Winter is a stark reality here in the North in December.
The garden is bedded down, and all plants that require special protection should have it before the month is very old.
All small deciduous trees planted this year can be protected from sunscald and drying out of the main trunk if the latter is wrapped.
Spiral Wrap: Winter Protection
A special tree trunk wrapping called a spiral wrap might be purchased from local nurseries or garden stores.
All smooth bark trees such as basswood, mountain ash, apple, crab apple, and maples should be given this special winter protection, which will protect the hark from mice and rabbit injury.
Flowering crab apples and hawthorns are becoming more popular as ornamental trees for the home grounds.
The so-called rosy bloom varieties such as `Flopa’ and ‘Radiant’ (and others) seem to be preferred because their bright pink or rosy flowers give a colorful display in early spring.
Cedar-Apple Rust
Hawthorns and some varieties of crab apples are subject to cedar-apple rust; apples are susceptible to this disease.
Cedar-apple rust is a disease caused by a fungus that lives on the trees mentioned.
Many varieties of cedars, especially the eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and the western red cedar (Juniperus scopulorum) and their varieties and other junipers grew in home landscape plantings such as the Savin and the horizontal varieties.
Both the cedar and the apple are alternating hosts to this disease and must be near each other to enable the fungus to complete its life cycle.
Since both kinds of plants are grown as ornamentals on home grounds, there is a strong possibility of the disease getting started.
Fungus Life Cycle
The life cycle of this fungus is interesting enough to read about and understand. It would take too many words to discuss it fully in this column.
The disease does little damage to cedars but can harm the other hosts, disfiguring their foliage with countless rust pustules that also devitalize the plant.
One way to stop this disease is to remove the dormant fungus galls on the cedars in winter.
But since the spores from cedar galls can travel as much as a quarter of a mile, infection of the foliage of the alternate hosts can occur from sources beyond local control.
Thus, it is also important to spray susceptible crab apples in spring every 10 days when flower buds develop and bloom.
Witches Broom Disease
Another disease known as a witches’ broom can be readily observed and controlled in winter.
Witches’ brooms are generally more unsightly than they are injurious, although I have seen some large green ash trees so seriously affected by them that they had to be cut down.
The term witches broom is given to abnormal twig growths stimulated by injuries caused by mites, fungus, viruses, and insects.
Witch brooms occur commonly on hackberry and ash trees. They are also seen on spruce, pine, fir, and locust.
Pruning out the affected branches is about the only practical control measure.
This can be done at any time of year, but since this abnormal growth can be more readily seen against the winter sky, pruning is done at this time.
Evergreen Live Tree
Although Christmas tree lights on evergreen trees ordinarily are not harmful to them, it is considered unwise to use them on young plants and newly planted specimens.
The heat from the electric bulbs should not damage mature and established trees.
The living Christmas tree idea has not proven successful in the North.
Live evergreen trees used as Christmas trees cannot be planted or stored successfully by the average homeowner after they have been used for the holiday season.
However, a living tree can be selected and used as a gift item for a friend or member of the family who would have a good use for a plant.
A gift certificate will serve the intended purpose until the plant can be delivered at the proper planting time in spring.
44659 by Robert A. Phillips