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Fall is
here
Brown
pine needles; cutting back, pruning and fertilizing foliage and
shrubs
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[October 08, 2007]
Fall has been with us by the calendar, and now
temperatures are looking like they are going to coincide with what
we consider fall. Fall brings many opportunities to do things before
winter, but many are best left undone.
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 To begin with, you may have noticed a very large number of brown
needles on evergreens this fall. That may even have translated
to large piles of needles under your evergreens in the past few
weeks, especially white pines. In most cases there is no cause
to worry. Evergreens usually keep only one to four years of
needles (one to two years' growth for white pines) on the ends
of branches. Depending on weather, the old needles will turn
brown and drop off. Usually this is a gradual process that isn't
noticed too much. This year it happened all at once. If the buds
on branch tips are plump and green, odds are your tree is fine.
There are a few species of pines, such as white and Austrian,
where problems may be severe. White pines may suddenly wilt and
die. They are not well-adapted to many of our weather extremes,
such as hot, cold, very wet or very dry. The sudden decline and
death of white pines is caused by environment and not some
treatable affliction. Austrian pines are very susceptible to
several fungal diseases, and their life expectancy without
consistent treatment will be in the 30- to 40-year range.
Several calls have come in concerning the proper time to
prune or cut things back. Let's start with some flowers. Keep in
mind that perennials keep building their food reserves until all
the leaves and stems are brown. For peonies and other similar
flowers, you want to wait until all the above-ground plant parts
are brown. Then you can mow them off or cut them at ground
level. This same principle goes for most perennial flowers --
wait until the above-ground parts are no longer green. Remember
that many forbs and flowers such as mums keep much of their
stored energy for the winter in the couple of inches above
ground.
For trees and shrubs, pruning is best done at other times.
Flowering shrubs should be done after they flower; high-sap-flow
trees are best done in December; and most other trees are best
done in February. The evergreen trees and shrubs are best done
in late June.
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Keep mowing that grass until it stops growing. Keep in mind that you
should remove no more than one-third of the leaf blade at any
mowing. This helps reduce the thatch buildup that can lead to
disease problems. At this mowing frequency, there is no need to
catch clippings or use a thatching system (unless you are thatching
leaves as you go).
Plan for next year's garden planting scheme now. It wouldn't hurt
a bit to apply some lawn and garden limestone to the entire area,
especially where you will have tomatoes, green beans and peas. The
only areas to not put lime on are where acid-loving crops, such as
blueberries, will be. Assuming you are applying about a pound of
nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, apply about 4.25 pounds of lime to
the same area. This rate would also be appropriate for lawns.
If you are looking to use the iron chlorosis plugs for pin oaks
or sweet gums, between December and February is the best time to
insert the plugs. During this time, the sap should be low in the
trees and it will pick up the micronutrients as it rises in the
spring. This should help you get away from the symptoms of
light-colored leaves and premature browning of leaves.
[Text from file received from
John
Fulton, University of Illinois Extension,
Logan County Unit]
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