Nursery Notes by Mark HalcombRelease April 18, 2007

Be Patient and Wait

The best advice is to wait; wait for the plants to respond; yes your anxious and your livelihood depends on growth, but it is best to wait. And do not fertilize. Rev. Billy Graham, Oral Roberts and $1 million could not change anything.

As expected, it appears seedlings and first year buds have taken a major hit.Bark at the soil line has been found busted on several boxwood, crapemyrtle and holly in the area. Check the lower stem/root below the soil and a few roots on a few of the plants with busted bark before acting. Look for any caramel or brown discoloration under the bark. If white, the tops can be cut off as low to the soil as is convenient and they will probably grow back. If discolored, wait 2 more weeks and check again. It may get more obvious that the plants will not recover.

There is no way of knowing yet how much terminal dieback there will be on field or landscape plants. Wait until new growth begins again and make the cuts into live tissue, not at the point of new growth. It is important the cut be made into 100% live and healthy tissue. If not, make additional cuts until healthy tissue is found, on all 360 degrees of the stem. Do not fertilize.

I advised a container producer with no winter protection to just maintain everything, to not dump anything without documentation; that waiting another 7 to 21 days will tell us a lot. Any cutting back should be delayed until new growth begins and then the cuts can be made into healthy tissue.

Look at the roots to determine their condition.

I am concerned about root damage on containers or rootballs that were not sufficiently protected. Warmer temperatures will cause damaged tissue to dry out.It will be July before the verdict will be in on some plants.

***Worry with spraying pre-emergent herbicides, ryegrass, thistles. Replace charcoal filters. The maple shoot borer has been found alive and feeding in Davidson County. Apparently the cold did not bother them. Spray red maple when the 2nd pair of new leaves get the size of dimes with Talstar Flowable, 12 fl oz/100 gal. Repeat as more plants reach the correct stage of growth.I am available to determine how many gallons of water your sprayer applies per acre and then to calculate how much pesticide to add to the tank or to suggest how to rig for banding, etc.

Comm/News/04-18-07 winter

Mark A. HalcombUT Area Nursery SpecialistWarren Co. Extension201 Locust St., Suite #10McMinnville, Tenn. 37110mhalcomb@utk.edu931.473.8484 fax 931.473.8089