Can a kittycat kill a tree?
Brian in Waldorf writes: 鈥淢y indoor/outdoor cat of one year uses my front bed as her litterbox, which is fine by me, as I then don鈥檛 have to keep an indoor one clean. But the 12-year-old Japanese maple in that bed finally bit the dust after last winter, and I鈥檓 assuming it鈥檚 because of the cat. I need to replant something there. Is there anything I can use to neutralize the negative effects of the cat for the replacement?鈥�
I鈥檓 suspicious that it was the cat, Brian, especially because you write that it 鈥榝inally bit the dust,鈥� which strongly implies that it had already been struggling. The most common causes of premature Japanese maple death are girdled roots, too-deep mulch, mulch touching the trunk and, especially, poor drainage. Although maples like their soil moist in general, heavy clay that always stays soaking wet will eventually kill them.
(And we lost a lot of plants early this spring, when it suddenly turned freezing cold after the warmest winter in history. If your maple was really greening up fast, that 鈥榮nap鈥� could have finished it off.)
Keeping cats out of the garden
I鈥檓 not convinced that kitty was the cause of death for Brian鈥檚 Japanese maple, but cats pooping in the petunias do cause gardeners a lot of grief.
One tactic I use to avoid unpleasant finds in my own raised beds is to lay chicken wire over the tops of the beds and press it gently into the soil or mulch 鈥� just until it disappears. You won鈥檛 see anything, but cats will feel that it鈥檚 there; and most cats won鈥檛 relieve themselves in a place where they can鈥檛 scratch up enough soil to cover their 鈥� uh, indiscretions.
But don鈥檛 push it down any deeper than necessary 鈥� and don鈥檛 cover your 鈥榠nvisible shield鈥� with a deep mulch, or kitty will just use the mulch to cover their feces.聽 (It鈥檚 very easy to cut holes in chicken wire to accommodate existing and new plantings.)
A motion-activated sprinkler will keep all unwanted creatures out of the garden. There are several good brands out there; the ones from a company called Orbit are getting great reviews, and I was recently personally impressed when I saw one in action. (Yes, it got me, but it felt good on a 90-degree day!) Sadly, you can鈥檛 use these amazing devices over the winter, only when temps are above freezing.
But for year-round use, many listeners swear that citrus rinds and peels tossed on the ground will repel cats; and a mulch of hot pepper shake or powder on top of the soil will repel cats, voles, rabbits and Evil Squirrels!
Spring Bulbs 101: Plant lots of 鈥榚m!
It鈥檚 almost spring bulb planting time! (If you鈥檝e already installed new bulbs this season, don鈥檛 panic and try to 鈥榟elp鈥� them somehow. But next year, wait until after Halloween to put new tulips, daffs and croci in the ground or they may sprout prematurely.)
Now: the more bulbs the better! Always plant spring bulbs in big clusters of at least a dozen to get the full effect; and the more the merrier! In fact, instead of a mere dozen or two, 鈥榮pring鈥� (Get it? Spring? Wake up out there, people!) for a bag of 100 big bright daffodils, plant them close together and it鈥檒l be like you have a spotlight shining in your yard as we trudge wearily out of the month of March.
Plant bulbs only in soil that drains exceptionally well, and in areas where you鈥檒l be able to let their greenery turn brown naturally after the flowers fade next season; otherwise, those flowers won鈥檛 return the following spring.
And don鈥檛 feed them at planting time; next year鈥檚 flowers are already fully grown inside the bulbs. It may seem counterintuitive, but the time to feed tulips, daffodils and such is after they finish blooming in the spring. (That鈥檚 when they鈥檙e actively growing the following year鈥檚 flowers.)
Don鈥檛 feed your tulips to evil squirrels!
If you want easy-care bulbs that return reliably year after year and aren鈥檛 attacked by deer, rabbits, mice, voles and evil squirrels, stick with the toxic trio of daffodils, hyacinth and fritillaria; nothing bothers them above or below ground.
But tulips and crocus are delicious, nutritious and a favorite target of hungry herbivores. When you plant those tasty treats, clean up every speck of 鈥榖ulb trash鈥� (the browned-out wrappings and other schmutz) from the area, and then spray deer repellent over the bed to disguise the scent of the newly planted bulbs. Or cover the bed with a thin layer of hot pepper powder.
Better yet, mulch the bed with dog hair; the smell of dog repels all the bulb eaters named above. (For the strongest scent, be sure to do the brushing before any bathing.) Then be ready to protect the actual flowers in the spring with a couple of sprays of deer repellent or a motion-activated sprinkler.
Or just plant daffodils.
Fall Leaf 101
The earliest leaves have begun falling, so it鈥檚 time for a little talk about utilizing this priceless once-a-year tree treasure!
First, don鈥檛 let whole leaves lay on your lawn; they鈥檒l smother the grass. Instead, 鈥榤ulch鈥� the leaves into the lawn with a non-bagging mower; the shredded leaves will provide a gentle feeding to the turf and help break up any thatch by adding much-needed organic matter at the soil line.
Or, if your lawn is untreated 鈥� that means no chemical herbicides 鈥� you can mow, mulch and collect the resulting mixture with a bagging mower. That perfect combination of shredded leaves (鈥榙ry brown carbon鈥�) and grass clippings (鈥榳et green nitrogen鈥�) will become high-quality compost by next spring if you pile it up in a big pile or contain it in a bin.
Outside the lawn area, use a bagging mower or a leaf blower set on reverse (with a shoulder bag; attachable collection bags come standard with 鈥渂lower vacs鈥�) to shred and collect your leaves in one easy step 鈥� while you stand up; no bending or raking! And shredded fall leaves make a much better garden and landscape mulch than any kind of wood, while chopped-up leaves are the essential ingredient in a compost pile!
