Washington Thorn Trees

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Of the several hundred species of hawthorns native over the entire United States, one stands out prominently as an excellent ornamental tree. It is Crataegus phaenopyrum, the Washington Thorn which does well all across the country.

Seldom is this tree found growing more than 30 feet high. In fact, the largest tree on record, according to the American Forestry Association, is at Laurel, Maryland. It measures 2 feet, 9 inches, in trunk circumference and 25 feet in height and has a 23-foot branch span.

The single white flowers, about 1/2 inch in diameter but borne in many-flowered clusters, appear in mid-June. One of the last hawthorns to bloom, the Washington hawthorne flowers at a time when few other ornamental trees bloom.

Just as important as its flowers are the clusters of bright red fruits. The berries are about 1/4 inch in diameter, and begin to color brightly in early fall.

One of the first things one notices about this tree is its habit. Not definitely fastigiate (erect and columnar), it is nevertheless upright in habit of growth. And with a very small amount of trimming, it can quickly be made to appear fastigiate.

This is a big asset, for the tree is frequently used in highway planting… often in the narrow strip between divided highways, where it helps cut down the headline glare at night.

Like all hawthorns, it seems to withstand poor soil and drought, two reasons why it is so successful in city gardens. It is not superior to the tree-of-heaven or the sumacs in this respect, but it will withstand difficult growing conditions.
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Washington Thorn Trees

The autumn color of the foliage is an excellent glossy red to orange, another reason for considering this tree of year-round interest. The dense twiggy habit and the numerous inch-long thorns make it an excellent barrier plant, and it withstands clipping into hedge form very well indeed. Its general habit and ornamental qualities make it useful as a specimen tree also.

However, this excellent tree is not immune to the troubles common to most hawthorns.Lacebug and red spider may attack the foliage in summer. Sprays for both these pests are not difficult to time properly. Fire blight can trouble many thorns as well as apples, pears and cotoneaster’s. Controlling this disease is difficult but all dead or dying branches should be removed as soon as noticed and burned. Borers, too, cause trouble occasionally, getting into the trunks and limbs. And all hawthorns are alternate hosts for the cedar apple rust. Therefore, if the red cedar is prevalent within a radius of one mile from a proposed planting site, this Washington Thorn should be considered carefully before it is planted to any great extent.

Fall Gardening Checklist

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Fall Gardening Checklist – Part 2

When preparing our flower beds and garden in the fall for the upcoming winter we do not want to forget about these! Here we review what to do now for your lawn, house plants, and planting shrubs and trees.

LAWNS

Seeding and feeding are best done now. There is less weed competition and grass grows best in most places, in autumn. Cut and remove crab grass before it sheds its seeds. Clean out other weeds too. Loosen the soil in bare patches, work in grass fertilizer or a complete plant food, then sow with a grass mixture suited to your conditions. If fall-planted grass gets an early, strong it can stand the late fall raking of leaves without damage.

Even on a good lawn, plant food and extra seed are advisable. For such "extra" growth use 3 pounds plant food and 1/4 pound grass seed to 100 square feet.

In making a new lawn in the fall, dig the area and mix peat moss and plant food with the surface soil. If extra topsoil is needed put on at least 2 inches. Rake and roll two or three times to get an even, firm surface. Sow 1/2 pound grass seed per 100 square feet. Rake and finally roll using a 200 pound roller.

HOUSE PLANTS

It’s time to take in house plants, and to dig up and pot others to be used indoors. Geraniums, actively growing petunias, and dwarf salvia are suitable. Cut away a third of the tops before digging: pot firmly, water, and keep in a warm place.

PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS

Transplant evergreens any time in September or early October. This applies to conifers, pine, spruce, hemlock and the like and the broad-leaved kinds: rhododendrons, mountain laurel, azaleas and similar plants. All growth has matured. The plants come with a ball of soil. Set the plants at same depth they were in the nursery. Their roots are near the surface and will be injured if buried deeply. All must be watered thoroughly and the soil packed against the ball. Mix good soil with peat moss or humus plus a handful of 5-10-5 fertilizer per plant.

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Late September and October is also time for ordering and transplanting the deciduous (leaf dropping) trees and shrubs. The few possible exceptions are magnolia, birch, cherry and dogwood, although when dug from the nursery dogwood is safe.

Unless the trees or shrubs are large, a ball of soil is not necessary. Most shade and flowering trees up to 10 feet high can be transplanted bareroot. However, keep the roots moistened until planted. Pack screened soil between the roots and flood with water. Single stemmed trees planted this way should be secured to two stakes.

Fall Gardening Checklist

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Fall Gardening Checklist – Part 3

Before we wrap up this Fall Gardening Checklist series we wanted to give you a few more valuable and important tips. These are things you should also be preparing to take care of during the autumn and before the cold arrives.

VEGETABLE STORAGE

Beets, carrots, parsnips, potatoes (late) must be stored in a cool place. All except the potatoes could stay outdoors for a longer time by ridging soil over the rows in the garden. Other means of storage are pits dug in the ground and the vegetables covered with boards and hay. For small lots bushel baskets, or boxes submerged in the ground will do. Celery can be kept by covering with soil in the row. Cabbage is best dug and put in a cold cellar or pit.

Eggplant, peppers, and pumpkins must be stored where the temperature is mild. Tomatoes picked before frost and individually wrapped in newspaper will ripen in 2 weeks.

Radishes, lettuce, endive and other greens can be carried along in the garden for some time by covering each evening with cardboard, burlap, or the more enduring plastic sheeting.

COMPOST AND HUMUS

All but diseased and insect-infested material can be composted. Burn all questionable material. Leaves can be put in a separate heap if there is space, or all materials mixed in one pile. Begin with a bottom layer of coarse leaves, corn stalks, or dried stems. Next spread layer of the mixed materials 6 inches deep. Sprinkle a pound or more of any fertilizer, compost activator, or dried cow or chicken manure over 4×5 foot surface, then a thin layer of soil. Wet thoroughly.

Repeat layer by layer to build the pile. A 5 foot height is enough. The pile can be as long as desired. Keep the width to 6 feet. Mulching attachments for power tools are handy for fall work.

The humus supply in the soil is increased too, by sowing rye, or rye grass seed on areas left vacant by removal of crops in the garden. Three pounds per 1,000 square feet is ample. Rake the seed in, as in lawn making. Rolling is not necessary.

SOIL IMPROVEMENT

Before hard frost threatens, dig the soil and leave rough over winter. Where manure or compost is available, spread and dig in. Stiff soil is especially benefited. If soil needs lime, this is applied as ground, or pulverized limestone, 3 pounds per 100 square feet. It is merely spread over the surface after digging.

Soil on sloping ground must be covered to prevent washing. A cover crop of rye, a layer of compost, leaves, hay or the like will prevent erosion. Fall is a good time to dig in soil conditioners.

PROTECTION

In winter protection of outdoor hardy and semi-hardy plants, no covering is applied until all growth has ceased. Growth is ended by frost which opens tissue and prepares the plants for winter. Roses can be covered after several frosts, by mounding the soil up and around the base of the stems. Not all northern rose growers agree on covering, but I prefer it. The pink spirea (caryopteris), shrubs like the crape myrtle of the South, and those of similar tenderness are also covered.

The stems are tied loosely together with soft twine or burlap strips and wrapped with burlap. Where winters are severe, hay is used inside first, then burlap, or chicken wire surrounding the shrub. Fill with dry leaves and top with a piece of canvas. An inverted bushel basket stuffed with leaves is the best for low plants.

Climbing roses are protected where the winter temperatures go below zero. The stems are taken down from their sup-ports, tied together, laid on the ground and covered with 3 inches of soil.

It’s a practice in extremely cold sections to loosen the roots on one side and tip the whole plant over into a trench. No bending can be done when the stems are frozen. They will snap off. So do it early. Pansies and English daisies are covered with marsh (salt) hay.

EVERGREENS

These are protected in a different way and for a different reason. Exposed to winds, the leaves dry out, especially if the roots are in frozen soil. Protection consists in covering the root area with a mulch of leaves, and using a wind barrier of some sort. Burlap attached to stakes, branches of pines pushed into the ground, or smaller ones tied to several stems of the plants serve to break the wind.

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PERENNIAL PROTECTION

Last to be covered are strawberries, hardy perennials, and rock garden plants. This is best done when ground is frozen. Covered while still soft, the plants will rot.

Soft crowned plants: delphinium, columbine, liatris, anchusa, are best covered with a cone of coal ashes, or 3 parts of soil mixed with one part of sand.

Others are covered with a light layer of marsh hay held in place with light twiggy branches. Provision must be made for water to drain off and not collect around the plants in prolonged wet weather.

Beds of spring flowering bulbs must also wait until they are thoroughly frozen before being covered else mice may harbor there for the winter.

SNOW PROTECTION

Bushy evergreens are, in regions of heavy snows, prone to injury when deep snow collects in the interior splitting them apart. Strips of burlap wound spirally around will give some protection. Tying the stems to each other in the interior is still better.

TREE PROTECTION

The stems of fruit trees, especially those newly planted, are in danger of having the bark peeled off by rabbits and mice during winter. Surround these with a band of close meshed chicken wire 2 feet high. Newly planted shade and flowering tree stems are wrapped with burlap strips, or the special craft paper used by tree men. This is protection against frost injury and the action of freezing winds.

Be prepared and ready to go with your fall flower gardening protection plans. You will be thankful you did come next spring!

Fall Gardening

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An Introduction To Vegetable Fall Gardening

A lot of gardeners won't even consider fall gardening. They are afraid that the frosts of the winter might come early and ruin their gardens. However fall gardening results in excellent vegetables or herbs and is sure to extend the crops long after the plants, planted in spring, are done. Fall gardening produced vegetables can even be sweeter and softer than vegetables grown during the summer and can result in a brand new twist on the same everyday vegetables.

Differences Between Fall Gardning And Spring Gardening

With fall gardening everything relies on the space you have and what you like to eat. Pretty much like with spring plants. Crops that love heat, for example tomatoes, okra, peppers and sweet potatoes, can produce until the first frosts hit. In some southern areas that can be pretty late. There are also plants that die near the end of summer, like cucumbers, summer squash and snap-beans. But if yo plant these vegetables at the middle of the summer they can be harvested until the first frosts come by. Tough plants will grow until temperatures reaches 20 degrees, but there are also plants that aren't that strong that will only be capable of enduring light frosts. If you've got tuber and root plants, where the top has been killed by freezing weather, you can still save the edible part by using a large amount of mulch.

With fall gardening you've got to make sure to use seeds that will grow to maturity as fast as possible. Therefore vegetables with a short growing season are ideal, since they can become full grown and harvested before winter arrives. You can find all about that on the packages of the seeds, some are labeled "early season" or they boast the days it takes for them to grow mature. Go buy the seeds in spring or early summer, since by the end of the summer they probably won't have any more left in stock. Just keep them stored in a cool and dry spot and they'll be good to go when you want to plant them.
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Getting Ready For Fall Gardening

You'll need to know 2 things before you start off with fall gardening. One is to know when exactly the first frosts will hit, not the soft ones, but a hard frost. And one of the best ways to know this is to buy a farmer's almanac. You'll get exact dates and these things are rarely wrong. And the second thing you'll need to know is the exact time it takes for your plants to grow mature.

Getting ready for your fall gardening adventure you'll want to remove all of the summer or spring leftover crops and weeds. They can spread bacteria and disease if left alone in the garden, so remove them! Next you'll want to spread a few inches of mulch or compost over the area you'll use to garden to increase the amount of nutrients it'll have. Now if the plants from the spring or summer had been fertilized heavily, you probably won't need that much or none at all. Wet the soil until the top layer of it and let it set in for a half a day or a full day. After that you're ready to start fall gardening.

A lot of gardeners flee at the thought of fall gardening because they're afraid of the frosts. But if you plant tough vegetables that are capable of enduring a few frosts, you'll be getting beautiful and rich-tasting produce. With fall gardening you realy get to enjoy your home-grown vegetables.