The Drake Elm The Drake Elm – Ulmus parvifolia “Drake” is a very good small, fast growing semi-evergreen tree. This tree is a Chinese Elm and Drake is a popular cultivar widely used in the area. The Drake Elm has a fast rate of growth especially for the first eight to ten years. It averages about 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide. Do not confuse this tree with the Siberian Elm. The Drake Elm is a much better, longer lasting tree than the Siberian. With our cold winter this year, you will notice that it is also a deciduous tree as the leaves have all fallen off this year. Brief Recognition Factors - Fast growing shade tree. - Unique bark and trunk features. - Street and sidewalk tree. - Fine textured tree. - Little disease and insect problems. Now some of the negative aspects. This tree has a tendency to have a heavy canopy and may require support. They can fall over if not properly planted. They also tend to have girdling roots that can kill the tree after 3-4 years after planting. The solution to this is when planting run a knife down two sides of the root ball to cut any potential girdling roots. Overall, this is a very good, fast growing shade tree that has adapted well in our area. Flowering Trees in the Landscape Some of our native flowering trees that have pretty flowers include dogwood, redbud, mayhaw, parsley hawthorn, plums, silverbell and red maple. Others that have been introduced to the state and flower in late winter and early spring include Bradford pear, Japanese magnolia and Taiwan cherry. Taiwan cherry is an early flowering tree with rosy-pink flowers. Bradford pear flowers are white and Japanese magnolias are purple to rose colored. Dogwoods are popular small trees but require an acid pH soil and are often problematic in our area. Silverbell may do better and have white, bell-shaped flowers. Red maples produce bright red flowers on female trees in late winter. Their fruit is also a bright red samara that is more conspicuous than the flowers and are showing up now. The Drummond Red Maple is a much better and longer lasting tree than the swamp red maple and the Silver Maple. Millipedes With all of the rain that we have received, I have been getting a lot of calls about millipedes making their way onto driveways, patios and inside the home. These pests are about an inch long with a hard outer shell and many legs. They don’t pose much of a threat and are mainly a nuisance. Sweep them out or vacuum them out of the home. If you feel you have to treat, spray with 2% Malathion or 0.15% Pyrethrins. Treat areas around foundations, walkways, carports and treat flower beds heavily mulched. Treatment inside the home is generally not practical. Things to do now: - Fertilize trees. - Check Azaleas for lacebugs. Control with horticultural oil sprays or Orthene. - Plant trees. - Plant roses. Question Can I spray Roundup in my garden now to kill weeds? Answer A nonselective, postemerge glyphosate product can be used before planting or crop emergence on actively growing weeds. Avoid spray drift to desirable plants. Spray weeds to wet but not to drip. Read and follow label directions. Crops labeled include beets, carrots, celery, corn, Cole crops, English and southern peas, Irish potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke, lima and snap beans, lettuce, greens, okra, onion, garlic, peanuts, radish, soybeans, sweet potatoes and asparagus (before spears appear). Most of these listed can be planted after 10 days from glyphosate spraying but read the label for specific crop planting times after spraying. If you have any questions or need more information, please give Barton a call at 985-873-6495. His email: bjoffrion@agcenter.lsu.edu or visit our website at www.lsuagcenter.com. “It is the policy of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age or disability.”

Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 (Archive on Sunday, February 25, 2007) Posted by Walter  Contributed by Walter

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