Water those trees!
With summer quickly approaching, it is more important than ever to make sure your trees are watered. Young or newly planted trees need at least 25 gallons of water each week, and it is vital that they receive water slowly for better absorption. Here are two methods for watering your young trees:
- Leave your hose on a trickle or use the mist setting on your hose attachment. Place the hose at the base of the tree (under the tree’s canopy but not touching the tree’s trunk) for 1-2 hours, moving it around the base of the tree regularly.
- Use a 15-25 gallon watering bag, which can be found at local nurseries or home improvement stores
To keep your young trees healthy and well-watered, use the hose method or fill a watering bag at least twice a week during the summer, especially when high temperatures are above 85 degrees Fahrenheit and rain is infrequent.
We also offer helpful watering reminders through the Reforest Montgomery Water Alert. Alerts are sent weekly during periods of high heat and/or low rain. Sign up to receive watering reminders in your inbox!
Invasives to know: Bush honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.)
As leaves reach their full size and flowers bloom, spring is the ideal time to identify non-native invasive plants in your yard. One species that’s easy to identify from their small, fragrant flowers is bush honeysuckles. These shrubs, imported primarily from Russia, China, and Japan in the 19th century, can have yellow, white, or pink flowers in the spring that give way to red berries in the late summer. Leaves are typically 2 to 3 inches long and roughly elliptical with smooth edges. These invasive honeysuckles are easily distinguished from the one variety that’s native to Maryland (Lonicera sempivirens) through their stems: the non-native varieties have distinct hollow stems when broken. Additionally, the native variety has red or pink flowers, making any honeysuckles with white or yellow blooms clearly invasive.
Bush honeysuckles are problematic in several ways. Growing up to 20 feet tall, they create very dense understory shade which prevents native shrubs from growing, trees from regenerating, and eliminates nest sites for native animal species. They are ideal habitats for some tick species and have been shown to increase the risk of tick borne illness by a factor of ten. Some bush honeysuckle species also release chemicals into the soil that inhibits other plant growth, creating issues even in highly controlled landscape settings. Additionally, some species can grow as a vine, damaging infrastructure or killing otherwise healthy mature trees.
In order to control honeysuckle, it’s best to remove plants when they are as young as possible. When the soil is moist, small plants can be easily pulled or dug up due to their shallow root systems. Larger, more established plants should be cut down to their stump at least 3 times a year for several years until the nutrients are depleted from the system. If completely removing a honeysuckle isn’t an option, it’s recommended that you collect spent flowers or the berries before they ripen, bag them, and throw them away.
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