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Spring comes but once a year. For many, it’s the best time of the seasons. These people like it because the long wait through the snow and bad weather of the winter, with bare trees sleeping through the season, is over. Plus, there’s the promise of a new beginning and the start of great weather. […]

A five year study to evaluate the effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil quality and tree growth was recently completed by researchers at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.

The substrates tested were hardwood mulch, compost, aerated compost tea, synthetic NPK fertilizer and a commercial biological product (mycorrhizae). The results showed that soil compost and mulch had the most dramatic impact on soil quality. Likewise, tree growth was greatest with mulch and compost.

Plant dormancy is defined as the resting phase of a plant’s annual life cycle. It’s characterized by a drop-off in energy use and major plant functions (i.e. transpiration, photosynthesis, respiration, etc.,). Triggered by shortening day-length and several deep frosts, the plant dormant period usually starts in late November and ends when plant buds begin to swell in late March-early April.That’s a stretch of about 4 months of relative calm for trees and shrubbery.

While most spring defoliators (Winter moth, Cankerworms, Gypsy moth and Eastern Tent Caterpillar are mostly done for the season, the larvae of the Forest Tent Caterpillar (FTC) are still feeding on foliage. The larvae are black with hour-glass-like spots running down the middle of their abdomen. Treat with registered pesticide, if the infestation is heavy.

Caterpillar damage is pretty bad this year. For some plants, this was the second year in a row that they defoliated.