In Piedmont North Carolina, fall is the best time to add new plants to your yard. Cooler air and soil temperatures reduce stress on plants and encourage root growth. Next summer when temperatures are soaring, the larger root systems will help fall-planted trees, shrubs, perennial flowers perform better than those added in spring. For great tips on how to assess conditions in your yard and how to improve your soil, follow this link:  https://chatham.ces.ncsu.edu/2017/09/fall-is-the-best-time-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs/  Plant a native plant or two this fall and increase your yard’s biodiversity!

Don’t Miss the North Carolina Botanical Garden Fall Plant Sale

Just in time for fall planting—Choose from a wide variety of southeastern native wildflowers, shrubs, trees, vines, and ferns.
 
Friday, September 27, 4:00-7:00  Members only plant sale preview party with 10% discount on plant purchases. Join at the door. 
Saturday, September 28, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
North Carolina Botanical Garden, 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill 27517

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Do you and your neighbor share an interest in landscaping with native plants? The space between your houses offers an opportunity to remove invasive plants and plant native. Be it a privacy screen or a hedgerow, UNC-Charlotte’s Urban Institute and local landscape architect Preston Montague have suggestions. Montague suggests planting native trees (redbud, fringe tree, or dogwood) and filling in the spaces with blueberry bushes. For success follow the rule of thumb, “Right plant, right place,” and ask Woodcroft’s ARB committee for approval before planting. For information about planting a native evergreen hedge, follow this link:  https://ui.uncc.edu/story/nc-piedmont-native-evergreens-better-invasive-plants

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Nandina has been used as a landscape plant in the South since the 1800s. Once a staple of southern gardens and still widely cultivated, it has jumped the fence and is now invading woodlands across the Southeast, including Woodcroft. 

One plant can produce hundreds of bright red berries that birds spread far and wide. The berries germinate, seedlings grow and multiply, and soon native plants that belong in our woods are displaced. Another good reason to eliminate nandina is that the fruits contain low levels of cyanide, which can kill birds who gorge themselves. 

It’s easy to cut the berries off in the fall to prevent seed distribution. Just remember to do it before they’re a tempting bright red that attracts the birds! You can also find varieties that produce little or no fruit. Here’s a list: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/nandina/ .

Even better, plant a native shrub instead! Larry Mellichamp’s Native Plants of the Southeast is a fantastic guide to the 460 best native species for the Southeast. You can order it from Amazon or check it out at the Durham County Library. 

How to Remove Nandina
Seedlings and small shrubs are easy to pull by hand. Waiting until after a rain makes the job easier. Larger shrubs can be dug up, although this can be difficult. The simplest way to remove full-grown shrubs is to cut them to the ground and immediately paint the stumps with concentrated Roundup (not the diluted form that is sprayed on leaves). Carefully painting it on with a small brush rather than spraying allows you to use only a small amount and limit it to a small area. Cover what’s left of the plant with a bucket for a couple of weeks until the herbicide breaks down. Cut or spray sprouts that recur.

Another good reason to remove non-native plants that produce berries: Native berries have the protein and nutrients for our native birds need; non-native berries do not. Migrating birds can starve to death with a craw full of non-native berries. Native bird superfoods include Virginia creeper, pokeberry, and viburnums. 

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TreesDurham is so fortunate to partner with Howard University's Day of Service to host student volunteers virtually on August 21st. Students will create infographics for TreesDurham based on the Racial History of Durham's Trees. These infographics will be utilized on our Instagram in hopes of making data on environmental equity and trees more accessible. 

Howard University's Day of Service focuses on community building through either service-learning initiatives addressing: educational disparities, environmental injustices, community health disparities, housing, and food disparities, violence and police brutality, political empowerment, youth outreach, and elderly outreach.

This service-learning experience allows Howard University students to discover the power of ethical leadership and civic responsibility. This program is held in collaboration with hundreds of virtual sites across the nation.​

 by Lynn Richardson, vice-chair, Woodcroft Eco-friendly Landscape Committee; member, New Hope Audubon Bird-friendly Habitat Committee

What is it?
Japanese stiltgrass (botanical name Microstegium vimineum) is a delicate, sprawling grass 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet high. Slender flower stalks that develop in September go to seed from late September through early October, unleashing 100 to 1000 seeds per plant. Seeds remain viable in the soil for three to five years. A native of several Asian countries including Japan, Korea, and China, stiltgrass was first identified in Tennessee around 1920. It was used as packing material for goods imported from China, which was probably how it was introduced into the United States.

In residential areas across Durham, fast-growing Japanese stiltgrass grows in lawns, landscape beds, vegetable gardens, and natural areas. Like other invasive plants, it thrives in a wide variety of habitats—from sunny to shady and moist to dry. Hay, soil, and potted plants may contain stiltgrass; wind, water, animals, humans, and vehicles all spread the seed, which are light and float easily. The seeds may survive and germinate even after long periods in water.

 
Why it’s a problem
Stiltgrass forms extensive patches, displacing native species that can’t compete with it. Areas filled with Japanese stiltgrass are less biologically diverse, and provide less native wildlife habitat. Left unchecked, Japanese stiltgrass can overtake and smother native vegetation in three to five years. Japanese stiltgrass may change soil chemistry so that the seeds of our native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers don’t germinate, making it a threat to the future of our forests. If a native seed does manage to germinate, the stiltgrass may shade the tiny plant out. When deer browse native plants in stiltgrass-infested areas, they open up even more room for it to spread. Unfortunately, they don’t eat stiltgrass!

How to remove it
Entire stiltgrass plants can easily be removed by grabbing the plant close to the ground and tugging firmly. Hand-pull in August and September, when plants are tall and branched. If you pull in July or earlier, you’ll need to keep an eye on the weeded area to catch any new plants that emerge, since pulling may expose buried seeds to light and jumpstart their germination. Late summer pulling is best because any new seedlings don’t have enough time to get established before cold weather. As weeding too early has its drawbacks, so does weeding too late! Be sure to weed before mid- to late September, when the plant goes to seed.

Plants pulled before they set seed can be left on site; plants with seeds should be bagged and placed in the garbage. When in doubt, bag them. You will need to continue pulling each year until the seed bank is exhausted, which may take several years. If your yard has low areas that seeds can wash into or if your neighbor has an infestation, you may not be able to permanently eradicate the plant. Keeping on top of what wanders into your yard will help keep the problem from getting out of hand.
Mowing is another option. It’s best to wait until late summer (roughly mid-August to mid-September) to cut stiltgrass. Mowing at this time will remove the inconspicuous flower before its seed matures while not allowing the plant time to flower and set seed again. Plants cut earlier in summer respond by regrowing and flowering soon after cutting.

I had great success last summer weed-eating the big infestation in my backyard natural area down to the ground, then covering it with a thick layer (4-6 inches) of mulch. This year the few plants that are emerging are easily pulled out. Another option is to plant a thick stand of wildflowers such as obedient plant or grasses such as river oats that will crowd out almost all stiltgrass.

Check out this talk given by one of our own amazing volunteers, Lynn Richardson!

Biodiversity Begins at Home: A Pioneering Project in Durham's Woodcroft Subdivision

The precipitous decline in biodiversity is not only a problem in the Amazon—it’s happening right here in our own back yards. Learn about a Durham subdivision’s pioneering committee that is working to increase use of native plants and control invasive plants in the neighborhood’s common lands and yards.

When: 6/11/2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Register here: Biodiversity Begins at Home: A Pioneering Project in Durham's Woodcroft Subdivision

Every year the Forest Service goes into forests across the country to see what kinds of trees are growing. Using this information, they created a data set called the "Forest Inventory and Analysis" data set. When I was in graduate school at Duke we utilized the Forest Inventory and Analysis data a lot... and now its accessible to everyone! This website allows you to look at what kinds of trees are growing in forests near you, and how it has changed over time. Be warned- its pretty dense, forestry stuff!


Forest Inventory & Analysis One-Click Fact sheet

Readers interested in exploring the forestry statistics about their home state may enjoy this Forestry Inventory & Analysis Factsheet. The resource provides "a brief overview of forest resources in each state based on an inventory conducted by the FIA program in cooperation with each State forestry agency." Factsheets were created using data from the USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis database. To explore the data, toggle over the map and click on a state, or use the dropdown bar in the lower left-hand corner to select a state from the alphabetized list. A link at the bottom of the page also provides a text-only version of the site. Once users have selected a state, they will be able to analyze and download state-specific data, including forest land ownership statistics, acreage estimates, and usage of forest resources. Readers should note that the data used were collected between 2016 to 2019, with data added as the site is updated. Those interested in archived versions of the data can find information under the Backpage tab.

Last time it was drawing, now its listening... check it out!
Tree Podcast: YourForest

Guided by a desire to better understand the natural world, inventory forester Matthew Kristoff launched Your Forest in 2017. The podcast is structured as a conversation between Kristoff and guests, who discuss "the things [they] love about the natural world and [their] work to protect and preserve it." In doing so, Kristoff hopes to "challenge our ideas of sustainability," and push listeners to think about the reasons for and results of our actions towards our planet.

Recent episodes have covered the scientific stories housed in tree rings (see Episode 82, "Travel Back in Time with Trisha Hook") and the impact of wetlands on maintaining healthy ecosystems (see Episode 81, "Bogged Down with Ducks Unlimited: National Boreal Program").

As of this write-up, there are more than 80 episodes are available. Installments range in length, but are typically over an hour. Readers can find the full collection of episodes at the link above or on popular streaming services such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Do you want to take your botanical drawings to the next level? If so, check out this new resource: Botanical art and artists: How to draw and paint leaves and trees

Nature is a source of inspiration for many artists, but how scientifically accurate are the depictions? As the collection's name suggests, "How to draw and paint leaves and trees" provides "tips and techniques for how to draw and paint botanically correct trees and leaves."

Whether you are an amateur artist or a seasoned professional, you will find resources to support your artistic endeavors. Scrolling down the page, visitors will find information on famous botanical artists, suggested books on botanical art, and a plethora of embedded videos walking individuals through drawing and painting trees and leaves while maintaining botanical integrity.

To easily navigate to the videos section, users can click the "Video TIPS - Drawing and Painting Leaves" link in the green box at the top of the page. Videos cover topics such as "Painting Leaves in Different Seasons" and "How to Paint a 3D Leaf." The site was created by Katherine Tyrrell in 2015, who credits her background in education as inspiring her "to support those who want to learn about botanical art and illustration."

Urban Forestry Toolkit

Close your eyes and try to picture yourself in the middle of a forest.

Where are you? Perhaps you are in Brazil's Amazon Rainforest or California's Redwood Park, or maybe Pittsburg, Pennsylvania's Urban Forest?

While traditional notions of forestry often exclude urban settings, the Urban Forestry Toolkit provides resources to bring tree canopies to cities. The resources within the toolkit "are designed to help community managers and advocates in jurisdictions of all sizes to determine their current situation and be guided through a process at their own pace to reach goals of comprehensive urban forest management."

The toolkit's 17 steps take users from start (Assess) to finish (Sustain). Each step has a range of supporting content, from statistics to studies to samples. For example, the seventh step , "Planning: Best Practices in Urban Forestry" (under the Plan tab), includes examples of cities that have successfully created and implemented urban forestry plans.

The toolkit is a project of Vibrant Cities Lab, a collaboration between the U.S. Forest Service, American Forests, and the National Association of Regional Councils, on a mission to help individuals "discover how healthy tree canopy can enrich their own community and help guide them as they build an effective urban forestry program."

www.vibrantcitieslab.com/toolkit

Sometimes I'm lucky, and one of our fabulous volunteers sends me an email chock full of resources. This time it was from Pat Carstensen, and its a doozy! I'll put them out in several up coming posts.