Deer may feed on trees and shrubs during the winter months and severely damage or destroy plants. Damage is most likely to occur when food is scarce during prolonged periods of snow cover. Deer often feed on the foliage on the lower…
The brown growths in your ash tree are probably ash flower galls. Galls are abnormal plant growths induced to form by small insects, mites, or other organisms. On ash trees, a tiny mite causes the male flowers to develop into roundish…
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an exotic destructive pest that kills all native ash trees (Fraxinus). The loss of ash trees significantly impacts the urban tree canopy. While treatment options are available, some trees cannot be treated…
The length of most hardwood stem cuttings varies from 4 to 12 inches. However, the cuttings of some plants may be up to 30 inches in length. The diameter of hardwood stem cuttings typically ranges from ¼ to 1 inch. Each cutting…
There are summer-bearing and fall-bearing yellow raspberry varieties. ‘Honey Queen’ is a summer-bearing variety. Fall-bearing yellow raspberry varieties include ‘Fall Gold,’ ‘Golden Harvest,’ and ‘Anne.’
Several species of shrubs can help get your spring off to a colorful start. These multi-stemmed woody plants vary in size and often bloom before the leaves emerge in spring.
While most deciduous trees have flowers of some kind in springtime, they tend to be small and not showy. There are several species of smaller, ornamental trees that have showy blooms in the spring.
Winter (December through February) is the best time to prune oak trees in Iowa. Pruning oak trees in winter greatly reduces the risk of an oak wilt infection.
Oak wilt is a fungal disease that is lethal to many oaks. It…
All shrubs flower. However, the flowers of some deciduous shrubs, such as winged euonymus (burning bush), alpine currant, and fragrant sumac, are small and inconspicuous. These shrubs possess attractive foliage, fruit, bark, or some…
Spring-flowering shrubs, such as lilac and forsythia, bloom in spring on the growth of the previous season. The plant’s health or condition determines the best time to prune spring-flowering shrubs.
Summer-flowering shrubs, such as potentilla, Japanese spirea, and panicle hydrangea, bloom in summer on the current year’s growth. Prune summer-flowering shrubs in late winter or early spring. The pruned shrubs will bloom in summer on…
Several woody trees, shrubs, and vines can be propagated by hardwood stem cuttings. Plants that can be propagated by this method include willow, poplar, dogwood, forsythia, wisteria, grape, currant, gooseberry, and elderberry.
One of the most beautiful sights in winter is the bright red twigs of redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea) set against a backdrop of newly fallen snow. Native to Iowa, the redosier dogwood grows 6 to 10 feet tall. Several colorful varieties…
When attempting to attract birds to the landscape, trees and shrubs that provide food during the winter months are extremely important as natural foods are most limited at this time of year.
