Tree Care

Grass clippings do not make good mulch for roses. They can become matted together and not allow air to dry out the clippings. The clippings often become moist, which will cause the roses canes to rot. Bark mulch works much better.

Although lawns benefit greatly from a late fall fertilizer, trees and shrubs do not. The fertilizer, which is mainly nitrogen, encourages new shoot growth in woody plants. Encouraging new growth at the end of the growing season may allow a greater chance of winter damage. Late fall pruning is also not recommended, unless the branches are damaged or my break to a heavy snow load.

If it’s fall time, it’s okay. If the leaf should be green and it’s not, more than likely it is iron chlorosis. Other possibilities are spider mites, over-watering, or diseases. Walk through our online diagnostic clinic.

Two applications that can effectively reduce large outbreaks of aphids are a dormant oil application and tree injection. They should be applied before large infestations have occurred. See Dormant Oil. See Tree Injection.

Once borers have entered the tree, little can be done. Once damage has been done, it can not be reversed. The key? Prevention. See information on borer applications.