Bagworms: Pest Spotlight

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Scott Vogt

Bagworms have done tremendous damage this year. Here at the Arboretum, we made multiple applications to our junipers and spruce to get them under control. Thankfully, we have not had to manage bagworms the past five years too much. However, across the countryside this year, juniper shelter belts are covered with thousands of brown bags dangling from the branches. These are not very festive and don’t bode well for 2021.

Bagworm Life Cycle

Here is a glimpse into the various bagworm life cycle stages throughout the year:

In late May through early June, the eggs deposited in the bags the previous fall begin to hatch. Once the eggs hatch, the larva spins a silk strand that hangs down. These larva begin eating immediately or wind transports them to nearby plants.

Once the larva finds a host, it starts to make a new protective bag around itself. It remains inside this bag, sticking only its head out to eat from the host. If large populations exist on the same plant, they can do tremendous damage as they continue to mature.

The larva continues feeding until it matures by the end of August. It then attaches the bag they are in to a branch with a strand of silk and starts developing into a pupa.

Adult male worms appear in September. These are tiny, grayish, moth-like insects with fur on their body and transparent wings. Adult bagworm females are wingless. They never leave the protective bag.

Mature male and female worms mate with each other to produce offspring. Strikingly, these pests die after mating. Male moths die outside the bag while females die inside the bag and get mummified around the mass of up to 1000 eggs in her case. The eggs hatch in end-May or beginning of June the following year.

Only one generation of bagworm eggs are produced every year.

Bagworm Hosts

Bagworms feed on a wide variety of trees and shrubs, but is primarily a pest on evergreens such as arborvitae and Eastern red cedar, cypress, and spruce. Bagworms are quite adaptive. In the absence of these preferred hosts, bagworm will eat the foliage of just about any tree: fir, pine, hemlock, sweetgum, sycamore, honey locust, black locust, willow. Adult moths do not feed, living just long enough to mate. I have even seen them hanging off brick foundations, signs, and houses. They use the paint flecks to camouflage themselves.

Natural Controls

Each year, bagworm populations vary widely. Parasitic wasps, diseases, low winter temperatures, bird predation affect population size. Sometimes large populations are shortlived and let’s hope that is the case this year. With large populations existing this year, we are set for another bagworm problem in 2021 if some of these other controls don’t happen.

Manual Controls

Because bagworms are so conspicuous, overwintering bags and the eggs they contain can be picked from small trees and shrubs now and then destroyed. This is a viable option on small areas and smaller trees. You must discard, the bags completely because any surviving eggs will hatch and disperse larvae to re-infest trees.

Spraying for Bagworms

It is critical that you monitor your trees in June for bagworms. The most effective time to control them with spraying is when the bags are less than ¼ inch in length. We use DiPel® DF biological insecticide dry flowable on the bagworms. This proven insecticide is derived from a soil bacterium that selectively targets destructive caterpillars and worms. This product is highly selective and will not harm beneficial insects. It contains Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that the larvae ingest, giving them a terminal stomach ache. It usually requires several applications with a high pressure sprayer to get the spray to the tops of the tree but it is very effective and safe.

*The biological control we have been using to control bagworms*

There are other labeled, registered insecticides available to use as an alternative means of control against small bagworm larvae in spring or early summer. These are usually not the best option because these chemicals not only kill the bagworms but other beneficial insects. We encourage you to use these as a last resort. When larvae are more than 1/2 inch (13 mm) long, it is nearly impossible to kill them using insecticide. It is often at this time or later when bagworm infestations and associated defoliation become apparent and it is too late.

With everything else going on this year, why wouldn’t we have a bagworm problem? It seems rather fitting. Hopefully, this information will help you plan for 2021 to keep bagworms in check.

Buffalograss Seeding Experiment

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Scott Vogt

Buffalograss gets its name from the “buffalo” that once roamed the Great Plains and foraged on this dense native turf. As a component of the shortgrass prairie, early settlers used sod, held together by buffalograss, to construct their sod houses. Prairies were woven together with buffalograss and that’s why it makes such a nice lawn option.

*Shortgrass prairie in Finney County, KS-Photo courtesy Craig Freeman*

*Buffalograss lawn at the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, Hesston, Kan.*

Background

Buffalograss is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The male flowers held above the foliage are on small, comb-like spikes. Female flowers cluster on short stems down in the leaves closer to the ground. From seed, you get both male and female flowers. Like blue grama, I find the male flowers attractive enough that I leave them when I can. They can be mowed off for a look that’s more formal, manicured turf grass.

Regular Seeding

Typically, we seed buffalograss in the summer when soil temperatures are above 60 degrees. In South central Kansas, it is recommended that seeding of buffalograss be completed no later than August 15. Later seeding is not very successful because the newly germinated seedlings do not get fully rooted before winter. That has been a good rule of thumb, but requires so much water in the summer to get the seeds to germinate.

Our Experiment

This winter we will be trying a new seeding technique with buffalograss. We have our area prepared and ready for planting. This November, we will seed annual ryegrass with buffalograss seed. The ryegrass is a cool season grass that prefers cooler weather. Once germinated, it will hold the soil through the winter while the buffalograss seed is naturally planted with the freezing and thawing of the soil. The round seeds will not germinate because soil temperatures are below 60 degrees.

*Area to be seeded with annual ryegrass and buffalograss*

Next Year

In the spring, the buffalograss seed will germinate as the soil temperatures warm. By May, the new seedlings will benefit from spring rains and the buffalograss will begin to spread under the canopy of the ryegrass. As the temperatures warm into the summer, the annual ryegrass will begin to fade and the buffalograss will become more prominent. By the end of the summer, a new thick buffalograss planting will be fully established, spreading and healthy.

This is an experiment. We will keep you posted on the progress of this planting. I believe it has real potential because it uses natural processes to plant the buffalograss seed. We will use less water compared to germinating the seed in the summer and the ryegrass holds the soil to prevent erosion. It sounds good in theory but it has yet to be tried.

Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides) fun facts

It is a larval host for green skipper butterflies.
The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists.
The specific epithet, dactyloides, means fingerlike, which refers to the inflorescences.

Don’t Bug My Plants

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Katie Schmidt

I get a lot of calls and emails that start with “something is eating my plants!” Either frustrated or panicked, most view this development as a bad thing. To their surprise, I usually say “Congratulations!”. A bug can be a great thing.

The fact is, plants are meant to be eaten. Plants provide food for the rest of the living world, especially for the world’s insects. It is normal for the native animals of our area to nibble, chew, and sometimes completely defoliate plants. Humans forget this, much to the detriment of the biodiversity in our neighborhoods. Bugs are essential to life on earth, so we should be excited about feeding them!

*Newly hatched monarch caterpillar on common milkweed. Photo by Brad Guhr*

Don’t Judge a Bug By Its Diet

I like to say Congratulations, not to be flippant, but to help people reframe the situation. I explain that it is very possible they are hosting a native butterfly, moth or beetle larvae. Holes in your Hibiscus can be a good thing! By investigating what exactly is lunching on your leaves, you begin to engage deeper with your garden and with the ecosystem at large. Look carefully before you spray a pesticide; you may find an interesting little friend. You may even be able to precisely identify the bug based on what plant it is eating.

*Milkweed bugs (**Oncopeltus fasciatus**) eat milkweed seeds. They cause no harm to the plant, and are actually a good friend of the gardener looking to keep their milkweed population under control.*

A Funky (plant) Baseline

Plants are at the base of the food chain. They convert the most primitive form of energy – sunlight – into tangible, edible growth. This conversion of sunlight to green leaves allows everything in the food chain to function — bugs, rabbits, and deer eat the leaves, songbirds eat the bugs, snakes eat the bird eggs, coyotes or hawks eat the snake, and so on.

Plants are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem, and native plants are especially important. According to a 2018 study, “in areas made up of less than 70 percent native plant biomass, Carolina chickadees will not produce enough young to sustain their populations. At 70 percent or higher, the birds can thrive.”

Insects in our area have evolved to feed on and coexist with our native plants, and these insects feed everything above them in the food chain. If you find a bug eating your favorite plant, consider how important that little fella might be in terms of feeding the other animals in our ecosystem.

*Sulphur caterpillars are voracious, defoliating their host plant in a matter of days.*
*But it always recovers nicely ones they pupate and move on.*

Doom and Gloom for Your Blooms?

The main concern is: will my plant recover? And, most of the time, the answer is yes. Remember, plants are meant to be eaten. They have evolved all sorts of clever ways to survive, and many can survive being eaten completely to the ground. Our Senna and partridge pea plants at the Arboretum become completely defoliated by Sulphur butterfly caterpillars every year. And yet, often they have enough energy to bloom and set seed by the end of the season. Checkerspot larvae absolutely shred the leaves of our coneflowers, but up they come next year, blooming happily.

**Variegated Fritillaries** (Euptoieta claudia) munched my violets this spring, but never ate enough at once to hurt the plant. Watching them grow and pupate was worth the holey leaves!

Whatever you find eating your garden plants, remember to do your homework before taking action. Leave the pesticide on the shelf, and do some investigation instead! If you have aphids or spider mites in an infestation large enough to damage your plant, consider Safer Soap for a gentle approach. If you find a caterpillar, inch worm, or other larvae, it is likely not a cause for major concern or treatment.

Controlling Weeds in Buffalograss Lawn Areas

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Scott Vogt

There has been recent renewed interest in establishing buffalograss lawn areas as an alternative to conventional fescue. Buffalograss is a native sod-forming grass species that is well adapted to our climate. It is a nice choice for open, sunny areas. As a warm season grass, it uses water efficiently and effectively, even during periodic and prolonged droughts. This fine textured prairie grass spreads by both seed and stolons (runners), which take root and produce new plants. We have buffalograss varieties of Cody, Sundancer, Legacy and Bowie growing on the Dyck Arboretum grounds.

Weeds

One of the drawbacks of buffalograss is that it susceptible to weed infestations. Crabgrass and foxtail are problematic summer annual weeds and henbit, dandelion and chickweed are broadleaf weeds that regularly infiltrate buffalograss. Each of these types of weeds requires monitoring and sometimes control measures.

Timing

Usually in late October to early November, we spray for broadleaf weeds in our buffalograss lawn areas. We have several acres of buffalograss, so we hire someone to spray for us. Choose a day that is 50 degrees or higher. The better the weed is growing, the more weed killer will be moved from the leaves to the roots. Cold temperatures will slow this process, but these products will still work at lower temperatures.

Weed Control

Here at the Arboretum, we are seeing henbit germinate and dandelions greening back up due to earlier rains and cooler temperatures. These perennial and winter annual weeds usually have germinated by October, but they may be later this year due to the lack of moisture. However, we are seeing some winter annual weeds.

It is best to control these young plants when they are small before they get fully established. We use herbicides such as 2,4-D or Trimec blends with 2,4-D, MCPP and Dicamba. By spraying now, these weeds uptake the chemicals and move it from the leaves to the roots readily. This process of translocation is naturally occurring with most plants resulting in a more complete kill of the plant including the roots.

*Buffalograss and low growing natives. It’s not just for lawns.*

Pre-emergent Weed Control

One of the practices we have tried on smaller areas of buffalograss is the use of pre-emergent herbicides in the spring. This is primarily to control summer annuals such as crabgrass and foxtail. Barricade (prodiamine), Pendulum Aquacap (pendimethalin), Dimension (dithiopyr), Specticle (indaziflam) are recommended pre-emergent herbicides on established Buffalograss stands. Read and follow the chemical label application instructions for best results. Pre-emergent herbicides can also be applied in the fall to control that pesky weed, little barley.

Is all this worth it?

We encourage people to use buffalograss despite having to spray it occasionally. Newer varieties are vigorous growers and require little to no water once established. Compare that to a traditional fescue lawn, which needs one to two inches of moisture per week to keep it alive in the summer. These newer buffalograss forms stay green longer in the fall and green up earlier in the spring. If kept relatively weed free, they require less frequent mowing. Buffalograss need little to no fertilizer and overall will reduce your maintenance.

It is not my favorite thing to do, but we have seen real benefits from these regular spraying and pre-emergent applications. Before we sprayed in the fall, we were mostly mowing weeds the next spring, especially henbit. In early spring, the henbit was flourishing, but the buffalograss had not started actively growing. Dandelion, chickweed, and bindweed also had free reign. We made the decision to spray in the fall and it has made such a difference the next year.

By the way, it’s not too late to prepare your landscape for a buffalograss lawn planting next year.

What to Plant in the Fall?

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Scott Vogt

Fall is often overlooked as a key planting time for a beautiful garden. It’s such a good time to give your plants a little attention before winter sets in. Take advantage of fall’s cooler weather to dig in your yard and add a few plants. With warm days and cooler nights, I actually prefer to establish plants after the heat of summer has passed. Here is a handy list of items I like to plant in the fall:

Shrubs

With warm soil temperatures persisting well into October, adding a few shrubs to your landscape is one of the easiest tasks to do. Whether evergreen or deciduous, fall planted shrubs will continue to root as long as the soil is not frozen. Select healthy, actively growing shrubs and always plant at or slightly above the natural soil line. These newly planted shrubs will benefit from regular watering through the fall until the ground freezes. Mulching appropriately stabilizes the soil temperatures to keep newly established plants rooting until winter dormancy.

*Leadplant is an native butterfly bush alternative*.

Trees

Fall is a perfect time for tree planting. With an increase in rainfall and cooler temperatures, you will need less water to get the trees established. Tree growth stops as the days get shorter, but warm soil and consistently cooler weather help spur on new root growth. These new roots will develop as long as the soil is not frozen. Trees planted in the fall are better equipped to deal with heat and drought in the following season because they have a more established root system. Fall is also a great time to pick trees by the fall they produce. Steps to planting a tree.

Perennials

Time and again we have seen the benefits of planting perennials in the fall here at the Arboretum. We usually have more time to focus on getting them established, too. Fall planted perennials such as wildflowers and even native grasses are more robust and vigorous the following year. It’s true, we don’t always feel like gardening this time of year, but the reward is worth the extra effort. Here is a short list of perennials for fall plating:

Wildflowers

Black-eyed susan
Coneflower
Blazing star
Asters
Penstemon
Primrose
False Indigo
Blue Star
Yarrow
Milkweed

Grasses

Little bluestem
Big bluestem
Indiangrass
Prairie dropseed
Switchgrass

As you can see, just about any perennial can be planted in the fall. Establish them as you do in the spring with daily watering for the first few weeks depending on the weather. Back off on watering as you see new growth.

During the winter, check the new plants monthly and water them if the top inch or two is dry. The biggest issue with fall establishment is that the plants get too dry during the winter. Desiccation/neglect can be a real drawback of fall planting. I have done this myself by thinking “Oh, the plants are dormant, so they don’t need to be watered.” Don’t forget to check them through the winter!

Bulbs and Cool Season Grass

Fall is a great time to plant a few spring blooming bulbs. Order or pick up quality bulbs and plant them to the suggested depth. I love daffodils, but species tulips, grape hyacinth and ornamental onions are nice additions to the garden.

August and September are great times to establish cool season turf like fescue. Make sure you buy seed that is free of weeds and other crop seed.

While most gardeners are more accustomed to planting in spring, fall is also an ideal time to get a variety of plants established in your garden. Don’t let garden fatigue keep you from getting your landscape ready for next year. Working in the garden in fall makes good sense both now and for next spring. Come to our fall FloraKansas Native Plant Festival for more information and options for fall planting.

Landowner Prairie Restoration Spotlight – Carolyn and Terry Schwab

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Brad Guhr

Terry and Carolyn Schwab live on 109 acres in Eastern Harvey County affectionately known by a former neighbor as the “Foothills to the Flint Hills.” While much of the county land has been converted to cropland over the last century, the Schwab property has remained in remnant prairie.

We received a grant in 2004 to identify and study more than 100 prairie remnants in South Central Kansas and to collect seed for our 18-acre Prairie Window Project prairie reconstruction project on-site at Dyck Arboretum. Until 2010, this work helped us develop a prairie landowner network through which we consulted with landowners and assisted them with their prairie management needs. It was during these years that I had the pleasure of first meeting the Schwabs. Ever since I have enjoyed observing the dedication they bring to being prairie restorationists and natural area enthusiasts.

*Terry and Carolyn Schwab and the property they manage (2007)*

Increasing Wildlife Diversity

The property was a moderately overgrazed cattle pasture when they acquired it in 1993. The Schwabs’ main goal as land stewards was to increase wildlife diversity through improved habitat and enhance their avid hobbies of bird-watching and fishing.

The remnant prairie and emergent wetland above and around the ponds on their land can consist of hundreds of species of grasses, wildflowers, sedges, and shrubs. High plant diversity translates to high wildlife diversity. Maintaining diverse herbaceous vegetation also serves as a good surface water filter that improves pond health. Terry and Carolyn knew that without grazing or other forms of grassland management, invasion of a handful of tree species (including nonnative species) would create a dense, and comparatively lifeless, forest canopy within decades. Plant species diversity would decrease and wildlife habitat would suffer. They needed to become prairie restoration land stewards.

*Dotted gayfeather (Liatris punctata) (Photo by Carolyn Schwab)*

Vegetation Management

Controlling woody species and removing nonnative wildflowers became top priorities for the Schwabs in their quest to improve wildlife habitat on their property. Their initial efforts were extensive and laborious. They cut Osage orange and eastern red cedar trees and manually dug out musk thistle. To maintain water levels in the ponds, they repaired holes in the dams and removed trees whose roots can compromise dam life.

*Numerous small trees invading in prescribed burning units A and B (2002 aerial photography)*

*Comparison with the previous photo shows that mechanical removal and prescribed burning have reduced tree cover over a six-year period, especially in units A and B (2008 aerial photography)*

They were able to open up the upland areas where they had successfully removed mature trees and restore contiguous areas of grass and wildflower-dominated prairie. In these areas, the Schwabs implemented a regular rotation of mowing and prescribed burning to control any further invasion of woody plants. They networked with a local fire department to help them do this. They found mowing and burning to be much less labor-intensive than manual tree removal and effective tools for long term tree management.

*Management Unit B, post-burn in 2009 (Photo by Carolyn Schwab)*

Carolyn and Terry have made great improvements in restoring the prairie and emergent wetlands with tree management, but they know that they cannot rest on their laurels. Mature, seed-producing trees on their land and neighboring properties make keeping up with tree invasion a continual challenge. In addition to maintaining a routine of mowing and burning, they continue to cut and treat a number of invading tree species including honey locust, Bradford pear, Osage orange, Siberian elm, eastern red cedar, and the shrub Japanese honeysuckle. They are also on the lookout for the highly invasive, noxious weed sericea lespedeza which is becoming increasingly present in the area.

*Conducting a prescribed burn on Unit C in 2010*

Wildlife Monitoring

Carolyn invests a great deal of time monitoring and reporting on the biodiversity observed on their property. Daily walks to document bird populations, track phenology of flowering plants, and photograph butterflies are all part of what she sees as being an informed land steward.

Regal fritillary butterflies are dependent on habitat including diverse, large tracts of prairie. Even though the Schwabs have been improving the habitat of their prairie, regal fritillary numbers seem to be declining in recent years on a landscape scale. Carolyn has been planting nectar plants like butterfly milkweed and regal fritillary host plants (prairie violets) in the landscaping around her house to try and further support regal fritillary numbers.

*This 2013 regal fritillary on butterfly milkweed (a yellow native landscaping variety near house) was the last one that Carolyn has seen on her property (Photo by Carolyn Schwab)*

Carolyn is a top-notch birder. According to the Kansas Bird Listserv Database, a total of 329 species of birds have ever been documented as observed in Harvey County. Carolyn has seen more of these species (270) than anybody. And with easy access to 109 acres of prairie, wetland, woodland, and open water habitat, Carolyn has seen a whopping 232 of these species on her property!

A favorite experience of hers was witnessing a rare event on October 27, 2010. Eastern Harvey County is well east of the main sandhill crane migration flyway and seeing cranes there is not common. That night, however, the Schwabs observed 200+ sandhill cranes settle in for the night at their pond and enjoyed hearing their calls through the night. The cranes took off the next morning, but left behind a lasting memory for Carolyn.

Return of Butterfly Milkweed

The Schwab prairie restoration efforts are not only increasing the presence of grassland bird populations, but plant diversity as well. For years, they have not seen any butterfly milkweed on their property. But during the growing season of 2020, Carolyn reports that she has seen 20 plants.

*Butterfly milkweed (Photo by Carolyn Schwab)*

Protection for the Future

The Schwabs are considering registering their property with the Kansas Land Trust to protect this native prairie in perpetuity. By establishing a conservation easement on the property, Terry and Carolyn would be establishing guidelines for future landowners to follow that would help protect the prairie, watershed, and the diversity of species therein.

Thank you, Carolyn and Terry for your important prairie restoration land stewardship and for being willing to share your story.

*A white-tailed deer doe and two fawns sheltering on one of the Schwab pond islands (Photo by Carolyn Schwab)*

After the First Year: Words of Encouragement

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Scott Vogt

Thinking about starting a new garden using native plants is one thing, but putting in the time to get it established is another thing altogether. I was reminded today of the rewards you receive after working hard that first year to get your garden properly established. A design I had put together for a local couple last spring is now exploding in blooms and growth this year. They shared with me how amazed they are at the transformation those small plants have made in just one full year.

*Butterfly Milkweed and Pale Purple Coneflowers*

The second year

This couple had put in the necessary time and effort last year by watering and weeding their small garden. There will still be a need for some maintenance this season, but it will be greatly reduced because of their efforts last year.

Establishment is such an important step in the development of a new garden. You will still need to water during prolonged droughts and weed out invasive species. You will need to be vigilant until these natives are fully rooted and completely filling the space, crowding out weeds. Then you can let them fend for themselves, especially if you have done proper planning and chosen the right plants for the space.

*Yellow Coneflower, Prairie Dropseed and Giant Black-eyed Susan*

Beyond the second year

Keep in mind, your first garden doesn’t need to be perfect. More often than not, it won’t be perfect. However, remember that you are creating a habitat that blooms, attracts wildlife and pollinators and brings you enjoyment. It takes time to get the results we want.

Often we get discouraged by the amount of time and effort needed to keep our garden going that first year. Prolonged dry spells, wind, heat and weeds can easily take the fun out of it. Think long term and remember why you are doing this. I certainly have experienced that discouragement and burn out, but have been rewarded with beauty and wildlife as these natives take off the next few years.

Remain patient and vigilant when establishing a native plant landscape, especially those first few years. Each season, plants will shift in response to the weather and soil. Follow the plants’ lead, tidy up after them as you need, and fill gaps with new plants. It generally takes 2-5 years before the full benefits of your landscaping efforts pay off and wildlife find and use the native plants. An old adage says, “The first year a garden sleeps, the second year it creeps and the third year it leaps.”

*Bordered patches are commonly found throughout the southwest US and Northern Mexico, but can be found in Kansas through late fall.*

The First Year: Getting Native Plants Established

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Scott Vogt

The prairie communities we see are diverse and complex. Plants, intricately woven together, crowd out weeds and harmoniously coexist. When you look at a prairie, you only see about 1/3 of the plant. The root systems that sustain these native plants make up the remainder, because they reach deep into the soil. The first year is so critical to the whole process of getting native plants established. Developing these root systems properly is vitally important and the establishment period takes time. Here are a few steps I take to get my new native plants started.

Planting

I like to lay out the entire area by placing the plants where they are supposed to be planted. This does a couple things: first, it helps with proper spacing of the plants and second, it helps to visualize the final outcome. Think about mature size, rather than what the plants looks like in its infant state.

Now that we have the plants laid out, we can start putting them in the soil. It is critical to not plant them too deep. In our heavy clay soils, it is best to plant them level or slightly higher (1/8 to ¼ inch) than the soil line, especially in heavier clay soil. This keeps the crown drier, which is important for disease control. Over time, these natives will develop at the depth they prefer to grow in.

Watering

Now that the plants are in the ground, they need frequent watering until they get established. Even drought-tolerant plants need to be watered daily until they begin to root and connect with the soil around them. Keep in mind that improper watering is the most common reason for plant loss during the establishment period.

For me, I water each new area by hand rather than with a sprinkler. It helps me control the amount of water each plant receives and directs it to the intended plant. I water every day for the first two weeks depending on the weather. After that first two weeks, you should start to see new growth.

For the next few weeks, I water every other day or every third day as needed, monitoring the planting each day for signs of stress/wilting.

Even after this month long process of establishment, each plant must be monitored and watered through the following summer, fall, winter and spring. Native plants are not established until the second summer.

Remember, it takes a few years for those roots to fully develop. If your plants are properly sited, you will not need to water much after the first full year. However, if you must water your area during a dry period, natives will appreciate deep and infrequent watering.

*Using a watering wand to direct water on to new plants*

Don’t Fertilize

People ask me all the time about fertilizing native plants. As a general rule, I don’t fertilize our native plants especially during that first year. Think about those small plants in the ground and what will happen to them if they are fertilized. They will have tremendous top growth that is not sustainable by the small root system. This will put the plant under stress and slow its progress.

Natives are resilient and adaptive. The deep roots most often will find the nutrients and moisture each plant needs.

Mulch

In the book Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes, Thomas Rainer and Claudia West develop the ideas of layering plants. There are usually at least three distinct layers of plants: the upper layer filled with taller structural plants used to frame and punctuate the landscape, the middle layer filled with ornamental flowering plants and the ground level that weaves the other layers together and shades the soil, which controls weeds.

These layers mimic natural plant communities and each layer is important for the health of the plants. A collection of plants living in community can be extremely drought tolerant and water-thrifty.

If you decide to mulch your display beds initially, only place one to two inches of mulch down and keep it away from the stems. This is fine as the beds are first established. As they mature, less mulch is needed because, with the right care, the plants become the mulch. Something to think about is whether you have seen mulch in the prairie? No, the plants eventually co-mingle and intertwine to push out weeds.

Creating a native landscape takes time. With each new plant established comes an expectation of a brighter future. Often, we garden and landscape our yards with the anticipation of what we will get rather than what we are giving back. By adding native plants to our gardens, we will help make our gardens not only beautiful, but also productive and full of life.

Steps for Planting a Tree

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Scott Vogt

This spring is going to be anything but normal. I know that’s an obvious understatement. All this social distancing has made me think of the many things I need to get done around my house. Social distancing time may be beneficial and help me stop procrastinating. My house needs to be painted. I need to add a fresh layer of mulch on my front flower beds. Another thing I was thinking about was planting another tree.

For those of you who are looking for things to do with your children who are home from school, planting a tree is a great activity to do together outside. And with the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd and Arbor Day on April 24th, there are many related online educational resources available to help talk about the importance of trees and caring for the earth.

So in that vein, here are the steps I take when planting a tree.

Choose the right tree

I work from a short list of trees I know will grow well in our area. Some of my favorites are: Caddo sugar maples such as ‘John Pair’ and ‘Autumn Splendor’, Shumard Oak, disease resistant crabapples, Shantung maple, and bur oak. There are so many good options for our area, but make sure you are aware of the tree’s mature size. This will affect power lines, crowding buildings and porches, and heaving sidewalks. See our Native Plant Guide or recommended plants from KSU extension for other options.

Dial 811

We have all seen the cheesy commercials to “dial before you dig”, but the truth is it’s important to locate utilities. It doesn’t cost anything. You just give the location and then wait a few days for them to flag the area. It is worth making the call rather than guessing while you’re digging.

Locate the tree

Depending on the tree, some may be easy to find while others may take some time. We recommend smaller trees that are ¾” to 1 ½’ caliper trees. In our experience, these smaller caliper trees tend to root faster and acclimate to the site better than larger 2-3 inch caliper trees. Plus, they are more economical and as I get older, I am less willing to wrestle with a 200 pound root ball than I used to be.

Before Planting

As you look at your new tree in a pot or balled and bur lapped, you must find the root flare. This is the point where the trunk widens to transition to roots. If the root flare isn’t visible, you will need to remove enough soil until it is exposed. This is a critical step to insure the tree is not planted too deep because this root flare needs to be slightly above the soil line. Sometimes, nurseries heap two to three inches of soil on top of the flare, causing you to plant it too deep.

Dig a proper hole

Dig and measure, dig and measure so you don’t dig too deep of a hole. Make sure the root flare is a couple inches above the soil line. The tree needs to sit on solid soil, not loose soil that will settle and move the tree deeper. Make the hole two to three times the diameter of the root ball.

Plant the tree

Before putting the tree in the hole, remove all wires, twine or anything else tied to the tree. If you don’t, these ties and wire can girdle the trunk or branches and cause severe damage.

Once the tree is in the hole, orient the larger branches to face south. The prevailing winds are from the south, which force branches to grow on the north side of the tree making it lopsided.

Once oriented, carefully remove the wire basket and cut circling roots from potted trees in two or three spots around the root ball. This process will encourage new outward rooting of the tree.

Back fill with the same soil you removed from the hole. Don’t amend the soil with something like peat moss, because you want the tree to immediately root into original soil, not some artificial environment. Trees planted into peat moss or amended soil have toppled over by wind because they just circled in that loose soil, never venturing out into our clay soils. Don’t give them an option, force the trees to grow in our challenging soils from the start.

There is no need to fertilize at this time either. Fertilizing forces growth that cannot be supported by the new root system. If you need to fertilize, it is better to wait several years until the root system is more established. I don’t add root stimulator either. In my opinion, it is an added expense that doesn’t benefit the plant enough to justify the cost.

Build a basin for watering

After the tree is properly back filled, I like to build a small basin around the tree. This will help with watering the tree, but also slowly settle as the back fill settles. This basin can be mulched to help with cooling the environment, retaining moisture and controlling weeds. Give it a good soaking at this time.

Staking the tree

Most smaller trees will not need to be staked. It has been proven that trees will establish quicker when left to move with the wind, which make the trunks stronger. Larger trees will obviously need to be staked the first year, but stake only when necessary to keep the tree from toppling over until roots can anchor the tree on their own. If you do need to stake a tree, we put one stake on the north side and two on the south side of the tree. These stakes are evenly spaced around the tree. Don’t use old garden hose but rather true tree straps around the trunk of the tree tied back to these stakes. After one year, remember to remove all of the stakes, wire and straps from the tree.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is WaterLinkPlanting-May2009_-026-1024x768.jpg — *Weeping willow with basin and stakes on bank of rain garden*

Maintenance after planting

It is better to wait to do any pruning on the tree for the first year. The only exception would be removing any damaged branches. With the basin you have created around the tree, it makes it easier to water it thoroughly once a week for the first year depending on rainfall. Keep in mind that it takes a year or two to develop an adequate root system to sustain a tree on its own without supplemental watering.

I have a placard at my desk with a quote from Martin O’Malley that says, ‘Reversing deforestation is complicated; planting a tree is simple.’ This post seems rather lengthy, but the process of planting a tree goes rather quickly once you get started.

Solarization for Weed Control

Posted on March 4, 2020 by Scott Vogt

At our Native Plant School sessions, the topic of weed control often comes up. When establishing new beds or planting buffalograss, eradicating weeds prior to planting is critical for success. Hand weeding can be time consuming on these larger areas. Often we first use chemicals to control difficult weeds in our landscapes and garden areas without thinking about other options or ramifications of the chemicals we use. Solarization is another technique you can use without reaching for the chemicals to control problem weeds.

What is solarization?

Solarization is the process of covering an area with clear plastic to heat the soil and kill weeds and seeds in the top six inches of soil. If done properly, the use of chemicals to control weeds is not necessary.

What weeds can be controlled?

Solarization can be an effective method of controlling many weeds such as bermudagrass, bindweed and other annual weeds. Keep in mind that some of these weeds have extensive root systems and many re-sprout, even after being subjected to super high temperatures. It may take several solarization attempts to completely eliminate them from the area. In the end, it may take a few more months before you are ready to plant, but you have not used chemicals to control these problem weeds.

Steps to Solarization

It is best to use this method during the longest, hottest days of summer. The goal is to get soil temperatures under the plastic above 140 degrees. It is easier to reach these temperatures in June through August.
This is a process that will last for a couple months. Plan ahead in your planting schedule so solarization has enough time to work. Some of the more aggressive weeds will not be eliminated in just a few weeks.
It is best to remove existing growth and lightly till the entire area.
Remove stalks and debris that will puncture the plastic.
Rake the area smooth. It is critical that the area is completely flat so plastic lays right on the soil with no air pockets.
Irrigate the entire area so it conducts heat better. The soil should be moist to 12 inches deep, but not muddy. This is a real trick in clay soils. This is a critical step in the process, because it is not recommended to re-irrigate after the solarization process has started.
Dig a 8-12 inch trench around the solarization area.
Lay one entire piece of plastic over the area and tuck the edges into the trench you just dug.
Cover the edges of plastic in the trench with soil, pulling plastic tight as you move across the whole area. This makes a good seal around the entire site.

Soil Solarization Illustration by W. Suckow, ucanr — *Source: W. Suckow, ucanr.edu*

Solarization incorporates the same principles of a hot compost pile to kill weed seeds and break down organic matter. We have used this technique in smaller areas here at the Arboretum from time to time with mixed results. Some have been very successful, but others have not completely eliminated some of the target weeds. Smaller areas have had better results than larger areas especially when dealing with aggressive weeds like Bermudagrass.

In the end, I think solarization should have a place in your weed control options. It is a nice alternative to using chemicals. Give it a try sometime.