The ash trees are dissapearing here thanks to the ash borer.

Nasty things, all these borers.

The Rowan was planted by the front door of homes. Witches could not pass by the Rowan tree and enter your dwelling.

The emerald ash borer is killing all the white ash trees here also, Tom. The white and yellow morel mushrooms that I hunt depend a lot on those trees...so the borer is effectively slowly killing my morel hunting spots. Not that morels don't grow in other spots... but a vast majority of my favorite hunting grounds have mature ash trees and the yellow morels alway grow around their roots.

"The Rowan was planted by the front door of homes. Witches could not pass by the Rowan tree and enter your dwelling."

I love that story....................

We don't have borers here yet. I will have to keep ashes going for other people.

Ah the Rowan. Lots of witch stories surround it. Some that it wards them off, others where the witches use it's magical properties. It's a busy little tree! I don't think I have seen any in this area, they always remind me more of MI. As does talk of morel mushrooms. I know lots of people around Grand Haven who have morel hunting grounds like you do Ken.

Rob, I've got Canyon Oak here and have a big problem w/ seedlings.. Makes a carpet of oaks. Which is interesting considering how much of the forest we've lost to Sudden oak Death. I don't think that's an issue in your county, is it? Also the squirrels went crazy last year planting Bay Laurel seeds... another long tap root that's hard to pull... and Black Walnuts are just a royal pain... I love the smell of alyssum, but would never plant it because of it's weediness. I realized the error of my way pretty quickly with some white Jupiter's beard.. Ay yai yai!

alyssum grows nice here, and dies out over winter. It makes a nice border in the summer, but I haven't had it in a while.

I would have to go down in our woods to see if the Mountain Ash is still there. Our neighbor has a white ash tree & as far as I know, no sign of borer. they are in the county however.

My Dad used to always has Alyssum borders. They are great. I think it must be too hot for it down here because I never see it at any garden centers.

That would explain it, Leslie. I used it a lot in Chicago. Never see it here either.

I can bonsai a White Ash in the house. That way, if borers arrive, I will have seed stock that is safe from bugs.

Great idea!!!

You can give the tree's injections to protect them from the borers.

Bet there are many who wish they could give irises injections for borer protection too!

If you don't mind being a "chemical" gardener, you can! The same systemic insecticide that's used for Emerald ash borer, can be used on iris, for iris borers......Arlyn

Well, I don't have any ash trees, but the cost and time of replacing a huge tree would make me think about using a chemical if I had one.

and, a systemic treatment gets into the 'system' of a plant and is in the pollen also. So, that would mean death to any critter pollinating the plant a systemic was used on. sad

Damned if ya do, damned if ya don't...............