My son needs interaction with people the way he needs oxygen. Whereas my daughters are each very happy to enjoy their own company, Christopher could not function without some social interaction with friends. Today, he spent five hours playing basketball with anyone and everyone he could persuade to join him. Considering that 72 hours ago, there was an inch and a half of snow on the ground, I will take that as a sign that we are slowing moving our way toward spring.
In my April 10th column, I had proposed that our readers consider using a “Winter Recovery Checklist.” The list was intended to bring awareness of problems or concerns that you may be experiencing in your yard. The following is a summary of observations of area yards this spring and some suggested solutions to common problems or concerns. Please note though, there are usually several ways to solve most problems and gardening is no different. These are simply my observations and a recommended solution to consider.
Rabbit damage – I tend to see most rabbit damage in the spring. The rabbits have usually spent their winters munching on some of our shrubs. Rabbit damage is evident by fresh cuts on the tips of twigs. The cuts are on an approximately 45-degree angle. Usually the portion of the branches that have been eaten off are directly below the shrubs from which they were chewed. Rabbit pellets are also often present. There are commercial rabbit repellent products available in either a liquid or a granular form. I often see people use a variety of home remedies to try to ward off rabbits, including Irish Spring soap, human hair and moth balls. Most shrubs tend to recover quite well from rabbit damage.
Broken branches – The weight of the snow this winter had the potential to break branches on trees and shrubs. If you notice any broken branches and can safely reach them, prune them off of your shrubs or trees. A clean pruning cut would generally heal faster than a tear to a tree from a broken branch. Generally, prune the broken branch back to the main part of the tree. If there is a broken branch on a shrub, prune the branch back to where there is a set of leaves. There is a certain art to pruning and you may want to do a little research before you tackle this chore. The University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service’s website has a wealth of information regarding pruning at web.extension.illinois.edu/
Frost cracking – Frost cracking is a term to describe vertical cracks that appear in the winter in the bark of trees, caused by the expansion and contraction of bark. On sunny winter days, the bark can expand, then when the sun sets and the temperatures drop, the bark contracts. This cycle causes a vertical crack to develop in the bark. These cracks are usually on the south or west sides of at tree. A frost crack is an open wound in the tree that should heal with time. While the tree has the frost crack, I would recommend that you watch for signs of insect infestation or disease in the tree and treat appropriately. You may also want to wrap the trunk with a tree wrap in October and remove that wrap in late March the following year. Treating the frost crack itself is not recommended.
“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want — oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” – Mark Twain
I hope you are able to catch a bit of Spring Fever this week.
And a special note to our Executive Editor, Chris La Pelusa. You are welcome to call with a gardening question anytime.
• Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or tgsinc12@msn.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
