First of all, that's one reason to avoid the plant. But if you have one in the yard that gets this pest every year, consider other factors. If the plant is jammed in the corner of your yard between a fence and some ugly shrubs, it probably doesn't have enough air circulation. Remove the ugly shrubs, and you'll greatly help the problem. Maybe the tree is getting too much sun. Eliminate some of these other conditions and the tree won't be as stressed, there's a great potential that the tree will be able to combat the pest itself.
There are also a large number of pests on other plants that can be controlled simply with soapy water. Soapy water is much cheaper than dangerous chemicals. For that matter, if the pest isn't going to truly harm the plant, there's no reason to spray. Let nature take its course, and perhaps the pest won't even be a problem the following year.
Tree staking has long been a part of the Landscape industry. For a long time, it was believed to help trees grow properly. Not-so-current research has shown that staking can actually be bad for a tree, preventing the trunk from developing properly. It's been found that trees may actually need to sway in the wind so that it knows to develop a stronger trunk or a wider root system. Unless you're planting a tree in areas susceptible to incredibly windy conditions, those stakes might not be doing anything for your tree. Besides, they're ugly.
Let's talk about your planting beds for a moment. There are a number of new mulch products available today that can hit you hard in the wallet. Some of them, like black licorice root, have proven results, but they aren't necessary. I recommend a simple shredded hardwood bark mulch. It's the industry stand-by, and many nurseries make their own. Avoid those colored mulches like the red-dyed mulch. They're expensive and they don't look natural.
Here's a secret, they aren't natural. Most of these mulches are actually recycled shipping palettes, and I used the term recycled loosely. They are literally fed into a chipper, dyed and collected to sell to the ignorant. Not only will you find a few missed nails in your mulch (that could be dangerous), but these palettes are often treated with chemicals to prevent rot. These chemicals may not be the best thing for your soils. Then there is the element of the edge of your bed. There are at least several dozen products available to “edge” your bed. They may keep the mulch in place, but they all have one major element in common: Grass will always grow against them requiring you to weed-whack along them every week. Get rid of the edging products. Instead, dig your own edge.
In the early spring, before you mulch your beds, take your best spade (sharpen it if you must), and cut yourself a nice, deep, angular groove along your planting beds. Stick the space into the soil just at the edge of your bed and kick it out. You should end up with a clean edge to your lawn with about four (4) inches of soil exposed.
You may need to touch up once or twice during the summer as you see fit. This keeps the mulch in, it looks great from the front (and who stands in your beds anyhow?), it allows you to run the lawnmower over the edge of it (no pesky grass to be weed-whacked) and its free. If you were to hire a landscape contractor to prepare a bed for you, this is exactly what they would do.
And finally, weed-barrier fabrics: They work, but only for the first year. As your mulch consistently breaks down into soil, the weeds grow in that, on top of your weed barrier fabric. It also cuts down on the water getting to your plants, even the water-permeable fabrics. Every little bit of water helps, and even the best fabrics cut out at least 40% of the water. Weed-barrier fabrics are for under your flagstone walkways, not for your planting beds.
Final Words
I'm sure that there will be a number of dishonest Landscape Con-artists, I mean "Contractors", out there that might be pretty upset that I exposed these tips to you. But all I'm doing is giving you more knowledge to be wiser with your money. I have an ulterior motive, however. As I mentioned a the beginning of this article, many of these tips are also beneficial to the environment.
Cutting back on water usage, limiting fertilizers and eliminating useless clutter in your landscape will greatly impact the environment. So while you're saving money, I won't mind if you pretend you're doing all this to save the environment.
