tell you what I did do. I took care of all pending chores in the garden. Okay, not all by myself. I did have family doing their fair share. In the end, the huge number of bulbs got planted, leaves were raked, perennials cut back, beds mulched, outdoor furniture put away, tender plants moved into the greenhouse, wayward limbs of roses secured, espalier pruned and window box plants (in liners) brought in. Anything that had the potential of becoming airborne was either weighted down or put away. The list seemed endless and the work was done at a somewhat frenetic pace. It got done because I had a list of what needed doing. So do forgive me if I sound somewhat smug. Nobody else (read that as certain people who live with me) has given me any credit for being organized. I don’t do things for accolades but an occasional gold star wouldn’t hurt. However, I remain optimistic.

Fortunately, except for some small branches and twigs, no harm was done to home or garden. I’m immensely grateful for that. Others did not fare so well. When you sit back to assess the damages, the majority of cases were the result of fallen branches and whole trees. Almost all those power losses were directly due to the lines being brought down by trees. How might we have changed this outcome?

We all agree that trees are priceless. Their uses are numerous not the least of which is preventing soil erosion that can become a serious problem in storms and heavy rains. So it’s not a matter of whether we need trees. It’s a matter of which trees to plant and where to plant them.

In a bid for instant gratification, so many ‘fast growing’ trees are planted that nurseries are full of them. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, fast growing means shallow roots. These are the first trees to come down in a storm. It does not take much of a storm to accomplish that. Look around and you’ll see that most of the trees strewn all over are of that fast growing class.

Whatever happened to stewardship of the land? Our founding fathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson, exemplified that practice. Are we not obligated to do our bit? Or are we to think of that instant ‘privacy screen’ of evergreen trees as more important? Or how about that charming and impulsive idea of buying live Christmas trees and planting them each year in an orderly row at the edge of the property up close to the street and well below the power lines– they look so cute and evoke warm memories of holidays past. Those trees grow tall and stop looking so cute very quickly. Especially when one or more are tipped over by the likes of hurricane Sandy, or Floyd or Katrina or Hugo or Irene. Down come power lines with those trees. The rest you know. If privacy from the street or neighbor is needed, think instead about clipped hedges or Belgian espalier fences. Maintained at a height of six to eight feet either will serve the purpose handsomely. Or consider trees that don’t grow so tall. There are in addition, dwarf varieties of several favourites.

So okay, we stop planting shallow rooted, fast growing trees close to houses and other buildings and stay clear of power lines. What next?

We now consider the American oaks both red and white, river birchs, yellow poplars, sycamores, elms, red maples and similar stalwarts of this continent. These are the trees to plant! For posterity and majesty. Future generations will thank us as they linger in their shade, play on a swing suspended from one of the sturdy branches, picnic beneath their canopy or simply sit back against a wide trunk and feel content. Again, these too do not belong near houses or power lines because they get too big and their branches can cause harm should they break. Place them where they can rise tall and proud with limbs that spread wide like a giant embrace. Where you can watch them grow and where your children and eventually grandchildren can see them at their best.

A very critical factor in choosing a tree is the height and breadth to which it will finally grow. Tall, wide trees are fine as long as they do not overpower its surroundings. Keep it in balance. Think about the other plants, shrubs, vines and surrounding structures. They must relate to each other.

Trees make shade and therefore shade loving plants get planted around it. If you like the morning sun streaming into your kitchen then, don’t place a big tree on that side. Smaller trees like dogwood or dwarf fruit trees might be more appropriate. Harsh afternoon heat can be dissipated by well positioned trees on the southern side of the property. These same trees if deciduous, will permit warming light in winter when all the leaves are gone. You see? There are indeed right and wrong places for trees.

Trees are not maintenance free. They need water, nutrients and space to grow strong and healthy. Sometimes, they require cabling to give proper stability. Like us, trees age. So it’s important to periodically examine the health of the trees. Rot and disease are not always apparent so the best way to do this is to get a tree expert. He/she will know to read early signs in a dying or diseased tree and prescribe the appropriate action. If several neighbors got together and hired such an expert, it would be very cost effective. A tree in my neighborhood took down power lines in the previous two storms. The branches broke each time. Finally, Sandy uprooted the tree entirely and its now been many days without electricity, heat, phone and Internet. If the owners to whom the tree belonged had had the tree seen by a tree expert after the first storm, then perhaps we would have been spared the frustration we felt. I bear no malice to the owners. We are all guilty of such oversights. But perhaps this can be a valuable lesson for the future.

Finally, in preparation for the next storm, and it will come, can we make a concerted effort to scan our properties and neighborhood to identify all the potential problems? And in true community spirit, lets help each other trim, prune, cut down and clean up. Then perhaps we can look forward to fewer loss of trees and power and maybe less casting of blame on elected officials, power companies and tree services. Personal responsibility goes a long way in making for a thriving, successful democracy. Its for the people, of the people and by the people remember? Besides, raise your hand if you’d like to stop hearing your children whining about yet another day without heat, television, phone and Internet.

I’m not absolving local, state or federal authorities of their responsibilities. But, we get to vote them in or out of office. There is nobody checking on our own responsibilities. Except our conscience. And that fallen icon whose fate was sealed the day it was planted.