What to do this week: Start seeds of annuals and vegetables indoors. It’s going to be a bad year for invasive pests such as gypsy moths, so have your trees sprayed with dormant oil, especially fruit trees, maples, oaks, hollies, junipers, arborvitae, and hemlock and also rose and blueberry bushes. Continue cleaning up but don’t walk in the garden or on the lawn when the soil is damp. Prune summer-blooming shrubs such as roses. Spray organic fertilizer and animal deterrents such as Deer Off.
Q. I love flowering trees and would like to plant new ones near the sidewalk, 30 to 60 feet from the new septic tank. Are there trees whose roots will not encroach?
BRIAN GALFORD, Sharon
A. Many people think tree roots stop at the drip line of the branches, but they can extend three times that far. So think small — under 15 feet in eventual height. Semi-dwarf crab apples, apples, or other small fruiting trees are a good value. They all have beautiful flowers and can even provide food for you and the birds. This is a good time to plant trees. You can make a family project of going to a garden center and picking them out. Some types require a pair to cross pollinate, so read the labels. Almost all fruit trees sold today are semi-dwarfs. You should be able to plant them yourself 20 feet from the septic tank and 15 feet away from the sidewalk.
Q. I have a bed of ivy that’s been cut to the ground. Can I dig it up with a pitch fork and plant annuals this year in the same bed?
MARK ZARO, Brockton
A. Ivy looks delicate, but it can be a real monster. (Note to readers: Do not plant this vine!) It often takes years to eradicate. You can dig out ivy, but like a lot of alien vines, each severed bit of root you miss will grow into a new plant. So keep digging up each new plant that sprouts, getting all the roots you can without cutting any. You will have to get a bit obsessive about it. Dispose of roots and leaves carefully so they do not start new plants somewhere else.
Like poison ivy, English ivy has a waxy coating on the leaves that protects it from systemic herbicides such as glyphosate; however, you’ve already cut it back, so newly emerging leaves will be less waxy. Try spraying them as they emerge, being careful to follow label directions. I would spray new growth every six weeks. It’s particularly difficult to smother this superplant, but you can also try covering the entire bed with thick plastic such as roofing lining or artificial carpet for a year to cut off access to light and water. Wait another year to plant anything new in the same bed so you can continue fighting the ivy if it tries to come back. This is war, and you don’t want to give the enemy any hostages.
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