February 2025 Treecologist Tribune

An Introduction and Some Sleepy Season Advice

Before we delve into the interesting things happening in our gardens now, let me introduce myself. I’m Nora, and I’ve been at Leaf & Limb for about 4 years, doing all the things you expect to see when we arrive at your house to do work. I’ve been an arborist for 20 years and a gardener for much longer than that. I’m a transplant from the Great White North (yes, that Great White North). I’m Canadian and did most of my gardening in Calgary, a large city on the east edge of the Canadian Rockies. That’s zone 3 gardening, so zone 7 and 8 gardening is still something I’m learning all about. But I’ve been here for a dozen years, so I’m getting the hang of life in the South. Check out the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to learn about gardening zones.

I’m excited to be a Leaf & Limb voice and to write and speak about stuff I’ve been passionate about for a long time.

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Weather Notes

The short warming trend that ushered in February brought warm days with daytime temps in the 50s through 70s (with a high of 80 degrees on the 4th) and nights mercifully above freezing. It was so tempting to get down and dirty in the dirt. Although there are things you can do now, I’ll caution you not to do too much yet. More on that in a bit.

As I write this, we are on day two of snow and the temperatures are not above freezing. The forecast calls for a bit of warming, but more winter conditions are on the horizon. Does that sound like spring in the South to you? Even though spring starts much later up north, the fits and starts to this season are the same everywhere I’ve ever lived!

We’ve had a couple of inches of rain so far in 2025, and that’s about half of what we should have had by now, but it’s early days yet. More rain is coming. Can’t do much about that. Or can we? Stay tuned.

Signs of Spring and the Dormant Season

Signs of spring are shyly showing up. Maple buds are swelling, filling maple canopies with a froth of red, and cheery daffodils have raised their nodding bonnets above the leaf litter. I saw my first native flower this past weekend. It was a single purple hepatica bloom.

But don’t get too much spring fever. Go ahead and brush the leaves away from your early spring crocus or native early bloomers, but leave the blanket of leaves. This blanket of fallen leaves that we encourage you to leave below your trees and in your gardens teems with tiny life that is very important for building a healthy sub/urban ecosystem. Let the tiny critters who are hunkered down continue their rest until proper spring temperatures release them from their slumbers. For example, nesting birds need emerging caterpillars in huge numbers to feed their young.

I look for increased insect life and more early blooming flowers to tell me when it’s time to think about some light cleanup and other garden tasks. Another guideline is to wait until soil temperatures reach about 50 degrees a couple of inches below the surface.

Things You Can Do Now

Plant trees and shrubs: Winter is the best time in the South to plant trees and shrubs. Aim to complete that while things are still cool and mostly dormant. If you wait until things warm up, you’ll have to water almost constantly, and even then, the poor tree’s chances are lower than if you plant now. When I first came to the South I planted a lot of shrubs in late spring, and even though I planted them well and watered them fairly often, it wasn’t enough, and I lost all of them except one gardenia. Expensive lesson.

Improve the soil: There’s never a bad time to improve soil. It will improve itself if given the right materials, such as organic matter like compost, leaf mold (partly decayed leaves), and arborist wood chips. Applying compost tea is a great way to introduce organic material without disturbing fallen leaves. Compost tea is high-quality compost brewed in water, and this infused liquid is applied on or into the soil. You can do this yourself, or we can offer that service for you. Our book “From Wasteland to Wonder,” which you can get for free, will guide you on how to do this. To show your soil maximum love, treat it to a quarterly application of this magical substance.

I hinted above that we might be able to control the rain. Of course we can’t, but we can influence how much rain we can keep in our soil. The better the soil we have, the more water our soil will soak up. Good soil has many air spaces and organic matter that holds onto water. Good soil also has a mulch layer on top that helps prevent soil drying out too quickly and guards against erosion.

Most sub/urban soil is badly compacted and most of the rain that falls on it just washes away into waterways and storm drains. A few days after a good rain, dig a hole several inches deep and see how far down that rain really went. You might be shocked at how dry the soil is. I did not do this when I planted all those shrubs I mentioned above. If I had, I would have realized how little of the rain and sprinkler irrigation really made it to where it was needed.

If you’re concerned about the quality of your soil, especially under your trees, reach out to us. We have the tools and expertise to de-compact and improve your soil. The good news is that you only need to do this once, and then regularly replenish the surface with a quality mulch such as arborist wood chips in the following years.

Q&A – Arborvitae “Blues” Lead to Browns

Katrina in our office tells me that many calls have come in about arborvitaes showing alarming browning. It can be hard to diagnose most tree issues without being right there with the “patient,” but I’ll bullet point the usual suspects:

• Browning in the interior is normal. Trees and shrubs naturally shed inner growth that has become shaded out by later growth because without adequate sunlight, there is no further use for it. This is especially noticeable on evergreen shrubs.
• Gradual fading of color and eventual browning over large parts of the plant is often because of inadequate water. Unlike deciduous plants, evergreen plants might be drawing up water any time the temperature is right for that plant. This goes back to what I discussed above about ensuring water gets to where it needs to be. Conversely, too much water that doesn’t drain off can also do this. The roots may rot.
• Improper planting harms all kinds of trees and shrubs. The trees and shrubs we get at big box stores and nurseries don’t always have a root system ready to be popped quickly into a planting hole. There’s a lot to unpack on that, so I’m just going to link directly to some really good information about this here.
• Staking systems left on too long may result in individual limbs or entire trees browning out because trunks and limbs may now become “choked.” Staking systems are harder to see than they are on deciduous trees and may be forgotten.
• Fungal diseases often manifest as browning of seemingly random limbs in an otherwise green tree. Prune these out. They will never be green again and could spread disease further. Most fungi use wind and water to get around, so prune out and dispose of brown parts when the tree is dry. Aim irrigation away from the lower parts of these trees because backsplash is a common way to carry the fungal spores from the ground into the foliage. Better yet, use a soaker system. Call us if you suspect a fungal disease. Not all of them can be treated, but we can help you find out and treat if possible.

You can reach me at nora@leaflimb.com or ask at info@leaflimb.com if you have questions about your trees, shrubs, soil, or anything else you want to know more about in our sub/urban ecosystem.

Notable and Newsworthy

Check out Basil’s second conversation on the joegardener podcast. Word is spreading from here at Leaf & Limb and through like-minded gardeners and media all over North America on what proper tree care is really about.