Heat wave. Your trees and landscape need you now more than ever. And...a Box Tree Moth update.
Heat wave. Your trees and landscape need you now more than ever. And...a Box Tree Moth update.
Conditions are already quite dry in the Cincinnati area and this week it will only get a lot worse. Near record heat is forecast this week with little or no rain until at least the end of the week. I am seeing a lot of stressed lawns and stressed trees and shrubs. With each passing day the stress is only exasperated. Do not wait until your trees and shrubs are showing stress. They need water now.
Please remember to water…correctly!
Water once per week, one inch per week, under the entire branch spread, in the absence of rain, May through November. Either rainfall or your watering should equal the one inch per week. Do not water if the soil is already moist. Put out a sprinkler and a straight sided soup can or rain gauge and measure one inch per week. Measure the rainfall which falls in your yard. Your trees don’t care what fell at the airport!
If burlap was left on new trees, it will repel water and the tree or shrub may die. Be sure burlap and twine are removed from the top of all root balls. If your landscaper disagrees, refer him or her to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) industry standard for installation of landscape plants.
To the extent possible recycle fallen leaves back into the soil around the trees and maintain mulch around the trees to a radius of at least 3-5 feet. Keep mulch off trunks. Use a coarse textured mulch. Avoid triple shredded mulch. Aged arborist wood chips ( https://getchipdrop.com/ ), mulched and composted leaves, pine bark, and pine straw are all good. Very finely ground mulches such as triple ground hardwood mulch are not beneficial and may inhibit moisture and oxygen exchange.
Drought: How Dry Seasons Affect Woody Plants>>>
Box Tree Moth Update
We are getting a lot of phone calls about the Box Tree Moth insect which can defoliate and kill boxwoods. Yes, it is a killer, but it is also easy to control. Our plant health care program does cover the Box Tree Moth.
Currently we are finding it in Loveland and Indian Hill, but it has been reported in other areas. It may be easy to confuse because there are other problems that plague boxwoods such as the Boxwood Leaf Miner and Volutella canker, which was especially prevalent last year.
Box Tree Moth is a caterpillar about an inch long that eats the leaves off of boxwoods but it is a lot like a small child who will eat the bread or the pizza but leave the crust. With Box Tree Moth feeding damage you will see a lot of crescent moon shaped leaves where the Box Tree Moth has eaten most but not all of the leaf.
Please let us know if you think the Box Tree Moth is actively feeding on your boxwoods because they can do a lot of damage in a relatively short period of time. However, don't jump to conclusions. There are other problems that plague boxwoods and not everything is the box tree moth.
Again, we are aware of this pest and our plant health care program does include treatment of the Box Tree Moth.
