From Man Behind The Garden Hotline—

A Basket Of Gardener’s Tricks, And A Cautionary Message

By Shannon Hicks

Ralph Snodsmith says the only gardeners he has met who did not need help scaring off deer are those who live in Manhattan.

Mr Snodsmith, who has been airing the radio show “The Garden Hotline” for more than 35 years, was one of the guest speakers during the 24th Annual Connecticut Flower & Garden Show, presented at The Connecticut Expo Center on February 24–27. Mr Snodsmith was in Hartford on February 25 to lead a discussion about some of his favorite gardening products.

He brought in supplies from his home collection of gardening goodies, and had his sense of humor intact, sharing stories from his backyard and the radio show that can be heard on the WOR radio network and ABC TalkRadio Weekend. (He may also be familiar from his eight years of appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America as its gardening editor.)

“If you buy seeds, turn the packet over and read it. It’s a library of information back there — planting depth, placement, even the timing of when to put the things into the ground.

“You’d be surprised how much better your plants will do if you do a little reading,” he said, smiling.

His second suggestion: Keep garden records, starting with the pH readings of any soil a gardener will be working with.

“These readings should be taken ­— and charted — during the typical six-month span it may take to achieve a good pH balance,” Mr Snodsmith said. “Keep track of rain and wind, any weather occurrences.”

One of his own journals, for instance, had an entry dated June 29, 1999, that mentioned rain. The next record of rain did not show for three months. Notations of such unusual weather patterns will help him (and others who keep such journals) understand growing histories and expectations.

Also keep track of the dates you started all plants, transplanted them, fed them nutrients, and used any pesticides.

Planning on putting a plant into a large container? Plan ahead, said Mr Snodsmith.

“I love the look of those half-whiskey barrel planters,” he said. “Buy the wheels that go underneath them. Those barrels get heavy and I guarantee you’re going to want to move that container at some point.”

Self-watering containers (now marketed as controlled-watering containers) are a gardener’s godsend. “You can go away and not worry about having someone in to water your plants,” he said.

Mr Snodsmith also had a suggestion for safeguarding outdoor plants, especially hosta, that slugs seem to gravitate toward.

“First of all, don’t wait until June or July to deal with slugs,” he said. “By then they’re in their second or third generation for the season. Your plants are done.”

His suggestion is to not only find a good slug repellent — he suggests Sluggo — and put it down in April, but put down a 2-by-4 at the same time.

“The Sluggo begins working immediately, and where do slugs go during daylight or rain? Give them a place other than your plant to use as a safety,” said Mr Snodsmith. “Take care of the population before it grows. Not in June.”

An Invasive To Watch For

The second point of Mr Snodsmith’s lecture was to warn attendees about what he calls “the biggest environmental and economic disaster to hit our shores,” the Asian long-horned beetle.

While not yet in Connecticut, Mr Snodsmith fears it is only a matter of time before the invasive species – Cerambycid beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis, also called the starry sky beetle) makes its way into the Nutmeg State.

The Asian longhorn is a destructive beetle of hardwood trees. It was first discovered in Brooklyn and Amityville, N.Y., and has been attacking maple species including Norway, red, sugar, silver, boxelder and sycamore maple. Horsechestnut trees have also been hit.

Sugar maples, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), are a particular favorite.

On its website the USDA has posted information about the beetle and its possible impact, including: “Maple syrup production in this country generates almost $9 million in revenue each year. This is but a drop in the bucket to the overall loss potential.”

Six years ago the USDA thought the beetle enough of a threat to allocate $5.5 million in funding to aid in the detection of the Asian long-horned beetle, identification of infested areas, control and prevention of the beetle’s spread to noninfested areas, and eradication of the pest.

“The Asian long-horned beetle is a pest that threatens trees in our forests, rural areas, and even urban neighborhoods,” said USDA Secretary Dan Glickman when he signed a declaration of emergency. “This additional investment will enable us to further expand our priority prevention and control efforts.

The government may have been tracking the beetle since 1999, but it has not been eradicated.

The Asian long-horn beetle is indigenous to southern China, Korea, and Japan, where it has killed the aforementioned hardwood species plus elms, poplars, and willows. The borer is believed to have come into the United States in the wooden crating of a cargo ship during the early 1990s.

“We allowed raw lumber into the United States during the 1990s, and this is what happened,” Mr Snodsmith said.

The beetle has the potential to be damaging to the commercial, residential, and hardwood forests of the United States.

When a female beetle selects a tree, she picks the tallest, best-looking specimen. The beetles then colonize, with successive generations living off the tree. Unfortunately once a tree is infested, there is no way to save it.

“There’s nothing to do but chop the tree down, chip it, and incinerate it,” Mr Snodsmith said. “And then you have to grind the stump down.”

Not only that, but host trees within the zone — trees that have the potential for being infested — are also being taken down in quarantined areas. These are usually healthy trees. The long-horn beetle attacks not just stressed or aging trees, but healthy trees of any age.

The National Forest Association also says the Asian species produces new adults every year, not every two to four years like other long-horn beetles.

As of Mr Snodsmith’s lecture on February 25, there were already five quarantined areas on Long Island, one in New York City, two in New Jersey, and two in Chicago.

“They found these critters in birch trees 17 stories up in Manhattan,” he said. “It was also found in Central Park in 1998.”

An update on Mr Snodsmith’s website (GardenHotline.com) adds: “the latest find in Carteret, Rahway, Woodbridge and Linden [all in New Jersey] has received top priority by the USDA, NJ Dept of Agriculture and Forest Service and I might add, concerned citizens. The expanded eradication program must continue.”

Detection of infested trees has largely depended, says the ARS, on visual examination of trees. Watch the trunk for insects and telltale signs including a small slit left by the female when she lays an egg, sawdust or sap coming from the slit, and/or dime-sized holes made by new adults emerging from the tree.

If signs of infestation are found, or even sensed, says Mr Snodsmith, do not try to take care of the problem on your own.

“Contact your closest Extension Agent or event a USDA agent to have a property search and removal work, if necessary, done,” he strongly cautioned. “Don’t let this beetle become the gypsy moth of the 21st Century.”