When trees in the forest drop their leaves, nutrients in the leaves eventually return to the soil to nourish the trees. If you’re like most homeowners, you rake the leaves from your lawn, leaving the trees without the nourishment they get in the forest.
Over time, soil fertilizer may decline, and trees can suffer from insufficient nutrients, says Mel Koelling, forestry specialist at Michigan State University. He says symptoms that trees need fertilizing may include smaller-than-usual leaves, light-green or off-color foliage, little or no growth of twigs and branches and a general lack of vigor.
“Trees that are growing poorly are slow to recover from injury and more susceptible to attack by insects and disease,” he says.
The best time to apply fertilizer to trees is while they are dormant. Root growth continues into winter, and trees will take up nutrients as long as their roots are active.
Recent research proves that feeder roots of trees are in the top 6 to 8 inches of soil, so you need not drill holes around the tree to put in fertilizer. You can simply sprinkle it on top of the ground around the tree, out to the edge of the limbs. A 10-6-4 analysis is recommended, or use a special tree fertilizer. An easier method is to pound convenient fertilizer tree spikes into the soil around the tree.
Q. I have three flowering peach trees. One of them is being eaten by something. I have different types of trees on the property, and this is the only one affected. Pictures are enclosed. Do you think I can save it? — CAROL OSWALD, LANCASTER
A. Your tree may have been hit by cicadas or wasps seeking nesting material. Peach trees are not easy to keep healthy. Peach-tree borers, as well as a multitude of diseases, attack them. I asked Virginia Tech’s tree expert to look at your photos. She says the damage to just one tree could be caused by its location, it being a weaker tree or something genetic, especially if the peaches are different varieties, making one more attractive than the others.
Prune off the wounded branches, unless that will remove too much of the tree. You should never prune off more than 25 percent of a tree at one time. Wait and see what it does in the spring. There is no way to know if the damage will kill the tree, but the pictures show that the tree has been making callus tissue around the wounds, in response to the damage. This is good.
GARDEN CUTTINGS
If you went for the blue and purple poinsettias this past Christmas, you can carry it even further with cut flowers that glow in the dark. Luminous roses and plumed chrysanthemums were auctioned for the first time in December at the Aalsmeer flower auction in Amsterdam. These cut flowers “light up” in the dark and are marketed under the brand name “Glowing Flowers.” The flowers are subjected to a special treatment of black light, after which they glow in the dark. It does not affect their vase life.
Remember, the best way to dispose of your live Christmas tree is to take it to the Chesapeake Street entrance of Lancaster County Central Park by Sunday. A $1 donation is requested, but you can return to pick up free bags of mulch. Each year, 1,500 trees are mulched at the park and turned into 22 tons of mulch. For information, call 299-8215.
Bob Stiffler is a freelance columnist whose column appears every Thursday. He lives in Willow Street. Send your gardening questions to: Bob Stiffler, c/o Your Life, P.O. Box 1328, Lancaster, PA 17608-1328. Letters are edited only for brevity and will be printed in the order received. For a faster reply, e-mail him at: rstiffler@dejazzd.com.
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