Plant Diversity at Hyde Park- Bryan Miller

Plant Diversity

Earlier in the month, I had the opportunity to attend the Tri-State Green Industry Conference. The main topic of conversation was plant diversity. I was happy to sit in on the lectures and learn that what we have been doing here at the club over the last several years is what the industry as a whole is starting to practice. And that is plant diversity. Gone are the days of planting a single or just a handful of species of trees and plants. There has been a lot of research done over the years that show the more plant diversity you have, the fewer pest that are introduced into the landscape. Dutch Elm Disease, Emerald Ash Borer, just to name a few, wiped out single species of trees  and left huge voids in the landscape due to lack of diversity. We can break down the landscape into two categories, simple and complex. Simple landscapes being those with a lack of or very few species, and complex having an abundance of plant species. The simpler the landscape, the more pest presence and potential for more crop loss. The more complex, the less pest presence. More diversity is being presented in a complex landscape offering less of a single species to a pest and the potential of it being wiped out. Shown below is some of the data presented by Dan Herms of OSU, and Paula Shrewsbury and Mike Raupp of the University of Maryland.

The past 50 to 100 years, tree diversity out on the course has been lacking. As evidenced by the oaks and maples being to the two main species of trees out there. Over the past few years that has changed, with the introduction of the following species, with more to come over the years: Tilia (Linden), Cercis (Red Bud), Betula (Birch), Ulmus (Elm), Ginko, Robinia (Locust), Zelkova. Those are just the trees. Around the clubhouse, for years, it was boxwoods, taxus, and viburnum. At current count, we have approximately 30 different shurbs and ornamental grasses, 10+ different perennials, and in the summer time over 60 different kinds of annuals. These range from flowering trees like Magnolias and Crape Myrtles to flowering shrubs such as Spirea and Butterfly bush. Perennails like Cone Flower and hardy Hibiscus to annuals in likes of Gomphrena and Lantana.

Right around Christmas 2022, we were hit with significant sub zero temperatures that many of the plants around here have never seen. Hardy or not, the effects of those temps show in many of the plants, broadleaf evergreens being hit harder than others. Most appear to have survived, just severe winter burn shown in the browning and or dropping of leaves. But there is hope, these plants do have fresh buds beginning to appear and plenty of green tissue. Some will need a good pruning like the Schip Laurels while others will just leaf out like nothing ever happened. With the good comes the bad, and while minimal is the best you can hope for, there were some plant casualties that will need to be replaced come spring time.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions about anything, feel free to stop me and ask or email me; bmiller@hydeparkcc.com

Cheers!
Bryan Miller, Horticulturist