February Tips
TREES, SHRUBS AND GROUNDCOVERS

Contact: Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture

October 1996

  • Miniature roses can be a colorful addition to your landscape. They range from pure white to golden yellow to dark red. They grow well in containers and planters, or they can be used as a low-growing border or mixed in beds/borders with other perennials.

  • Deciduous trees with narrow crotch angles (such as Bradford pear) are more susceptible to snow damage than are trees with wide-branching angles as they have poor structure across the angle.

  • Ice damage to woody plants occurs when high winds break heavily coated branches. Evergreens are more susceptible to snow damage than are deciduous plants as they have more foliage surface for snow accumulation.

  • Most crape myrtles are hardy only to Zone 7 of the USDA Hardiness Zones. For crapemyrtles that are hardy in Zone 5, try one of the hybrids between Lagerstroemia indica (Chinese) and L. faurier (Japanese) that possess more resistance to low winter temperatures. These include 'Natchez' (pure white), 'Muskogee' (light lavender), and 'Tuscarora' (coral pink).

  • Crape myrtles are hardier if grown as a small shrub and pruned back each spring when growth starts. Water, fertilize, and remove dead blossoms until mid-August for almost continuous summer bloom. Withhold water, nutrients, and pruning in early fall to slow growth prior to winter.

  • Try forcing branches of some of the following shrubs during the drab days of late winter and early spring. Winter honeysuckle produces fragrant, white flowers. Fragrant viburnum has fragrant, pink-to-white flowers. Japanese andromeda has white, urn-shaped flowers in sprays like lily-of-the-valley. Mountain andromeda has white flowers in upright open panicles. Buds of native trees such as dogwood, spicebrush, serviceberry, and redbud will blossom indoors, as will azalea, rhododendron, and mountain laurel.

  • Trees with large cavities in their trunks should be evaluated yearly as to whether or not they should be removed for safety reasons. When a cavity takes up over 75 percent of a limb or trunk, the wood could give way anytime.

  • If you are planning to add shade trees to your landscape, here are a few things you should know. Some types of trees have roots that may invade drain fields, crack walks, and pierce foundation walls, so plan the placement and species of the trees to avoid problems. For instance, poplar and ash are known for cracking walls, and should never be planted near houses or walls. Keep these species at the perimeter of the yard. Maple roots can raise heavy concrete sidewalks, and willow and crabapple trees can invade drainage fields with their fibrous roots.

  • Although box elder is often considered a troublesome, weed tree, Acer negundo 'Flamingo,' a new cultivar, will be welcomed as an attractive ornamental. 'Flamingo' has been grown in European gardens for some time and produces foliage that is light-pink when it opens in spring. At maturity, the leaves are green and variegated with white and pink. 'Flamingo' can be grown as a shrub or small tree, but should be maintained at a height of 10 to 12 feet. Occasional pruning in summer will keep the branching compact and the foliage color bright. Hardy throughout Virginia, 'Flamingo' prefers a location in light shade, especially in the southern portions of its range.

  • There is still time to condition seeds that require stratification, such as many of the woody ornamentals. Plant them in your cold frame or put them in your freezer for the required amount of time.

  • For something unique to force for winter flower arrangements, consider red maple, buckeye, birch, hickory, larch, or oak branches. They will soon unfurl either flowers, foliage, catkins, or red leaves that change gradually to green. If your yard has none of these, try a few branches of similar trees.

  • Broadleaved evergreens can be pruned before new growth begins this spring. This will enable new growth to cover the cut surfaces and exposed inner branches.

  • Shrubs for spring planting should be ordered now. Bare root, deciduous types should be planted while still dormant, about 1 month before the average date of the last frost in your area. Hardy, container-grown and balled and burlapped shrubs may be planted anytime, except during severe, cold weather.

  • Watch for signs of heaving among your small shrubs. The freezing and thawing of the ground can force shallow-rooted plants out of the soil. Replant any that have been heaved and mulch with 2 inches of organic material to reduce soil temperature fluctuation.

  • It is time to transplant deciduous native plants if the ground is not too wet or too frozen.

  • Branches of forsythia, pussy willow, quince, spirea, and dogwood can be forced for indoor bloom. Make long, slanted cuts when collecting the branches and place the stems in a vase of water. Change the water every four days. They should bloom in about three weeks.

  • Proper rose pruning is the key to successful summer blooms. Prune roses back 25 percent if you want many, medium-sized blooms. Prune back 50 percent if you want fewer, larger flowers. Modern roses should be pruned just before the buds break dormancy after the last frost.

  • Pussy willows that have been forced can be halted at any stage of their development simply by removing them from water. They will keep perfectly in dried arrangements for years.

  • Check valuable trees and shrubs for tent caterpillar egg masses and bag worms. Remove them to reduce the number of destructive pests this spring. Tent caterpillar egg masses are gray and varnished looking and form a collar around twigs. Bagworms look somewhat like a pine cone hanging at the end of branches.

  • To plant bare-rooted trees and shrubs, prune off dead or damaged roots, and plant in a hole large enough to accommodate the roots when spread in a natural shape. Contrary to earlier recommendations, it is no longer suggested that you prune the top to compensate for the loss of roots caused by transplanting. Research has found no evidence that this helps the plant, and there is a possibility that pruning removes carbohydrate reserves the plant could use to grow new roots.

  • Prune most shrubs and trees on warm days this month after the coldest weather is past in your area. In the cooler mountain areas of Virginia, wait until late February. Wait until after bloom to prune your spring-flowering shrubs in order to get maximum blossoms.

  • Remove honeysuckle and other weedy vines from deciduous plants while the plants are still leafless. It's easier then to distinguish between the weeds and desired plants.

  • Root pruning will enhance success of transplanting trees and shrubs, if you can wait until next year to move them. This spring use a sharp spade to cut a circle 8 inches deep around the plant. Distance from the trunk will depend on plant size; a small shrub may only require a circle of 1 foot in diameter, while a larger plant will require a larger circle. Many new, fibrous roots will grow from the cut ends of the old roots. This will make transplanting to the new location next spring much easier on the plant, because a greater percentage of its roots will move with it. Dig the root ball so it is several inches wider in diameter than the root pruning circle.

  • Water shrubs in your landscape throughout the winter if the soil is dry. Evergreen plants transpire water from their leaves whenever the air temperature is above 40 degrees F.

  • Many maples, such as the striped and paperbark maple, have beautiful and unusual bark. Another fine, but little-known, maple with very attractive bark is the Manchurian snakebark maple. Its bark is a rich green to green-purple with numerous vertical, white stripes. It is eye-catching in all seasons. Plan to use these trees to liven up the winter landscape for next year.

  • Late winter is the time to prune many deciduous trees. Look over your plants now and remove dead, dying, unsightly parts of the tree, sprouts growing at or near the base of the tree trunk, crossed branches, and V-shaped crotches.

    Monthly Tips have been prepared since 1986 by various staff of the Office of Consumer Horticulture including Ellen Bennett, Michelle Buckstrup, Susan Day, Susan DeBolt, Sharon Dendy, Kate Dobbs, Sheri Dorn, David Gravell, Virginia Nathan, Jenny Shuster, Ellen Silva, and Ruth Sorenson. Resource material for the development of this information includes the Virginia Master Gardener Handbook; Extension Publications and newsletters from VCE, numerous other states, and the USDA; and an extensive library of over 900 books, magazines, and journals. Project funded by The Virginia Gardener Newsletter subscription fees. Diane Relf, Project Director and Content Specialist.

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