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GROUNDWORK A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E L A N D S C A P E C O N T R A C T O R S A S S O C I A T I O N M D •D C •V A
Plant of the Month—Nassella tenuissima Four Things You May Not Know Are in Your Pond Sustainable Design Betting on the Right Chips Box Tree Moth Makes an Appearance
contents
July/August 2021 4
Calendar of Events
5
President’s Message
6
Plant of the Month—Nassella tenuissima
10 2020 Grand Award—Scissortail Park 12 Four Things You May Not Know Are in Your Pond 16 Sustainable Design 20 Betting on the Right Chips 25 Box Tree Moth Makes an Appearance 26 Advertising Information
Scissortail Park
Plant of the Month
Ruppert Landscape Commercial Landscape Installation
—GRAND AWARD— Nassella tenuissima “Feature” and “Plant of the Month” articles can also be found online for LCA members under the GROUNDWORK link in your Profile Home page at www.lcamddcva.org
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CALENDAR OF
2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Paul Jester—President J&G Landscape Design, Inc.—(301) 476-7600 Aaron Raines—Immediate Past President Live Green Landscape Associates, LLC —(443) 763-8580 Ron Rubin—Vice President SavATree—(703) 625-4400 Jeff Rossen—Secretary/Treasurer JRossen Landscape—(703) 327-2284
AUGUST 16
Excellence in Landscape Awards Submission Closes
DIRECTORS Krisjan Berzins Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape—(703) 921-9200 Matt Glover, CLT Wray Brothers Landscapes—(301) 906-1571 Josh Kane, CLT Kane Landscapes, Inc.—(703) 803-3146 Zack Kline A.I.R.—(240) 772-1639 James Kole, CLT Level Green Landscaping—(240) 429-3153 Kristen Mowery McHale Landscape Design, Inc.—(240) 508-8056 Barry Schneider Surrounds, Inc.—(703) 906-7600 Jeff Waters SiteOne Landscape Supply—(240) 375-7470
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P: (301) 948-0810 F: (301) 990-9771 E: lca@lcamddcva.org W: www.lcamddcva.org. Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 am–5 pm (EST). LCA is not responsible for opinions expressed and facts presented by contributing authors. Editorial Deadline: The deadline to submit copy is the 20th of the month for the following bimonthly issue and is on a space– available basis. Advertising & Classifieds: All ads must be high-resolution PDF and pre‑paid. Contact Barbara Bienkowski at bbienkowski@msp-amc.com for more information and the deadline schedule. Copyright © 2021: Landscape Contractors Association, MD•DC•VA. Reproduction of any material allowed only with prior written permission from LCA. LCA’s core purpose is to advance the success of its members and provide a community for green industry professionals.
President’s Message Out of the Cave: Post-Cicada and Pandemic Life Paul Jester, PLA, ASLA 2021 President
I hope everyone’s summer has been off to a fantastic start! I’m sure you have all been busy and are enjoying the warmer temperatures and longer days. The summer months are typically a great time for traveling and enjoying outdoor activities. This year looks and feels much different than last year without all the restrictions and concerns presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the pandemic, our area had the pleasure of managing the Brood X cicadas (Cicada-Fest 2021, as my wife liked to call it), to be seen again in 2038. We are thankful to be past the cicadas, and we are fortunate to be approaching the finish line of the pandemic. I recently had the pleasure of attending the regional conference of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA –Maryland, Virginia, & Potomac Chapters). This conference was held virtually and explored many different topics, ranging from landscape analysis to design constraints in the new normal. Not surprisingly, a recurring theme was how companies adjusted to the COVID-19 restrictions. It was interesting and informative to hear the various responses, with the overall theme among all presenters emphasizing health and family. Hopefully next year we will be able
to discuss the changes to office life as we all return. As we continue to explore and embrace the “return to normal,” which I am sure will look different for each and every one of us, I wanted to share some tips on how to stay safe and healthy while managing the stress and unknowns of returning to onsite work locations: •
The CDC continues to recommend getting the COVID-19 vaccine. It is an important tool to bring us closer to enjoying the activities we have missed.
•
Continue to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.
•
Clean items such as wallet and cellphone frequently.
•
Keep work and personal spaces clean throughout the day.
•
Continue to minimize physical contact and practice social distancing when possible.
•
Continue to use virtual meeting spaces and tools. If in-person meetings are necessary, maintain distance and limit the number of participants.
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•
Per CDC recommendations, if not vaccinated, continue to wear masks or face coverings to keep yourself and others protected.
•
Communicate any concerns to those around you.
The return to in-person work will look different, but maintaining safety protocols, communicating concerns and goals, and using good judgment will help to ensure everyone stays healthy. LCA continues to work through the safety concerns and guidelines as we look to bring back in-person events. Please keep an eye out for upcoming events as we finalize details! As always, I want to thank all of our members for your involvement and support of this organization. As we continue our recovery, we must rely on and trust each other. LCA is excited to be a resource for each of you, and we hope to see you all in person before the end of the year! Be safe,
Paul Jester, PLA, ASLA LCA President 2021
Plant of the Month
A Grass for All Seasons By Ann Canning Schruben, Fine Earth Landscape, Inc.
One plant I often include in the gardens I design is the Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima). I came late to the grass party. Too often, I filled my plantings with traditional flowering perennials—spectacularly beautiful in their frequently way too short season of bloom. But then these nostalgic beauties kind of just take up space the rest of the year. Conversely, to my taste, too many grasses are brown and raw-looking in the spring when we crave green and fresh, but Mexican feather grass is one of the true 365-day plants that brings depth and beauty to the landscape in every season. Delicate and graceful with wispy hair-like blades, it is fresh and green early in the spring into summer and a tawny straw color the rest of the year, this lovely grass enchants as it sways in the slightest breeze. Resist the temptation to plant too closely and space these 3-foot-high beauties 2 to 2.5 feet apart. A single plant can change up the look of a garden, but
several together offer a full-on dance recital as they sway back and forth, side to side in the wind. Their wispiness is a wonderful contrast to more substantial foliage. I love them near shrubs like ‘Black Dragon’ Cryptomeria and the golden mop cypress. They weave themselves into others like echinaceas and yarrows and are spectacular with irises of all types. I don’t discount concerns that they have been classified as an invasive in California, but I haven’t noticed selfseeding in the landscapes I have had them in. Use Mexican feather grass in a classically inspired design or the cleaner, contemporary ones where line is as important as anything else. They add a “kinetic” element where once we only looked for color, form, and fragrance. And, though their listed height might place them further back in the garden, I often put them in front of plants that grow lower, as the way the wonderful feather grass wends its way over and through the GROUNDWORK 6 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1
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Plant of the Month continued plant it borders adds a new element to both. It is fabulous in pots and containers and looks good whether you’re planting poolside or as winter-interest. While so many grasses need to be chopped down and cleared out at the end of the season, another reason I love this grass is you really don’t do anything to it. It greens up in spring, gets a shimmery tint as it bakes in the heat of summer, and then mellows as it settles down over the chilly fall and winter months. Rains may flatten it for a few hours, but it bounces right back. And, it adds charm and interest as it pokes through autumn leaves and frost and snow.
While it can take drought conditions once established, it does need a bit of attention in its first weeks as it adjusts. I’ve noticed that sometimes I have to pull out what seems like a tangled mass of hair that is, I suppose, part of it shedding, but it truly is a low- to no-care perennial. You’ll find this grass sold in 1- or 2-gallon containers or in 4-inch pots set among the summer annuals. It is considered hardy except where temperatures regularly drop into the low 20s. It has been “discovered” and is almost ubiquitous in many trendy rooftop gardens and corporate courtyards, but it is a valuable and attractive plant that will stay a part of my repertoire whether residential or commercial spaces.
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2020 Grand Award Scissortail Park Ruppert Landscape
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Photos courtesy of The Gooden Group
Scissortail Park links the heart of Oklahoma City to the riverfront—a city goal known as the “Core to Shore” plan. The upper park was a two-year installation that was completed in 2019 and represents 40 of the 70-acre design (the second half of which is slated to begin in 2021). The central promenade features unique art lighting that will link the upper and lower park and enable continuity to the river. To bring this project to fruition, we installed concrete flatwork, subslab, pavers, drainage pipe and stone, decomposed granite, rubberized aggregate path, safety surface, artificial turf, a playground, a dog park, soil, filter fabric, sod, trees, perennials, shrubs and wildflower seed, mulch, and a pond-fed irrigation system GROUNDWORK 1 1 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1
Four Things You May Not Know Are in Your Pond By Trent Nelson, Aquatic Specialist at SOLitude Lake Management
When golfing, fishing, or walking around the water, we are able to connect with nature and peer into the aquatic ecosystems around us. But what lies below the water can sometimes be a mystery. Often, the things you can’t see are the most important contributors to the health and beauty of the waterbodies we rely on for stormwater collection, irrigation, and recreation.
Stormwater Pond Equipment
Lakes and ponds are usually created naturally, but sometimes they are man-made for a number of purposes, including as stormwater management. Many important components in a stormwater pond—some of which are located under the water—
help regulate water levels, filter debris, and prevent flooding. All of these structural components require frequent maintenance to ensure the continued integrity and functionality of the waterbody. If you’re not sure if your waterbody has been designed to manage stormwater runoff, be sure to ask a professional to identify and determine your maintenance responsibilities. No matter the case, taking some small, proactive steps can help protect these important stormwater management ponds on your property. Be sure to pick up trash and debris to prevent clogging. Limit pollutants by picking out any animal waste and lawn clippings. And allow
native plants and grasses to grow 3–5 feet out from the shoreline to help filter runoff and deter nuisance species like geese.
Slopes and Contours
Over time, all lakes and ponds become inundated with sediment, debris, and organic pollutants that decompose and create bottom muck and sludge. Eventually, this build-up can completely change the bottom of the waterbody by creating new contours and valleys under the surface. This not only reduces overall depth, but it can result in dangerous flooding, poor water quality, and reduced habitat for native species. Eventually, dredging will be required to restore the waterbody. Pond sediment removal costs can be substantial, so it’s wise to gather knowledge about the rate at which muck is developing. Bathymetry, which is a process that creates a detailed map of the bottom of a water body, is a great way to track sedimentation and can aid in designing a management plan to proactively limit muck accumulation. Common preventative strategies include mechanical hydro-raking, management of eroded shorelines, and biological bacteria applications.
Submerged Plant Species
We’ve grown accustomed to seeing algae and invasive water plants such as duckweed and water chestnut on
Bathymetric lake mapping.
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Four Things You May Not Know Are in Your Pond continued the surface of improperly managed lakes and ponds, but many undesirable plants only grow beneath the water’s surface. Though this can make them easier to ignore, submerged invasive water plants can pose significant problems and dangers. Hydrilla, watermilfoil, and other long, stringy underwater plants are known to clog and damage stormwater and irrigation parts as well as maintenance equipment. And if the invasive water plant fragments go unnoticed, they can be accidentally introduced to other waterbodies on your property or the surrounding community. Existing infestations are best managed with highly targeted applications of EPA-registered herbicides, but proactive management is the most effective way to prevent this spread.
Foreign Species
Like invasive water plants, foreign animal species can cause great
harm to aquatic ecosystems. As urban development, global travel, and international trade continue to increase, this threat becomes even more commonplace. Many invasive species plague the United States, including apple snails, bufo toads, armored catfish, and zebra and quagga mussels. Without intervention, invasive species may ultimately come to dominate the ecosystem, threatening the delicate balance of native plants and animals. Early identification is the best way to prevent the spread of invasive species, but distinguishing between native and invasive animals can be difficult. That’s why education and professional monitoring are key. Removing invasive animals can be difficult due to the lack of welldefined strategies, but reputable aquatic management firms choose to utilize the most humane removal methods possible. If you suspect an invasive aquatic animal is present in
Stormwater outlet structure.
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Invasive Eurasian milfoil and invasive zebra mussels.
Four Things You May Not Know Are in Your Pond continued your waterbody, be sure to contact a professional. It can be easy to take our water resources for granted, but they help support every facet of life. By better understanding the impact we have on the aquatic ecosystems around us, we can help extend the health and longevity of our lakes, stormwater facilities, irrigation ponds, and wetlands for years to come.
Trent Nelson is an aquatic specialist with a bachelor of science degree in turfgrass science from North Carolina State University. Trent specializes in helping property managers, golf course superintendents, and other stakeholders identify their lake and pond challenges and design eco-friendly management programs. Previously, Trent spent four years as an assistant superintendent managing the day-to-day challenges of two top clubs in the Triad of North Carolina.
Hydro-raking.
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Sustainable Design By Bruce Zaretsky, Zaretsky and Associates, Inc.
Sustainability. The newest buzzword or a reality-based concept? Every year, there’s a new trend. One year it’s the year of the water feature. The next, it’s container gardens. Recently, all the talk has been about backyard kitchens. These fads come and go. There are so many new ideas emerging every year that it’s sometimes hard to keep up with them. Some ideas deservedly run their course. Others hang on for longer periods of time. And mixed in with all of these ideas is this little concept: sustainability. Sustainability. What is it? Is it the real thing? Or is it just a fad? Should you get on this bandwagon? Is it going to increase your bottom line? Is it the latest and greatest thing to “sell” to your clients? It should be. It should be the core tenet of everything we do as designers and installers. Sustainability in design and in our daily lives means simply that we do our very best to conserve resources and minimize waste. This means that we do things as simple as turning off the water when we brush our teeth. And as complex as designing everything, from gardens to office buildings, in as a “green” way as possible. How do we do that? Well, we need to consider all aspects of our designs and installations. Look at waste products, water use, hauling distances and the like. Everything we do in my design/build practice revolves around not only our clients’ desires and the site conditions, but also how we approach the site in regard to conserving resources. We need to consider ourselves stewards of the earth, and if landscape designers aren’t stewards of the earth, then who else is? We are, almost by definition, required to preserve our planet; after all, we purport to be the ones beautifying it. Let’s look at a few simple processes that we can implement in order to live up to our billing:
and brick? Do you recycle your paper waste from your office? I’m not suggesting that you design every project to use your leftover materials. But I am suggesting that you think about what you are going to do with your leftover materials. And how you design a site in the first place. We are almost too quick to “play God,” wiping out an entire site so that we can fulfill our “vision” for what the site should be. We rip out walls and shrubs and pools and regrade the land and haul in stone from distant shores and in the process fill dumpsters and landfills with thousands of tons of “waste” material a year and pay exorbitant shipping costs. Think about a new use for some or all of that waste. As an example, we recently worked with a client who had us remove an old patio and retaining wall. The debris from this project, which is not all that large, would have filled a 30-yard dumpster. The retaining wall consisted of hundreds of old rotted pressure-treated timbers which cannot be reused (unfortunately, these do go to the dump). The original patio was installed about 15 years ago using two-foot-by-two-foot concrete slabs with scores in them to make them look like pavers. There were 250 of these slabs which, stacked up, would have taken up about 6 yards of that dumpster. But, aside from the fact that they were not visually desirable and a bit worn, they were perfectly usable for things such as a floor for garbage cans or firewood storage. What I told my client was that we were going to place these slabs on pallets
If you are installers, take a quick look at your disposal costs for the last year. How many dumpsters did you fill with debris to be hauled off to the local landfill? How much of that debris could have been salvaged or reused on site, or on another project? Do you reuse scrap lumber GROUNDWORK 1 6 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1
Sustainable Design continued
by the road with a “free” sign on them. One thing that humans love is the word “free.” I predicted that these would be gone by the time we finished the project, and they were. And it’s a great way to recycle an unwanted product. Now think about this for a minute. Not only do we save the cost of dumping these in a landfill, but also the hauling costs, the fuel usage, and the wear-andtear on the vehicles doing the hauling. It’s a win-win-win situation for the client, the hauler (the dumpster company), and the earth (not to mention the people who got their free slabs). And all it took was a simple thought: can these be reused? The single biggest ecological concern at the moment is water. Do we have enough? Is it drinkable? Where are we going to get more? If you live in the northern part of the country, this probably isn’t your largest concern. After all, the Great Lakes supply much of the water used in the upper Midwest and Northeast. But what if you live in the South? Especially the Southwest? Where is your water going to come from? There has been discussion about buying water from the Great Lakes to supply the Southwest, but the chances of this happening are pretty small. So, what’s the solution? Well, let’s start with designing a little smarter. Let’s design plantings that will live in the region in which they are planted with little care, or water. Let’s stop designing lush green lawns in the middle of the desert. Tell your transplanted Northeastern-bred clients that they can’t have a lawn in Arizona. I know, they’re paying the bill, so they should get what they want. Here’s a thought: educate them instead. Instead of yessing them to death, teach them the ramifications of their decisions. A Dallas friend who is a garden designer sent us an article from a Dallas newspaper that listed the largest users of water in the area. Who do you think it was? A large cor-
porate campus with acres of lawn? No, it was a residential user who put a million gallons of water on his lawn per month to keep it green. In his mind he thought “well, I can afford it, so why not?” We should be saying to him: “Why?” It’s insane to dump millions of gallons of water on a lawn. We need to preserve water. And there are ways. Think about simple solutions, such as putting rain barrels under your clients’ downspouts. Catch some of that rainwater before it runs off into pipes taking it to the local stream or river. The less water you put into the municipal system, the less overtaxed it is. And this is important: in larger rainfalls, as municipal water treatment systems become overloaded, they literally “open the gates,” allowing the storm runoff mixed with raw sewage to run into our waterways. (These are combined sewer systems, and most larger cities and municipalities have them.) If we can lessen the rainfall impact into the system, we lessen the impact on our natural waterways. Your client can use that captured water to give to their containers and other plantings when it gets dry. Are they not inclined to do that? Put a small pump in the container and a moisturesensor in the garden. The barrel can then be used to automatically water the garden when things get dry. Another thing to think about are the materials you use on your site. Is it of the utmost importance that you use a stone imported from Asia? Are there any local stones available that would fit the design? One of the requirements for LEED certification of buildings is that a certain percentage of building materials come from less than 500 miles away. This lessens the impact of hauling, minimizing fuel use, wear-and-tear, and road damage costs. It’s a great idea. I have been guilty of bringing
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Sustainable Design continued in materials from other areas because I didn’t think my local stone would work for a particular design. But, even though my two main stone suppliers are less than 400 miles away, I am thinking more in terms of using locally quarried stone. It not only fits the sustainability bill, but also lessens costs for our clients, which is never a bad concept. We landscape designers, installers, and architects are stewards of the land. We shape the earth to benefit our clients. We design spaces of tranquility and excitement
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and beauty and practical use. We need to shape the earth to the benefit of the earth as well. We need to be the leaders of sustainable design. I suggest that we all educate ourselves fully in the practice of preserving our planet’s resources. It’s the only one we have at the moment and it’s us who can preserve it. Reprinted with permission from The Landsculptor magazine, February 2020.
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Betting on the Right Chips From dyed mulch to a more organic approach, the industry’s latest trends are diverse. By Jimmy Miller With clients working from home and spending time in their backyard rather than the Bahamas, Laurie Broccolo noticed she fielded more questions this year. COVID-19 might have kept people out of the office and away from vacation destinations, so Broccolo—the owner of Broccolo Tree & Lawn Care—found her customers were far more engaged than usual. Out in the field, they came out to talk to her employees during lunch. And back at their garden center, clients
filtered in all day long rather than in the evenings. And with that extra attention, every small detail became magnified, including their mulch. “People were really interested, and they had the time,” she says. “They were working from home, and they needed those breaks. People are actually seeing their plants.” To help those plants grow and to make garden colors pop, mulch and
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groundcovers are an essential factor for landscapers to consider. Here are some of the latest trends that industry experts have noticed.
Keeping it natural.
Bob Scott from Lowe’s Landscaping in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, says it should come as no surprise, but most of his clients are on “the organic train.” Some raise concerns about the overall well-being of the environment. Others ask if there are chemicals in the mulch that’ll be bad for their
Betting on the Right Chips continued kids, or how worried they should be if their dog eats some of the mulch. He estimates that roughly 75% of the mulch they put down for clients is natural, and from a retail end, customers buy it at an even higher rate. “I think it all starts from a good place,” Scott says. “‘Hey, I never want to make my lawn or yard look a little better at the risk of my dog or kid getting sick.’ And now that it’s caught on, it’s becoming a trend.” Scott says Lowe’s Landscaping— which has about 60 employees and earns roughly $4 million a year—is often selling its triple shred mulch for that very reason. And during the pandemic, they’ve received more calls for DIYers and saw a slight uptick in installation on the residential side, so he had more conversations with clients than ever about
their desire to keep it green. Even their dyed products are made with a carbon dye, he says, to keep things as healthy as possible. “The more natural, the more organic, the better,” Scott says. “That’s the overarching theme.” “The plants are the stars. The mulch is just there to accent the plants.” Laurie Broccolo, owner of Broccolo Tree & Lawn Care Broccolo says that in Rochester, New York, her company is pushing undyed, natural products as much as they can. It’s just a bit of an uphill battle. “It’s interesting. Pretty much everybody likes the dyed black,” Broccolo says. “We do try and sell undyed, natural, as much as possible. We
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steer our clients that way. I can’t give in and buy any of the red.” That dyed black and red is a trend that hasn’t gone away at all. Even for Scott, who sells largely natural mulch, the dyed black mulch is “far and away” his number-two seller.
Color it in.
Christopher Clark with Cut Above Landscaping in North Billerca, Massachusetts, says his company does just about every service a landscaper can offer. With $750,000 in revenue last year and eight employees, 70% of Cut Above’s clientele comes from the residential side. Clark has seen customers start to buy the dyed products because of the curb appeal, though it’s a recent trend that hadn’t been
Betting on the Right Chips continued “The plants are the stars,” Broccolo says. “The mulch is just there to accent the plants.”
prevalent in northern Massachusetts before. “Personally, I like pure hemlock, but it’s almost hard to find. Everything’s color-enhanced nowadays. The black mulch has seemed to be newer in our area,” Clark says. “It’s just a different color. Sometimes, the color does make green grass pop a little more.” Scott says some of his clients like that the dyed products tend to last a little longer and not disappear like some of the finer, more natural mulches. And Broccolo says people like the dyed products because it’s showy and contrasts nicely against the grass. While the brown mulch looks lovely, it doesn’t grab someone’s eye while driving past. But Broccolo says this isn’t the way she thinks about it.
More than mulch.
Groundcovers and stone are another way to accent a landscape, though stone is more widely used in commercial applications, Broccolo says. She’s also seen some younger DIY gardeners in her area request stone as well. But Clark says the value of lowmaintenance stone like washstone or aggregates can’t be overlooked. “Stone, depending on the type, can save a lot of money,” Clark says. “You don’t need to do it every year.” Meanwhile, Broccolo has seen clients request pollinator plants or edibles to fill in spaces in their gardens. Scott
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says groundcovers like pachysandra or creeping myrtle help him transition many of his clients’ yards from lawn to the wooded areas nearby. Sweet woodruff and bugleherbs also remain popular. With most of her clients home, Broccolo says they weren’t only asking questions—they were seeing areas of their lawns that weren’t doing well. With that, they wanted answers fast. “We’re always recommending assertive plants that will fit in pretty quickly, like low-growing shrubs, natives, pollinator plants, even perennial geraniums,” she says. “They grow tall enough to keep the weeds out, and they grow fast enough to fill in the holes.” Reprinted with permission from Lawn & Landscape magazine, May 2021.
Box Tree Moth Makes an Appearance By Stanton Gill, Extension Specialist, IPM and Entomology for Nursery, Managed Landscapes and Greenhouses, CMREC, University of Maryland Extension; and Professor with Montgomery College, Landscape Technology The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis, in the continental United States and is taking action alongside state partners and industry to contain and eradicate the invasive pest that was imported on nursery plants shipped from Ontario, Canada.
The box tree moth can significantly damage and potentially kill boxwood plants if left unchecked. Between August 2020 and April 2021, a nursery in St. Catharines, Ontario, shipped boxwood (Buxus species) that may have been infested with box tree moth to locations in six states—25 retail facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and South Caro-
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lina—and a distribution center in Tennessee. At this time, the pest has been identified in three facilities in Michigan, one in Connecticut, and one in South Carolina, and APHIS is working with state plant regulatory officials to determine whether other facilities may be impacted. On May 26, 2021, APHIS issued a Federal Order to halt the importa-
Box Tree Moth Makes an Appearance continued tion of host plants from Canada, including boxwood (Buxus species), Euonymus (Euonymus species), and holly (Ilex species). In addition, APHIS is coordinating closely with the affected states to: •
Find and destroy the imported plants in the receiving facilities.
•
Trace imported plants that were sold to determine additional locations of potentially infected boxwood.
Caterpillar.
•
Provide box tree moth traps and lures for surveys in the receiving facilities and other locations that received potentially infected boxwood.
•
Prepare outreach materials for state agriculture departments, industr y, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialists stationed along the Canadian border, and the public.
Adult moth.
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Egg mass under the leaves.
Box Tree Moth Makes an Appearance continued These immediate measures are focused on protecting the economic viability of the thriving U.S. boxwood industry as well as nurseries and other establishments that sell these plants wholesale and direct to consumers.
ues to spread. In 2018, it was found in the Toronto area of Canada. The caterpillars feed mostly on boxwood, and heavy infestations can defoliate host plants. Once the leaves are gone, larvae consume the bark, leading to girdling and plant death.
The box tree moth is native to East Asia and has become a serious invasive pest in Europe, where it contin-
Members of the public can prevent the box tree moth from spreading. Please allow State or Federal agricul-
Pupa.
Damage.
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tural officials to inspect your boxwood trees and place an insect trap if they visit your home. If you bought a boxwood plant within the last few months, please inspect it for signs of the box tree moth and report any findings to your local USDA office or State agriculture department. Here are some signs to help identify the presence of box tree moth.
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