Rain and Trees
April 28th, 2010
Epimedium x rubrum after the rain...
Sorry if you were planning to mulch, but Sunday and Monday’s rain was a good thing. The soil was getting sneaky dry for this time of year.
April showers usually make it easy on us and our new plantings, but I already had to water my young veggie plants three times. Raised beds dry out especially fast.
This surprising string of early and warm weather also dried things out faster than during a normal cool, rainy and overcast April. Before the rain, we were running about 3 inches behind in precipitation this year while running more than 5 degrees warmer in average temperature. Here in Hampden Twp., the rain gauge showed 1.5 inches.
Call me wacko (my brother does), but I took the risk this past weekend to plant some annuals. I never plant this early because it’s not unusual to get frosts out of left field in early May. I could be wrong, but I’ve got a gut feeling we’re done with frost this spring – at least in the city and closer suburbs.
My yard didn’t get frosted overnight Tuesday despite the warnings. And now the forecast is pointing back warmward again for the next 10 days.
I’m sure the colder and more outlying areas of metro Harrisburg have had a few touches of frost this month, but according to the official weather data from Harrisburg International Airport, we haven’t had a killing frost since March 27. That would be extraordinarily early for a last frost date if we hang in there – which we probably won’t now that I’ve jinxed everything by planting some petunias, calibrachoa and impatiens.
No problem with planting trees, though. This is a great time to get them in the ground. This Friday (April 30) isn’t Arbor Day by coincidence. Even if we get a few sub-freezing nights, that won’t bother a new tree.
I get a lot of questions about what tree to plant. No wonder. It can be a costly decision – not only in terms of picking something likely to live but also in the case of the hefty cost to remove a mistake 20 or 30 years down the road.
Picking something suitable for next to the patio is especially important because you don’t want a tree that pushes up your pavers, conks you on the head with falling nuts and fruits or drops leaves on a daily basis. Most people also want something that will give them good shade reasonably soon but without overly dominating the space.
I did a column a few years ago in which I interviewed several tree experts and asked them for their favorite picks for patio trees. The picks included stewartia, Japanese tree lilac, redbud, hornbeam and paperbark maple. I like the Rutgers hybrid dogwoods in that setting. Read the whole piece here: https://georgeweigel.net/favorite-past-garden-columns/patio-trees.
Some people look primarily at fall foliage in picking their trees, and some are interested in great bark. Practical folks favor species that are least likely to crack apart in storms (“muscle trees”). I’ve got past columns filed away on each on those at https://georgeweigel.net/category/favorite-past-garden-columns/trees-shrubs. You’ll also find a column there on how to properly plant a tree.
Enjoy the beautiful days. If you’re a gambler, go plant some annuals. If you’re not, plant a tree. Just plant something.