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Page THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday May 1IBI Town Gardener- Questions and answers on trees By TOM CA VAN Question My maple tree has little orange bumps on the bottom side of the leaves The leaves are curling up and turning purple What is it and what can I do Answer The problem you have is called Maple Gall Mite This particular problem is very com mon throughout Southern On tario What you see is a virus structure called a gall The female mite lays eggs on new leaves in spring and at that time transfers a virus As the eggs grow so does the gall The galls are not always orange nor are they always round but they are always appearing on the of the leaves of maples As the eggs mature the gall will become very large and unsightly The virus can contort the leaves and prevent the trees from grow ing The mites suck juices from the tree and also deter the tree from growing The solution is to apply a systematic insecticide that goes inside the tree veins and kills the insect This has to be ap plied when the leaves are newly formed in spring and again dur ing midsummer It is important to rake up all of the leaves so as to culminate the overwinter stages of both the insect and the virus The only way to rid the tree of this problem is eliminate the in sect because there is no cure for this virus Year after year you will lessen the number of insects and eventually eradicate the pro blem Unfortunately you must continuously spray every spring on the new tender foliage with a systematic insecticide as a preventative measure against the problem because it runs ram- pid throughout Ontario forests Application of foliar insec ticides that are nob systematic are useless against this pest After controlling the pest and the tree remains vigourous only then do you return to a regular feeding program Do not try to fertilize this tree during infection Just water through hot dry conditions and be patient Question The bark on my cherry tree is splitting What is happening and what can I do to stop it Answer If the tree is more than in caliper then the tree is simply maturing The cambium layer beneath the bark is expan ding with the increase in growth and since the bark is hardened cells is simply cracks under ex pansion The bark cracks will callous and harden providing they remain dry Dont cover this wound with pruning paste it will help trap moisture in and pro mote decay In fact if you have pruning paste in your possession I would recommend you discard it or use it for repairing your roof or some other piupose If your tree has horizontal cracks or splitting it would be caused by physical injury and the tree has become bruised ie being bash ed by a If you have a physical injury to a trees bark take a sharp clean knife and remove any loose bark so it can not trap water in the wound Then make a tear shaped cut around the wound and scrape clean so it can callus and dry Again dont use pruning paint as it is detrimental makeup Allow the wound to dry and callus Question Every year I apply to my birch tree and I still get leafminers I follow the directions but I cannot get rid of them Answer Birch leafminers are not easily eradicated from the birch trees but is controllable Leafminer attacks your birch by laying eggs inside the layers of the leaf then the eggs hatch and the first stage begins to feed in side the leaf This is why you use a systematic insecticide The in secticide travels inside the veins of the tree and when the leaf- miner feeds it will digest the in secticide and die Repeated ap plication every year will even tually eradicate the insect but you must not stop this preven tative medicine or they will return If you apply the insect must still attack the tree to ingest the insecticide This particular insec ticide is easily applied with a paint brush by painting a 6 band around the trunk below the first branch Apply just as the tree breaks bud in spring and a second application weeks later This will arrest the leaf miner and your birch will continue to flourish If you have a bad in festation apply again in July to control their second attack in midJuly Question I planted a fruit tree in spring I mixed in peat and manure then added some garden fertilizer Now the tree has some blackened leaves on the top What is wrong Answer There are only a few conditions that will cause black leaves and they are Over fer tilization with high nitrogen Green manure manure that has not sat for more than 1 year Animal urine Extreme cold to tender tissue Therefore you must ask yourself if any of these are potential answers I suspect that the roots came into contact with too much nitrogen due to the manure and fertilizer mix You should not use any fertilizer on a newly transplanted tree with the exception of a transplanting fer tilizer which will not burn young roots Too much manure can burn the roots even if it is well composted I would recommend you prune out any damaged parts and water the plant thoroughly Dont use any fertilizer until all signs of this has passed When you return to a fertilizer program use recommended fertilizer for fruitbearing plants It would be wise to use them at half strength so you dont force too much foliage and not enough potential fruit For more information call the Town Gardener Hotline at 5198332117 food stores target OPEN 24 HRS 7 DAYS A WEEK 51 GUELPH ST GEORGETOWN THE CORPORATION OF THE Town of Halton Hills I Hills Drive Box HALTON HILLS Georgetown Ontario L7G NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING EDARVALE PAR There will be a public meeting at 600 pm on May 6 1991 in the Civic Centre Council Chambers to review and provide comment on a Proposal by the Izaac Walton Fly Fishermans Club to Rehabilitate the section of Sliver Creek which flows through the currently maintained area of Cedarvale Park in Georgetown The Proposal calls for the construction of numerous structures within the stream and the elimination of grass cutting along portions of the stream bank in attempts to create enhanced fish habitat All interested parties are invited to attend this public meeting regarding this proposal prior to its consideration by the General Committee at its meeting later that same evening For further information please contact Mr Bryan Shynal Superintendent of Parks The Corporation of the Town of Halton Hills Learn to Drive and Survive with Young Drivers of Canada GEORGETOWNCLASSROOM RD S WEDNESDAY MAY 8th Wednesday Thursday Evening 630 pm to 938 pm SPECIAL 4 DAY PROGRAM June 24252627 900 am 338 pm call 8770751 MasterCard GRADUATES RECOMMEND YOUNG DRIVERS OF CANADA