Sometimes helping our native trees requires cutting down others. Please see the short article at the bottom of this page and share it as widely as possible.
“Celebrate Native Trees Week” is going statewide – and month-long!
Last year, we started a “Celebrate Native Trees Week” in Northern Virginia to encourage people to plant in the fall, which is the best time for most trees and shrubs and just fine for most other plants as well. The other Virginia regional native plant campaigns have adopted the idea, and we have extended it to all of October. Would you like to do a native tree-related event or promotion that month? Let us know, and we’ll add it to our web page. plantnovanatives@gmail.com
Garden tour in Prince William July 23
Two gardens will be on display. Details here.
Is your HOA or Condo association restricting your ability to plant native plants? A group is collecting stories about how community associations help or hinder conservation landscaping in Virginia. Take their survey here.
Looking for a gift for your tree-loving friends? Plant NOVA Natives’ only fundraiser (other than direct donations, which are extremely welcome) is the Gift of Trees. All proceeds go to cover our expenses such as our website, door hangers, plant stickers, etc. Details here.
Zooms in Spanish – please spread the word
The second talk in our series in Spanish will be about invasive plants. Todo sobre las plantas nativas: Zooms en español ¡Gratis! Regístrese para obtener el enlace de Zoom.
· Miércoles 26 de julio, 7-8pm
· Identificación y Remoción the Plantas Invasoras
· Próximamente más fechas
Report your native tree and shrub plantings
Please help Northern Virginia meet its tree-planting obligations by reporting your tree and shrub plantings here. So far 12,677 have been reported!
Report your tree rescues
Millions of trees are at risk from invasive non-native vines. You can help save them on your own land or by volunteering on public land. So far, 9,965 tree rescues have been reported in Northern Virginia. Please add your report here.
Next Steering Committee meeting – via videoconferencing – All are welcome. Tuesday, August 15, 10:00am-noon. Check our Event Calendar for future meetings.
This month’s newsletter article to share – Please use this link for social media.
Tree-of-Heaven is not heavenly!
In summer many folks travel to the Shenandoah Valley and beyond for recreational opportunities. Driving in any direction from Northern Virginia in the growing season, there is a tree that can be seen everywhere along the highways and byways. The dramatic clusters of seeds are so large they look like giant flowers among the leaves. It’s not native walnut or native sumac—it is Ailanthus altissima, commonly called Tree-of-Heaven. Disturbed areas and right of ways along roads are perfect locations for this opportunistic pest to colonize. Ailanthus is popping up in suburbia as well, and those of us who love trees wonder why experts are calling for us to remove these attractive and fast-growing specimens from our properties as soon as possible?
Ailanthus was imported from China and widely distributed in the United States as an ornamental in the late 1700s and 1800s. Its behavior, though, is far from heavenly—it spreads aggressively through root sprouting and huge seed production; it grows to maturity rapidly with a very long taproot; it is characterized by its terrible odor; and it poisons the ground around its roots with chemicals, in a process called allelopathy. This prevents native trees and plants from growing nearby, allowing Ailanthus to quickly spread and dominate our landscape.
Additionally, Ailanthus is the preferred food source for a new invasive insect—the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). In spite of state quarantines, this destructive pest has now been found in Fairfax County. It is a major threat to some of Virginia’s agricultural areas, especially our vineyards, peach orchards and hops. It is also a threat to native tree species like oaks and maples that thrive in our yards. Forest Pest Branch asks all residents to report Ailanthus here and report Spotted Lanternfly sightings here.
Some may ask why these non-native trees should be removed—don’t they at least provide shade and shelter in a warming world? They certainly can, but they crowd out our native oaks, beeches, hickories and maples, as well as failing to provide the critical food resources that native insects and other animals need to live and reproduce in a fully functioning, healthy ecosystem. If a plant like this is killing off or threatening major parts of our local natural food web, the entire system will eventually collapse. And we will lose our native tree canopy along the way.
How can we stop the spread of this nasty invasive? The first thing, of course, is not to purchase it in the first place! So be sure to learn how to identify it. You can become familiar with the iNaturalist app on your smartphone or use other online resources to name the plant. The second is to remove the tree if it is growing on your land. This pest, however, thrives when simply cut down, so strategies must be used to kill the root system right away. There are some excellent resources to help landowners eliminate this threat safely and efficiently. Blue Ridge Prism has excellent fact sheets with details about herbicide use for this and other invasive species.
Visit Plant Nova Natives for more information about invasives and their destructive roles in our native environment. If we could eliminate a threat like the Tree-of-Heaven, that would truly be heavenly.
Cindy Speas, Chair
Fairfax County Tree Commission
