The welcome lull December brings to garden operations, gives us an opportunity to take stock of what is to be done and to plan for the future. There's no better time to study the outdoors and determine how the winter landscape could be improved.
In any plan, you should naturally consider the size and extent of the available area. Small properties cannot accommodate large trees, but small trees such as the gray birch, with its white stems and straight lines, or the hawthorn-like Crataegus crusgalli, with its fine tracery of branches, are suitable candidates.
Shrubs also offer many landscape possibilities. The Christmas berry (Hex verticillata), holds its bright red fruit until January. Unsheared Japanese barberry and the common variety retain their berries all winter. Other fruiting shrubs include the more aristocratic fire-thorn and the somewhat less colorful but more accommodating snowberry. The red- and green-stemmed dogwoods show up better in winter, while the winged euonymus (E. alatus), with its corky, winged branches. which hold the snow, gives a different affect.
In evergreens, you have a choice ranging from the low, spreading ones to those of tall, columnar shape. The hemlock is the only evergreen which will grow in a shady, wooded place. Nothing surpasses the white pine for use as a specimen in the open - not the symmetrical, sheared form of the nursery but the more picturesque plant of uneven development. Laden with snow or outlined against the sky or a dark background of leafless branches, this tree has an air of rugged strength.
All too often, trees are expected to "just grow" like grass, just throw on some
lawn fertilizer and they will grow! Today, it is a recognized fact that trees increase the value of a property. Many evils which threatened their existence, and the fact that many cannot be replaced within a single lifetime, are cogent reasons why we should give them better care.
One of the prevailing evils is the failure to make provision for a change in grade. In leveling ground after building operations are completed, the roots of some trees are buried under several feet of fill. This may become so tightly packed that air is cut off from the roots, causing suffocation. Fertilizer is often given, under the mistaken idea that the tree is starved.
Where grades must be altered, some provision must he made for the health of the tree, depending on the extent of the change in ground. level. Where the fill exceeds 18 inches, it is best to lay several lines of drain-tile, beginning at the tree trunk and extending, in a spoke-like fashion, beyond the drip of the branches. The tiles should be covered with stones, then coarse fill and, finally, soil. The last step is to build a well around the trunk.
Among the trees more sensitive to root suffocation are oak, maple, beech, birch and hickory.
Storms, too, take their toll of trees. Weak crotches and overloaded branches split apart, tearing the bark with them. Pruning and cabling are the two remedies. Cabling is best done by a trained workman but the load can be relieved by pruning. Reduce the size of some branches on the main limbs or remove them entirely. Use a sharp pruning saw for a clean cut. If the branch is heavy, make two cuts - each halfway through the limb. The first cut should be made on the underside of the limb, about 18 inches from trunk or branch to which it is attached; the second cut should be made on the upper side, about 22 inches from the main trunk or branch. The limb will then snap, leaving the 18-inch stub, which can be cut off close to the main trunk without tearing the bark. Paint all wounds with a good pruning paint.
In choosing a tree for the lawn, select one that is deep-rooted, so there will be no problem of grass drying out under the branches. This rules out all maples, with the possible exception of red maple (Acer rubrum), which is not as bad as the Norway maple - the worst offender.
A serious oversight in planting trees is the failure to make a large enough hole and to mix topsoil, super phosphate and humus around the roots. Such treatment will carry the tree for several years and give it the vigor and ability required to overcome attacks of insects and diseases. It is important to wrap the trunks of all young trees to conserve moisture, to keep out borers and to prevent sun-scald in winter. As a final protection, wrap or place wire guards around the trunks to prevent girdling by mice and rabbits.
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