Category: The Gardening Guy

How to rebalance your plant life

Well-intentioned people of the past century imported many handsome plants. Unfortunately, some of them, absent the predators of their homeland, became pests here in America. These “invasives” generally spread quickly by seed and root, and can take over our gardens and adjoining wild places. Many will grow in sun or shade in wet or dry soil — in other words, anywhere!

This is a good time to work on removing as many invasives as you can. You can obtain the entire list online as each state keeps a list of plants that are considered invasive and are prohibited from sale, propagation or transportation. But let’s look at a few that are common and important to remove, no matter where you live.

For me, those include bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). I recently organized a work day on a hiking trail in Cornish that focused on honeysuckle and barberry. We tried to pull these shrubs by hand, but also used a device called a weed wrench for bigger specimens.

Although “weed wrench” is used generically, it was in fact a trade name, but the company has gone out of business. Similar tools can be found under the names “Pullerbear,” “Uprooter” and perhaps others. I have used Weed Wrenches, but not other brands. These are steel tools with sturdy handles and a gripping mouthpiece that bites onto the stem of a shrub up to 2 or 3 inches in diameter, depending on the model. You pull back, and with great leverage you pull out the culprit, roots and all. Some brands come in different sizes.

Many invasive plants are hard to eradicate because if you leave a part of the root in the ground when pulling it out, it will re-sprout. And simply cutting down an invasive tree or shrub usually will often not work: The roots will send up new shoots, and may respond by sending up many, many new shoots.

But don’t be discouraged if you can’t get all the roots out. You are severely setting back the plant you pulled and it will be several years before the plant can produce seeds for birds to distribute elsewhere.

Buckthorn is one of those that responds to cutting by sending up many new plants. Instead of one buckthorn or a clump of buckthorn, you get dozens of buckthorn. But you can kill buckthorn by girdling the trunk. Take a small pruning saw and cut through the bark all the way around the trunk. Don’t cut into the hardwood, just cut the bark. Then go 12 inches higher up, and do it again.

Girdling a buckthorn is a slow death: you are interrupting the flow of sugars from the leaves to the roots, which slowly starve to death. I have done this in winter, and the tree leafed out and seemed normal that spring and the next spring. The third spring it never leafed out — it was dead, and did not send up any new sprouts around the tree.

That said, it is not always easy to girdle buckthorn. They often grow with several trunks that merge near the base and grow tightly together. So a folding saw with a pointed tip is the best way to get into the cluster of stems. Or try to cut the clump twice down low, near the base.

During the recent work day in Cornish, I spoke with someone who explained a theory of invasive plant control that made a lot of sense to me. It was a theory proposed by Dr. Steve Dewey of Utah State University, and was based on the way firefighters approach wildfires. When a fire is raging, sometimes all you can do is try to contain it, and look for places where the wind has sent sparks that are just starting a new fire.

Likewise, when there is a bad infestation of an invasive plant like honeysuckle or barberry on a property, look around for spots where a single small plant is growing. It will be easier to pull than a big one. And within a few years, a small plant will be a big plant producing seeds for birds, wind or water to move to a new location — and to produce a big patch. So put out the glowing ember first, then work on the big fire — or infestation — next.

An easy invasive plant to pull is garlic mustard. This is a biennial weedy plant and might not be thought to be so bad. But its roots produce a toxin that kills beneficial soil fungi that will, in time, reduce tree viability. It can grow in deep shade in our forests. The toxin it produces will eliminate the mycorrhizal fungi that live in symbiotic relationship with our trees, gradually weakening the trees — and killing them. Not only that, garlic mustard inhibits the germination of seeds of many species of native plants, including many spring wildflowers.

As a biennial weed, garlic mustard has two forms. In the first year it produces a low rosette of rounded leaves. The second year it sends up 18- to 36-inch flower spikes with pointy, heart-shaped leaves with jagged edges. The small white flowers have four petals and bloom in clusters about an inch or more in diameter. One plant can produce about 4,000 seeds. And although about 70 percent of the seeds will germinate the next year, some will remain viable in the soil for up to 10 years.

So organize a work party in your town — it’s more fun than taking on invasives on your own. Try to remove any one of the invasives that threaten our woodlands and wetlands. Your grandkids will thank you one day.

Featured photo: Honeysuckle leaves are oval and opposite each other on the stem. Courtesy photo.

Every gardener has an opinion about when to start planting the vegetable garden. Frost-hardy plants like spinach, onions and peas should already be in the ground for most everyone, but tomatoes and peppers? I believe that waiting until June is right for my garden, even if we get no more frost.

Why do I plant later than many others? Tomatoes and peppers like warm soil. In fact, they’d rather be growing in Mexico than Cornish Flat. Yes, you can plant them early, but they won’t grow much. They’ll sit there and sulk. If you can get your hands on a little soil thermometer, check your soil down 3 or 4 inches. If it is 60 degrees or more, fine. Have at it.

Another way to decide when to plant is to ask an “old timer.” Ask someone in your neighborhood when it is safe to plant various crops. If she has been gardening in your neighborhood for the last 25 years or more, her advice is probably excellent.

If you started seeds indoors, your tomatoes or broccoli may be tall and lanky. So tall that they will fall over when planted. The solution? Plant much of the stem in the ground, either in a deep hole for the root ball, or sideways in a shallow trench. Remove any low leaves to make it look like a little palm tree. Then make a hole for the root ball with a 6-inch trench next to it. Lay the tomato seedling in the ground, and gently turn up the top while covering the stem with soil. All the buried stem will produce roots. Broccoli or other brassicas I just plant deep if they are too tall.

Potatoes can go in the ground now unless your garden is still soggy. In fact, don’t plant anything in soggy soil. I have a somewhat soggy place for my garden, but I make raised beds, which helps with drainage. I have made two kinds of raised beds: raised mounds (30 to 36 inches wide) or wood-sided raised beds. I use rough-sawn hemlock planks that are a full inch thick and 8 inches wide. Pressure-treated wood is now said to be safe to use in the vegetable garden, but I prefer untreated hemlock, which I find lasts about 10 years.

Potatoes are started from chunks of sprouted potatoes, or from whole, small potatoes. Buy “seed potatoes” at your local feed-n-grain store, hardware store or garden center. Grocery store potatoes are likely treated to avoid sprouting, although organic potatoes are probably fine. Seed potatoes are sold as disease-free, which is important. If you cut large potatoes into chunks, make sure each has a couple of “eyes,” where they will sprout stems. Leave them in a shady, breezy place for a day or two to heal the cuts.

Loosen the soil well and dig a hole with a hand tool. You want the spud to be at least 3 inches deep when planted as the new potatoes need space to grow above the seed potato. Cover with just an inch of soil at first, but then fill the hole with more soil after the leaves and stems are up above the soil level.

Peppers and eggplants I plant as small plants in mid-June. To give them even more warmth at night I sometimes cover them with row cover (a thin agricultural fabric sold at garden centers). And I’ve been known to place dark-colored rocks near some special French hot peppers I grow to store heat during the day and kick it back at night. Peppers and eggplants can be wind-pollinated, but bees help too, so don’t leave row covers on once they start blooming.

Parsnips I plant by seed in mid-June, and they generally take two weeks or more to germinate. Most seeds are good for three years, but you must buy parsnip seeds every year. Like all root crops, parsnips benefit from having loose soil with few rocks (oh, sorry, Vermonters).

Be sure to thin all root crops in early July once they are big enough to grab onto. Give the carrots an inch to start, then a month later thin to 2 inches. You can eat the thinnings. Beets, same thing. And beet greens are delicious.

What about unusual veggies? I like to buy an artichoke plant at my local greenhouse. I have started them from seed, but it is a long process starting in February. Give your artichoke a 2-foot square of space, add lots of compost and a little organic fertilizer, and place it in full sun. Make sure it does not dry out. It will produce one good-sized artichoke at the top of the plant, and smaller ones as side shoots. The foliage is lovely, so you can plant one in your flower garden!

Swiss chard is pretty enough to sneak into your flower beds. Get Bright Lights chard, which has red, yellow and green stems.

Beans come as bush beans or pole beans. Bush beans all ripen over a three-week period and are then done. Pole beans, if you keep on picking them, will keep producing until frost. Kentucky Wonder is the classic pole bean, though Kwintus is my favorite. It’s good eating, even when large.

A word of caution about fertilizers: More is not better. Chemical fertilizers can burn fine roots. And too much organic fertilizer can push growth too fast. Compost is always a good addition to your planting hole.

I never use insecticides in the garden. Their side effects can be awful for you, your kids or pets. Just hand-pick bugs, or spray off little things like aphids with a stream of water.

Featured photo: Beans. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Spring blooms I love

Spring has teased us this year. She comes, she goes; warm sunny days are followed by high winds, cold rain and even pellets of ice. But the spring flowers persist, starting with those dainty white snowdrops that appear reliably in early March for me. Let’s look at a few — bulbs, shrubs and trees. Perennials I will do on another day.

Snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) bloom with white blossoms on short stems in early March, but seem a bit depressed, I think. They always turn their faces down to the ground. I have some “double” snowdrops that really are gorgeous, but I only see their extra petals when I bend down and turn their faces up. Probably not worth a dollar a bulb, which is what they cost. Snowdrops tend to naturalize, becoming more numerous each year and moving out from flower beds and into the lawn.

After the snowdrops come Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae). These are cheerful blue, pink or white flowers that look up to look at me. Sometimes I think they wink at me, saying, “Hey dude, look at us. We are spring.” I mainly grow the blue ones. These naturalize well, spreading quickly.

Related to Glory of the Snow, but more intense in color and attitude, are Siberian squill, most commonly referred to by their scientific name, Scilla (Scilla siberica).They are a deep purple, and their faces point down, looking at their sneakers.

Along with those flowers come a bright yellow one, Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis). These are low-growing, upward-facing flowers with five to eight petals (actually sepals, but who cares?). Like the others, they tend to spread and increase in number. Order some now, along with the others mentioned, and plant them in the fall.

You know crocus, but you might not know that there are 80 or more distinct species of crocus. Some are very early, others bigger and later. Go online and look at all the varieties. These are good for early pollinators hungry for pollen and nectar.

Daffodils are mildly poisonous to rodents and deer, so they avoid them. Mine are now in full bloom. There are 13 classes of daffies, each quite distinct. Tulips are flavor treats for deer, and rodents love the bulbs. So maybe you should grow them as potted flowers. Or take your chances. Having several cats will help tulip bulbs survive, and a dog will keep the deer away. My favorite is ‘Maureen,’ a 24- to 28-inch-tall late bloomer, but I love them all!

Most trees do not have showy blossoms. Why not? Most are wind-pollinated, so do not need to attract pollinators with flashy blossoms or great fragrances. You might never have noticed the blossoms of pines or oaks or maples. Actually, you must have seen red maples (Acer rubrum) bloom. They are early, one of the first trees to blossom. The blossoms are small and fuzzy in appearance. But there are so many blooming at once, you will notice them if you hike in the woods in April.

But of the showy trees, the best in my opinion is a hybrid magnolia called ‘Merrill’ or ‘Dr. Merrill’ (Magnolia x loebneri ‘Merrill’) named after the Director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard in 1952, but actually bred by Karl Sax. It blooms reliably for me in the last week of April and into May. The blossoms are double, fragrant, and 2 to 3 inches across.

This week my leatherwood bush (Dirca palustris) is in bloom with heart-stopping beauty. It is a small native shrub that blooms in dry shade for me. It has lovely gray bark much like beech trees and yellow blossoms that appear before the leaves. The blossoms are small and elegant, and almost seem to glow. It is not a common shrub for sale in nurseries. Mine has upward-growing branches in a vase-shaped arrangement. I love it and visit every day when in bloom.

Then there is February Daphne. Well, maybe it blooms in New Jersey or Virginia in February, but it blooms in April for me. It has lots of small pink-purplish stemless blossoms up its branches. It is highly fragrant. It is only 3 to 5 feet tall and wide, and rarely needs pruning. It is native to Europe and Asia, not here, and is said to spread by seed distributed by birds. But in 20 years I have never seen a volunteer on my property. Some people react poorly to the sap, and the berries are toxic if eaten by humans. It likes a part sun-part shade spot.

Perhaps a better shrub to choose would be a fothergilla, which is native and early. There are two species, Fothergilla major and F. gardenia, also known as dwarf fothergilla. It has wonderful white bottlebrush flowers in May and best of all, it has fabulous fall foliage color. Red, orange, purple and yellow leaves on one plant! It is not a fast-growing plant, and rarely needs pruning.

Another early bloomer and a great producer of berries for birds is small tree or large shrub called shadbush, serviceberry or by its scientific name, Amelanchier spp. I see them blooming along the roadsides in May, nice small white blossoms that remind me of wild apple blossoms. It has nice gray bark, and they often grow as multi-stemmed plants. I have a few, but the fruit is eaten by birds before I ever get to it.

Featured photo: Winter aconite blooms about the same time as snowdrops. Courtesy photo.

It may be time to rethink your outside space

It’s about the right time to do a little work on your lawn if it needs it. According to Paul Sachs, owner of North Country Organics and the author of several books on lawn care, if you want to fill in bare spots, wait until the lawn greens up after winter.

To fix bare spots I use a short-tined garden rake to scuff up the soil. Then I scatter some seed with my hand, just sprinkling it over the spot. Next I sprinkle a thin layer of compost or fine garden soil over the seed. Finally, pat it down with your foot, lightly, or with a metal tamper.

It’s important that the seed not dry out while it is getting ready to grow, so often people shade the seed with a fine layer of hay or straw. Of course hay has seeds, so straw is better, albeit more expensive. You can leave the straw and just let the seed grow through it.

Why do places in your lawn need help? Most lawn grasses do not like to grow in compacted soil. So if you park cars on the lawn, or walk over it every day on your way to the mailbox, it will get compacted. Enter (drum roll) CRABGRASS. Crabgrass will grow in compacted soil, but it is an annual, so it dies each winter — or by late summer if it gets too dry. The solution is simple: Build a stone path to the mailbox and park cars only in designated parking areas.

Let’s rethink the concept of a lawn. Why do we need a large patch of short grass at an even height all around our house? Sure, people with kids and dogs need some place to play ball or Frisbee. And if you like to have friends over and sit around a barbecue grill, a little lawn is nice. But do you really like mowing an acre of lawn once a week, or paying someone else to do it? Maybe it’s time to reduce the size of your lawn and plant some more native trees and shrubs.

Entomologist Doug Tallamy is the author of a terrific book called Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard. He suggests that we can help birds and pollinators by growing native trees and shrubs — and by adding more to replace some lawn, especially in new subdivisions and in-town lots.

Birds depend on the caterpillars of moths and butterflies to feed their young. He determined that 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars are needed to feed a clutch of chickadees from hatching to fledging. That’s an amazing number of caterpillars, especially since most of us never even notice them.

Those butterflies and moths will mostly only lay their eggs on trees and shrubs they know: our natives. Even if your barberry or burning bush has been growing in your yard for 50 years, they probably will ignore it and look for an oak, a cherry or a willow — trees they evolved with over tens of thousands of years.

Dr. Tallamy makes a great suggestion about how to think about lawns: Think of lawn as you might throw rugs, not wall-to-wall carpeting. Bump out with trees planted along the edges of your property line, reducing the lawn with native trees. Create nice curves, then add some understory shrubs along the edge of the newly “forested” area.

In addition to the oaks, native cherry and willow trees, other “keystone” trees include birches, poplars (he calls them cottonwoods) and elm. He said just five percent of the genera of plants support 75 percent of the caterpillars. Great perennials include goldenrod (the absolute best), asters, and members of the sunflower family. There are many tame goldenrod species that will not take over your garden, so expand your plant palette to include “Fireworks” goldenrod and other nice varieties.

But back to lawns. My philosophy of lawns is this: If it is green and you can mow it, it’s a lawn. It need not be free of dandelions and Creeping Charlie. Yes, dig out thistles, or anything that hurts your bare feet. But violets? Sure, why not? Anything that blooms will provide nectar or pollen for bees and other pollinators.

Clover actually helps your lawn, despite being called a weed by the companies that promote using the “Weed-n-Feed” chemicals that kill it. Clover fixes nitrogen, taking it from the air and putting it into the soil, reducing a need for lawn fertilizer.

If you want a rich, lush lawn, don’t cut it too short. The longer the grass, the more food produced to grow grass roots.

When you add grass seed to fill in spots, I recommend a mix of seeds, not a pure Kentucky bluegrass, which is the neediest of all grasses. It needs fertilizer, and watering. A “conservation mix” will do better for you. And if you are planting in a shady area, get a mix made for shady places. Those sun/shade mixes are not as good for shady areas as those designed for them.

Soil pH is a measure of soil acidity. If you are serious about your lawn, buy a kit at the local feed-and-grain store or garden center to test the pH. If you have chlorinated water, buy some distilled water to use with the kit. If the soil pH is lower than 6.2, add some lime (ground limestone) to your soil to bring up the number. Lawns don’t do so well in highly acidic soil.

When I see a weed-free lawn, I know it’s been treated with chemicals, and so I won’t walk on it. You, your kids and dogs shouldn’t either.

Featured photo: Volunteers built this greenhouse that was paid for by a grant. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Gardening for a community

I recently went to Brattleboro, Vermont, to meet with the organizers of Edible Brattleboro. It is an informal group of people who believe that “access to fresh healthy food is a right for all, regardless of means. This serves as the basis of the work we are doing, and we do our best to eliminate barriers to benefitting from our work, and thus everything we offer is free.”

The prime movers behind this movement are Tom Green and Marilyn Chiarello, who have been working to turn empty spaces and lawns into places for food production. Both are retired school teachers. Marilyn saw a TED talk by Pam Warhurst in 2015 and decided that something similar could be done in Brattleboro.

That first year Edible Brattleboro approached the local food cooperative and asked for a strip of land between the parking lot and the Whetstone Brook. The Coop agreed, and volunteers built a 4- by 8-foot raised bed. They have since expanded this space, growing strawberries, tomatoes, herbs and more. Volunteers plant, weed and water as needed. Anyone can help themselves to the free food; there are no questions asked.

By now there are gardens and fruit trees all over town that were started by Edible Brattleboro. I went around with Tom and Marilyn and looked at some of their projects. Three cherry trees are planted in front of the town hall, and other fruit trees are planted on school property. Another garden is at an addiction recovery center, Turning Point, where there are raised beds in the front lawn.

Another garden is at the Root Social Justice Center, at the edge of their parking lot. Volunteers made container gardens using food-grade plastic 55-gallon drums using designs Tom found online. They have water reservoirs so that water wicks up into the soil in the drums, and daily watering is not needed. Tom also got some one-cubic-meter “intermediate beverage containers” that originally held sugar syrup. Again, he fitted them with water reservoirs to avoid daily watering.

Edible Brattleboro has had good luck getting small grants to support their activities. Although not a 501(c)3 themselves, they work under the auspices of Post Oil Solutions, a local nonprofit that sponsors them. But they will work with any organization that will help in their efforts.

Often low-income residents do not have the tools they need to garden. Fortunately, in Brattleboro that is not a big issue as the town library has a “lending library” of tools and kitchen equipment that they furnished with a grant from the Vermont Foodbank. The library’s grant included money to purchase a simple wooden structure in their parking lot to house the tools, and a part-time librarian to check out tools at specified times. For beginning gardeners, having a source for the basic tools can be an important saving.

We also visited a large greenhouse for extending the season and growing things like tomatoes and peppers in a controlled environment. Tom Green and volunteers put it up this winter, and they look forward to using it shortly. It sits on space offered by the Brattleboro Retreat Farm, a nonprofit.

There is a weekly farmers market in Brattleboro and Tom and Marilyn couldn’t say enough good things about the generosity of the farmers. At the close of the market each week volunteers from Edible Brattleboro visit the market and collect produce donated by farmers. They got a grant to buy a large refrigerator to hold perishables, and have an outdoor “Share the Harvest” table the next day at Turning Point.

So what can you do? All communities have both gardeners and people in need. What is needed in most towns are people like Tom and Marilyn. People with a commitment to helping, time, and organizational skills. Except for Tom’s work building the green house and large self-watering containers, no special skills were needed for what they have done.

Some sort of organizational structure is needed. I like the idea of joining up with an existing nonprofit so that grants and donations can be made to a certified 501(c)3, allowing donors to take tax deductions. That also lets people know that their money will be used properly.

There are organizations you could link up with, perhaps. You probably already know about soup kitchens and food banks in your town or a nearby town. So you could plant a little extra this year with the idea of sharing. Or you could help to organize others in your area to join with you.

Churches are another good place to start gardens. They generally have lawns in full sun, and people who want to help others. The soil in any lawn generally needs improving, but I bet most farmers would be delighted to donate some compost or composted cow manure to add to the soil. Garden centers are generally willing to donate some seeds or seedlings when the time comes, or perhaps a few bags of compost. So all you need is people power. I bet you will be gratified at how willing others will be to help.

Featured photo: Volunteers built this greenhouse that was paid for by a grant. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Early-in-the-season gardening chores

I’ve finally had a few days of dry weather with temperature in the 50s, so I have been able to start some spring cleanup. Some of my beds are still too wet, so I will wait on working there until my feet don’t sink in. Walking on wet soil compacts it, ruining soil structure.

My first chore is always to rake up the sand and gravel that the snowplows leave on my lawn. I use a straight-edged shovel that is made of aluminum and is sold for barn cleanup. I rake the sand into the broad shovel, and dump it into a wheelbarrow. If I see that the grass is being pulled up, I wait until later, when the grass has fully woken up.

Next on my list is to pick up any downed branches. Winter always does some “pruning” of dead branches. If I can reach any jagged tears where branches have broken off, I snip or saw them back to the trunk or the branch where it originated. And this is a good time to take off those plastic wraps that protect young trees from mice and voles.

I don’t generally rake leaves out of my flower beds in the fall, as I like the extra protection against erosion and cold temperatures they provide. But that means that bulb plants are covered now, and the ground is insulated from the spring sun. I want the soil to warm up. So I try to clean up places where I know there are spring bulbs as early as possible.

If the daffodils are poking through, I use my fingers to pull back the leaves. I fear that a rake will damage the tender stems and flower buds. In other places where bulbs are not up yet, I use a rake and gently rake off the leaves. Sometimes I will bring along a scrap of plywood or a 6-inch plank to stand on as I work, minimizing compaction.

This is when I prune blueberry bushes. By now it is easy to identify the fat, round fruit buds as opposed to the skinny little leaf buds. I remove branches that aren’t producing fruit, allowing for more sunshine to get into my plants.

For the past few years a foreign fruit fly has badly damaged blueberry crops. The spotted-winged drosophila (SWD) infests ripening fruit, causing it to get mushy and unpleasant. This is in contrast to ordinary, native fruit flies that only lay eggs in over-ripe or rotting fruit.

At present the only way I know that organic growers can prevent damage is to cover bushes with row cover or a very fine mesh. But that is a big bother when it is time to start picking. The SWD appears fairly late in summer, so early-ripening varieties can sometimes avoid them.

Of course if you haven’t cut back all your perennials, spring is a good time to do that. I like to wait until spring to cut back some perennial flowers with seeds. Finches and other seed-eaters enjoy the seeds, particularly when bigger, greedy and aggressive birds or squirrels are hogging the seeds at the feeder.

In the fall I usually do a good job of weeding and mulching the vegetable garden with fallen leaves or straw. In the spring I rake the mulch of my wide raised beds so that the sun can help to dry out and warm up the beds. I leave the mulch in the walkways to inhibit weeds, and later I will add new mulch around my tomatoes and other plants.

My roses haven’t woken up yet, or not by the time I wrote this, but will soon. I have a dozen or more roses and most are very hardy. I particularly like the Knockout rose series. They are very resistant to diseases, do not seem to attract Japanese beetles or rose chafers, and are very vigorous. But each spring I need to cut back the canes to a point where the tissue has not been winter damaged.

You can easily tell if the stems of your roses are alive by rubbing a stem gently with your thumbnail. If it shows green, it is alive. If it is not green, it is dead. Cut back any stem to a place where there is a bud on tissue that is alive. Or you can wait until they leaf out, and cut back the dead parts. If you have a few shoots that got much taller than the rest of the plant, you should cut those back for aesthetic reasons.

Spring is also a good time to pay attention to the “volunteer” shrubs and trees that show up uninvited. There are several invasive species that birds plant seemingly “willy-nilly” anywhere they perch. Seeds pass through them and start growing without your help. But you should pull these shrubs and trees before they get so big you need a backhoe!

Here are some to look for: bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), barberry (Berberis thunbergii), burning bush (Euonymus alatus), Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), blunt-leaved privet (Ligustrum obtusifolium) and the vine Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Norway maple (Acer platanoides) and common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) are trees that are also common and invasive.

Why worry about invasives now? They are more obvious in the landscape. Most get a jump on the growing season by putting on leaves while our native plants are still asleep. Plus, you have time now. So go dig them out if you can. Cutting them down usually just stimulates them to set up many new plants from their roots.

Later, when spring warms up, we will be planting our veggies and annual flowers so we won’t have time for many of these activities. So get out there on the next nice day.

Featured photo: This aluminum shovel is lightweight and good for cleanup. Courtesy photo.