Winter damage, fairy rings and choosing the right tree
WINTER DAMAGE SCALE YET TO BE SEEN
Q: I don’t have a green thumb! I have a no thumb. I don’t know what to do! My great azaleas look like this after the two ice storms. [The reader sent a photo.] Are they doomed? I appreciate you.
A: The jury is still out as to how much damage our azaleas have suffered. Different varieties definitely have different amounts of damage. I see green in your picture, so I don’t think the plants are dead. Will they bloom? Maybe, but not a full show for sure. We are beginning to see plants coming out of dormancy — there are forsythia and some spirea blooming, along with early tulip magnolias, which will probably get zapped by a late cold snap. Continue to enjoy the brown landscape for another month, and then we can start to assess and prune. It looks like your plants needed pruning anyway as they are above the window line, so there is your silver lining.
FAIRIES DESTROYING YARD…?
Q: I know this question is not timely, but I am asking it now to get prepared. I used to have an amazing zoysia lawn. About three years ago, I had a couple of brown circles that just appeared in the grass. My service told me I had fairy ring and I would need to dig up the whole yard and replant. Well, I sure didn’t want to do that so I paid a lot of money for treatments that are not doing much. Each year, more and more of my lawn is disappearing. Whatever fairy ring does, it doesn’t seem to hurt the weeds, since they are everywhere. Help! Do I really need to dig up the yard and start over? Asphalting is sounding pretty good right now. A: I am not sure that your problem is fairy ring. Fairy ring is a difficult disease to get rid of (as are most lawn diseases) but it usually produces a green ring of grass. White mushrooms can appear in the area as well. What you are describing sounds more like brown patch, a common fungus problem. Here is a link to an extension fact sheet about it: arkansasonline. com/218patch. Read this and see if it sounds like what you are talking about. To be sure of what problems or diseases you have in your lawns or gardens, you can take plant samples to your local county extension office. They can send them to the disease diagnostic lab in Fayetteville. Fresh samples are important. For lawn samples, you need actively growing grass in a transition area — between good and bad, with some soil and roots attached. Proper diagnosis of a problem is always the first step in finding a solution.
TREES SHOULDN’T BURDEN HOME, FOUNDATION
Q: We have just finished a new house and want to plant some trees. We have found some we like and want to get them planted soon. We are avoiding power lines for sure, but how far away from the foundation should we plant so they don’t cause problems down the road?
A: Thank you for planning. I wish everyone did. Learn something about the mature size of the type of tree you are planting. You need to know not only the ultimate height of the tree, but the mature spread of its canopy. You don’t want branches rubbing on your house or roof lines — as well as power lines. Usually, we plant a tree 15-30 feet from the foundation of a house, again, depending on the size of the mature tree — not the size at planting.