Bagworms on Bald Cypress in Brooklyn

Question:
A neighbor who works with you noticed that I have bagworm cocoons on 3 of my four bald cypresses, and said that you might know what I should do about it. I took off all of them that I could reach and some had worms in them when I stepped on them. I love my trees and they have been doing well; I really don't want them to have any problems! If you have any ideas I would love to hear! Thanks a lot.

Answer:

When I was studying entomology as part of my training at NYBG I was taught that there are a number of excellent universities that provide information on various garden pests we encounter. As one example, the Ohio State University has a great series of fact sheets on various garden pests and I was able to locate one specifically on bagworms (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis). I have added the link, but if for some reason you want a hard copy just let me know and I can drop it in the mail to you.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2149.html

Typically I see bagworms on different kinds of junipers, cedars, and arborvitae, but I guess I wouldn't be all that surprised that they are present on your bald cypresses. As you will see on the fact sheet the best thing to try and know about any garden pest is their lifecycle. That way you can then attack them when they are in their most vulnerable stage(s). Your physical control of removing them by hand is the best you can do right now. Also, it never hurts to provide the best overall care for your trees to alleviate other natural stresses. Even though we have had some serious storms we have not had many deep, soaking rains so supplemental irrigation might be a help if you can get a hose to the pits or have gator bags in place. If you can add a thin layer of mulch (only 1-2" of shredded bark or small nuggets) to the base of the trees that helps regulate soil temperature and prevent major soil temp fluctuations, especially at this hot and stressful time of year.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything further.

Understanding a New Property

Question:
I have recently moved into my new home, the previously owner had the front landscaped beautifully. In June our 7-10 feet Magnolia tree had a lot of fly and bees and moths around it. As I looked closely I noticed that Magnolia's branches are covered with white oval spot. I have treated with some insect spray twice with no effect. Any suggestions?

Answer:
Thanks for writing. The presence of flies, bees and moths in your new garden is a great sign as they are helpful and necessary pollinators. You do not want to do anything to deter or remove them as they are helping to promote the flowering of your perennials and flowering trees and shrubs. As for the magnolia, I am intrigued. I know some species of Magnolias that have white oval spots that are a natural part of the bark and how it looks and grows. Depending on the size of the spots I wonder if you are looking at lenticels, slightly raised growths on branches that help trees like magnolias and cherries with gas exchange. Next time you inspect the tree see if the spots are uniform throughout the entire tree on branches of the same size. Larger branches will have a different look to the bark as they mature and age. If you find that the oval spots are uniformly all over the tree and the tree appears to be healthy then I am sure there is nothing to worry about. As I say, it might just be the natural characteristic of young magnolia bark. If the oval spots are just on a few branches and you are certain they look different than the rest of the tree then either follow up with me again and describe them as much as you can and/or feel free to send a digital photograph if that is an option as that might help a lot.

Franklinia and Wisteria Questions

Two separate questions:
1. I live in Raleigh, NC and have a Franklin tree that could use some help. It's now about 3 years old, is planted in an area that includes pines and rhodos. I've seen one that has been kept in a pot and the leaves are beautiful--not like mine.
Could you advise me re: the correct soil ph as well as what the best fertilizer would be. Also, I'll be moving next year--is there a more optimal planting situation than it's present one (it's coming with me).

2. I have a beautiful Wisteria growing along the top of a large Pergola. The problem is that suckers keep breaking through the dirt in my planting bed and are not confined to the trunk area but break out all along the root system. I simply cut them off, but there are so many--is there any way to combat this or stop it altogether without killing the plant?

Answers:
Let’s begin by talking about the Franklin tree, Franklinia alatamaha.

Franklin trees grow best in a moist soil with a fair amount of organic matter. They are also known to have a rather sparsely fibrous root system (according to Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Pants). Given those two factors, I would think that even three years later you want to still be supplying the tree with a fair amount of supplemental irrigation. Do you have a soaker hose or drip irrigation system set up? I would think the tree’s root system should still be saturated two or three times a week for 2-3 hours each time. Hopefully you amended the soil with a fair amount of compost when you planted the tree. If not, I would top dress the area right around the base of the tree with an inch or two of fresh, rich compost. If you have mulched under the tree already then you might want to remove some of the mulch and replace it with, or at least mix in, the compost. Avoid mounding compost or mulch right up against the trunk of the tree. Spreading out a few feet in diameter, your tree pit only needs a couple inches of compost and/or a compost and mulch mix to provide enough insulation for the summer months while providing nutrients to the building root system. If I were you I would not fertilize your tree with anything else at this time, especially if you are going to move it again soon. In fact, I am rarely a fan of fertilizing trees as they will prefer to grow and produce stem and foliage tissue by their own schedule, not ours. Going back to the sparse root system Franklin trees can have, consider hiring some skilled landscapers who are really good at balling and burlapping trees for the transplanting effort. If you really want to save the tree it is going to be worth the extra investment. If the root ball gets really jarred or beaten up during the move you might be dealing with that stress for years. When it gets moved, I would recommend a product called PHC Tree Saver to be incorporated into the hole (amended with compost) once the tree is in place. Here is a link to PHC’s website, and hopefully you can find a retailer near you that carries it: http://www.planthealthcare.com/HT/Mycorrhizal/PHCTreeSaver

The tree can tolerate some shade but you will get the best flower and most glossy leaves if it is in a full sun application. Definitely set up supplemental irrigation in its new home for a year or two to make sure it takes to the new situation. Rely on compost and mulch to provide a steady slow release of nutrients to the root system. A few references speak to soil pH but they do not always agree with each other. A member of the camellia family, Theaceae, I would guess they would like a soil that is slightly acidic to neutral (6.0-7.0). One reference says that they can tolerate slightly alkaline soil, but I have never seen one in that kind of situation. Since wild populations of these trees have not been found in over 200 years it seems to me that there is a fair amount of guessing in this regard. The best specimens are found in slightly colder climates (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, etc.) but obviously your tree can be grown down in the Carolinas as shown by your friend.

Then there is the wisteria:

Suckers and water sprouts are what we horticulturists call kinds of epicormic growth. The catch with pruning them back this time of year is that the plant is growing most actively and continuing to produce plant growth regulators (what people tend to call “plant hormones”) that will continue to push out new growth from dormant buds right below where you are cutting. The only trick I have learned is to prune those unwanted shoots back in the fall as the plant is beginning to go dormant. In the fall your wisteria is going to produce another plant growth regulator that will aid the plant in going dormant for the winter. By pruning at this time you will (hopefully) trick the plant to not want to produce new growth from those points. Or, if they do, the hope is that the growth is so young and vulnerable going into winter that they do not survive and eventually die-back. You will have to repeat the process for a few years as wisteria are so aggressive (invasive!?!), but hopefully you can get the situation under control.

Magnolia Pruning and Care

(a young Magnolia stellata up at NYBG, April, 2005, Photo:Alex Feleppa)

Question:

We planted a nursery bought 7’ Butterflies Magnolia back in mid-May and it seems to be doing well except that there are three limbs that are drooping down and touching or almost touching the ground. Is this normal? Should I prune them away?

We also bought a “Star Magnolia”. It is a shrub, but the salesman told us that we could prune the lower limbs to make it grow as a tree. I was just reading an article on your website that said to prune magnolias as little as possible. Where we planted it, we really want it as a tree. Any suggestions on when, how and/or if I should prune it?

Answer:

A butterfly magnolia is a cross between two magnolia species, Magnolia acuminata (cucumber tree) and Magnolia denudata (Yulan magnolia), and from what I gather was originally patented in the early 1990’s. I must admit that I have not seen or worked with this new hybrid myself, but hopefully I can share some helpful information just the same. In its youth a Magnolia acuminata has a distinctly pyramidal growth habit while Magnolia denudata are quite upright (Dirr, 1990). Therefore, I’m guessing a young butterfly magnolia with a few weeping branches might not be so normal. Since it is still freshly in the ground, let me talk about the cultural needs of a newly planted tree to make sure it is getting the care it needs. Understanding your plants and their needs should always be the first step

Certainly the most important thing is giving the tree enough water to establish good roots quickly before it goes dormant this winter. Forgive me if I am preaching to the choir, but I can never emphasize this enough. Your tree should be getting at least 20-25 gallons of water a week for the first few years in its new location. We have been having a good spring and summer as far as rain goes, but one can never rely on “nature’s watering schedule” when you plant something as large as a 7’ specimen. When I worked in retail I would often advise people to get a soaker hose and a battery operated timer, and set it up so that the rootball gets a good, thorough soak two or three times a week for two or three hours each time. That’s a minimum requirement in my book.

In addition to regular and supplemental watering, a proper mulching is a great help. We mulch to not only add some organics to the soil which eventually break down and help fertilize the tree, but really we do this more to regulate soil temperature. Using a nice thin layer (1”-2”, no need for more than that) of a shredded wood mulch around the base of the tree helps to prevent the soil temperature from fluctuating greatly between day and night. This little bit of insulation can be really important as you want to make sure the roots are constantly moist and protected through the growing season, especially for this year and next. Not to mention mulch rings can be great natural buffers to prevent accidental damage to the young trunk that can be caused by lawn mowers, weed-whackers, etc.

Since you only planted the tree in May it is perfectly possible that the drooping branches are a delayed reaction of some stress that the tree went through when moved and planted. Trees and woody plants operate on a schedule that can be much slower compared to other herbaceous perennials we might have in the garden, especially as they get older. I have some mature trees that I transplanted years ago and am still observing some of the effects of that stress years later. This is not to say you have to overly coddle your new tree, it is just to say that trees reactions to stress are not as immediate as we might think or expect. And trust me, I will be the first to admit that I am completely impatient in this regard.

As far as pruning, I was taught that a newly planted tree should not be pruned for the first couple years. In the interest of minimizing the stress on the tree, and thus giving it the best chance for survival, your magnolia will be healthier and happier if it is allowed to focus on root development and acclimation this season, and then deal with callusing new pruning cuts once established in the landscape a few years down the road. However, if the branches are a total eye sore and you have enough other branches and foliage that your pruning would be a minimal reduction, then I suppose you can. My hope is that by fall they will have perked up a bit and not need to be removed.

I hope that covers the butterfly magnolia for now. Obviously if you have further questions or want to share photographs of the tree, you are more than welcome.

As far as the Magnolia stellata (star magnolia), that is a very good question. I’m glad you asked because this touches on the most important thing that people often do not consider when buying a tree, namely its natural growth habit. If you see them in the landscape, or do a Google image search, you will see that star magnolias have a pretty full, rounded habit with decent foliage all the way from the ground up. This is not to say that you can’t prune the limbs up some, but I would take a pretty slow and steady approach because you will be altering the naturally intended shape of the tree. This is, of course, unnatural by definition. As with all tree pruning you want to make the minimum amounts of cuts to achieve the look you are going for. If you prune off 25% to 50% of the total stem and leaf tissue of your tree then you will be sending it to an early death. This sounds extreme and slightly ridiculous, I know, but unfortunately I have seen it done. Depending on the size of the tree and how long it has been in your landscape, I would think about a pruning agenda spread out over 3-5 or more years instead of trying to achieve a major change in one. After all, I assume you are hoping to enjoy the tree for many years to come so think about tree care on that same timeline. This fall, after the hottest and most stressful part of summer is behind us, go ahead and prune off the bottom couple branches. Doing this in the fall the tree will still be able to callus the cuts before it goes dormant for the winter. Next year, when the tree has a healthy new flush of growth on its upper limbs, and you know it’s gained a lot of new stem and leaf tissue, then take off a little bit more off the bottom.

You see where I am going with this, right? With a slow to moderate rate of growth, your star magnolia is going to be more shrub-like at first. Again, that is the natural habit of the tree and you can’t change that quickly without putting the tree under major and unnecessary stress. However, as time goes by you will chip away at it and eventually you will have the specimen you hoped for.

Pine Mulch and Spruce Care

Question:
We bought pine mulch for our front yard but the bag did not indicate that the pine mulch was treated for termites. Is there a prevention agent I can spray on the mulch to kill termites?
Also are there any sprays or treatments to use on my spruce tree to prevent any damage to our lovely 40 ft spruce? Are there any diseases I need to look for or prevent against for spruces?

Answer:
Regarding the mulch, I can relate. I apologize I am not writing sooner because I might suggest returning it if you have seen any signs of termites present. I have the HSNY Librarian, Katherine Powis, searching to see if there is any new information we might be able to share. At this time I do not know of anything that you can treat your mulch with. Supposedly the termite issue in mulch often comes from bags or palettes that sit with excess moisture for lengths of time. The best is to look for a nice dry bag or palette of mulch next time you are shopping. From what I understand the termite mulch issue got significantly worse after Katrina because much of the mulch was coming from down south and exposed to more moisture than not for lengths of time prior to being shipped up north. Even some staff here in our office have been dealing with these issues in their own gardens. We will continue to research and let you know what we come up with.

Regarding your big spruce, simply taking good care of the tree as you have been is the best approach. The older trees get the less they need or like to be coddled. Mature trees should not be fertilized heavily or pruned aggressively because it takes them longer to acclimate to the changes. To minimize stress and encourage a healthy, long-lived tree practice basic proper upkeep. Prune any dead or diseased wood but otherwise keep pruning to a minimum. Feel free to top-dress the soil with an inch of compost or mulch, but do not add more than 2 inches because we want to make sure the roots continue to get enough water and fresh Carbon Dioxide. Try to avoid any compaction of the soil at the base of the tree. If we have extended periods of drought then the tree can tolerate some supplemental water, but by this point it is probably pretty used to "nature's watering schedule". Regularly scout for pest and/or disease issues. The lower and interior branches and needles will fall as the leader and tips of the branches continue to produce new growth. In terms of scouting for pests and diseases, you want to focus your attention more on the new growth and tips. Make sure that you do not see any browning of the needles, holes in the stems, or black fungal spots, or anything that seems blatantly different than the rest of the tree. When it comes to a mature tree like that spruce of yours I hesitate to take any drastic action until we know there is a detrimental situation present.

Reminder: Lecture at HSNY this evening

Essentials of Proper Tree Stewardship:

A Lecture by Alex Feleppa
Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 6:00 – 7:30pm
Free for members, $10 for nonmembers

Trees have a tremendously positive environmental impact, especially here in our urban setting. Join Alex Feleppa for a lesson on trees, from shoot pruning to root development and everything in between. This is a perfect opportunity if you need to learn more about how trees work or if it is time to treat yourself to a horticultural refresher.

Deer Resistant Screening Material

Question:
I am currently working with (a local Long Island community) Fire Department and the town wants a “buffer” tree between our property and the neighbors. I specified an Eastern Red Cedar and the District was worried about deer eating them. I wanted to reach out to someone with more knowledge and found you by google searching “deer resistant plants and shrubs”. What is your feel on the eastern red cedar? Are they highly likely to be eaten by the deer? If so can you recommend something of the same type?

Answer:
When I still lived out east on Long Island I remember eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) being pretty safe in terms of deer resistance. However, that was close to 10 years ago and with all the development over the last number of years I know their taste palettes have expanded quite a bit.

I fear that bases of the cedars will get pretty chewed up. And trying to think of a tree that is going to be that vertical, while staying so narrow, and still deer-resistant is pretty tough. Assuming the area is full sun, there are some narrow upright spruces out there, but they can get thin from their base up over long lengths of time. I am sure that you do not have a huge budget, and there might not be all that much space to plant, but if at all possible, you might want to consider a line of cedars for height and then some deer-resistant shrubs at the base that will complete the screen and not become full of holes as the years go by. You can underplant the cedars with bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora), Japanese skimmia (Skimmia japonica), even a low growing juniper, and I would hope they wouldn’t suffer too much munching. Again, I apologize, it’s been a while since I’ve landscaped on the island. Barberry (Berberis) and burning bush (Euonymus alatus) hold up well too, but they are both listed as introduced invasive species in the northeast so I can’t really recommend those with a clear conscious.

I will also take this quick opportunity to say that if anyone has a different opinion about the plants I've listed above, others I've forgotten, or if you have different findings from your experiences, I would be more than happy to hear your thoughts. Deer resistance gets tougher and tougher every year with increased development and decreased forest and parkland and I am open to any and all information people wish to share. Thanks.

Where to Buy Small Trees in NYC?

(To kick off April as Million Trees Month in New York City there was a celebration in Seward Park down in the Lower East Side yesterday where local school children helped to plant these beautiful flowering cherry trees. To learn more about the Million Trees campaign come to HSNY on April 22 for an informative lecture by Alex Feleppa, member of the Million Trees Advisory Council. For more information on our upcoming events, visit our events calendar at HSNY.org Photo Credit: Alex Feleppa)

Question:

I want to purchase a Saucer Magnolia tree for my back yard. I've done an on-line search and found that naturally, on-line nurseries sell small trees in 3 gallon pots. I am interested in getting a tree that is already at least 4-5 feet tall. Do you have a recommended source in New York City?

Answer:

Here in the city I often recommend people contact the Chelsea Garden Center at their new location on 11th Avenue at 44th Street. They carry a wide range of woody trees and shrubs throughout the season and their staff I find to be very helpful and knowledgeable. As an extra bonus, if you are an HSNY member you do get a 10% discount when you present your membership card at purchase. Then there are the places down on 28th Street in the Flower District, but I must be honest and say at this moment I do not know of a reliable tree salesman down there. If you go early enough in the day you will find a number of shops open and larger material displayed on the street, but again, I'm not sure about a specific contact for magnolias.

If you are in Brooklyn or can travel to Brooklyn, then I'd suggest visiting or contacting any of these three places:

Chelsea Garden Center, their Red Hook location - 444 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn

Liberty Sunset Gardens, also in Red Hook - 204 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn

Gowanus Nursery, in Caroll Gardens - 45 Summit Street, Brooklyn

I think a simple Google search should provide you with phone numbers, etc. Obviously spring is here so any of the above should have their trees in stock, or they are actively receiving as we speak. Good luck and let me know what you find!

Notes from Around Town: NYBG and Winter Interest

The other day I was invited up to the New York Botanical Garden for a meeting and luncheon. I joined a number of other green organizations, land trusts, city and state departments, and representatives from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and New York Botanical Garden to discuss the importance of community gardens, our role in their success, and what needs to be done in the future to ensure their longevity. As a 105-year-old nonprofit here in Manhattan, HSNY is an organization that provides all the same offerings as the larger botanical gardens: educational resources including classes and a library, research and statistics based on our exemplary outreach programs, horticultural phone and email support, consultation services, numerous events throughout the calendar year, horticultural services, and experienced horticultural staff who train and educate communities throughout New York City. This year we are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of both the Riker’s Island Greenhouse program and the community-based GreenBranches program, two of our exemplary outreach programs that prove that horticulture improves the quality of life for a wide range of local communities. Our GreenTeam, graduates of the Riker’s Greenhouse, have worked closely with other social service organizations and the land trusts providing horticultural services, workshops, and horticultural therapy in community gardens throughout all of the boroughs. We enjoy sharing with other green groups our experiences to help aide with the communal goal of successful, sustainable greening of our city. And it was a fabulous meeting of the minds. I can say without hesitation that I am thrilled to be a horticulturist living and working in the city during these times of necessary and beneficial change.

But, of course, I couldn't leave without getting out and taking some pictures of the trees and shrubs I love so much this time of year. Everyone else was headed to the conservatory to get a tour of the Holiday Train Show, but I snuck away and reunited with some of my old friends. This time of year some people have the nerve to say nothing is happening in the garden, and I must say that absolutely boggles my mind. It is true that many leaves have fallen and many herbaceous plants have died back already, but there is still so much interesting fruit-set and seed, bark, and forms in the landscape.

Malus ‘Red Jade’ is a weeping form of a flowering crabapple, a member of the rose family, Rosaceae. The white flowers that bloomed in spring have led to the glossy red fruit that hang off the dark, pendulous branches. This specimen is mature, spanning 15’ wide and almost as tall. I love the combination of the dark, textural bark and the red fruit, which the birds love as well. Even here in some shade the fruit-set suggests that the tree put out a decent amount of flowers.
Newer cultivars of flowering crabapples are now being bred for even greater fruit set in the fall,not to mention variations in color. Here is a young Malus ‘Sugar Tyme’ and below it, with the yellow-orange fruit, is Malus transitoria ‘Golden Raindrops’. Then there is Callicarpa japonica, or Japanese beauty berry. A deciduous shrub, beauty berry loses its simple, toothed leaves in fall, leaving at the nodes these clusters of purple fruit. The shrub, which typically reaches about 6’ tall and wide, has an upright arching habit that might not be interesting enough for some. However, the 2” clusters of unique purple berries that cover the shrub this time of year certainly make up for its rather ordinary form. Planted amidst a woody border, the contrast of colors this time of year would be sensational.
Rhus typhina is called staghorn sumac. A North American native, found from Georgia up to Quebec, staghorn sumac is a very durable shrub with its open habit and large compound leaves. This cultivar, ‘Laniciata’, has very deeply divided leaflets that almost look fern-like and have great fall color. Here all that is left is the hairy crimson fruit atop the bare branches which will remain through winter.
While we are on the topic of North American natives, here are two shots (above and below) of an Ilex opaca, or American holly. With their large, pyramidal habit that reaches taller and wider than most hollies in the northeast landscape, it is a beautiful staple for fall.

Ilex verticillata, commonly called winterberry, is yet another native Ilex for our region. As you can see this member of the holly genus is deciduous, but who needs leaves when you have the stems so covered with bright red fruit through the fall and winter. I have had the most success with this plant when placing it in full sun in an area that stays moist on a regular basis. Certainly for the best fruit-set you are going to want to provide these upright shrubs with as much sun as possible. Some references say that winterberry can tolerate dryer soils as well, but I'm still testing those hypotheses.
I have talked about redosier dogwood in the past, botanically known as Cornus sericea, and here it is in front of a stand of tall grasses. The bare red stems in fall have great character on their own, especially when combined with more natural colors and hues like these tall grasses behind them.

While we are on the topic of combinations, here are a few that caught my eye and I wanted to share them with you.
In the background is bluestar (Amsonia hubrechtii) and in front a small globe blue spruce (Picea pungens 'Glauca Globosa'). The Amsonia is past its prime, but imagine a soft, glowing yellow in contrast to the striking blue of the spruce. All over the garden the blue spruce were stunning.
Or how about the dried blossoms of a Hydrangea with a more typical green conifer far behind? All through the summer people can forget that green foliage is a color in itself, but the fall and winter is a great time for evergreens to shine.
Here a kind of pine is wedged between a large Euonymus shrub in the foreground and a huge Taxodium in the background. The rest of the year it is hidden but this time it looked so full and rich and vibrant.

Of course, in the fall you do not want to forget about viburnums. Most of us know viburnums because of their spring flowers and fragrance, but plenty of species remain interesting well into the fall. This is Viburnum setigerum, commonly called a tea viburnum. The russet fall color and clusters of hanging red fruit makes this one of the most popular viburnums for this time of year. This upright, multi-stem shrub is a slow grower, but give it time and you will end up with a specimen that stands a good 6'-8' tall and nearly as wide.
Lastly, I had to take a picture of the Choctaw crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia x indica 'Choctaw'). Those of you who know me well know how I am infatuated with these trees, and yet again I say, "well, why not!?" I've talked about the upright habit of these small-to-medium trees and their exfoliating bark. I've mentioned the late summer flower than can range from soft pink to brilliant magenta. And here I am, underneath the almost black clusters of dry fruit that sit at the outermost tips of the branches. Combined with the cinnamon bark and against the amazing blue of the fall sky, now that's a form in nature I'll appreciate all winter long.

Growing Figs in Brooklyn?

Questions:

Every week i see beautiful fig plants at the green market, and am tempted to plant several in my back yard (in Brooklyn). I know they are not really frost tolerant, and remember reading Joan Dye Gussow describing how she wraps hers in burlap every autumn (but she lives on the banks of the Hudson). I also remember some figs in the back yard of a house here in my neighborhood, which i was told had been planted MANY years ago from plants or cuttings brought over from Italy. the garden had been neglected for years, but the figs had flourished, without bundling up, i assume. So, what do you think about figs in WIlliamsburg? i have a small stone patio, which will hold some heat. Can you recommend any other edible perennials for the urban gardener? I was thinking about fruit trees, but wouldn't be able to, or want to, spray...
also, a totally separate question.

I've been reading about the decline of common songbirds in this country, and wonder what I could plant to feed/shelter the birds. I have some big weeds that grow clusters of dark purple berries that the birds seem to dig, but the plants aren't that nice. I'd rather choose a perennial/shrub/tree than keep working around the big weeds.

Answers:

Your question about the fig is an excellent one. The common fig is botanically known as Ficus carica. This shrub or small tree is native to western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region and has been cultivated for thousands of years. A number of references describe the fig as only being hardy to zone 8 or warmer, which makes it an unlikely candidate for our colder 6b or 7a conditions here in the city. However, that being said, in my neighborhood of Astoria, Queens, where there is a substantial Mediterranean population, there are figs being grown everywhere!

I would say that you should definitely try and grow one in your backyard in Williamsburg. Well, I should add that planted in the ground I think they might do fine, but in containers I would not recommend figs because their roots will freeze through and really suffer. Figs grown in the city benefit from a sheltered sunny location in a backyard or protected community garden. They thrive on long warm summers in full sun and a dry atmosphere, so for the most part our city summers are perfect for them. In the winter you will need to wrap it, and a couple layers of burlap or a breathable tarp over the entire tree is necessary. In Queens I even see people wrap them in those standard blue all-purpose tarps, which I fear will suffocate the winterized tree, but every spring I am amazed at how the trees come back and leaf out bigger and better than before. Not to mention the fruits do turn out to be delicious. Now, it is possible that some of those trees in my neighborhood have been there for many years and originated as cuttings from overseas, but I would say that if you can find a small specimen then you should have a good chance of success as well. As a general rule of thumb for all trees, they are most resilient in their youth and slowly become less-so as they mature. Therefore, you should be able to plant and care for a small tree and it should be able to adapt to your environment well enough that it will be around for years of enjoyment.

As for the other question about the birds, there are plenty of shrubs that produce edible fruit that songbirds will love. The plant with berries that you are describing is most likely a weed called pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana) and it can certainly become a late summer nuisance. Shrubs that you might consider to plant for the birds would include blueberry (Vaccinium), serviceberry (Amelanchier), dogwood (Cornus), snowberry (Symphoricarpos), blackberry and/or raspberry (Rubus), and many many more. If you are thinking more in terms of trees then there are plenty of apples (Malus) and cherries (Prunus) you might consider. Here in our library we have a great book called Bird Gardens, a 21st-Century Gardening Series publication by Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and it would be a perfect book to give you plant suggestions based on your garden's orientation and exposure.

Trolley Tours and Planetrees

Platanus x acerifolia is commonly called London planetree

On Saturday, September 29th, Melissa Fisher, Director of GreenBranches, and I led a tour for supporters of Friends of the High Line. In a traditional trolley provided to us by our friends at New York City's Department of Parks & Recreation, we took a great group on a tour of gardens in Red Hook, Brooklyn. We visited the GreenBranches Learning Garden at the Red Hook Public Library, the new Red Hook Senior Center Garden installed by John Cannizzo and the GreenTeam, and then finished with a stop at the Added Value farmers market for some fresh, locally grown produce. The goal of the tour was to show people how the creation of beautiful, sustainable green spaces can foster community development and improve our quality of life in the city. Much the same way the Friends of the High Line are going to improve the neighborhood and quality of life for those that live near the elevated rail over on the West Side of Manhattan.

Being that trees are one of my biggest loves in the world of horticulture, I wanted to share with you something that I learned recently about the London Planetree, one of the most widely planted street trees here in New York City. I had learned years ago that one of the reasons London planetree is such a successful street tree is because it was one of the trees that survived the coal-driven industrial revolution in Great Britain. It is true that these trees can fall victim to a number of issues such as anthracnose, canker, and powdery mildew, but their hearty appetite for Carbon Dioxide makes them quite pollution tolerant and a favorite for urban arborists everywhere. In addition, I have always admired the exfoliating bark of these trees, but never thought about how that characteristic might help with their pollution tolerance. That is, until I got chatting with a tour member named David, a New Yorker by way of the UK. We got chatting about the amount of soot and grime that was in the air during the industrial revolution and how the exfoliaiting bark helped to shed away those layers of filth that would collect on the trunk. A tree that actually cleans itself by shedding it's skin once it's too dirty and not respiring enough, brilliant! And here I was leading a garden tour showing people a whole new part of the city they had never seen before and educating them about HSNY and I end up with the one of the best horticulture lessons of the day. That is why I love horticulture. It is a science that allows you to constantly be learning about the world around you.

Recent Photography: Reliable Plants

On September 20th, I gave an evening talk free to HSNY members on a number of reliable plants for city gardens. The talk was part of HSNY's educational programming in horticulture. It consisted of 20 plants that we have had good experiences with at our GreenBranches Learning Gardens, not to mention a few others that I have seen do very well in urban gardens throughout New York City. For my talk I mostly used photographs from HSNY gardens. However, I also visited my alma mater, the New York Botanical Garden, so that I could photograph a few specific cultivars to show that within a species you can find many options. Here a few of those plants:Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is a sun loving, drought tolerant 2' perennial with spectacular clusters of star shaped pink flowers late summer. It is often followed by attractive fall color.

Heuchera cultivars come in many different colors, from green to maroon to purple to silver and combinations thereof. This is Heuchera 'Pewter Veil' planted under a small tree in part shade. This mounding 12"-18" perennial I love as an edging plant or mixed with low-growing grasses to provide contrast in the garden.
Yucca filamentosa is a North American native and adds instant 2'+ structure to either a perennial or annual display. Since it is so spiky I usually mix it with hot colors like yellows, reds, and oranges. When I worked for the New England Wild Flower Society there was an all-native planting of Yucca filamentosa, prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa), and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia sp.) that I absolutely fell in love with. Two final words on Yucca: drought tolerant.
Heuchera 'Amethyst Mist' and variegated Adam's needle, Yucca filamentosa 'Variegata'.
Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' is a more yellow form of the classic Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola', commonly called Japanese forest grass or sometimes hack grass. A great low, spreading grass that tolerates a little shade and mixes well with many groundcovers and mounded perennials.
Nepeta sp. is called catmint, and the foliage when crushed is quite fragrant. Pinch this mounding perennial back throughout the spring and summer and you end up with a full bushy plant with excellent fine leaf texture that blooms repeatedly all summer long.
Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' puts out new stems and foliage that in full sun are spectacular. An excellent upright woody shrub for foundations or alone in the landscape, smokebush puts up a light plume of flowers mid- to late-summer that resembles a cloud of smoke.
Common crapemyrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, grow their foliage and late-summer flower clusters on top of long trunks that are exceptional for their structural look and bark texture. Crapemyrtle cultivars can be classified by overall size, flower color, trunk color, and fall color. Talk about options! And as global warming makes our winters more and more mild, these attractive trees from down south are slowly showing their viability in New York City. I even know of an estate manager creating his own hybrids that are tolerant of salt spray coming off Long Island Sound. Lagerstroemia indica 'Choctaw', photographed above, is a tall tree to 33', with clear bright pink flowers, light to dark cinnamon brown bark, and bronze-maroon fall color.
Cornus sericea is commonly called redosier dogwood. Planted in full sun this woody shrub can grow to 6'-8'. The new growth comes out a bright fire engine red, an extra color element in the winter landscape especially. I also like in spring when the new leaves are more chartreuse and contrasting the bright red stems. I would take selective branches and cut them back hard every couple of years to keep that red new growth coming back.
Cercis canadensis is another North American native that is a favorite small tree of mine. The bright pink/magenta flowers that bloom right on the dark stems in spring followed by heart-shaped leaves make it a great tree option for small city gardens. I'd plant this tree in a sunny protected courtyard in a second. The culivar 'Forest Pansy' has new growth that is more red and matures green as the tree ages, granted it is in full sun.
Most people know the glossy pachysandra that is all over the city, Pachysandra terminalis, but the above plant, Pachysandra procumbens, is the North American native alternative to the glossy form. Whether it is classified as being simply "aggresive" or more seriously "invasive", I'm not a huge fan of Pachysandra terminalis because it can easily take over other plants in the garden if left unattended. Therefore, I like the larger leaf and more mat-finish of Pachysandra procumbens which still spreads well in part shade and has similar clusters of sweet white flowers in early spring.

Street Trees in New York City

(The larger tree with the fluted growth habit is a Japanese zelkova, or Zelkova serrata. I love these street trees for their fall color that can range from bronze to russet to rich maroon.)

Question:
Would you happen to know what most of the trees are on the streets of New York? Someone told me that they were mostly Gingkos but I don't see a lot of them around.

Answer:
That is a pretty involved question but I will do my best to give you as much information as I can. Luckily for both of us I know a number of individuals who work for the Department of Parks & Recreation here in the city and I have been involved in many discussions and workshops about the present-state and future of street trees here in New York City. Most of the information I am about to share was provided to me by Parks & Recreation and if you would like to visit their website, I have created a link here.

The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation performed a city-wide street tree census from 2005-2006. For the census they defined a street tree as any tree growing within the public-right-of-way, or within 15 feet of the curb. With the help of over a thousand volunteers, Parks & Recreation determined that there were a grand total of more than 592,000 street trees growing in New York City. This census showed a 19% increase in street trees since the previous census performed from 1995-1996.

According to a summary put out by Parks & Recreation, census-takers identified a remarkable 168 different species of street trees. Furthermore, it was found that 74% of the overall population of street trees was comprised of only ten specific species. Here is a list of the top ten street trees in New York City for 2005-2006:

London planetree (Platanus x acerifolia) 15.3%
Norway maple (Acer platanoides) 14.1%
callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) 10.9%
honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) 8.9%
pin oak (Quercus palustris) 7.5%
littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata) 4.7%
green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) 3.5%
red maple (Acer rubrum) 3.5%
silver maple (Acer saccharinum) 3.2%
ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) 2.8%

As you can see, ginkgos are low on the list but still one of the most common street trees in New York City. It is also important to keep in mind that this information includes all five boroughs and may not be an exact representation of your neighborhood. In some neighborhoods we inevitably find higher populations of certain trees compared to others. For example, in my neighborhood in Queens I know we have mostly lindens, yet when I visit my brother down in Brooklyn I typically see only honeylocusts.

GreenTeam Street Planting in the Bronx

Those who know about The Horticultural Society of New York know about our tremendous community outreach programs. One such program is the GreenTeam, run by John Cannizzo. For more information, visit the HSNY website at: http://www.hsny.org/html/communityoutreach.htm

The following are pictures and text John recently passed around our office. They refer to a street tree planting, 28 trees in all, that was recently done up in the Bronx. With John's permission I wanted to pass on the following for you all to see and read as well. So, without further ado, a little insight into one of the many projects on our plates these days. Enjoy, -Alex Feleppa

Toya and Delon Sponner of FEGS
Getting the trees off of the truck gently is very important.
Dawn, moving the trees to their new homes.
These kids are totally into it in every way.
It is easy to feel good under the influence of the first planting of the year. These trees are part of an environmental remediation that also has a hint of environmental justice. The areas of the Bronx that suffer from the heat island effect most severely are also some of the least well served. This is incidentally some of the neighborhoods that supply the jails with their populations. The sites were picked out by The Hunts Point Multi-service center. One of 9 multi- service centers that offers everything from daycare services and nutrition for seniors to HIV treatment and substance abuse counseling and parole program and a health center. -John Cannizzo

Plum tree fruit in East Haddam, CT

Question:
Here's one I have been asking for 3 years without an answer: My green/yellow plum tree in East Haddam, CT. gets fruit every year but the plums fall off, every one, by the time the fruit is the size of a large olive. The dark red plums do very well.

Answer:
Have you ever seen any insect damage in the fallen, premature fruit?
There is a little beetle called a Plum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar). In spring, the adult females lay their eggs in the developing fruit, creating distinctive crescent-shaped slits. The hatched grubs eat the fruit tissue and eventually they fall to the ground. The grubs then leave the fruit, burrow in the soil, and pupate into adults. The damage seems visible enough though that you would have noticed it over the last few years.

Another question, and more difficult to answer. Do you know the species of the tree?
The genus is Prunus, that we know. The reason I ask is because so many fungal diseases and pests are very host specific, and knowing the exact genus and species of the tree might help narrow down the list down some. Again, I apologize, not the easiest question to answer.

Otherwise I am sure you are familiar with the general needs of the tree. Plums require full sun, well drained soil, soil pH between 5.5 and 7, and a regular watering schedule. If the tree consistently drops premature fruit I also wonder if supplemental watering might help the plant hold on to its fruit through maturity. However, if you have another tree in a similar location that is doing fine, again, I am stumped.