G R E E T I N G S:
Winter is over. Summer has arrived. The trees are growing and so are the weeds. It is time for shearing, shaping and fertilizing and hope Mother Nature is kind. Things predicted to occur this summer include: more harmful insects due to mild winter, more hot and sweltering summer days of temperatures 90 -100 degrees. This could lead to more Seridium canker on Leyland Cypress, a disease that is more active in periods of drought.

Leyland Cypress in gaining support in its' popular role as the Ideal Southern Christmas Tree. Our sales continue to increase each year. Winning those customers over that never tried Leyland is the key to more sales. In addition, more property owners are demanding the Leyland for landscaping purposes. Our sales for landscaping is almost equal to Christmas trees. There also seems to be more demand for container produced Leylands. Containerized Leylands can be sold any time of year. Our experience with the Balled and Burlap is favorable during the winter or during moderate cool temperatures. The disadvantage of B & B Leyland during the summer and hot weather is high degree of loss after planting. Our summer heat is not conducive to digging trees during this time.

We all should be looking forward for the fall meeting at the Fontaines. We anticipate a wonderful learning experience. Maybe we can discuss more on landscaping capabilities of the Leyland Cypress. Betty and I wish all a happy and successful growing season.

We always welcome your calls or e-mails at anytime. Ken Tilt's numbers are 334-887-6913 (H) 334-844-5484 (W) and E-Mail ktilt@acesag.auburn.edu. My number is 334-677-3365.

Christmas Tree monthly schedule-
THINGS TO DO

MAY:
1. Spray for tip moth as scheduled
3. Spray for needlecast
4. Continue first shearing
10. Maintain fire breaks
12. Mow and herbicide as needed
17. Straighten leaning seedlings
18. Remove multiple stems and deformities on one-year old trees

JUNE:
1. Line-up wholesale markets
2. Order seedlings for next year
3. Spray for tip moth as scheduled
4. Check for insects and diseases
5. Check for scale insect crawlers
15. Mow and apply herbicide as needed
22. Check for insects and diseases

JULY:
1. Mow and herbicide as needed
5. Check for insects and diseases
10. Contact wholesale buyers
15. Shear trees two years and older
19. Mow and herbicide as needed
24. Spray for tip moth in one and two-year-old trees

AUGUST:
1. Take soil samples of areas to be site-prepared in
2. Mow and herbicide as needed
3. Spray for tip moth as scheduled
4. Check for scale insect crawlers
5. Shear trees three years and older
6. Final shearing (light; if needed) for trees to be sold this year
13. Mow and herbicide as needed
14. Order colorant spray (can be purchased at ACTA annual meeting from vendors to save shipping and a special rate)
15. Initial inventory of marketable trees
16. Look for new markets for trees
26. Check for diseases and insects

Monitoring pH in your Christmas Tree Fields and Containers

In Extension, we preach soil testing so much that I think we are sometimes tuned out. It reminds me of the ritual my wife and I use as we send our teenagers out the door each day. Our programmed goodbye is "Be careful; watch for the little kids in the cul-de-sac; call if you are going to be late; love you". The response is also programmed. They reply with an occasional, "yes ma'am" or "yes sir" but mostly it is just a grunt or "OK" or "Yeah, OK".

Being a true Extension man, please let me remind you to check your soils before planting and test your other fields if they have not been tested in the last few years. I have heard tales of woe from a few farms this past year that have experienced problems, especially with Leyland cypress which is more sensitive to pH than Virginia pine.

It is hard to recover quickly from low pH. Calcium, potassium and phosphorus do not move rapidly into the soil when top-dressed. It should ideally be applied before planting so that it can be incorporated or plowed into the soil profile. Put a note on your calendar to pull some soil samples this summer or fall before planting. Call your county agent if you need assistance. They will be glad to help you.

No White Pine Next Year

The Alliance Corporation is not going to be able to provide White Pine next year. There is not enough demand to justify their continued production. I talked to our own Dr. George Brown and he indicated that we could possibly purchase our seedlings from North Carolina. I also discussed the possibility of some people who may be interested in growing their own seedlings or ones to sell to other members.

White pine is a 2 year seedling transplant, so it is more difficult than Virginia pine. It would certainly be more expensive. Of course, we have gotten acclimated to paying 1 to 2 dollars for leyland liners. Maybe we would be willing to pay more for a container-grown pine seedling or a seedling from a more intensely managed seed bed. George will be coming to our meeting at the Quality Inn this summer and will help with the program. I asked him to share the production techniques for pine seedlings for those who would like to try some on their own. He will give you the good text book stuff but also the hidden dangers that you never seem to get from books. There is nothing like personal practical experience to make you an "expert". It will be nice to have George share his academic knowledge plus his back yard experiences with us. This is a great reason for you to join us at Gulf Shores on September 17-19, 1999.

Speaking of Annual Meeting: Mark Your Calendars

September 17-18 plus Sunday the 19th. What a great place to talk about Christmas Trees: Gulf Shores, Alabama; and you get to write it off as a business expense! We are going back to the old format of having one big day including education and tours. So, all those arriving Friday night will get together for dinner, catch up on old times, bring in their Christmas Trees and Wreaths for the contest, unload their auction items and be ready for a big day on Saturday.

Saturday will be a packed day with education, time with exhibitors, picking up supplies, lining up liners, silent auction, lunch, business meeting, Christmas tree farm tour and demonstrations at George and Jean Fontaine's Choose and Cut Farm in Silverhill, clean-up, pre-evening social with friends with one-on-one education and a "Down-Home-Alabama-Get-Together" (banquet just does not seem to fit what we do in the Christmas Tree Association). That is a long sentence but it shows you what a day we are going to have! Sunday, you enjoy family on the beach or make arrangements to visit other member farms in the area.

Last year we encouraged everyone to bring Show and Tell items to share with your other friends in the business. Our day was so packed last year that we did not have time to exchange ideas. This year, we are going to save an hour on the educational program to give everyone a chance to share a marketing tip that worked, plans for Santa's Train (I think there are 2 engineers among the membership now), new species, bug problems, add-on or complimentary sales, labor successes and failures, or whatever you would like to offer. I am telling you early so you can make pictures or other plans to share some of your operation. If I can help you, let me know. I will call or send you post cards to get your ideas to present so that I can schedule enough time for the good things you are doing. I know everyone has had some successes and failures that would help others in the Association. That is one of the reasons for the ACTA. Call me if you have other suggestions for the program. This is your program and we want to give you the answers you need.

Potting up Leylands and Arizona Cypress

If you are on the winter sticking schedule for leylands and Arizona cypress and you stuck your cuttings after Christmas, they should be well rooted by now and ready to transplant. It is a waste of money to pot in anything less than a full gallon container and even this size will not be large enough to accommodate the growth of a leyland in one growing season. However, it is the size we would like to plant in the fall. Larger containers would be too hard to handle. Pot your liners in a media of 4:1:1 blend of pine bark screened to 3/8ths or ½ inch, sphagnum peat moss and coarse builders sand. Mix into this media the recommended rate of a minor nutrient amendment such as Micromax, a macronutrient package such as Osmocote, Nurticote or Scott's slow release fertilizer and 5 pounds of dolomitic limestone per cubic yard of media. Plant your liner in the center of the pot with the liner rootball at the surface of the new container media. Water the pots in thoroughly and put the containers on a graded, prepared container pad lined with ground cloth and under overhead irrigation. Be sure the container pad is gently sloped so water runs away from the base of the plants.

After 2 or 3 irrigation events and before the weeds emerge, apply a pre-emergent herbicide at the recommended rates. (Rout, OH-2, RegalKade or Snapshot). If bark looks dry, you may want to add some Aqua-Gro to wet the bark. Dry pine bark and peat moss are sometimes very difficult to wet. This product will help and be a good insurance against problems. Trim any competing leaders! Grow until tips of branches are almost touching, then space plants out about 10 inches apart. You should have a great liner to plant in the field by October.

You can propagate leyland cuttings in mid June and early July but that means you will need to over-winter the rooted cuttings or pot them in gallons to over-winter. It works but the efficiency of timing is not as good.

Steve Mannhard our National Representative

Steve Mannhard, who most of you know, owns Fish River Christmas Trees in Silverhill. He has been everything in our Association over the years and has agreed to have his name submitted as our National Christmas Tree Association representative again. We thank Steve for taking his time to represent us and look forward to his report this September.

Send questions and comments to bfischma@acesag.auburn.edu.