Maine Master Gardener News
March 2007
Five Small Native Trees
That Make a Big Impact in the Landscape
by Dr. Lois Berg Stack
Extension Specialist, Ornamental Horticulture
University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Orono ME
E-mail: LSTACK@umext.maine.edu
Crabapples are the classic small landscape tree. They’re beautiful, hardy, reliable and available. But there are so many other small trees to consider! When asked to list some, we might hesitate and stumble a bit. Magnolias, tree hydrangeas and dogwoods come to mind first. But none of these are native (with the exception of pagoda dogwood), and there are others! Here are five wonderful small trees that are native to Maine and high performers in the landscape.
Amelanchier arborea: This tree, commonly called “Downy serviceberry”, “Juneberry”, “Shadbush” or “Servicetree”, is 15-25 feet in height, and of variable spread. It’s hardy in USDA Zones 4-9, and is native from New Brunswick south to Florida, west to Oklahoma and Minnesota. It has so much to offer in the landscape: it can be grown as a multi-stemmed large shrub or as a small tree; it tolerates full sun or partial shade; and it rarely requires pruning. We notice this and other amelanchiers in spring, when this genus is among the first to flower. It offers interest during the rest of the year as well: purplish black fruits in July that feed wildlife and people, spectacular apricot-to-orange-to-red foliage color in fall, and smooth gray bark and good form in winter. Downy serviceberry performs well in a naturalistic landscape, at oodland edges or near ponds and streams. Best of all, it’s widely available at Maine nurseries and garden centers.
Carpinus caroliniana: “American Hornbeam” is also called “Musclewood” because its smooth gray trunks have a sinewy texture. It reaches 20-30 feet in height and spread, making it a good specimen tree for a small yard. This tree is native from Nova Scotia south to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota, and is hardy in USDA Zones 3-9. It is not common in Maine, but is occasionally found in moist, rich woods, a key to siting it in the landscape. It offers two wonderful attributes besides its unusual muscled trunk: fruits and fall color. This member of the beech family produces catkins of flowers that are not particularly showy, but the fruits that develop late in summer are unusual; I remember learning them as “curiously bracted nutlets” in a plant materials class; they’re reminiscent of hops. The fall color is as good as that of any of our landscape trees: the dark green, rather lustrous leaves turn various shades of yellow, orange, red and reddish purple, usually seen all together for many days in the fall.
Crataegus crusgalli: “Cockspur hawthorn” is so beautiful, I’ve always wondered why it’s not grown more often. It produces clusters of white flowers in spring, boasts small red fruits in fall and winter and offers outstanding year-round form. Are people put off by the three-inch-long thorns? Or perhaps it’s too slow-growing to wait for? Or maybe people just aren’t aware of it? Cockspur hawthorn is native from Maine south to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota, and is hardy in USDA Zones 3-7. Close relatives of the apples, hawthorns do best in full sun, and in well-drained and slightly acid soil. I wouldn’t recommend this tree for a landscape where young children might be hurt by the thorns, but those same thorns protect feeding birds in the right setting. This plant is one of my favorites in the winter landscape: it reaches 20-30 feet in height with a slightly wider spread – the wider-than-tall tangle of thorns is beautiful in the snow-covered landscape.
Ostrya virginiana: “American hophornbeam” is a graceful tree with a wide pyramidal shape when young, maturing to a rounded form. It’s small enough to serve as a shade tree in an urban yard: 25-40 feet in height, and 20-40 feet width. Related to Musclewood, it produces yellow-brown male catkins in spring, and hops-like fruits in late summer. It has interesting bark: gray-brown, broken into narrow longitudinal strips that hang loose at top and bottom. In nature, American hophornbeam is generally found as an understory plant, in soils that are dry and often rocky. It’s hardy in USDA Zones 4-9, and is native from Nova Scotia south to Florida, west to Texas and Manitoba. This tree is a slow grower, but it is well worth the wait. So … why haven’t you heard of it? It has never really been embraced by the nursery trade (probably because we never ask for it!), so it’s not widely available. If you see one at a nursery this spring, and have a good full sun to partial shade location for it, consider it
Viburnum lentago: “Nannyberry” is a popular native shrub. It’s native from Quebec south to Virginia, west to Wyoming and Saskatchewan, and is hardy in USDA Zones 3-7. In the wild, it’s generally found in woods, along edges and on stream banks. In home landscapes, it’s often used in naturalized situations, but it’s also useful in shrub borders, as a screen plant, and in bird gardens. Nannyberry’s white flower clusters are effective but not dramatic. Its half-inch-long fruits mature from green to yellow to pink to bluish black in fall. This is a very dependable shrub … but why have I included it in a list of trees? Like many large shrubs, this 15-18-foot plant can be pruned into a treelike form. We often look for plants of this size to form the “walls” between our gardens, or to plant as a pair in a shade garden to form a “living arch” through which we pass from one space into another. The next time you’re looking for a small-scale garden transition, look beyond tree hydrangeas and archways and consider nannyberries.
How to tap Maple Trees
Article provided by
Kathy Hopkins, Extension Educator
No one really knows who discovered how to make syrup and sugar from the sap of a maple tree. However, we know that maple syrup was an important commodity in the North American Indian economy. Maple syrup and sugar were used for barter by Indians living along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
How Much Syrup Can I Get?
The yield of sap varies much with the method of tapping, the size of the tree and seasonal differences. Sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum), also known as rock or hard maple, are usually the best producers. Red maples (Acer rubrum) also provide sweet sap. Sugar content can also vary by time of day. It may be high in the morning and lower in the afternoon.
What Happens in the Tree?
In the later summer and fall, maple trees stop growing and begin storing excess starches throughout the sapwood. This excess starch remains in storage as long as the wood remains colder than about 40 degrees F. Whenever wood temperatures reach around 40 degrees F, enzymes change the starches to sugars, largely sucrose. This sugar then passes into the tree sap.
As the temperature increases to about 45 degrees F, the enzymes stop functioning and sugar is no longer produced. In late March and April, depending on the weather, the sugar changes back to starch.
How to Do It
A tree should be at least 10 inches in diameter, measured at 4-1/2 feet above the ground, before tapping. Trees between 10 and 20 inches in diameter should have no more than one tap per tree. A second tap may be added to trees between 20 and 25 inches in diameter. Trees over 25 inches in diameter can sustain three taps. No tree should ever have more than three taps. The shape and size of the crown are also important. Trees with large crowns extending down towards the ground are usually the best sap producers.
Step 1. Drill the hole using a drill bit with a diameter of 7/16 inch, at a convenient height and two inches deep if you are using standard size spouts. If you are using small taps (5/16 inch), or the health spout (19/64 inch), use the corresponding drill bit size and drill the taphole only 1-1/2 inches deep. Look for unblemished bark. Do not bore closer than two feet directly over or under a former taphole or closer than six inches from the side of an old taphole. Drill the taphole with a slight upward angle so the sap flows out readily. Use a sharp drill bit to minimize rough wood in the taphole, which can reduce sap yield and cause sap quality problems.
Step 2. Tap the spout in so that it is tight and cannot be pulled out by hand. Don't drive it in so hard that you split the tree. Tap on warm days when the temperature is above freezing to minimize the risk of splitting the tree.
Step 3. Hang your bucket or container on the hook of the spout if it is a purchased one; or, if you have made your own, fashion a length of wire to serve as a hanger. Be sure to cover the bucket to keep out rain, snow and foreign material.
Step 4. To boil sap, use a hobby-sized evaporator, an outdoor gas range or an outdoor fireplace. Prepare to boil the sap by making sure your selected fuel is ready in ample supply, and having a large pan or series of pans ready for the sap. (Do not plan to cook the syrup indoors on the stove, without a stove vent fan or a dehumidifier. Boiling sap creates a lot of steam.)
Step 5. Once the sap has started to run and you have collected enough to fill your pan for boiling, you are ready for the fire. Do not fill your pan to the top, as it will boil over. (A bit of butter or vegetable oil rubbed on the rim will often prevent boiling over.) As the sap boils down, keep adding more sap. Keep the sap at least 1-1/2 inches deep in the pan, or it may burn. You can pour cold sap right into boiling sap, or you can preheat it. It will take a lot of boiling to make syrup. Never leave boiling sap over a wood fire unattended. Sap can quickly boil away and burn the pan.
Step 6. Do not leave an accumulation of sap in the collection buckets, especially in warm weather. Sap is like milk: it will sour if left in the sun. Keep the sap in cold storage. Boil it as soon as you can.
Step 7. Sap becomes finished maple syrup when it reaches 66-67% sugar content and 7.1 degrees F above the temperature of boiling water. You can learn the boiling point of water, which varies depending on your elevation and the barometric pressure, by measuring the temperature of the raw sap when it begins a rolling boil. A syrup or candy thermometer is very useful. If you have a large operation, you might consider using a syrup hydrometer and testing cup to tell you when the syrup is done. Concentrations below 66% sugar content can sour over time. If the syrup is boiled above the 67% density of syrup, sugar crystals can form in the bottom of storage containers. Using a hydrometer is an accurate method of determining sugar concentration.
Step 8. When the syrup has reached the correct density and temperature, filter it to remove “sugar sand” before you hot-pack it in containers. Filter the syrup while it is still hot, through clean filter material such as wool or Orlon™, available from maple equipment dealers. If you don’t have filter material, you may put the syrup in a container and let it cool for 12 hours or more. The sediment will settle to the bottom and the clear syrup can be carefully poured off. This should be reheated to 180 degrees F (almost boiling) before it is poured into sterile containers for final storage.
Step 9. Syrup should be canned hot (180 degrees F). Pour the hot syrup into sterilized canning jars and seal. Fill them full so that very little air will be in the jar. Lay them sideways while cooling for a better seal.
Step 10. Store your syrup in a cool, dry place, with the jars turned on their sides to coat the air space at the top of the jar. After a container has been opened for use, it must be refrigerated. Should mold form on syrup that has been stored for several months, discard the syrup because of the possibility of contamination by microorganisms that may cause a food borne illness.
Step 11. After the season is over, clean your equipment with plenty of hot water and a solution of one part chlorine to 20 parts water. Use a brush or cloth to scrub any buildup or scum and triple-rinse with hot water. Never use soaps or detergents on any equipment, as these will leave a residue that will contaminate the syrup with off flavors. Wash filters with hot water only, as residues cannot be rinsed out of most filters. Store the equipment in a dry area.
You may want to visit a commercial maple producer to pick up tips on how to make syrup. Many producers hold open houses during the spring and will welcome your questions. To see what sugarhouse are open near you visit www.getrealmaine.com and click on Maine Maple Sunday.
Volunteer Opportunity
The statewide Yardscaping Committee is looking for individuals to help install walking paths and a future low-impact landscape on the Back Cove in Portland. The goal of the project is to showcase ecological landscaping with low-maintenance plants. This is the first phase of the project and we certainly need your help. To learn more about the project see www.yardscaping.org
WHEN: Friday, June 22nd 9:00 – 3:00
Saturday, June 23rd 9:00 – 3:00
HOW LONG: Sign up for 2 hour shifts
WHERE: Back Cove, Portland. We will meet in the parking lot across from Hannaford
WHAT: Lots of manual labor! Wheel barrowing fill material, raking and smoothing
PERKS: Refreshments will be available!
If you are interested, please contact Amy Witt 1-800-287-1471 or Barbara Murphy, 1-800-287-1482.
Upcoming Events
Spring of 2007
Piscataquis County
Master Gardener Training
starts April 9th at 5:30 PM.
For an application, contact the Piscataquis County Extension Office at
(207) 564-3301 or
in Maine 1-800-287-1491
or e-mail dcoffin@umext.maine.edu
Learn to Care for
Apple Trees and Raspberries
Marjorie Peronto, Hancock County Extension Educator will present a program about the maintenance of apple trees and raspberry plantings. The presentation will include information on fertilizing, pruning and pest management for organic and conventional growers.
Washington Hancock Farm Bureau will sponsor the seminar on April 12th 6:30 PM at the Hancock County Extension Office meeting room, 63 Boggy Brook Rd, Ellsworth.
For more info, contact WHFB President Gary Sargent (207) 667-6501 or e-mail Martha Black at mblack@midmaine.com
Maine Garden Day
Saturday, April 14th
Central Maine Community College in Auburn
Advanced Registration only
Space is limited
for more information:
1-800-287-1482
or download the brochure at:
http://www.umaine.edu/umext/york/
Advanced
Master Gardener Training
Rain Garden Design and Installation
(rain gardens prevent runoff by providing a place for improved infiltration of storm water)
Laura Wilson, UMCE Water Quality Scientist and Gleason Gray, Extension Educator will be teaching this course.
This two-day intensive workshop on rain garden design and installation will be held at the Newburgh Elementary School
on Rt. 9 in Newburgh
June 21st and 28th
9 am—3 pm.
Day one will be “Class room” type training with the design completed for three gardens at the school by the end of the day.
Day two will be the actual installation of three rain gardens at the school.
Hold June 29th as a rain date for the installation. The gardens to be installed will provide infiltration areas for the roof drainage from the school.
Fee for both days $50.00
(Includes handouts, workshop materials, and lunch for both days.)
Registration will be limited to
25 Master Gardeners.
For registration information, please contact Gleason Gray at the Penobscot County Extension Office 1-800-287-1485. or
e-mail: ggray@umext.maine.edu
Save the date!
Saturday, September 15th
Field Day at Highmoor Farm
More details to come!
Perennial Plant Sale
Saturday, May 12th (AM)
Extension Office parking lot
Rain or Shine!
The planning committee is asking that Master Gardeners, family, and friends consider donating divisions from their home gardens.
If you have plants to donate, you should
e-mail Elisabeth Curran
eacurran@adelphia.net
to let her know what you have available.
Divisions should ideally be potted up by April 28th,
and no later than May 5th.
Pots should be 6” or larger (no tiny plants).
If you are unable to pot up your own plants and need assistance, volunteers will be available to help.
FMI: 667-8212
2007 Re-enrollments
Calling on all Veteran Master Gardener
volunteers !
Watch your mail for the 2007 re-enrollment packets. Packets will be mailed out in the next 3-4 weeks.
This is your chance to sign up for your Spring—Fall volunteer project and remain an active Master Gardener Volunteer.
Remember to fill out the form in the packet and choose you’re project of choice. A complete list of 2007 approved projects and descriptions will be included.
Re-enrollees are required to complete 20 hours of volunteer hours per year to maintain their Master Gardener status.
Only those that fill out the form and return it to the Extension Office will remain on our “Active” mailing list to receive the MG Newsletter and other program announcements.
Pruning workshop offered
There will be a 1-morning pruning workshop sponsored by the Rhoades Park Butterfly Gardens in Southwest Harbor on
Thursday, April 12th from 9:30—11:30 AM.
to pre-register for this event, contact Ann Judd at 244-5497 or e-mail her ann.judd@gmail.com
There will be follow-up hands-on pruning sessions with Master Gardener Volunteers at Rhoades Park in the weeks after the workshop.
Newsletter created by:
Hancock County Cooperative Extension
63 Boggy Brook Road, Ellsworth, ME 04605
1-800-287-1479 or 667-8212 Fax: 667-2003
Editors:
Marjorie Peronto, Extension Educator
Sue Baez, Administrative Assistant II