Q I think our "mystery tree" may be a tulip tree. I see others like it around town here in Bella Vista. The blossoms are white with a pinkish tinge and they open from a fuzzy gray bud. The tree has no leaves on it yet and is not a large or old specimen. My Arkansas tree book only shows a tulip tree with greenish-yellow blossoms and says it blooms in April/May. Our tree is always among the very first to bloom in the spring. The blossoms look like it is part of the magnolia family. Any thoughts?
A This is where common names can be confusing. There are two trees commonly called a tulip tree — the tulip magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) and the tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). The first one is not native so would not be in your Arkansas tree book. You have one of the magnolia trees. Several species bloom before the foliage arrives. The tulip poplar is one of our largest trees with yellow and orange tulip-like blooms that are hidden by foliage after the tree has all of its leaves. It is native to Crowley's Ridge in Arkansas.
Q We have a large bag of clean cedar sawdust (saved from a building project). Can it be used for mulch in the garden?
A Fresh sawdust is not a good mulch for plants, but you can let it age. It will turn into fine compost in time, but fresh sawdust can leach out the nitrogen in your soil and cause plant damage. You could use it in walkways away from plants, or pile it up and let it decompose and then use it as compost.
Q In [the March 21] column you identified the prolific white flowering trees as Callery pears, but based on a comparison of the flowers from my two trees to online guides, they appear to be Hawthorns and are taller, more slender and less dense than the typical pears that are in front of thousands of retail buildings. Is that likely?
A Possible, but not probable. Hawthorn trees and pear trees are both in the Rosaceae family, so they are related, but not the same genus. Hawthorn trees are wonderful, smaller, understory trees. They usually are smaller than a Callery pear at maturity. Hawthorns have thorns; some Callery pear trees do have thorns while a few do not. The leaf shape should be a sure giveaway. Pear leaves are oval while hawthorns usually have serrated leaves. Pears grow much more quickly than hawthorns, and the bark on hawthorns can be beautiful with layers of color. In the ornamental pear family, there are numerous seedlings which can have a lot of variability for mature size. If you go buy an ornamental pear — which I don't recommend — there are many selections, including "Chanticleer," "Aristocrat" and "Redspire." Most are much narrower than the original "Bradford." I am attaching pictures of hawthorn blooms and leaves to compare with the pears.
Q I use monkey grass for a lot of bordering in my garden. Over the years it has become very thick and is overtaking some plantings. Besides constant thinning, is there a way to control monkey grass?
A There are two basic forms of liriope or monkey grass. They are the clumping form (Liriope muscarii) and the running form (Liriope spicata). The clumping form simply has clumps that get larger with time but do a good job bordering a bed. The running form doesn't play well with others — it takes over the garden. The original plant doesn't enlarge, but offspring are formed via underground rhizomes and it spreads prolifically. If you have the running form, try to dig up as much as you can and substitute with the clumping form. It won't be an easy task, as liriope is tenacious.
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 03/28/2020