LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Trees and bushes are on a lot of people’s minds right now, so we went back out to Wallitsch Gardens to have your questions answered.
I've noticed there are dry leaves on our trees, which started happening around the time of the cicadas. Did those cicadas cause early dry leaves?
“There's a lot of factors for that. The cicadas definitely could be a factor in that. Your cicadas are going to go for your younger trees. If your trees are younger, newly planted, in between 5-10 years, what they're doing is scratching the bark and laying their eggs in the trees,” said Jeff Wallitsch of Wallitsch Gardens.
Wallitsch added that dry leaves could also be due to stress from an extreme weather pattern of a really wet spring to a very dry summer.
We planted a Dappled Willow in the spring. Although it looks healthy, we aren't seeing a lot of growth from it. Any ideas when we will start seeing that?
“If it was planted this year, and this goes for any newly planted tree or shrub. The first year of planting, you're not going to see a lot of new growth at all. It’s focusing more on that root growth, getting established,” Wallitsch said. “Usually your second and third year, that's when you're going to see everything go gang busters.”
What do I do about tree suckers?
“With the tree suckers, there’s not really much you can do with those except just cutting them,” Wallitsch said. “Make sure that you cut them sooner when they’re younger as opposed to when they're going to be hardened off.”
What type of flowering plant or bush can I plant outside my windows that come back every year and won't get too big to block the windows?
“There are some great options. You can do dwarf varieties. If you're looking for something for the sun, there are some great dwarf varieties of Spirea. There's also the Weigela, those are really fun. There’s several dwarf varieties about 2-3 feet tall. They bloom all throughout the summer. Last one, are Abelias. Those again are going to be a great summer blooming one,” Wallitsch said. If you want something for shade, I always go to the Hydrangeas because they're just lovely.”
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