Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association

Gardening in Merry Oaks

General

5/21/03 Make this web page yours by sending items you would like to see included via email to nkrewson@earthlink.net. Alternatively, you can volunteer to maintain this page yourself or you can open a gardening discussion group under the “Talk About It” section on our web page.
Some useful web sites for gardening information are listed at the bottom of this page.

**Tip of the Month**
If the soil is not too wet, turn over the garden with a shovel to let the cold kill insects who may be hibernating there. In Feb and March you can prune roses and other perennial bushes and trees.

**Tree Banding for Canker Worms**
Ideas for preventing canker worm damage



A planned Hands on Merry Oaks project to band our trees against the canker worm did not materialize due to lack of volunteers. But you can do it yourself. Canker worms have gotten quite bad in our neighborhood during the past few years and after three year of having their leaves gobbled, many deciduous trees such as Oaks and Elms will die.

It is quite expensive to buy a tree banding kit at Home Depot. One kit for a few trees is $45 and they tell you to do it twice per year. However you can create your own cankerworm barrier. Here are a few ideas:



· Watch the ground for the appearance of the small green segmented worms. They appear at different times each year depending on the weather, and some years they may not appear at all. October and March are typical months for them to appear. When you spy the first one on the ground or crawling up the trunks, wrap your trees right away.



· Wrap a 6-8 inch wide piece of fiberglass insulation tightly around your tree with the fuzzy stuff toward the bark using duct tape to fasten the ends. This creates a barrier they can’t crawl under.



Cover the insulation with a strip of black plastic again secured with duct tape. Smear a pest barrier (Tanglefoot, available at Home Depot or Lowe's) on top of the plastic. We hear that axle grease also works.


Remove it when the worms are gone.


OR

Buy a roll or two of tree wrap ($3.23 at Home Depot for a 4 inch by 20 foot roll.)


Lay the banding on the ground and smear the pest barrier on it at a length 2-3 times the circumference of the tree with a putty knife or wooden paint stick.


Wrap it twice around the tree to create a width of eight inches. Be sure it is above the reach of children and pets with the pest barrier contacting the bark. (Yes, the directions say not to do that but our source says it doesn’t hurt.)


It should stick to the tree long enough for you to wrap more banding around holding the first layer in place. Tie a knot to hold the second layer in place.


Smear more pest barrier on top of the second layer.


When you notice no more worms, remove the tree wrap and discard safely. Don’t leave it on the tree longer than necessary.


Some of the more common plants in Merry Oaks:
Trees: Willow oaks, elm, sweet gum, pin oaks, hickory, red maple, dogwood, pear, wild cherry, mimosa, pecan, hickory, tulip poplar and various evergreens.
Bushes: holly, forsythia, nandina, althea/rose of sharon, honeysuckle-bush form, azaleas of all types, privet hedges, mock orange, rhododendron, hearts-a-bustin’, camilla, crepe myrtle, butterfly bush.
Perennial flowers and vines that thrive in this area: liriope, daylilies, hosta, iris, wisteria, roses, Carolina Jessamine and many others. Look in catalogs for plants for Zone 7. If provided with well-drained soil, most herbs will also do well. They will not like a soggy clay soil and need sun.

There is also a population of poison-ivy/oak, which we’re trying to eradicate. If you let even one plant grow, birds eat the seeds and distribute them throughout the neighborhood. Both Round-Up and Brush Killer can be used but be careful with them as any overspray can harm surrounding plants. Apply on a dry day when rain is not forecast. Never burn poison ivy, as the effects of the smoke can be severe.

Questions and Answers

Question: How can I get hummers and butterflies to my yard?
Answer: Hummingbird and Butterfly Attracting Plants
A partial list of mostly perennial plants that attract them.
Butterfly Bush: pink and purple seem to work better than the whites.
Butterfly Milkweed (A. tuberosa)
Carolina Yellow-Jessamine vine (Gelsemium sempervirens)
Morning-Glory (Ipomoea tricolor 'Heavenly Blue') Annual, easy to grow from seed
Giant-Hyssop, Hummingbird Mint.
Coastal Sweet-Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia). Also has fragrant flowers
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)-
Joe Pye Weeds (several species) Also Ironweed which is similar. Purple flowers.
Lantana
Mint. All kinds, they seem to like peppermint best.
Pentas. One of the best annual bedding plants for butterflies.
Sage.
Stokes'-Aster, Stokesia.
Zinnia. Easy to grow from seed, annual.
Allysum, both white and Easter Bonnet varieties


We're looking for a garden-wise person to take over this page. To volunteer to help Merry Oaks become a model community with great gardens by answering occasional questions, email nkrewson@earthlink.net. It takes very little time and is easy to do. Share your knowledge!

Garden Calendar

Check websites listed below for the latest seeds and plants. HGTV on Channel 46 may also furnish some good ideas.

Web sites for Gardeners

Char-Meck native plants
Plants Database
Garden Web
Dave's Garden - lots of good info.
USDA
Stowe Gardens
Home Depot
Lowe's
Weather outlook and tips
Wildflowers of North Carolina