Absolutely Bushed

Catching up!!

I hope all of you had a safe and wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! With all the holiday hustle and bustle going on I have decided to use this week's column to catch up on some of your questions to me. If you don't see yours here I will do my best to reply to you directly through e-mail.

Question: Jimmie, Why Is My Arborvitae Turning Brown? Thank you for your time. Jesse in Prosper.

Answer:  Hi Jesse, If your arborvitae turns brown over the course of the winter or early spring, the cause may be winter burn. The combination of wind, sun and lack of available water in winter can cause arborvitae foliage to turn brown, due to desiccation.

Regardless of the type of arborvitae you plant, your best bet for avoiding winter burn is to wrap the arborvitae in burlap. Placement also helps prevent browning: avoid planting arborvitae on the south side of a wall or in an area exposed to high winds. Finally, many recommend easing up some on watering arborvitae in September to encourage hardening off, then maintaining adequate irrigation from October until whenever the ground freezes.

Arborvitae branches whose foliage turns brown (entirely) due to winter burn may not come back, but there's no sense in being hasty about pruning (you never know!), so I'd hold off on pruning until well into the spring or even summer. Only time will tell as to whether your arborvitae branches will recover from winter burn; there's not much you can do to reverse the damage that results in brown foliage. Instead, direct your efforts at preventing winter damage in the future. If green growth does, eventually, re-emerge on a branch damaged by winter burn, prune the branch back as far as that greenery; but if the arborvitae branch never shakes the "brown look," just prune if off entirely.

Question: Jimmie, Why are all my Crape Myrtle leaves turning brown? Linda in Prosper

Answer: Hi Linda, If you're seeing brown leaves (or partially brown leaves) on Crape Myrtle shrubs at the end of a dry summer, your Crape Myrtle's brown leaves could be due to drought. If, by contrast, you're seeing brown leaves in spring, it could be the result of a cold snap.

Neither case of brown leaves need be fatal to your Crape Myrtle. Browning due to a moderate cold snap ruins the appearance of the Crape myrtle but probably won't kill the shrub. And while this bush or ornamental tree (depending on variety) is more likely to die from drought, it's usually easy enough to remedy the situation with irrigation.

Question: Jimmie, Do some shrubs spread by suckering?? Paul in Prosper.

Answer:  Hi Paul, Some shrubs produce suckers. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on your circumstances....

Suckering shrubs spread by pushing up new shoots around the perimeter of their original base. If you wish to check their spreading, keep a watchful eye on suckering shrubs and remove new shoots as they appear. The need to remove suckers means these bushes can't be considered especially "low-maintenance" shrubs.

However, if you wish to propagate bushes, suckering makes your job easy. Just sever the suckers from where they're pushing up from the main root system. Get a good chunk of roots to facilitate transplanting the shrubs.

Alternatively, if you have the space (this may apply especially to rural homeowners), in some cases you may be able to take advantage of these bushes' tendency to sucker by allowing the shrubs to spread, thereby filling in an area. Note, however, that this is not a good idea for shrubs that are susceptible to diseases such as mildew: Such shrubs need to be thinned, to promote air circulation.

Question: Jimmie, I have some weird funny looking growth on my Azaleas? Do you have any idea what it could be? I really appreciate your time and always look forward to your columns, I have learned so much from you over the years... Susan in Prosper.

Answer:  Hi Susan, thanks for the kind words, Those unusual growths are called "azalea leaf galls" (or "azalea galls") and are not considered overly serious. They're caused by a fungus. Pick off the leaves where the azalea leaf galls occur and dispose of them properly: Do not put them in the compost and do not leave them lying around on the ground, lest the fungus spread to other branches. Other than that continue to do acidic feeding on a regular basis to your Azaleas.

Question: Jimmie, I Have Dead Limbs, Brown Foliage on My Magnolia Tree. How Much Should I Prune? Is it safe to prune the dead limbs off? How do I know where to stop pruning? Thank you, Jennifer in Prosper.

Answer: Hi Jennifer, First of all, go ahead and prune off the branches or portions of branches on your magnolia tree that are obviously just dead limbs: they can no longer be of any service to your tree and may actually invite pests and/or diseases.

A rule of thumb for tree care concerning the second part of your question is: When you see green, stop pruning, because when you find green, you've found life. But how do you determine where the green (under the bark) begins and the brown leaves off?

Using a knife, cut into the bark of your magnolia tree in search of green. You'll need to make this determination wherever you've left off pruning the limbs that are obviously dead. Once you find green, you'll know to leave off pruning. Until next time...Happy Gardening!!

Jimmie

Send your landscaping and gardening questions to Jimmie Gibson Jr. at jimmie@absolutelybushed.com or in care of the Prosper Press at prosperpressnews@yahoo.com  Jimmie is the owner of AbsolutelyBushed Landscaping Company. He is a resident in Prosper. His landscaping and gardening column runs every other week in the Prosper Press.

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