Q: The Northern Acclaim Thornless Honeylocust in the photo was planted about five years ago. What would cause the damage on the trunk? It couldn’t be rabbits because the damage is higher up on the trunk and there wasn’t any snow for them to crawl up on. I planted two trees at the same time, and the other one is not damaged. Do you think the tree will live? — Jerry L.
A: The damage in the photo is compatible with injury caused when a buck deer rubs its antlers on the tree trunk. Besides the larger area where bark has been rubbed away, notice the slender cuts in the bark above, where tips of horns scratched narrow lines.
There is really nothing that can be done to assist the tree, other than wait and see. Pruning paints and sealers have long been shown to cause more harm than good.
Any healing, or compartmentalizing of the wound, needs to come from the tree itself. To aid healing, trim any ragged wood edges smooth with a sharp knife.
Will the tree survive? If only one-third of the tree's bark around the tree's circumference is scraped off, the tree will usually survive, although not always. If one-half of the tree's circumference bark is shaved off, the situation becomes more serious. If three-fourths of the bark is gone, survival is difficult.
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The cambium, the tree’s vital area of cell growth, is located just below the outer bark, and when the tannish white wood of the tree’s interior is exposed by injury the cambium if usually destroyed in that area.
You'll know in May through June whether there's permanent damage. The tree might leaf out normally, but if it can't sustain the growth because of damaged trunk tissue, leaves would wilt and wither after June, since damaged trunk tissue can no longer pump water and nutrients up and down within the tree to maintain leaf health and life.
To prevent further damage now, and in future years, wrap the trunks with chicken wire or hardware cloth.
Q: With small yards in town, what bush would you plant for edible fruit? Would you recommend chokeberry? How about Iroquois Beauty chokeberry? — Twila N.
A: Chokeberry is perhaps better called by its botanical name aronia, because the common name chokeberry is so similar to chokecherry, and they are two totally different fruits.
Chokecherry becomes a small tree or tree-like shrub, growing to 12 to 15 feet high and wide. Chokeberry is a much smaller shrub, growing to about 5 feet high and 4 feet wide.
Because of its neatly tailored height and width, aronia makes a fine landscape shrub for small landscapes. The berries it produces contain one of the highest levels of antioxidants of any fruit.
Unlike chokecherries, which are ravaged by birds, aronia are not their preference. Aronia berries make incredible jelly, jam, juice and wine. They can be used in baking as a substitute for blueberries. As a side note, aronia is North Dakota’s top commercially produced fruit.
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Besides being a prolific fruit producer, aronia’s fall color is a brilliant scarlet orange.
Q: Should I be spreading grass seed yet on areas I need to fill in? — Shane B.
A: The most common turfgrass species for Northern lawns is Kentucky Bluegrass, and its seed doesn’t germinate until soil temperatures in the 2-to-4-inch depth warm to between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Soil temperatures in North Dakota and Minnesota are slowly rising, but they haven’t achieved that important threshold yet in much of the area.
If grass seed is spread too early, birds have a wide window of opportunity to feast on the seed, and if the flock is large, the seed can be totally consumed before it has a chance to sprout. Grass seed is planted very shallowly, with most of the seed still visible on the surface, making easy pickings for birds.
May 1 is the average recommendation for planting grass seed in spring, and that target date is quite accurate again this year, even with the mild winter.
If you have a gardening or lawn care question, email Don Kinzler, NDSU Extension-Cass County, at donald.kinzler@ndsu.edu . Questions with broad appeal may be published, so please include your name, city and state for appropriate advice.
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