{"id":334,"date":"2012-11-01T02:31:39","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T02:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=334"},"modified":"2012-11-01T02:31:39","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T02:31:39","slug":"fall-time-for-planting-trees-and-shrubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=334","title":{"rendered":"Fall: Time for Planting Trees and Shrubs"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Edie Parnum<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I thrust my spade into a patch of my lawn.\u00a0 It\u2019s fall, and I\u2019m planting a 4-foot Chestnut Oak.\u00a0 As I dig, I imagine this young tree next spring with its new green leaves.\u00a0 Even as a young sapling, it will host insects and birds.\u00a0 Looking into the future, I imagine this stately native tree a century from now.\u00a0 It has given life to thousands of birds and other animals.<\/p>\n

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Edie planting a Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus) sapling. Photo \u00a9 Barb Elliot<\/p><\/div>\n

My neighbors, I\u2019ve noticed, aren\u2019t thinking about spring.\u00a0 They are clearing their yards of leaves and the dead vegetation from last year\u2019s ornamental plants.\u00a0 They are putting this unwanted garden debris out on the curb along with the cocoons and eggs of next year\u2019s insects. They are getting ready for winter. Fall is the best time for planting trees and shrubs, any time before the ground freezes. During the autumn rains, the new plants aren\u2019t asleep. They\u2019re putting energy into their roots for a spurt of growth next spring.This fall, as usual, I will plant several trees and shrubs.\u00a0 When I bought this \u00be-acre property five years ago, it was mostly grass with just a few trees, mostly non-natives.\u00a0 Since then I\u2019ve planted 39 native trees and 45 native shrubs. It\u2019s still not enough.<\/p>\n

I keep planting native woody plants because they support wildlife.\u00a0 Certainly non-native woodies offer fruits birds will eat\u2014witness the bird-spread proliferation of invasives like Multiflora Rose, Burning Bush, and Japanese Barberry.\u00a0 Natives, however, offer fruits of optimum size and superior nutrition. The fruits of the dogwoods, blueberries, winterberries, viburnums, spicebush, and sassafras I\u2019ve planted ripen just in time to nourish hungry migrating birds in fall. Now in late October most of the berries are gone\u2014consumed by thrushes, catbirds, mockingbirds, waxwings, and warblers.<\/p>\n

The main reason I plant native woodies, however, is for the caterpillars and other insects these plants support. \u00a0I\u2019m inspired by Doug Tallamy, Professor and Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware.\u00a0\u00a0His research shows<\/p>\n

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The caterpillar of the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly uses Spicebush or Sassafras as its host plant. USFWS Photo by\u00a0Ryan Hagerty.<\/p><\/div>\n

that native plants host 29 times more of the native insects essential for our birds. After all, 96% of terrestrial birds feed their young exclusively insect food.<\/p>\n

This year to augment what I\u2019m already growing, I\u2019ll plant ten small trees and shrubs.\u00a0 I\u2019m planting the Chestnut Oak, Quercus prinus <\/em>(according to Tallamy, oaks host 534 species of caterpillars); American Elm, Ulmus Americana <\/em>(hosts 213); and Pawpaw, Asimina triloba <\/em>(host plant for Zebra Swallowtail butterfly, a species I covet for my yard butterfly list).<\/p>\n

Planting a tree or shrub is easy. \u00a0For my Chestnut Oak and the other trees and shrubs, I don\u2019t need to dig a huge hole.\u00a0 I make my hole only as deep as the soil in the plant container and twice as wide.\u00a0 After putting the plant into the hole, I make sure the soil line of the plant is level with the ground. Then I use the soil that was removed from the hole to fill in around the plant.\u00a0 Because my oak is a local native adapted to our soil, I am not tempted to add special topsoil, fertilizer, or any other enrichment.\u00a0 That would stimulate fast but weak growth.\u00a0 \u00a0A hole filled with artificially enriched soil encourages the roots to stay confined rather than to reach into the ground below for nourishment.\u00a0 Next, I push down on the loose dirt with my hands, but avoid stomping on it with my feet.\u00a0\u00a0 I spread a one-inch layer of my compost (last year\u2019s leaves and garden debris) on top to provide some extra humus not available in the turf grass.\u00a0 Then I give my oak a good watering.\u00a0 That\u2019s it for this tree.\u00a0 I\u2019m ready to plant more.<\/p>\n

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Three-year-old Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica) with cage to prevent deer browse. Photo \u00a9 Edie Parnum<\/p><\/div>\n

Newly planted trees and shrubs may need extra water.\u00a0 During any week without significant rain, I put a leaky watering can next to each plant and let the water drip slowly into the soil.\u00a0 A 1-2\u201d layer of mulch will help retain the moisture, but I never let the mulch touch the trunk.\u00a0 Once established, these woody plants, situated appropriately for light and moisture, should thrive without any additional help from me.<\/p>\n

The trees and shrubs I plant are usually small.\u00a0 They are cheaper and suffer less transplant shock than a big tree or shrub.\u00a0 These smaller saplings start to grow more quickly and in a few years usually out-compete larger nursery stock.\u00a0 To save money, I also frequently transplant volunteer trees and shrubs in my yard to more appropriate locations.\u00a0 Some of my shrubs\u2014virburnums, for instance\u2014send out shoots that I dig up and plant elsewhere.\u00a0 I also accept gifts from my native plant gardening friends.\u00a0 As I say, there\u2019s always room for more.\u00a0 Anyway, I\u2019m not growing ornamental specimens.\u00a0 The plants can touch each other and offer extra shelter, just as they do in the wild.<\/p>\n

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Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) – flagged shoots are ready to transplant. Photo \u00a9 Barb Elliot<\/p><\/div>\n

My trees and shrubs are still small, but they already support birds and other wildlife.\u00a0 \u00a0Next spring I\u2019ll see warblers and other hungry migrants eating caterpillars on the leaves of my native woody plants.\u00a0 The remaining areas of grass are begging to be planted with additional native trees and shrubs.\u00a0 Next fall I won\u2019t resist planting more.<\/p>\n

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For Doug Tallamy’s list of woody plants supporting butterfly and moth caterpillars, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0Trees and Shrubs on\u00a0\u00a0Edie’s Property<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Botanical Name<\/strong><\/td>\nCommon Name<\/strong><\/td>\nWildlife Value<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trees<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acer rubrum<\/td>\nRed Maple<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aesculus pavia<\/td>\nRed Buckeye<\/td>\nL, N<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Amelanchier canadensis<\/td>\nServiceberry\/ Juneberry<\/td>\nL. F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Asimina triloba<\/td>\nPawpaw<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Betula lenta, B. nigra<\/td>\nSweet Birch, River Birch<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Celtis occidentalis<\/td>\nHackberry<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cercis canadensis<\/td>\nEastern Redbud<\/td>\nL, N<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cornus alternifolia, C.florida<\/td>\nPagoda Dogwood, Flowering\u00a0Dogwood<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ilex opaca<\/td>\nAmerican Holly<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Juniperus virginiana<\/td>\nEastern Red Cedar<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Liriodendron tulipifera<\/td>\nTulip Poplar<\/td>\nL, N, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Magnolia virginiana<\/td>\nSweetbay Magnolia<\/td>\nL<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nyssa sylvatica<\/td>\nBlack Gum\/ Tupelo<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pinus strobus<\/td>\nEastern White Pine<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prunus serotina<\/td>\nBlack Cherry<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quercus \u00a0 alba,Q. coccinea, Q. pinus, Q. rubra<\/td>\nWhite Oak, Scarlet Oak, Chestnut Oak, Red Oak<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sassafras albidum<\/td>\nSassafras<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tsuga canadensis<\/td>\nEastern Hemlock<\/td>\nL,F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shrubs<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aronia melanocarpa.<\/td>\nBlack Chokeberry<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clethra alnifolia<\/td>\nSweet Pepperbush<\/td>\nN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cornus racemosa, C. amonum<\/td>\nGray Dogwood, Silky Dogwood<\/td>\nL, N, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hydrangea arborescens, H. \u00a0 quercifolia<\/td>\nWild Hydrangea, Oakleaf \u00a0 Hydrangea<\/td>\nN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ilex verticillata<\/td>\nWinterberry Holly<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Myrica pensylvanica<\/td>\nBayberry<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rosa virginiana<\/td>\nWild or Pasture Rose<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sambucus canadensis<\/td>\nAmerican Elder<\/td>\nL, F, N<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vaccinium corymbosum<\/td>\nHighbush Blueberry<\/td>\nL, F, N<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Viburnum \u00a0 dentatum, V. lentago,V. nudum, V. prunifolium<\/td>\nArrowwood Viburnum, Nannyberry, \u00a0 Possumhaw,\u00a0 Black Haw<\/td>\nL, F<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
L \u00a0 = Leaves support moth and butterfly caterpillars and other leaf-eating \u00a0 insects that are eaten by birds<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
N \u00a0 = Nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
F \u00a0 = Food products such as berries, seeds, nuts, buds, and pollen for birds, \u00a0 mammals, and pollinators<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Places to buy native plants:<\/p>\n