trees – Page 6 – Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Durham County

by Andrea Laine, EMGV

Maple trees are among the most popular shade trees in America. They grow fast and tall, averaging 40 feet but capable of reaching 120 feet. I remember the one in the backyard of my childhood home on Long Island. We lived in a suburban development typical of its time: Finished in the late 1960s, the homes were similar in size and layout and every house sat on the same amount of land which was some measure of an acre. The community was called Point of Woods – which was humorous as most of the “woods” were cleared in order to build the houses. Most homes were surrounded by large areas of lawn. The yard cried out for a shade tree. Enter the maple.

Our maple tree felt special. My grandmother spotted the seedling growing in her tiny urban yard in Queens, a borough of New York City. Mature maples lined her two-way street; they were so large that their tops completely shaded the street and their shallow roots buckled the sidewalks. Grandma was no stranger to gardening so she nurtured that seedling for a bit and then potted it up and brought it to Long Island to plant in our new backyard. With lots of attention, but little actual care, it grew fast and tall and quickly delivered welcome shade.

Alas, I have no (good) photo to share of the maple of my youth. Besides, my tree may have been the invasive (!) Norway maple (Acer platanoides) which was widely planted as a street and shade tree back in the day. I have something much better to share with you — a spectacular red maple tree that has, for years, graced the Durham County, NC yard of a fellow master gardener.

Through all the seasons this magnificent red maple (Acer rubrum) brings such joy to me and those who pass by just by being exactly what it is: A festival of color in the fall, a base to connect decorations to, elegant in the new fallen snow and a wonderful cover for my summer outdoor room. — Wanda C.

Red maple trees are native deciduous trees. They tolerate a wide range of growing conditions which may be why they seem to grow carefree. It is one of the first native trees to flower in very early spring and there is something red about it year-round. It has red twigs, buds, and flowers in winter, reddish new leaves in spring, red leaf stalks and seeds in summer, and reddish (or yellow) foliage in autumn.¹

There are a number of types of maple trees and it is not easy to identify them from afar. You need to observe their structure and then get close enough to observe the bark, the leaves and their arrangement, the flower and/or the fruit. A distinguishing characteristic of the red maple (in addition to its overwhelming redness as described above), is that the edge of its leaf, also known as the margin, is highly serrated.

To learn more about the characteristics of other maple trees, consult the NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox online.

Photos by Wanda Cruthfield, used with permission.

Footnotes

1. Spira, Timothy P., Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains & Piedmont, 2011 University of North Carolina Press

Additional Resources & Further Reading

NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/acer-rubrum/
Also take note of the list of maples often confused with the red maple

Maple Tree ID – especially as it pertains to trees tapped for syrup
https://www.massmaple.org/about-maple-syrup/make-maple-syrup/maple-tree-id/

Beware the Norway maple – it is an invasive species! http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=275380 https://www.invasive.org/alien/pubs/midatlantic/acpl.htm

Maple spider mites could be a concern
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/maple-spider-mite-oligonychus-aceris-shimer-acariformes-tetranychidae

by Bob Shaw, EMGV

Japanese beetles have emerged in Durham County. We have been picking them from our orchard trees at Briggs Avenue Community Garden since the start of June. This time of year takes me back 40 years to our first house out in Orange County sitting in a large yard, but surrounded by woods. On an early June morning, as the sun warmed the ground, I watched in dismay as clouds of beetles rose from the turf. For the next years, I warred against them — inoculating my lawn with milky spore bacteria (then available only from the county extension agent) and with traps. More about traps later. Each afternoon, I’d come home from work and empty a full gallon of beetles from my traps into a bucket of soapy water. Over the years, I accumulated a large pile (not quite a mountain) of beetle husks. Eventually, I controlled them and my apple trees no longer had all their leaves turned to brown lacework, no longer were my peaches gnawed to brown, nasty pulp.

*Japanese beetles on an apple tree.*
*Photo by Bob Shaw*

At Briggs, we don’t have a plague and we manage them with an old plastic container of soapy water. In the cool morning, when they are still lethargic, one holds the container beneath the beetles’ leaf and, obligingly, they drop into it; this works best at 70 degrees or lower. As the temperature rises they are more active and are likely to fly as you approach. Collecting one is very satisfying, even more when a pair is caught in flagrante delicto or, even three or more, when onlookers are present.

We find beetles on, and eating leaves of, roses, apples, peaches and persimmons in the community garden. A few beetles are on our figs, but they haven’t eaten the leaves. Likely the broad, flat, green leaves provide a nice landing zone. But as the population grows, they range more widely: into mint and blackberries.

About traps: As described above, I used them many years ago and traps saved us. If beetles are a plague, as they were with me, collection in cups of soapy water may not seem practical. However, be aware that beetles must be emptied from the traps every day or two to prevent them from rotting and releasing ammonia which is repellent to other Japanese beetles. Traps also can attract beetles from your neighbor’s yard, increasing the population in your yard. So what? – We want to be good neighbors, don’t we?

Sources & Further Reading

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/japanese-beetle-1

Coping During Japanese Beetle Season