We are very well stocked with chimes, colorful rain chains and garden ornaments.  This particular one is perfect for Valentine’s Day gift for gardeners and one of our favorites!

This nice, durable apron and gardening tools, along with some plant markers make a perfect gardener’s gift basket!

Colorful Good Birds!  These are unique to Good Earth and make perfect little porch or garden art!

Good Earth gift cards for gardeners are always a great option…

Sara Reeves Photo

These coco leaf lamps brighten any space! They can be placed outdoors in a covered area.

Indoor blooming plants like these lovely cyclamen can make the best gift for gardeners who have everything.

Sara Reeves Photo

Fragrant candles in recycled wine bottles!

A fun planter, a fresh houseplant and a mister make a great gift option.

Cheerful chimes!

The post 2024 Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas For Gardeners in Arkansas appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

The post Cool Season Veggies appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Sara Reeves Photo

Home gardens and do-it-yourself landscape projects experienced a huge boost in popularity over the past two years, and the trend shows no signs of stopping!  More time at home has given us all more time to contemplate how to use our spaces in a way that better fits our families and our lifestyles.

Looking to get started on your project but aren’t sure how (or where) to get started?  Our trained professionals have these tips for you!

• Take an inventory of your existing landscape features. When you think about spending time in your outdoor spaces, what are you missing? Some examples might include lawn area for playing, garden space for vegetables and herbs, or curb appeal as you drive up to your home.
• Set goals for your project and write them all down. You may not be able to get to them all this year, but keeping them in mind and planning for the future cuts down on double work. If you know that you will want a vegetable garden at some point but you won’t have time to implement one this year, go ahead and figure out a good sunny spot for it this year, and avoid filling it with landscape plants that may have to be relocated in the future.
• Now that you know what you are working with, and have your goals in mind, it’s time to buy plants, right? Not yet! Take pictures and measure your space. Figure out how much sun and at what time of day it gets. Our team will help you match your space with the plants that will work best in it, so the more you know about your space, the better the match.
• Ok, now you can head to the garden center! At Good Earth, the inventory is organized by sun needs; plants that love full sun are grouped together and shade to part-sun plants are grouped together. Within each category, there are evergreen and deciduous plants, one that blooms and others that don’t. Don’t get overwhelmed, we have team members available to help you every step of the way!
• Take your haul home, place plants where you think they should go, stand back and look at them, then adjust as needed. Then plant! Proper planting is key to long term plant success. We have you covered here too, with numerous helpful blog posts and videos with detailed information on all kinds of topics, including:

Starting a DIY Landscaping Project? Read This First…

Landscape Design Tips for the DIY Homeowner

How to Plant a Plant

To find out all kinds of helpful information, visit our online Learning Center. If your landscape is showing signs of winter stress right now, be sure and check this blog post out, Plant Recovery After a Hard Freeze.

The post Top Pro 5 Tips on Doing Your Own Landscape Project appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

If you haven’t read our last blog post, the aptly named Reasons to Prune , we suggest doing so before reading this one. A large part of good pruning includes understanding the reason you are pruning. Coming back to the reason throughout the pruning process will help you keep on track.  When you lose sight of why you are pruning, you can also easily lose sign of how to prune and what your next cut should be.

What to Prune

This post is all about what to prune and when, which are the next pruning steps to keeping your garden healthy and thriving.  Many plants don’t have to be pruned and only need occasional trimming to keep their natural form.  Unless you are creating or maintaining a special feature like a topiary, we suggest working with the plants natural shape.  It will greatly cut down on the amount of work needed.

Types of ‘Pruning’

Shearing

As discussed in the Reasons to Prune post, there are different kinds of ‘pruning”, and shearing is one.  One example of this process of cutting off the top of a plant  Ornamental grasses and ground covers like liriope respond well to being sheared; old growth is removed before new shoots emerge from the ground. Another example of shearing is cutting off the ends of all the branches, which is often done to shape a hedge.  This also works well.  Some people like defined shapes and space between each plant, and shear back rows of foundation planting into a loosely round-ish or square-ish shape.  Depending on what kind of plant you have, this may not be necessary and often times, it leads to plant decline due to lack of interior foliage. This process is often done with hand or power shearers versus pruners or loppers.

Trimming, Cutting Back and Cleaning Up

Trimming back a plant usually describes the light trimming a plant might need when it grows a random long shoot that is out of place.  Also in this category of pruning is the clean up of perennials. Shrub roses such as Knock-Out and Drift Roses also fall in this category, since they are usually getting cut back to the same height, although some selective removal of old canes may occur as well. This is a more selective process than shearing.

True Pruning

This is the process of selectively removing branches from a tree or shrub, in a slow, thought-out process, keeping the plants’ natural shape in mind and thinning out to allow more light and air into the plant canopy. This isn’t the easiest or fastest method but depending on the plant, it may be the best method.

When to Prune

There are two ways of looking at this; if you want to think of it as a calendar of chores, here is a link to our Arkansas Gardening Calendar.  You can look at each month for what should or should not be pruned at that time.

You can also think of pruning in categories and generalities; evergreen shrubs versus spring blooming shrubs.  We thought that the most helpful way to look at it might be by plant categories with a little more in depth information on each.  We start with some easy straightforward ones and build up to more complicated categories, like the ever tricky hydrangea! By the way, if that’s what you are most interested in, here is a post all about hydrangeas, include when to prune different species.

If you have a specific pruning question that isn’t addressed here, please call or email us before making the first cut. We don’t want you to cut a spring bloomer right before bloom time and miss out on all your blooms, for example!

Groundcover

A clean up of groundcovers like liriope, sometimes commonly called monkey grass, should be done before new growth begins in the spring.  February is a great time to do this.  Shearing back to remove winter damaged leaves before new green shoots emerge makes the clean up process easier and the plant will most likely flush much stronger than it would have if it was also struggling to keep damaged leaves growing.

Shearing isn’t recommended for all groundcovers; for example, vinca minor and semi-evergreen perennial groundcovers don’t really need pruning but might benefit from a light trimming. Or, if they have grown out of bounds, a heavier cut back and root prune (a whole other topic!).

Other groundcovers like Asiatic jasmine are sometimes sheared into short hedges, all the same height.  This can be done in February as well, before new growth begins.  This will help the area look more consistent as it grows.

Perennials and Hardy Ferns

Hardy ferns and most perennials (there are exceptions such as hellebores which are late winter blooming) can be cleaned up in the fall as needed. Unless you are keeping seeds for spring seeding or wildlife, spent blooms and stalks can be removed. Dead or diseased branches can be removed then as well. For non-woody, or herbaceous, perennials like hostas whose leaves die back in the first killing frost, you can remove the leaves.

A heavier handed cutting back of perennials should be done in February so the new growth comes back strong in the spring. Keeping the extra growth on between fall and late winter will help protect the plant from winter damage.

Since new growth for The Autumn fern, a popular evergreen fern, should be cut back now before new growth begins.  Also, clean up any evergreen perennials before their new growth shoots up. Phlox

Hydrangeas (Timing depends on species)

As mentioned above, hydrangeas are interesting because different species needs to be trimmed differently for best results.  Here is a link to the hydrangea post and quick details for different species are below.  Remember, if you aren’t sure which kind you have, come talk to us before pruning.

Mophead and Lacecap Hydrangeas (H. macrophylla)- After bloom in June/July

Oakleaf Hydrangeas (H. quercifolia)- After bloom

Panicle Hydrangeas (H. paniculate, includes the popular Limelight)- fall, winter, early spring

There is always a bit of confusion about when to prune everblooming shrubs like Endless Summer Hydrangeas; since they bloom all summer, you can deadhead spent blooms throughout the season, then prune in the fall.

Spring Bloomers (After Blooming)

Most spring bloomers, especially ones that bloom in the early spring, such as quince and forsythia, can be pruned after blooming ends.  Trimming in the fall or winter will remove flower buds.  Light shaping can be done at the end of the growing season as needed but keep in mind, reducing plant volume will reduce blooms.

Prune back spring blooming viburnums and loropetalums after blooming as well.

Spring blooming spireas, such as Bridal Wreath, can be thinned after blooming.  Avoid shearing back, as this will alter the graceful natural shape of the plant, in a way that’s hard to recover from.

Azalea (After spring blooming)

Azaleas have a wonderful natural form so it’s best to work with that when pruning.  Look for the tallest branches that need trimming back and follow the branch down under the canopy height you are trying to keep.  Prune just above a fork in the branch to encourage further branching.  As a good rule of thumb, do not remove more than 30% of the plant at any one time.  Since azaleas should be pruned mostly for shaping reasons, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Encore azaleas bloom often… so when do these get pruned? Same time as ‘regular’ azaleas, after the spring bloom!

Roses (Timing depends on rose type)

Prune your Knock-Out, Drift and Hybrid Tea roses around Valentine’s Day each year, but wait until after blooming to prune your climbing roses. Also wait to prune any other roses that only bloom in the spring until after they bloom.

Pruning shrub roses is pretty simple but important because they only bloom on new growth.  This is why pruning out old, unproductive canes is important, as well as removing obvious dead wood. The goal with pruning shrub roses is to encourage new growth; you can cut Drift Roses back to about 8” off the ground, in a rounded shape. With Knock-Outs, you can prune those down to about 18” off the ground, and taking note of the remaining structure left. Remove shoots that cross through other branches, or ones

Hybrid Tea roses usually have many less canes than shrub roses. Identify the healthiest looking 5 to 7 canes and keep these, pruning to a height of around 18 inches off the ground.  Remove old, unproductive canes. The easiest way to do to this is to cut the whole rose back to around 2 feet then make selective cuts and cane removals as previously described.

Ornamental Grasses (February)

The last few categories have been a little more complicated but here is an easy one!  Let grasses to their lovely winter thing until February, then gather the top growth into a bundle and tie with twine about 2 feet off the ground. Most grasses can be sheared down to a height of about 8 to 12 inches off the ground.  Taller grasses can be sheared on the higher end of the this and dwarf grasses on the lower end. The method of tying up the bunch makes clean up much easier!

Crapemyrtles (February)

This is a big one and it’s often done incorrectly. Avoid crape murder… read this post for details. Spoiler alert, less is more with crepe myrtles!

Camellias (After blooming)

Pruning of camellias is can be done for a variety of reasons and the reason will determine the pruning type. You might prune to remove dead or dying branches; this will help new growth emerge. If there is a severe scale issue, pruning the plant back hard (as well as treating the pest) could help it recover more quickly and vigorously. Pruning of camellias can also be done to re-shape, although we suggest working with the natural shape, as opposed to severe pruning or shearing. And last but not least, if you are growing yours as an espaliered tree, that will take some trimming, pruning and shaping.

As far as timing goes, any hard pruning should be done after bloom period ends, which differs between species. Lighter trimming can be done other seasons as needed but keep bloom time in mind (C. sasanqua bloom in fall/early winter, C. japonica bloom in late winter/early spring) so as to avoid removing too much before blooming.

Deciduous Trees (February)

Prune in late winter or early spring before new growth emerges.  Trimming trees should always be a thoughtful process; consider each cut before making it.  Pruning to shape trees is best done when they are young. As the trees mature, removal of branches growing into the canopy of the tree or ones crossing other branches may be needed. ‘Limbing up’ is the process of raising the canopy height of a tree and is the gradual removal of lower branches and twigs as the tree grows.

Broadleaf Evergreens (Early spring)

Prune boxwoods, hollies and other broadleaf evergreen shrubs in the spring after they flush out for the season. You can also lightly, selectively trim during the summer.

The above recommendation is for shrubby branched evergreens; ones with shoots that come out of the ground, instead of branching off a trunk are different.  Plants with this cane-like growth pattern includes  fatsia, nandina, mohonia and others. For these plant types, remove tall canes as needed to a 2-4 inches above the soil line. This thinning process won’t have to be done each year, only occasionally… and sparingly. It should only be done when these taller canes are too tall and shading out the majority of the plant canopy.

Needleleaf Evergreens

Most needleleaf evergreens don’t require trimming and can even start looking wonky with pruning so have a plan before trimming.  Evergreens grown as spirals, like Blue Point Juniper often is, will require shearing back into shape a few times a year.

Summer Blooming Shrubs (Timing depends on plant)

This is a large group of shrubs and contains many different kinds of plants.  Let’s talk through a few of the most popular, starting with summer blooming spireas such as Goldmound. Shear this plant back pretty hard in February; it blooms on new wood so the goal is to encourage strong new growth.

Indian hawthorns usually don’t require much trimming but if needed, they can be trimmed after summer blooming ends.

Gardenias can also be trimmed back after summer blooming ends. Bloom set for traditional gardenias is in the fall so avoid pruning during fall, winter or spring. This will remove flower buds. For re-blooming varieties, such as Southern Living’s Jubilation gardenia, you can prune after fall bloom.

Another summer bloomer is Rose of Sharon; this large shrub or small tree blooms on new wood and can be pruned during late winter or early spring before new growth emerges.

Annuals

Annuals only grow for one season, either the warm or cool season here in Arkansas. Trimming usually consists of cutting back leggy growth to encourage new blooms. To keep annuals as healthy as possible, remember to fertilize throughout the season!

Fruits

We have several new blog post for fruits; here are links to each.  Pruning information for blackberries is in the post; fruit trees should be pruned in February, and blueberries should be pruned in the summer.

How to Grow Blackberries in Arkansas

How to Grow Blueberries in Arkansas

Fruit Trees in Arkansas

Pruning fruits is an intricate process, and is a whole post by itself… on each fruit type!  We haven’t done these yet, so here are links to great resources from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.

Blueberry Production in Arkansas

Fruit Tree Pruning

Research Before Planting

If you are thinking of adding to your landscape any time soon, and will be plant shopping, take note of the mature size of each plant before purchasing.  Keeping a plant at half the mature size can be challenging to you, and potentially harmful to your plant. Choose a plant whose mature size will work in your space. We suggest measuring the space before leaving your home.  If there are windows or a porch located behind the planting area, measure how far off the ground they are.

Last but not least, if you want a more mature looking landscape now, buy an older, larger plant as opposed to more plants that will then require more pruning maintenance. And exception to this would be when growing a hedge that will require frequent shearing anyway or green screen for privacy, where the goal is for plants to grow in together.

Still have questions?  We can help; just come by and see us!

The post When and What to Prune appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Healthy plants, properly planted in the right place (sun requirements), and appropriately watered will always grow well… right? Not necessarily!  Soil health and composition are key to long term plant success.  How do you know how ‘good’ your soil is?  A soil test is the best way to find out, and we are very excited to announce we now have Good Earth brand Soil Test Kits! These easy to use kits can be purchased at Good Earth, mailed directly to the lab, with clear, concise recommendations emailed back to you.

How Good Earth Soil Test Kits Work

It’s easy; start by registering your kit.  This matches the soil sample you will be mailing out to your contact information. Instructions are on the back of the package and also on the yellow card inside the packaging. After you register your kit, measure the space you want to test, collect soil from 4 different spots in that area, and mix those samples together. Then fill the soil sample bag to fill line, place in postage pre-paid envelop and drop in the mail. Your soil will be tested by a leading national lab, who will then email your results to you. They will also be emailed to us; we love this part because we can take a look at them with you.  Which means our team can still help you, even if you don’t have results with you or have trouble accessing them on your phone.

Best of all, you don’t have to remember how to do any of this. On the front of each kit is a QR code that takes you to a website with video instructions on how this works.

Lab Results and Treatment Recommendations

The lab will be testing for all kinds of crucial soil information such as pH, macro and micro nutrients, CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity), and organic matter.  The results you get back will give you concise, easy to understand results and recommendations. Up until now, we have only had basic soil kits available here.  These gave macro nutrient and pH levels but no specific recommendations. As a result, we often sent customers to their county U of A Cooperative Extension Service office, who then sent it off to a University soil lab.  This is still a good option but the difference between those results and our new Soil Test Kit results is vast.

The Extension results have been designed more for farmers growing field crops or managing forage crops for livestock. The results are great, very detailed… but they are also complicated, hard to interpret and sometimes include products not easily found in garden centers.

Our Soil Test Kit test recommendations are more concise. We take those confusing numbers and turn them into a simple report. You’ll receive the lab’s soil report, but you’ll also receive a simple overview and actual product recommendations from our soil experts. For example, if the results indicate you need to add sulfur, it will also tell you how much of our Hi-Yield Soil Sulfur to use for your square footage.

A Few Tips

As you register your sample, you will see that there are four categories for soil samples.  Garden, Lawn, Problem Area and Wildlife.  Landscape beds falls into the Garden category.  Let’s say you have a lawn area that just isn’t growing well and a landscape area where the shrubs don’t grow vigorously.  To really see what is happening in both areas, you might consider purchasing two tests and sending them off for separate analysis.  Register each kit separately, and give each a nickname so you know which is which.

Why Soil Testing is Important

The interactions of pH and nutrients is complicated, so complicated that we have a blog post just about pH, that goes into more detail about the relationship. Here is a link to that post.  Very high or low nutrient levels can affect plant health as well. If you have consistent issues in an area, have done all the ‘right’ things and can’t figure out what’s going on, send off a soil sample. If you are building a new garden bed with a variety of composted material, send off a soil sample before planting.

Soil health is important and getting a soil test is the first step to making sure your soil is as healthy as possible for what you are trying to grow.

The post Good Earth Soil Test Kits appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

The answer is yes, we do offer gift cards, in any amount!  We aren’t set up for online purchases BUT it’s still an easy process.

• If you are local, just stop by the garden center!

• If you aren’t local or won’t have the chance to visit us, give us a call at 501-868-4666 during our business hours.  Over the phone payments for gift cards can be made via debit or credit card and we can mail your receipt to you.

• Provide the mailing address of where you would like the gift card sent, along with a short message to the recipient and we will get it in the mail to them.  You can also choose to have the gift card recipient pick up the card in person, whichever works best for you.

Still have questions?  Give us a call!

The post Good Earth Gift Cards appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Why do we prune? What is pruning? What are the types of pruning?

Some plants need to be pruned, thinned or trimmed back while others do just fine with no shaping, and can even look worse after pruning efforts.  In this post, we want to share more about the reasons to prune and in our next post, we are going to talk more about what to prune and when (link to that post will be in next weeks’ newsletter).  You can also check out our Gardening Calendar for some timing guidelines.

Quick aside on some terms; pruning usually indicates a slower process with selective cuts. This would be when you are cutting a branch or shoot, then stepping back to consider the next before cutting.  Pruning not only cuts off shoots, it encourages new growth in that the process typically allows more light to enter the interior of a plant. Shearing usually refers to cutting back the ends of most exterior branches to create a certain shape or maintain a certain height.  With ornamental grasses and groundcovers like liriope, shearing is cutting down the entire plant to a certain height. Thinning a plant is different still and is the preferred method for plants whose shoots come out of the ground, as opposed to off main trunks or larger branches.  Thinning can also refer to the removal of interior branches on a ‘regular’ shrub or tree.

Don’t prune just to prune. There needs to be a reason or why do it? You could be turning your low maintenance landscape into a high maintenance landscape for no good reason.  And if you prune, you need to know why you are pruning to know how to prune each particular plant.

Top Reasons to Prune

Shaping Plants

The first reason to prune is to create or maintain the shape of a plant.  Let’s say you have a plant you are trying to train into or keep in a certain shape.  An example of this might be a holly, shaped into a tight, pyramidal form.  Although some hollies naturally have this shape, you will need to shear it to keep the shape, especially if you are aiming for a formal, symmetrical look. Pruning to maintain shape may be as simple as pruning back a few leggy azalea shoots after the spring blooming season.

When pruning for shape, we often see shrubs that have been sheared to the same height year after year.  These plants typically only have a very thin layer of foliage on the outside of the plant.  We suggest keeping regularly sheared shrubs in a soft pyramidal shape as opposed to round; this way the foliage on the bottom of the plant would continue to get sunlight. When they are pruned into spheres, the top of the plant shades out sunlight to lower leaves and branches.

A Little More on Shaping Plants

Some plants do better than others when consistently sheared. For example, Compacta hollies tend to lose most, if not all, of the interior foliage after years of regular shearing. Other hollies, such as Nellie Stevens holly, seem to take consistent shearing better and keep more interior foliage.

Unless you are willing to invest some time (or money to have someone else do it) on regular pruning, it’s best to work with the natural shape of the plant and consider the mature size of a plant when planning your landscape. Trying to keep a large plant at much smaller size can also stress a plant, making it more susceptible to disease and insect issues.

While there are specific times of year to do a ‘hard’ prune, most plants will be fine with a light shaping any time year.  You can go ahead and cut that wild abelia shoot off in the summer, no problem!

Create and Maintain Special Feature

All topiaries from geometric to fanciful, will require trimming or pruning. And so will espaliered trees or shrubs.  You may also choose to grow that huge loropetalum as a tree instead of a large shrubs, which will require removing lower branches. Before you cut, keep in mind that maintaining a shape that is far from a plants’ natural shape will be more work.  But many people find it therapeutic so we aren’t trying to talk you out of it!

Healthier Plants

Pruning is also often done to assist a plant in recovery from storm damage, such as the removal of branches broken under the weight of snow or ice. Portions of plants may also expire due to root injury, wind or mechanical damage. A good time to assess the situation is late winter or early spring. If branches break easily and show no green when the outer bark is scraped back, it may be a dead branch. Cut back to a living portion of the branch or further if needed to maintain a good shape. If you see dead branches during the growing season, it’s fine to prune those out then as well. If it’s winter, and you aren’t sure, feel free to wait until spring to see if the branch that might be dead leafs out and prune when it becomes obvious it won’t. Promptly address dead branches that may be hazard to people, pets or property.

You might also need to occasionally prune tree branches that have a narrow angle to the trunk as opposed to a more typical, stronger wide angle.  Picture a tree trunk and a branch growing from it.  The closer it is to a 90 degree angle, the stronger it is. The more narrow that angle is, the more susceptible to breakage it can be.  One well known example of this issue is the Bradford pear, a tree notorious for for splitting.  The natural structure of Bradfords includes narrow branches so we suggest choosing an alternate tree.  Most trees have wider branch angles and only the occasional narrow angled branch that will need to be removed.

Control Disease or Insects

Severe disease and insect infestations can be another reason to prune.  An example of this would be a crapemyrtle taken over by crapemyrtle bark scale (learn more about crapemyrtle bark scale in this post).  If you have tried all the other control methods and can’t get it under control, reducing the size of the plant can help in controlling a persistent pest.  We would caution against this being the initial go-to method of resolution though.

Thinning a shrub can increase air flow; good air flow will reduce disease and insect issues.  Thinning a plant will also make controlling these pest issues easier.

Rejuvenate Aging Plants

As mentioned above, pruning can encourage new growth, which creates another good reason to prune… to rejuvenate aging plants.  Plants don’t live forever but by taking good care of them, you can extend their lifetime.  Let’s say you just moved into a home and you are seeing plants with dead branches, or maybe the boxwoods only have foliage on the outside.

These plants might benefit from being cut back severely.  That may sound er, severe, but what we mean by that is they need to be cut back further than usually recommended to remove dead or dying branches. If the roots are healthy, new shoots should emerge and a new shape can be developed.  If the roots aren’t healthy, the plant may not recover from a hard pruning.  You might not know until you try to rehabilitate a plant.  Sometimes, these drastic measures are worth it to try to recover a plant. Sometimes not; that choice is yours to make.

Increase Blooms or Fruit

Careful pruning of fruits (both trees and brambles) will encourage blooming and therefore, fruiting. Deadheading (removal of spent blooms) shrubs or perennials that rebloom throughout the season will encourage new blooms. Shrubs like roses and butterfly bushes bloom best on younger, vigorous growth and later in the season. Since pruning encourages this growth, the action increases blooming.

Bottom Line

In conclusion; you don’t need to prune just to prune. Have a reason in mind. If you don’t start with a good reason, determining what your next cut will be is difficult.

Try to work with the plants’ natural shape; most plants have a wonderful natural shape. And, in general, avoid removing more than 30% of the top growth at any time. Exceptions are cleaning up or cutting back perennials and groundcover such as liriope.

Now that we have introduced you to the reasons to prune, we suggest reading our next pruning post; When and What to Prune in Arkansas.  This is key because some plants bloom only on current years’ growth (also called new wood), while others bloom on last years’ growth (old wood). This means that if you trim certain plants at the wrong time of year, you may be drastically reducing your blooms…eek!

The post Reasons to Prune appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

This article covers the topic of controlling Crapemyrtle (also sometimes spelled Crepe Myrtle, Crepemyrtle or Crape Myrtle) bark scale.

There is a new, serious threat to one of our favorite trees.  It’s even more serious than the unsightly and oft mentioned crape murder.  As a reminder, crepe murder is the extreme pruning of crepe myrtles that results in weakened and deformed trees.  If you aren’t sure how to properly prune your crepe myrtles, check out this post.  Okay, jumping off that soapbox, let’s talk about the Crapemyrtle Bark Scale.  It has been around the Southeast for years but this insect showed its destructive little head in Arkansas a few years.  Are we gonna just take this or are we gonna fight?  We say fight!

*Pictures of Crapemyrtle Bark Scale were provided by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

Crapemyrtle Bark Scale (let’s call it CMBS) is a small insect that appears as a white or gray felt-like encrustation.  CMBS might be found anywhere on crepe myrtles bark, and often appears near pruning sites and branch crotches of more mature wood.  Often times, the first sign of CMBS is the black sooty mold on the tree bark.  This may be misleading since a more common and easy to control pest, aphids, can also cause sooty mold.  Closely examine the affected areas to properly identify the pest.  Bring us samples or images if you aren’t sure.

This tree is heavily infested with CMBS; notice the gray and white insects all over and the black sooty mold covering the entire surface of the tree bark.

Life Cycle of CMBS

As with most insects, there are several life stages and the appearance of CMBS changes with the stages.  CMBS might be able to overwinter in the adult female and egg life stages, and crawlers and later stage nymphs have been observed overwintering under the loose bark and in cracks and crevices of crapemyrtles in our area.  In one year, there could be at least two generations of CMBS.  This can be a difficult pest to control and it may take multiple years of treatment.

So, how do we fight this pest?  Keep reading!

Again, black sooty mold with gray and white specs being CMBS.

Treatment

The best window for control is late April or early May as the crepe myrtles begin to really flush.  Apply a soil drench of an imidacloprid product such as Ferti-Lome Tree & Shrub Systemic Insect Drench during this period.  If CMBS are in your area, it would be a good idea to apply this as a preventative measure during this window.  This imidacloprid product is a soil drench that is watered into the root zone, specifically in the drip line of the tree (above graphic) where the feeder roots are located.

Every month past May, the effectiveness of control decreases since the plants are growing less and less.  During times when crepe myrtle trees are not in leaf, apply sprays of dormant oil (containing paraffin oil), taking care to apply under loose bark and in cracks and crevices.

Here is the list of what you can do and when it needs to be done:

Anytime

Mix dishwashing soap with water and scrub the branches with a soft bristle brush. This is not necessary but it will remove the unsightly black sooty mold.  We have heard of people using pressure washers to remove sooty mold; we do not suggest this course of action, as it can cause  damage to the tree.

Late Fall-Early Spring

Once the tree defoliates or before it puts on new foliage, spray with a dormant oil.  This can be done multiple times.  Apply thoroughly, making sure to get the product under crevices in the bark and between branches.

Late April-Early May

Apply Ferti-Lome Tree & Shrub Systemic Insect Drench.  Mix with water as directed, and apply in a band along the drip line of the plant, as a soil drench.  To measure the crepe myrtle, add up the circumference of all trunks at chest high (about 4.5 feet off the ground).  For example, if you have 5 trunks and the trunk circumference is 4 inches each, then you have a total of 20 inches in circumference.

The drench will need to be applied to the drip line of the plant.  The drip line of the plant is considered to be the outer circumference of the plant branches and inward toward the trunk several feet (see diagram above).  In order to apply this 20 ounces properly, it will need to be mixed into several gallons of water so that there is enough volume to be applied in a 3-4 foot band from the drip line in towards the tree trunk all the way around the plant.

Late Summer-Early Fall

Treat with Hi-Yield Systemic Insect Spray using a hose end sprayer.  This should be done after blooming has ended for the season.  Be sure to coat the trunk thoroughly.  As with all chemicals, use as directed on the label only. If the tree is located near other blooming plants, skip this step.  It’s not a crucial step in the control process and it’s not worth potentially damaging any beneficial insects.

For more information, visit the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service fact sheet.  We thank them for providing the images!  The Good Earth Garden Center has what you need to save your crepe myrtles….come see us!

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What does a severe freeze mean for your landscape?  Keep reading!

*PLEASE NOTE:  Below are basic tips for normal hard freezes, however, we are currently scheduled for lower than normal weather early next week (specifically on January 15, 2024).  Many parts of Arkansas are projected to dip below average lows in various USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, and windchill numbers will further reduce the temperature we will experience.  Not sure what your zone and corresponding low is?  Here is a link to the official map. Notice how we mention ‘average low’; this is the number zones are based on.  It’s important to note that plants often grow well in zones that are on the fringe of hardiness for many years, and then freeze out when we go below a zone average temperature.  This doesn’t mean the plant isn’t hardy here, it means that nature was predictably unpredictable.

Plants that are most susceptible to damage are those on the fringe of hardiness (not cold hardy in zones lower than your zone), plants in pots (as opposed to those planted in ground), plants that have existing damage (from drought, drainage issues, insects or diseases), and newly planted materials. Beside following the tips below, there isn’t much that can be done but we mention this to temper expectations.  If a plant is struggling going into this winter event, it’s possible that any additional damage sustained from this event may be too much for it to come back from. Often times, freeze damage isn’t fully realized until the summer stress of heat and drought arrive.

• Plants that are fully winter hardy in our zone should be fine; they will show normal winter damage, especially on any tender new growth. Blooms that have fully opened could be damaged as well. You will most likely see some defoliation, especially on semi-evergreen materials, after a freeze event. For recovery tips, please read our Plant Recovery After a Hard Freeze post.
• Tender, just barely hardy, and subtropical plants are the most susceptible to damage. They should be moved indoors or at the very least into a garage to keep the foliage and root balls from freezing. If this is not possible due to the size or weight of the plant they can be covered with a frost cloth or sheet to protect them.
• If you have plants that need a little extra protection, we do carry frost blankets, call us for availability. Frost blankets (ours are called N-Sulate) can trap heat from the soil, raising the temperature inside the covered area above the actual outside air temperature. The covering should be secure all the way to the ground to trap as much ground heat as possible and the colder it is, the more layers will be needed to to protect your plants, just like yourself in cold weather. Pull cover back during daytime warmer temps.
• We do not recommend plastic sheeting, since it can trap a lot of moisture and heat on a sunny day and may cause more harm than good to the plant that you are trying to protect.
• Snow can weigh down frost blankets; try to give blankets support so your plants don’t break under snow weight, if snow is forecast.
• If you are growing cool season veggies, be sure to cover and protect them.
• Plants don’t like to freeze dry. Water any dry plant material well; ideally 48 hours ahead of a severe freeze. Pay extra attention to any plantings that are under cover and don’t get rainfall (think porch pots). Water is a good insulator and the wet soil is warmer that dry soil, and this will also keep the plant hydrated during the cold dry air. Mulching around landscape plants is also recommended to protect the roots form freezing temperatures and maintain moisture.
• Winter or early spring bloomers, such as Camellia japonicas, forsythia, and deciduous magnolias, may have buds and blooms to protect. Frost blankets will protect the blooms during a frost but with air temperatures in the teens and twenties for hours, the blooms might not survive even with the blankets. Expect some flower drop after this cold spell. Tight, unopened buds should be fine.
• Mulch protects plant roots; if you haven’t mulched yet, remove any leaves from your landscape beds and add mulch.  Or, leave a thick blanket of leaves for protection and plan to clean out and mulch after leaf clean up is finished for the season. For more details, visit this blog post.
• Disconnect water hoses and protect water spigots.  Hardware stores offer a variety of freeze protection options for spigots.
• Remove your RPZ meter or protect with heat tape.  For more details on this, visit our recent video blog post on winter watering.

Have questions?  Give us a call!

The post Freeze Warning appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

This article covers the topic of pruning Crapemyrtles (also spelled Crepemyrtle, Crepe Myrtle or Crape Myrtle). Quick note; this is a great time to inspect your crepes for a serious pest called Crapemyrtle Bark Scale (CMBS).  Here is our complete blog post on this pest, including how to identify and treat it.

When to Prune?

If you do choose to prune your crepe myrtles, pruning should take place in mid-February to avoid winter injury. Pruning should be done only to shape the tree; not to severely control plant height.

Pruning is also not necessary for blooming. The seed heads from last year can remain on the plant all year, and you will still get good blooming in the current year.

What is the correct method?

First of all, pruning crapemyrtles is optional; if the plant is in the correct place and can grow to its mature size, let it grow!

If you need to prune your crapemyrtle tree or shrub, thinning branches to limb up the crapemyrtle is the correct method. Remove lower limbs that are thinner than a pencil diameter.

While the plant is young, it is acceptable to prune the top of the branches. When it gets older, this is unacceptable.

As a bonus, pruning correctly is much less work than incorrectly pruning!

What is the incorrect method?

This is a well debated issue and one that plays out differently all over town.  Some of us even call the severe pruning of crapemyrtles ‘crape murder’!  Crape murder weakens the plant making it more susceptible to disease and insect infestations.

If the plant is improperly placed and gets too large for its current position, consider transplanting it before a severe pruning. Crapemyrtles transplant very well!

A severe pruning will result in a ‘knee’ and will result in many smaller weak limbs shooting out from the knee.  If cut in the same place each year, the plants develop a knob on the end which is particularly unsightly in the winter.  Pruning lower limbs that are less than a pencils’ width in diameter is completely acceptable since this will not leave any scars.

There is one exception to this rule; harsh pruning of dwarf crapemyrtles is acceptable and will not result in ‘knees’.

If you are going to prune, prune correctly!

So, in conclusion, crapemyrtles trees are usually grown as small trees with 3 to 5 trunks that are kept free of small limbs up on the lower part of the tree (up to 2/3 of the height). Thinning of limbs every few years will encourage new growth and blooming but remember to prune only limbs that are less than a pencils’ width in diameter.  While the trees are young, the tips of the small limbs can be pruned off (again only those a pencil width diameter or less).  As the tree grows, it become difficult and even dangerous to prune the top and it’s not necessary anyway.  Here are a few images of correct and incorrect pruning.

And if you are in the market for a crepe myrtle, remember that they come in all sizes and bloom colors. Come see us and we will help you find the one that works best in your space so you can avoid crape murder!

Bad crapemyrtle pruning:

Good crapemyrtle pruning:

This is the correct way to prune a crapemyrtle!  Notice that the horticulturist is taking off only low limbs that are small in diameter, while leaving the large trunks in place.

Here are some images of tree crapemyrtles after both correct and incorrect pruning:

Growth after incorrect crapemyrtle pruning:

Growth after correct crapemyrtle pruning.  Isn’t that a beautiful tree?!

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