- Hi, thanks for joining us for the Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Unfortunately, trees get diseases, die and have to be removed.

Today, we're going to cut down a tree.

Also ornamental grasses create landscape interest in the summer and winter.

That's just ahead on The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

- (female announcer) Production funding for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South is provided by the WKNO Production Fund, the WKNO Endowment Fund, and by viewers like you, Thank you.

[upbeat country music] - Welcome to The Family Plot.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Joining me today is Wes Hopper.

Wes is a certified arborist, and Joellen Dimond will be joining me later.

Wes, so what are we about to do?

- We're getting ready to cut a tree down.

- Wow.

- We're not just randomly cutting down a tree, we're cutting down a tree that has died.

And before it becomes a hazard.

We are in Oaklawn Gardens Park.

- Okay.

- And it's starting to get a little brittle.

I was hoping the for it to stand long enough for me to find out why it died.

- Okay.

- But I'm not gonna wait around for that.

It's time to get rid of it.

- Time to bring it down.

- Yup.

But you know what, the good thing is, I'll plant another one.

- That's right.

That's right.

So what kind of a tree?

- This is a green ash.

- Green ash.

- Yep.

And we're worried about the emerald ash borer coming through, but I haven't seen any signs of that.

- Okay.

So that why you think the tree died, possibly or?

- No, this is one of those deals where I can't find a reason for it to have died.

- Oh okay.

- No root fungus, no boring activity other than what's going on now.

- Okay.

- It just gave up the ghost.

- Oh, how about that?

That happens from time to time, right?

- It's probably something in the ground.

- Okay.

All right.

So what do you need to do to get ready?

- Okay.

I need to have a clear work zone for one.

I got to set the rope in the tree because I want this to be a directional fall.

- Okay.

- It's not a random fall, I need it to, for sure go in the direction that I want it to go.

- Okay.

- For the one reason, it's standing straight up and down.

I've measured it and the tree is pretty much a straight tree.

- Okay.

- So while I'm cutting, a gust of wind could come through and force it to go back the other direction that I don't want it to go.

So I'm gonna put this rope in the tree and Jared is going to be pulling on the rope to assure that it goes in the direction that we want it to go.

- Okay.

- But before we pull on it to make it go that way, I'll be putting in a notch in the tree.

Then notch, we'll go one third into the wood, approximately.

And then I will come back and on the back side and make a back cut.

And it's gonna go in to, enough to make it have at least a 10% hinge.

That hinge is what's gonna hold it together, and make it land in the right spot.

- Land in the right spot.

- Yep.

- So how far away do people need to be?

- They need to be out of the drop zone.

- Out of the drop zone.

- Yes.

- Okay.

- Which would be the height of the tree, typically.

I'm cutting approximately, about two and a half, three feet from the ground.

- Okay.

- And so then, you know, that's gonna be my waist level.

- All right.

So waist level.

- Yeah.

I wanna be comfortable as I'm cutting this.

- Okay.

- I don't wanna be in a bind.

I wanna make sure that my chainsaw has a full tank of gas and that the teeth are sharp and the chain is tight.

All important things before you start your cut.

- Okay.

- I'll be communicating with anyone else standing around me.

We may be using sign language, things like, headache or staying clear, or geronimo.

- Yeah, okay.

- Just as long as your team or your, whoever your work buddy or whomever understands the language that you're trying to interpret.

- Sure.

All that makes sense to me.

And I see you have all your safe- - I do, I do.

Yep.

I don't wear gloves, that's one.

- Ah, you don't wear gloves, okay.

- No I don't.

- Is there a reason why you don't wear the gloves?

- I wanna be able to feel the rope in my hand.

I wanna be able to fill the tools that I have.

- Okay.

- If now there were thorns or something like that I'd make different preparations, but I've been that way my whole career.

- Okay.

Good deal.

Wes, we're gonna go ahead and let you get started with- - Okay.

It is a hot day.

I am gonna take my safety glasses off and wipe the sweat out of my eyes.

- Okay.

Okay.

- Yeah.

- All right.

And I will get out of the way.

- Okay.

- Safety, right?

- Safety.

- Stand clear, headache I'm throwing.

Nice shot.

I have it in the center, most strongest point.

Okay.

My groundman Jared weighs about 180 pounds and he's gonna put 180 pounds of pressure on this rope.

This tree probably weighs about 2, 250.

So that should be ample.

Ample weight factor to get this tree over.

Now I wanna make sure this rope is clear as my chainsaw.

That's why I'm sliding it up a little bit higher.

And making sure that tail is out of the way.

Now I'm gonna get this out of the way, Jared, if you wanna take this.

You have you hard hat, safety glasses?

- I got everything.

- Muffs, all right.

Want you to stand right there.

Next to that brush pile.

And since we actually haven't pulled a tree down together, put your rope to your, right over there.

That's good.

Go ahead and tighten up.

Not hard, just get the rope little tense.

And your exit strategy would be to go 45 degrees behind that cypress tree.

All right.

This means it's coming down or stand clear.

I'm going to put my earplugs in, so if you have anything to say, say it to me now.

I'll hold the chain, my elbow to my ribs so I don't drop start.

[chainsaw engine roaring] This notch is a Humboldt notch.

When this notch folds and closes, it should let, cause the tree to land flat.

Tree is coming down.

[chainsaw engine roaring] [chainsaw engine revving] Nice.

All right, Chris, it's safe to come back in.

- All right.

How about that?

- Yes.

- It's pretty good.

- Thank you.

- So what do you think about your efforts here?

- I think we were successful.

Everything went as planned and that's when the important things about running a chainsaw, dropping a tree, is just having a good plan.

- Yeah.

- Don't haphazardly go out there and say, I'm gonna go cut a tree today and without a plan.

- All right, got have a plan, how about that?

- Yeah.

This is pretty cool.

- I did leave one thing out.

I mean, it's one of the rules, I'm a professional, so I have to mention this, is I did not instruct, and I typically do, it's usually something that we know to do.

We have plenty of cell phones here, so we have to be prepared to call 911 in the event that an emergency would happen.

- Right.

- But that's just general work standards.

- But Wes we thank you so much, we appreciate it.

- Glad to do it.

- You're the best.

That's why it's always good to have a what, certified arborist.

- Certified arborist.

- And that you are.

- Yes, sir.

- Thank you much.

[upbeat country music] - You can attract many different kinds of birds to your yard with a variety of feeders.

Two of our feeders here today, are seed and suet.

With the type of habitat given here, you'll be likely to see maybe chickadees, tufted titmice, Carolina wrens.

This feeder here has a platform for your blue jays or even your cardinals to stand on.

Or your woodpeckers would cling to the suet and peck out pieces of suet.

They would be insect eaters in nature, but they'll come to your feeder if you have suet available.

[upbeat country music] - Let's talk about ornamental grasses.

- Aw, yes!

- We love to see in the garden, right?

- Let's talk about something that we really, really like to have in the garden and which is ornamental grasses and I have enjoyed ornamental grasses for years.

They've been around for a while, but their recent popularity.

They have gotten very popular in the last few decades.

So the amount of varieties, forms, colors, it's exploded.

Almost every garden center that you go to or nursery will have a whole section, - Yes they do.

- on ornamental grasses.

When we talking about ornamental grasses, just remember, we're talking about all grass-like plants.

There is ripe, the sedges, the rushes, the millets, the oats, - Okay.

- and ornamental oats, and then the ornamental rices, and cattails all in as an ornamental grass section.

- I didn't know that.

Okay.

- So when we talk about ornamental grasses we're talking about all these different varieties.

One thing I like about the grasses is that they look very different.

They are...

They bring a lot of sound and movement to the garden because every time the wind blows that those grasses they just move.

And sometimes they're used as a substitute for water in a garden because of their movement, just like the water.

- Okay.

- Of course the sun in the, now that it's fall, the seed heads have all popped up on all of them.

And in the evening, those seed heads, they glow in the sun in the evening.

So it gives a completely different look to the landscape Of course, ornamental grasses have texture and a form that is unique and different from any other plant in the garden.

So that's why when you add it to a landscape or a perennial garden, it gives a different look to your landscape.

- Okay.

- Massed together, with a house around it, on a hillside, it'll change throughout the season.

You'll get green, then in the winter, there'll be dry.

And you get the seed heads in the fall.

So it changes.

It makes the look of your property look different throughout the season.

Of course, they look just as well in a perennial garden with other perennials.

Again, different texture and form.

I just think they make a unique statement.

I like a lot of the grasses, but these are my favorites.

One of them is the Mexican feather grass.

It's a small, petite grass, very fine textured, and really billowy and blows in the wind.

And it's very different from any other plant in the landscape.

So it mixes well with that and gives you a different texture in the landscape.

Carexes, we have many carexes.

They all have different colors.

There's bronze, there's blues, there's reds, there's all different colors.

Great mixed variegated ones, good to put in containers.

I love putting those in containers with other flowers and stuff.

So those look nice.

The Miscanthus.

Probably the first plant that I, ornamental grass that I got was the Miscanthus variegatus.

And it's a variegated plant that gets about three to four feet tall.

And it's beautiful, very nice, different color contrast to some of the other plants in the garden.

And of course, Adagio, Miscanthus Adagio.

Probably the best ornamental grass for a landscape 'cause it stays nice, has a nice form, and is probably the number one used ornamental grass in the landscape.

- The best for landscape - Yeah.

Yeah.

And then there's another one Miscanthus that I like real well, it's called Morning Light.

And it has more of a upright form to it.

But it's verigated and it's got small leaves.

So it kind of glows in the landscape because it's got that variegation going.

- Okay.

- Very nice.

And then of course there are the Pennisetums.

There's a lot of Pennisetums.

But one of my favorites is the Hameln, and it's dwarf one, but this time of year and in the late summer and the fall, got those little foxtail looking seed heads out on it.

- These guys are cool.

- Look really nice.

Another one that I like really well, which is a very large one, it's called Heavy Metal.

And it-- - Heavy metal!

[extreme crosstalk] [laughing] - Because it's a blue, green grass that gets six to eight feet tall.

- Oh wow, that's pretty tall.

- In this time of year it's got these beautiful, fuzzy inflorescence on the top of them.

- And it's native, too.

- And I just love it.

And they say, I keep hearing that there's supposed to be a dwarf form of it.

There's only going to be three to four feet tall, but I've never seen it.

I've not seen it anywhere in the trades so maybe it's just a rumor, who knows.

- I like that, Heavy Metal.

- But Heavy Metal, yes, nice grass.

And of course we planted an Acorus here, ogan, the sweet flag out front.

So we've got that nice yellow, - I like that.

- going out there.

And of course at the University of Memphis, we've planted Adagio, Morning Light, and muhly grass.

All along the railroad track.

And of course we have the new bridge that goes across the railroad track.

- I saw that.

- So... - It softens.

- It softens the railroad track and the fence and all that long, long line of, of grass there.

So yeah, come by and see that - Yes that's good.

That director of landscape knows what she's doing over there.

- Yeah, sounds like it.

- It's pretty good.

- For sure.

- All right.

[laughing] All right, so how do we care for these ornamental grasses though?

That's what everybody wants to know now.

- Yes everybody wants to know.

- Is it easy to care?

- Ornamental grasses are supposed to be easy to care for.

And I have all different kinds - I suppose.

- around my house and I don't, I'm not real particular about watering, all the time and fertilizing all the time.

I don't do that.

They should pretty much take care of themselves.

If they're not, then possibly that's not the right grass for that particular environment.

- Okay.

I would, do your research and make sure that your environment, if there's wet, dry, sunny, shady, it doesn't matter, there's a grasses that will fit all of that.

So you got to make sure that the grass you put in this environment is got one of those conditions.

And if it doesn't, then switch to another grass, 'cause there's plenty of others to choose from.

That's what I would do first.

And of course, that can be planted any time the ground isn't frozen.

They can be planted when they're dormant or in the growing season, it doesn't matter.

Anytime they can be planted.

- Okay.

Fertilizing again.

If I even fertilize them, it would be in the spring.

- Okay.

- As they're coming out of dormancy and getting into the growing season.

- Anything you would use particularly?

- I would just some, well, I would like to do a soil test and make sure that I actually need all the nutrients in a complete fertilizer, but something like that would be be my choice.

- Okay.

- If I put something, if I put anything down at all.

Because you really don't need to fertilize them every year.

Maybe when they're first getting started and getting established but after that, I have never fertilized any of mine.

- I have not either.

- Me either.

- I haven't done it.

- If you do that they are gonna grow.

[laughing] - They really don't need it.

I mean their requirements for fertilizer is not high so.

Of course those that are dormant.

Now, some of them are evergreen, which are great like our Acorus up front.

- Okay.

- We don't have to prune that at all 'cause it stays evergreen.

But those that go dormant, good time to cut them would be in February.

- Okay, I'm listening.

Okay in February.

- 'Cause February is when they start, they've been dried for a few months.

They've been blown in the wind and you've enjoyed that sound.

[Chris laughing] But then again, they start breaking up 'cause they can't hold that, those dead leaves start breaking apart.

And you wanna cut them before they start trashing the whole rest of the yard.

So it's going to have to rake them up from everywhere.

So you wanna get them cut them down in the beginning of February.

- Yes February.

- So that you don't have that leaf trash all over the yard.

- How'd y'all do it on the campus?

- Well, in various ways, you know.

- I mean the big ones.

- Depending on how- - Like the big Miscanthus?

- When you have big ones, some people will use a weed-eater, some people will use hedge shears.

- Yes I have seen the hedge shears.

- And that's about as far as I would go.

- Yes I think people use hedge shears.

- I think hedge shears would probably if you have large.

And what I like to do is take a string and string them up and tie them and then cut them off, and then you can just move them over and you don't have to have all that, - Floppiness.

- Wow!

- Yeah.

But tie them up first and then cut them off.

And then you can just set the whole thing in a container and throw it out so.

- Wow.

We learn some good stuff on this show, are we?

- Yeah.

- How about that?

That's pretty good, alright.

- And now they don't really have very many pest problems.

So I, and if they do, it's probably a plant that's in the wrong place.

So you wanna try to move it to either dryer or wetter situation, sunny or dry or shadier.

And of course when they're they're clump, and the majority of them.

There's some that are runners, but the majority of them are clump grasses.

And, so they grow outward, but then they die in the center.

And when they start getting big like that, it's time to dig them up and rejuvenate them by taking a section of the new, the living part, and putting it back in the center of where you originally planted it.

And then with the rest of it, you can either add onto your landscape or you can start trading them with neighbors and everybody can have ornamental grasses in their yard.

- That was great stuff, we appreciate that.

Yeah.

The flowing and the sound.

- You tell she really loves-- - I love my grasses.

- So thank you for that, we appreciate that.

[gentle country music] - Okay, as with most trees that I cut down over the years, I've always been interested in knowing the age of the trees that helps me identify what the area looked like many years ago.

This is an ash tree, and an ash tree is a diffuse porous, meaning that sometimes it's hard to count the rings because the growth rings are mostly the same color.

It's hard to differentiate the early wood from the late wood.

So we'll start from the outside and count in.

And I've counted.

This tree is approximately 21 years old by judging by the rings.

And this thing what's going on with the health of them.

One, two, three.

Something happened about three to four years ago, that caused this tree to go into decline.

So before that we got some really healthy growth rings, are really wide.

So that's telling me that this tree was a happy, healthy tree up until about four years ago.

So that would incline me to go back and investigate and see what the type of weather we had that year.

Was it a droughty year?

It could have been a drought, let's say for example it was.

So this tree struggled after that drought and then had used its stored energy to survive that one year.

And then after that, I'm assuming, that it just could not build up the energy just to sustain its own self and eventually it succumbed to lack of energy.

[gentle country music] - Alright, Joellen here's our Q&A segment, you ready?

- I'm ready.

- These are great questions.

- Yes.

- Here's our first viewer email.

"What is the name of this tree?

"It came from the Arbor Day Foundation many years ago.

It has beautiful yellow foliage in the fall."

And this is Janice from Paynesville, West Virginia.

- Oh, yes.

Well, it looks very familiar.

It looks like an ash tree.

- Okay.

Like an ash tree.

- Yes, and ash trees can have beautiful fall foliage colors.

So that's what that looks like.

- And the tree definitely had a beautiful fall foliage, didn't it?

- Yes, it did.

- Yeah.

Thank you for that picture, Janice.

Ash tree.

- Ash.

- Nice.

All right.

Here's the next viewer email.

"I have a cluster of red river birch.

"The leaves are misshapen "and there is a white dust everywhere.

"What is this infestation?

"Is there a cure?

I am contemplating cutting them down."

This is Nadine from Springfield, Florida.

- Yes.

- So let's see if we can help Ms. Nadine out here, right?

- Yeah.

- Red river birch, right?

So we have the river birch aphids.

- Yes.

- But sometimes goes by the name of... witch-hazel gall aphids.

But it's host-specific.

So it would be the river birch aphids, right?

So they're feeding, of course, it's gonna cause a misshapen of the leaves, leaves look retorted.

You're gonna have those bumpy ridges on the surface of those leaves.

But you know what I would do, nothing.

- No.

Ah, ah.

- I wouldn't do anything.

- 'Cause there's enough.

It doesn't look like, it's not affecting the whole tree is just the new growth.

It'll be, the leaves are gonna fall off here soon and we can start over again.

I would just make sure that I would get all the leaves up.

So you don't want the bugs to stay over winter.

- Right.

Right.

- So just you can do some good sanitation and get the leaves up.

- Good sanitation, it'd be fine.

Let the predators, come and get them.

And if the tree is healthy, it's gonna be able to tolerate the damage.

So I won't worry anything about that.

So there you have it Ms. Nadine.

And thank you for the picture.

- Good nice picture, yes.

- All right.

And I should mention too, that those river birch aphids are covered in white wax 'cause she mentioned that she saw a white dust everywhere.

So yeah, they're covered in white wax.

So you disturbed them, yeah, they kind of flock off and it, obviously it's like white dust and some people say it looks like snow falling.

So again, thank you for that picture.

All right here's our next viewer email.

I know you liked this one, right?

"I would like to plant a serviceberry tree in my yard "to attract the cedar waxwings birds.

"Recently, I learned that there are two types "of serviceberry trees.

"Is one type of serviceberry tree better than the other "in a residential setting?

"I'm in zone six.

Thanks."

And this is John.

So what about that?

- And thank you for letting us know what zone you're in.

- Yes, that helps.

- 'Cause that really does help.

But you know what, he's picking a great tree that is very underused.

Either one will do well.

They are both about 15 to 25 feet in cultivation.

In other words, in somebody's yard.

One of them, Amelanchier arborea, the downy serviceberry that one has a lot of cultivars to choose from.

So you can get some really pretty foliage with that.

And it's four-seasoned tree, you got flowers, you've got beautiful foliage, you get fall color.

So it's an all year good tree.

The other kind, the Allegheny, is actually native from Newfoundland down to Georgia and West Michigan and Kansas.

- Easy in zone six then.

- So, but there's not as many cultivars of that.

So I would say whichever one he can find, and if he has good research and can find a certain cultivar that he's more interested in, then I would get that one, but either one would be fine.

- Either one would be fine, Mr. John.

Yeah.

We appreciate their question.

Yeah.

Like you mentioned good fall foliage.

- Beautiful.

- The right berries.

- And they're edible.

Edible, right?

They use what, jams and jellies I've heard, and wildlife.

The pollinators love it.

- Yes.

- So yeah, plant that.

- Good tree.

- Serviceberry would be good.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. John.

Here's a next viewer email.

"Here is a photo of a twig from one of my many oak trees.

"I pick up many of these twigs every day.

"The leaves don't look great either.

"Is my tree sick or are the squirrels chewing these twigs "off my trees?

"If it is squirrels damaging my tree, I have a 20-gauge, but no 12 year old."

[both laughing] All right, an ode to Mr. D there.

This is Phyllis from Rosemark, Tennessee.

So we thank you for the picture too.

So what do you think about that?

He has a good picture.

- I think it's squirrels.

- I think it's squirrels.

- 'Cause this is a time of year that when they still have the leaves on the trees to be able to make their nests and they're not always good at keeping a hold of them and a lot of them drop on the ground.

So yeah, it's the squirrels trying to make nests in the trees.

- It's definitely squirrels.

I actually know this because I recently was running down the Green Line and one of these twigs happened to fall down right in front of me and it was a squirrel right at the top and I looked at it and it looked just like the picture.

So it is definitely squirrels, that just doing that.

Just trying to make a nest, they're fine.

- It's all right.

- Yeah, it's all right, it's good.

So no need for a 20 gauge and a 12 year old.

- No.

- No need for that Ms Phyllis.

So there you have it.

Thank you Joellen, that was fun as always.

- It was.

- Thank you much.

Remember, we love to hear from you.

Send us an email or letter.

The email address is questions@familyplotgarden.com.

And the mailing address is Family Plot 7151 Cherry Farms Road, Cordova, Tennessee 38016.

Or you can go online to FamilyPlotGarden.com.

That's all we have time for today.

Thanks for watching.

It's getting to be the end of the growing season.

We hope your garden did well.

If you have a problem this year and can't figure it out, ask us it's simple.

Go through FamilyPlotGarden.com and click on the "Ask Us Your Gardening Question" banner.

We'd be happy to answer them over the winter and get you ready for the next year.

Be sure to join us next week for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

Be safe.

[upbeat country music] [acoustic guitar chords]