What To Watch For Now:    Animal Damage

Mice & Voles – Eat the outer bark of shrubs and trees, girdling them, cutting the nutrient carrying food tubes just under the bark, resulting in the plant drying out and dying. On trees, use wrap around white plastic bark guards; on shrubs, use a hardware mesh cloth fencing around plant, held in place with stakes. Tuck the fencing into the soil a few inches. Watch for small wandering trails in lawn from beds into lawn to show frequent pathways. Use peanut butter in a rat or mouse trap, covered with a plastic shrub pot. Cut a notch on the side of the pot to allow passage into ‘the buffet counter’ and to prevent birds from the trap.

Rabbits – What can be cuter than a little bunny running around your yard? Not so cute when you find shrubs missing branches or bark! Look for branches of shrubs cut down from the outer perimeter inward with small pellets of rabbit droppings around the base of shrubs. Main trunks of shrubs and trees may show girdling, upwards of 6-8 inches being removed. On trees and large trunks, wrap wire screen mesh around bark upwards from ground to at least 18 inches if possible with branching or use plastic wrap around bark shields.

 Deer – Will browse by eating the lower sections of hedges, especially Arborvitae, upwards to 3 feet causing multiyear damage. Best controlled by netting installed away from the outer edges of hedgerow or with Deer Away powder. Use warm spells to reapply safely.

Male Dogs – Keep male dogs away from evergreens to prevent urine sprays along the lower branches or along walkways as they mark their territory. Urine is nitrogen rich and will burn arcs into the shrubbery.

Recycle Christmas Trees & Wreaths

Reuse the branches of trees and pull apart wreaths to serve as a groundcover over spring flowering bulb and perennial beds. This may be more important this year with the lack of snow cover we are experiencing due to the unseasonably warm weather.

 How Can We Help You at Jacrist?

If you are thinking of changing your yard or adding to it, give us a call. We specialize in low maintenance, attractive landscaping that minimizes your future expenses and maximizes your home’s appeal. We renovate existing landscaping with specialized pruning or we can reconfigure or amend what you already have. You will be amazed at how your home’s look can change.

We also are known for precontruction design planning, sidewalk, driveway and tree placement, grading, stonework and walls with natural or manufactured stone, water features and landscape lighting.

“Call Us and Consider It Done!”

(716) 626-5465             rich@jacrist.com            facebook

 

As we close the 2011 gardening season, we at Jacrist would like to give thanks for all the blessings that have been bestowed on us throughout this past season. We hope this time is also one of joy for you and your family and that you, too, will take some time to give thanks that you have received over the course of this year.

Tips for Picking the Right Christmas Tree

There are three types of trees available:                     

                

 

 

 

Fir, flat soft needles             Pine, long soft needles     Spruce, short, rigid needles

Most common Christmas tree selections:

 

 

Balsam Fir – Excellent fragrance & needle retention

 

 

Concolor Fir – Unusual bluish/grey color, excellent fragrance & needle retention

 

 

Douglas Fir – Medium soft needles, light green color & good needle retention

 

Frasier Fir -  An old fashioned look with short, rigid needles & dark green color, good ornament support with exceptional fragrance and excellent needle retention

 

Norway Spruce – Old world styled tree, rigid short needles & dark green color, excellent ornament support with strong spruce scent but fair needle retention. Set up near Christmas.

 

 

Scotch Pine – Light green color, long firm needles, excellent ornament support and good needle retention

White Pine – Light green color,  soft overall appearance with long, satiny needles, good needle support

 

 

Preparing the Tree

Prior to bringing in the tree, remove the last one inch or two of trunk and crosscut cut with a hatchet or saw across the bottom to open up the tree fibers. DO NOT CUT THE OUTSIDE BARK up the tree to ‘fit into’ the stand as you will be cutting off the feeding tubes of the tree and it will dry out quickly.

 Homemade Preserving solution

Mix 1 gallon of hot water with ¼ cup of horticultural iron, add 2 cups of light corn syrup and 4 teaspoons of bleach. After cooling, use liquid to fill pan under tree. Keep the pan filled with this liquid until used up. Afterwards, use warm tap water.

 How Can We Help You at Jacrist?

Since 1978, our clients have told us it was a pleasure doing business with us as we were professional, knowledgeable and exceeded their expectations. They appreciated our willingness to address their problems or concerns quickly and are thrilled as their landscaping matures.

Many of our clients are friends of other clients. I am thankful for this kind of testimony. Why not join them yourselves?

Give us a call or shoot us an email. Let’s get together soon!

(716) 626-5465       rich@jacrist.com       facebook