Articles by Dr. Francis Gouin

The Wye Oak Lives

Cloned seedlings on sale now

Seedlings of the Wye Oak are once again offered for sale by Maryland Department of Natural Resources. I myself can guarantee that these are truly seedlings of the original Wye Oak, as I started cloning them in the late 1990s before the Wye Oak was destroyed by high winds 2002. It normally takes 28 to 32 years for oak seedlings to mature and start producing acorns. Clones are quicker. I produced 33 Wye Oak clones, which started producing acorns within eight to 10 years. These...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 11/3/11

Needles Looking a Little Thin?

Damp-loving needle cast disease thriving this year

Most narrow-leaf evergreens will shed their old needles, some more often than others. In the fall each year, you can anticipate that white pine, Virginia pine, red pine etc. will develop yellowing needles that fall and accumulate on the ground beneath the branches. Evergreens such as arborvitae, chamaecyparis, Leyland cypress and white cedar trees will also shed their needles but at a much slower rate. Most pine trees will retain their old needles for 18 months or so...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 10/27/11

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Marble chips and bluestone look good, but your plants won’t like them

I recently drove by a modest home that was well landscaped with a moderate collection of azaleas, rhododendrons and Japanese hollies in the foundation planting. The junipers in the planting were thriving, while the remaining plants appeared chlorotic with dying branches. The house was dark green, and the white marble-chip mulch highlighted the plants. I have no idea as to how long the mulch had been in place, but based on the lush growth of the junipers and the declining...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 10/20/11

Compost Loves Rain

Irene and Lee enriched your piles

Have you noticed how quickly your compost pile has shrunk now that the rain has stopped? The umpteen inches of rain between Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee provided uniform watering to exposed compost piles. This surplus water promoted rapid decomposition by microorganisms and encouraged earthworms to invade the piles. The microorganisms accounted for the shrinkage. They need at least 50 percent moisture to function properly. Sixty percent is even better. So the...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 10/13/11

Troubled by Bagworms?

Pick them and squish them. Carefully.

A visitor came to Upakrik Farm recently with an arborvitae branch containing at least 20 fully mature female bagworms. What can I spray them with? he asked. He appeared shocked when I told him nothing. He insisted that the bagworms had just appeared, for he had not seen them before. I told him that the bagworms had been feeding on his plant all summer long but that he had not noticed them. Impossible, he said. He walked by that plant every day so he would...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 10/6/11

Are You Committing Lawn Abuse?

Without a soil test, you can’t know what your lawn needs

Fall is the season to renew your lawn. Earlier this month, I advised you that lime is the best treatment you can give to your lawn. Now, I’m cautioning you that fertilizing your lawn may well be counterproductive. If you have been applying conventional lawn fertilizers for years, most likely you are wasting your money and contributing to the pollution of the Bay. Lawn grasses require very little phosphorus (P) as compared to nitrogen (N). A single...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 9/29/11

Split-Trunk Trees Are Shot

Don’t bother trying to put them back together

Irene left us many trees with split trunks. Splitting occurs mostly on shade trees with narrow crotches. Narrow crotches are weak and break easily when strong winds whip the branches back and forth. I have seen many people, including arborists, bolt these trees back together. It may seem that the operation was a success. But within eight to 10 years, the patient will have developed a good case of heart rot, and the tree will become a hazard. Fertilize Hollies in the Fall...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 9/22/11

Farewell to Toppled Trees

You can’t stick those root balls back in the ground

If Irene pushed over a tree in your landscape, chances are it will never recover, so it is best that you remove it and replace it. Over the years, I have seen many home gardeners and arborists try to rescue toppled trees by bracing them. However, I have never seen full recoveries, even after the trees have been braced for several years. Shortly after the braces are removed, the trees begin leaning. In the Garden this Week Repot Your House Plants Now Houseplants become...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 9/15/11

Grow a Lime-Green Lawn

Lime is inexpensive and the best boost for your lawn

The lawn is the pride and joy of many homeowners. Treat it right and you can keep it that way. If you have not had the soil under your lawn tested in the past three years or more, most likely it is quite acid. If so, you’ll get a bigger bang for your buck by applying lime in place of fertilizer. The addition of lime not only raises the pH of the soil to a more desirable level for plant growth but also supplies much-needed calcium and magnesium. The...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 9/8/11

The Stinkbug Plague

They’re feasting in your garden and invading your home

A number of Farmers Market customers have complained to me about stinkbugs in their vegetable gardens, and many have brought me tomatoes and peppers marred by punctures from stinkbugs. Some of the tomatoes show the creased cat facing similar to what I have mentioned seeing on peaches. Other tomatoes exhibit a puncture mark with the surrounding tissues turning brown. Another customer brought me several ears of corn, with the husk on, with much of the silk missing. After...

Article - The Bay Gardener by Dr. Francis Gouin; by Dr. Francis Gouin; 9/1/11