In a Mast Year, One Big Oak Can Drop 10,000 Acorns
An oak tree can produce a modest number of acorns one autumn and cover the ground with thousands the next. During particularly productive years, sidewalks become difficult to walk across, squirrels have more food than they can collect, and homeowners may…
Some Oaks Hold On to Their Dead Leaves Until Spring. Botanists Call It Marcescence
Most deciduous trees lose their leaves in fall, yet some oaks remain covered in dry, brown foliage well into winter. A young oak may retain nearly its entire canopy, even after several hard freezes. Older trees often show the same pattern on their lower…
Ginkgo Trees Drop Their Leaves Almost Overnight, and a Hard Frost Usually Sets the Date
I’ve never been much of a ginkgo fan. I know that sounds a little strange for a nursery owner, but seven years of work with plants have taught me to tell the difference between a beautiful tree and one I’d actually want in my own yard. Ginkgo…
Beech Leaf Disease Has Spread to 15 States, but Yard Trees Still Have a Chance
I’ve been in charge of our family nursery in Ohio for seven years now, and in that time I’ve learned to recognize quite a few tree problems, often just by looking at a photo a customer shows me on their phone. But beech leaf disease has…
Deer-Resistant Shrubs for Yards Where Deer Keep Coming Back
Deer can cause serious damage to ornamental shrubs, especially during winter when natural food becomes scarce. Rutgers Cooperative Extension classifies landscape plants into four categories based on deer damage. Category A means rarely damaged, B means…
How Deep to Plant a Tree (and Why Planting Too Deep Kills It)
The question of how deep to plant a tree is one of the most basic parts of my work with ornamental trees. After more than 15 years of working with plants in residential yards, I know how easy it is to misjudge the depth of a planting hole. A young tree…
How Often to Water a Newly Planted Tree or Shrub
After more than 15 years of working with ornamental trees and shrubs, I still consider proper watering one of the most important parts of successful planting. A young tree can look perfectly healthy above ground, even when its root ball is already too…
The Best Time to Plant Trees Is Fall, While the Soil Is Still Warm Enough
The best time to plant trees is early fall, generally from September to October across much of the northern United States. It’s important for the soil to be well above 55°F (12.8°C) at a depth of six inches, or approximately 15 centimeters, at the…
When to Prune a Limelight Hydrangea (and Why Not in Fall)
I should say right at the start that hydrangeas are not plants I would claim to know every trick about. We have sold them for years. I know what they need in a yard, and I can give decent advice to a customer who needs help with a variety. Put me at a…
How to Tell If a Tree Is Dead (Even in Winter)
I decided to write about this now because winter is approaching, and I know how often people look at a bare tree during the colder months and assume its days are over. We get the same question at our nursery every year, and my answer usually starts the…
