Q We live near Roland and have had this cherry tree growing on the north side of the house for more than 25 years and have fought bagworms every year. This year the tree dropped a lot of leaves and small green "cherries." What can I do to get it back, and is there a systemic product that I can use to keep the bagworms off?
A There are three insects that have the common name bagworm. The true bagworm makes its individual bag or sack around its body as it feeds. We normally find them on junipers, cedars and the like. Eastern tent caterpillars are the hairy caterpillars that flock in each spring, make a web or tent in the junctions of trees and then are gone fairly quickly. And last is the fall webworm, which starts in mid-summer and can have multiple generations per year. Fall webworms make large webs in the trees that expand as they feed. Black cherry trees are a favored host of the eastern tent caterpillar, which arrives early in the spring, makes a mess and then is gone. They are usually more a nuisance than a threat to an established tree, and there really is not an insecticide treatment that is warranted. If the webs (or tents) are low enough to reach, they can be pulled out and destroyed. From the pictures you sent, I believe your tree is in distress. It is not fully leafed out, and the leaves are smaller than normal. A tree usually doesn't die overnight unless it was struck by lightning. It typically is a gradual decline, losing branches here and there and thinning out. Depending on the cause of the decline, it can be hard to reverse. Watering when dry can help. Deadwood the tree, removing any dead limbs; then make a light application of fertilizer to the yard, and then see what happens.
Q Can you please identify this plant for me? It is blooming now and smells heavenly. Is it some type of jasmine? Can I buy them somewhere to plant in my yard?
A Do not attempt to buy this plant. This is the common privet that has invaded every park and roadway in Arkansas. In the early to mid-1900s this was one of the most common hedge plants in gardens. It has lovely white flowers, which some consider fragrant while others find obnoxious. After blooming, it sets thousands of small black fruits, which the birds eat and reseed the countryside. They are everywhere right now and blooming their hearts out. Learn to recognize them and eradicate them from your yard.
Q I read your note about a tree with two main stems the other day and decided to write in with a question. We moved into Bella Vista last year (from East Texas) and are just loving it here. I transplanted a ginkgo tree that had an amazing ability to survive. Since replanting it, I have seen more leaves and a healthier looking tree since we have owned it. A few years ago another shoot came out of the root ball, and it is still growing. It had survived by sending new shoots out of the root ball, so I never cut it off. A couple of weeks ago I looked at it and a third shoot is coming out of the root ball. I am wondering what to do? Leave it and let the whole batch grow? Trim it out?
A I love ginkgo trees. They can be slow growing when young, but then they begin to settle into a rhythm about Year Seven, and they turn into a lovely tree. I personally would cut off all suckers or sprouts to have one main trunk. If you leave the sprouts, you will have a multi-stemmed, bushier ginkgo. Over time the trunks will try to enlarge, and if they are on top of each other, it won't end well.
Q I have cut down my crape myrtles in Fayetteville because I found some scaly bark soot on them -- literally crape murder. But they had other problems as well. Now my problem is how to dispose of them so the disease doesn't spread. I've read your suggestion to bag them and put them in the trash for pickup, however I believe it is illegal to put plant material in our trash here. What are your suggestions? Many thanks. I hope you're enjoying your retirement and am very glad that you still write for the newspaper.
A You may want to check with your city officials, but in this case I do not think they would mind some yard waste going to the landfill. Double bagging the remains is advised. If they are hauled away in an open truck, pieces could fly out and help spread the insects -- and the crape myrtle bark scale doesn't need any help spreading. And, yes, I am loving retirement and happy to still be writing!
Retired after 38 years with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Janet Carson ranks among Arkansas' best known horticulture experts. Her blog is at arkansasonline.com/planitjanet. Write to her at P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR 72203 or email
jcarson@arkansasonline.com
HomeStyle on 05/25/2019