Lawn and Garden

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. Invasive species are plants, animals, or other organisms that are found in an area that they are not native from. Nebraska invasive species council coordinator Shannon Smith says, they don't have to come from a foreign country. It could be something from somewhere relatively close by. She says, whether by intention or accidentally, invasive species, in this case, plants can quickly take over an area by out-competing native plants.

[Shannon Smith, Nebraska Invasive Species Council Coordinator]
Invasive plants are plants that are found in an area where they are not from.

A lot of time when we think about invasive species, we think of them as being brought from very far away, like another country, continent or state.

However, they can also be from more close by, like another county, city, or neighboring habitat.

They're usually brought by someone or something accidentally or on purpose.

Once they're brought to a new area, they cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health.

When we buy plants, like ornamental or fruit trees, flowers and shrubs for our home landscape, we want them to be hardy and easy to take care of, with a reasonable expectation that they will thrive in our landscape.

Traits like these are built into plants we purchase because we don't want them to wither and die.

They are bred with a certain amount of durability.

The flip side of that is those characteristics can lead to plants that want to take over the landscape and removal will be a problem.

Common characteristics of invasive plants is that they grow rapidly, they're periflic seed spreaders, they have little to no natural predators, and they spread very aggressively.

And so we will often see that they out compete native plant species for nutrients that they need to survive and other resources, like water, space, and sunlight.

So we'll often see the landscape change from a diverse native landscape with a lot of pollinators and different plants to a dense monoculture of the invasive species with little to no pollinators.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Shannon talks about a few common invasive plants here in Nebraska. The surprising thing is, some of these plants are available to purchase in garden centers. She says homeowners should be aware of the invasive nature of some of these plants, and carefully consider what could happen if they aren't mindful of a plants and base of issues.

[Shannon Smith, Nebraska Invasive Species Council Coordinator]
Some major invasive species that we see in Nebraska are ornamental pear trees, which are Calgary, Bradford pears, tree of heaven, a more honeysuckle, Japanese knot weed, and purple loostripe.

And some of these plants are actually plant chicken find at major nurseries in the state.

So we encourage you to do your research on what type of property you're on and what area you live in to determine what native species would be beneficial to plant for you.

Calorie pairs here in Nebraska is a clear example of something that was extremely popular, but now has presented a problem because of its invasive characteristics.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
The problem isn't much of a big deal in home landscapes, because of frequent mowing and homeowners uprooting the sprouts, but it can become a serious problem because of the spread in natural landscapes. And in Nebraska, that has caused a real problem in grasslands and woodland areas where they outcompete native trees and aggressively spread to other natural areas. In home landscapes, their weak wood is highly susceptible to storm damage. So take a minute to consider what you are buying at the garden center and be aware of these common invasive species here in Nebraska.For Nebraska extension almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. Trees make our home landscapes more beautiful, help save energy with the shade they cast, and our home to a wide variety of wildlife and insects. And it's important to have a wide variety of shade trees, ornamental trees as well as under canopy smaller trees. Great Plains nursery owner, Heather Byers says, another benefit to having diverse trees is that if some new disease or insect pest comes along, your landscape won't suffer as much damage. She talks about the importance of tree diversity in the home landscape on today's almanac.

[Heather Byers, Great Plains Nursery Owner]
A healthy home landscape starts with a diverse canopy of trees, shrubs, and perennials.

Today we're going to talk about diversity in regards to trees.

The 1st thing to think about in regards to your trees is your large maturing shade trees.

Having one or two nice, large maturing shade trees on your property is essential.

Those are the trees that provide the most shade, giving energy savings, and also provide storm water mitigation.

They slow down wind, provide protection for your property.

You can also consider ornamental trees for your property.

Those add a lot of value with beauty, pollinators, pollinator habitat, oftentimes you can introduce different berries, and lots of great fall color.

And fall color is a wonderful addition for any sized tree.

And it's really fun to mix up the different species in regards to the habitat that you can create, and then all the different interests and textures that you can create for your yard.

Diversity of species is essential when it comes to being resilient against insect and disease pressures.

If something new moves in, be it, you know, most recently, we can remember Emerald Dashboard, Dutch elm disease, we don't know what's next on the horizon.

So by having a well diverse home landscape and community landscape, it sets yourself up for a much more resilient landscape that can withstand, and you're losing much less of your landscape.

So maybe you just lose one tree versus losing multiple trees on your property because of having a monoculture of trees.

That diversity is really key.

Something else to consider when choosing the right treats for your landscape would be focusing on our keystone species.

Those are our native plants that have evolved here within our eco region, and support the most insect in birds within our eco region.

So things like oaks, choke cherries, black cherries, plums, our native willows.

One of my favorites is prairie willows, which offer a smaller sized plant.

When it comes to choosing new plants for your home landscape, considered diversity with texture, color, and natives.

Another thing to consider when choosing new trees for your home landscape is the size of trees that you choose.

Young trees, in the size range of anywhere from one foot up to five to six, seven feet tall, are young trees, often within that three to four year old range.

And those have shown us time and time again that they transplant really well.

They can initiate new roots quickly, being a young tree, and that proves to have transplant success.

And long term viability and success within our landscape.

In any case, different varieties of trees will make your home more beautiful and vibrant, as well as avoiding some random disease and insect problems that could come up in the future.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Listings of good tree selections can be found at the Nebraska statewide arboretum website at plantnebraska.org. That's plantnebraska.org. For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media, and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Host]

Nebraska Extension Almanac. Dry weather this fall and winter may have some consequences in your home landscape this spring. Your trees, young and old, will need some extra attention, and that means getting some good water on them to help them thrive this spring. Nebraska extension instructor Dana Freeman talks about proper methods to get your trees, the water they need, on today's almanac.

[Dana Freeman, Nebraska Extension Instructor]

So we've had a dry fall and winter, and even though we might be getting some water this spring, our trees are still showing signs of drought stress.

That can look like trees that are slow to leaf out.

Trees with leaves that are smaller than usual, or even show some tip die back.

So there are still some things that you can do to help your trees bite this drought stress.

That will include supplemental watering and mulching.

But before we get the hose out, it's important to think about and determine how much water our trees really need.

Because overwatering is just as problematic as underwatering.

So to check the soil moisture, we'll use a long screwdriver or a soil probe, and what we want to do is stick that soil probe into the ground, 6 to 9 inches, because that's where most of the absorbing roots are.

If we pull that out, kind of like sticking a toothpick and a cake batter, and the soil is moist, then it's probably okay and we don't need to water.

But if we stick that soil probe in there, and we either can get the soil probe down 69 inches, or it's dry and dusty, then we probably need to add some supplemental watering.

So, will water new and young trees a little bit differently than our mature trees?

When we're watering our young trees, what we want to do is think about establishing deeper roots.

And that will look like potentially using a 5 gallon bucket with a quarter inch hole in the bottom.

You can estimate how much water a tree needs by using 10 gallons of water for each inch of trunk diameter.

That means a two inch diameter tree would need about 20 gallons of water.

So if you're using your five gallon bucket, That's four or five gallon buckets.

As we think about watering our mature trees, even though they have larger roots, they still need help when it's this dry outside.

So what we want to do is, instead of using the five gallon bucket, we'll use a soaker hose.

And we can spiral that in a pattern, kind of nearer the tree's canopy.

Then what you do is turn on your water, and kind of let it run for an hour, and then come back and recheck using your soil probe.

You may need to keep going in water just until you get until that top 6 to 9 inches of soil is moist.

Another thing, you can't just rely on water alone.

Mulching is something that we can do that's pretty easy, and that can really help our landscapes.

So adding two to four inches of an organic woodchip mulch is a great way to support your trees during periods of drought.

A common mistake that we often see is that folks rely on their lawn irrigation systems to provide water and think that's enough for their trees.

But watering deeply for turf is only 4 to 6 inches, wherein that's not enough for our tree roots, as we've talked about.

Prioritizing watering your woody trees is a great way to keep your landscape healthy and sustainable, even during these periods of drought and challenging growing conditions.

For more information, check out your local extension office, and they'd be happy to help you out.

Remember, your trees have vastly different water needs than your turf.

Just because your grass is green doesn't mean your trees have had enough water.

So take a look at your trees this weekend and followed these tips to make sure they're getting the water they need.

[Brad Mills, Host]

For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu. 

JeffRoundupReplace26 Transcript:

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. A popular, yet controversial, non selective herbicide glyphosate has been associated with the brand name roundup. Recently, the roundup brand has changed its formulation that is glyphosate free and all of its horticultural products. UNL director of landscape services, Jeff Culbertson, talks about how roundup has a new formulation with different ingredients.

[Jeff Culbertson, UNL Director of Landscape Services]
One of the products, roundup, historically, has been really synonymous with the chemical glyphosate.

So maybe in years gone past, people would have said, get some roundup and spray that weed with roundup, and they were talking about using glyphosate.

Currently, round up, that brand round up now is really made up of several different chemicals.

So it can be many different products, so it's really when you pick up a bottle that says round up on it, that you look at the label closely, and look at the plants or pests that it may control to make sure that you're getting the right product, because no longer is glyphosate in the recipe for roundup products.

And again, so it's important to look at that label, look at some of the restrictions that those many different chemicals now will have when you're using some of these combination products that round up now produces.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Jeff says there are other products that contain non selective herbicides that are a replacement for the traditional glyphosate roundup.

[Jeff Culbertson, UNL Director of Landscape Services]
There are, however, other versions of non selective herbicides out there.

And again, there's, when you go to the, to the nursery and look at your products, there's really a lot of things to choose from.

There's some that may be advertising that it's a more natural product that may contain certain salts or oils, and certain products like that.

So again, while they may sound very friendly to us, and they may be.

Again, it's really important to look at the label, look at some of the restrictions, make sure that you're applying it to the right plant, and that it works well for your particular situation.

So, again, there's products out there that are easy for us to use.

They come in ready to use format, which is very convenient.

And there are just really a lot of variety of parties out there on the shelf today.

So it's important to look at the labels carefully and not just look at the brand of it.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Finally, Jeff talks about how using common yard tools to control weeds is also very effective.

[Jeff Culbertson, UNL Director of Landscape Services]
And then, you know, never forget that, uh, like, Terry likes to promote the use of a weed knife, that's really your simplest, safest way to get rid of weeds, and sometimes it may seem a little much to go out and dig up a bunch of dandelions, but I can tell you, once you've spent 15 or 20 minutes, you'd be surprised how many dandelions you can dig up and get them out of there, and you won't have to worry about them again.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
The best way to ensure you are using the right product is to first identify the weed pest that needs controlling. Second step is to understand what active ingredients are in the product you want to use. Making sure it is applicable to your yard and garden.  And finally, if you are going to use chemical products on your lawn garden, make sure you thoroughly read and follow the label instructions for specific application techniques and guidelines. You can ask your garden center professional or local extension educator for help when it comes to these products. For Nebraska Extension Almanac. I'm Brad Mills.
Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.