Ask the Experts
Backyard pros identify fall visitors and foliage.
Q Should I cut back my climbing roses in spring, in fall or not at all? Nancy Griepentrog WATERLOO, WISCONSIN
Melinda: If your roses bloom only once a year, wait to prune until right after they flower. Prune reblooming climbers in early spring before growth begins. Remove any dead, diseased or very old canes back to ground level for both types of plants. Cut side branches back 3 to 6 inches, leaving at least three or four buds to encourage more flowering. Train these shoots to grow horizontally for even more blossoms the following year.
Q I found this mystery plant deep in the woods. What could it be? Jim Abe UNION MILLS, NORTH CAROLINA
Melinda: The eye-catching, colorful fruit inspired this plant’s common name: American beautyberry. It’s native from southwest Maryland to North Carolina and Arkansas, then south to Mexico and the Caribbean. Beautyberry prefers full sun, is drought-tolerant once established and grows to 8 feet tall. It’s hardy in Zones 6 to 11. Lavender-pink flowers appear in the summer, followed by vibrant purple fruit. It’s related to Japanese and purple beautyberries, which you can also find at nurseries.
Q This quick little bird stayed still just long enough for a photo. What is it?
Greg Mazur BUFFALO, NEW YORK
Kenn and Kimberly: Congratulations on getting a good look and photo. This bird is a red-breasted nuthatch, a tiny acrobat that spends its time moving around rapidly in the treetops, often hanging upside down from a twig or climbing down the trunk headfirst. Red-breasted nuthatches are partly migratory, but in your area of New York, you should see them all year. Entice them to your feeders with sunflower seeds, peanuts or suet to get the best view.
Q Why shouldn’t we put bread or bacon grease in homemade suet?
Carol Coburn LONGMONT, COLORADO
Kenn and Kimberly: We know it seems as if bacon grease should be OK, since it’s animal fat just like beef suet. But the preservatives in bacon contain carcinogenic compounds that are harmful to birds. When it comes to bread, it’s sort of like junk food for birds—it offers very little nutritional value for them. So if they consume it on a regular basis, the lack of nutrients causes vitamin deficiencies that lead to serious, even fatal health issues. With so many safe and healthy options for feeding birds, it’s best to avoid these two potentially harmful items.
Q Birds do not visit the waterfall I installed in my yard. What is the problem? Christine Lopez STAFFORD, VIRGINIA
Kenn and Kimberly: Moving water is usually a magnet for birds. Without seeing the exact layout of your waterfall, it’s hard to say what to do to attract more visitors. The water could be flowing too fast, or there might not be enough shallow spots for bathing or rough-textured edges where birds can perch while drinking. If you can, try putting some large, flat rocks in the water. Find ones big enough to create areas where the water is less than an inch deep, just downstream from larger emergent rocks that will partially block the flow.
ATTRACT AUTUMN FLIERS As the weather gets cold, your feeder may get busier with nuthatches and other hungry birds. Serve sunflower, safflower and thistle seeds, and offer suet, peanut butter and dried fruit. Be sure to provide unfrozen fresh water, too!
Q What bushes offer good fall color and also attract birds? Jennifer Broadstreet Hess MARION, KANSAS
Melinda: Shrubs provide a great opportunity to end the season in a blaze of color, and many also provide food and shelter for birds. Chokeberry has beautiful red fall color and features red or black berries that persist into winter or until the birds gobble them up. Smaller serviceberries can be treated like shrubs. They produce fruit in June and have stunning color in the fall. Many viburnums, including our native American, arrowhead and blackhaw viburnums, produce food and have attractive autumn color. And don’t forget about roses. Some fade to a pretty yellow color that contrasts with the tasty rose hips.
Q I came across a group of these butterflies in October. Shouldn’t they be heading south? Susan Higbie GROSSE POINTE FARMS, MICHIGAN
Kenn and Kimberly: You’ve witnessed a fascinating phenomenon—the migration of painted lady butterflies. They’re not common in Michigan and the upper Midwest, but once every few years they suddenly show up in big numbers. This typically happens in summer or fall. The monarch butterflies that migrate through Michigan in autumn are headed south to the mountains of Mexico, but painted ladies don’t have such a definite destination, and they may be migrating in any direction.
Q My forsythia bloomed in November. Will it bloom again in spring?
Debbie Sharkey JUNEAU, WISCONSIN
Melinda: I often see forsythia, lilac and other spring-blooming trees produce flowers in the fall. Extreme temperature fluctuations, drought or other stressful growing conditions can trick the plants into thinking they went through the dormant period, causing them to bloom. Buds that flower this late in the year, unfortunately, won’t bloom next spring.
Q After we brush our dog, we set the clean fur out for birds. Does the insulation help them in winter?
Jane Carter FALMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS
Kenn and Kimberly: Putting your dog’s fur out for birds to use as nesting material is an imaginative way to recycle. Many birds use animal hair as nest lining material if it’s available; for example, in the past, chipping sparrows were famous for using horsehair in their nests. Most birds only use their nests for raising young, and they don’t sleep in those nests at other times of the year. However, bluebirds roost in boxes during the winter, and a well-insulated nest left over from summer might help them on the coldest nights.