Save yourself time and money by leaving the leaves: Ask an expert – OregonLive

Gardening season is winding down, but you may still have some questions. For answers, turn to Ask an Expert, an online question-and-answer tool from Oregon State Universitys Extension Service. OSU Extension faculty and Master Gardeners reply to queries within two business days, usually less. To ask a question, simply go to the OSU Extension website , type it in and include the county where you live. Here are some questions asked by other gardeners. Whats yours?

Q: Its common practice to rake up all the leaves and recycle them by placing them in the yard waste bin or blowing them into the street for pickup on trash day.

Are there any cases in which leaving leaves where they fall is a good idea? I grind up leaves (maple, not oak) and place on my garden. I leave leaves from my rhododendrons and photinia bushes on the ground as mulch.

Im trying to convince my neighbors to leave more leaves in place because most will simply disappear by spring.

What say you? Which leaf species are leavable and which are not? Benton County

A: Absolutely they are good to leave on the ground. They are the best organic mulch you dont have to buy. You are right, many leaves break down and feed the micro-organisms in the soil forming nutrients for the plants. They also suppress weeds and as a mulch hold moisture in the ground and keep the roots warmer during the winter and cooler during the summer.

Did you know that moisture in the ground during a freeze is best for your plants?

Micro-organisms are the soil life and they need nutrients all the time.The more leaves left as a mulch or broken down by your lawn mower the better.

More and more people are finding organic compost is the only thing they need for a fertilizer.That would include both greens (grass, lettuce, veggies, etc.) and browns (leaves, twigs, paper, etc.). If nothing else, have them give the leaves to you.Put them in a pile, add some greens and maybe some composted manure and make your soil for next spring. Turning the pile and keeping it moist (not hard to do now) will help it breakdown faster.

Too much moisture and the nutrients wash away so use a tarp and weight it down so it wont blow away.

Your neighbors will be able to see how well your plants do and how little money you spend. Using leaves from your property also gives you the knowledge ofwhat has been done with them in the past.Unsprayed leaves are the best.

By the way, oak leaves are OK to use around oaks and mowing them will make them breakdown faster.

The leaves also provide shelter for insects and are habitats for butterflies, moths and for frogs and toads.In a balanced eco-system, all of their needs can be met.Many of the predator insects need this shelter in order to survive the winter and come out in the spring to eat the pests that prey on your plants.

If your grass or leaves have been sprayed with chemicals, do not use them in your compost piles or spread them around any vegetable or fruit plants you may have.

That said, leaving thick piles of leaves on the lawns will kill the lawn.However, mowing the leaves and leaving a light layer is an excellent way to feed the lawn, just as mowing and leaving the grass clippings also helps feed the grass.

I hope some of these suggestions or reasons for keeping the leaves is helpful to you and I also hope you can persuade your neighbors to keep their un-developed fertilizer (the leaves). Sheryl Casteen, OSU Extension Master Gardener

ServiceberryOSU Extension Service

Q: I planted my serviceberry at the end of August, and it was doing OK for a while, but Ive noticed the leaves are turning yellow and brown, and it feels like way too many leaves and too much brown to be an issue getting established. I was wondering if there might be any obvious signs of something that Im missing here. Multnomah County

A: Congratulations on keeping your new tree alive during a very hot and dry summer. August can be a difficult time to successfully plant trees. But it is November now and all deciduous trees, such as serviceberry, begin the process of going dormant. The green chlorophyll breaks down, leaves turn yellow and the tree absorbs what it can before the leaves fall off. It is a normal part of growth for these types of trees.

In the spring, new leaves will form from the buds that survive the winter. Spring is also when you can expect white flowers to develop for a wonderful spring show. Jay Pscheidt, OSU Extension plant pathologist

Some fall color along the McKenzie River Trail in the Willamette National Forest. Oregonian file photo. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Q: We live in Forest Grove. This fall the trees seem to me to be much more colorful than most years. Is there any truth to this? If so, is there a plausible explanation? Washington County

A: I am in Lebanon. Last year was a great year for color and for this area, so is this year.As you may know the trees stop making chlorophyll in the fall when the temperatures dropand the days shorten.They are no longer staying green.The sugars in the trees turn the colors to yellow, orange and red and many shades in between.

However, you may have had more cold weather this year in Forest Grove changing the color of the leaves earlier and if you have not had any wind the leaves have stayed on the trees longer.Many of the maples turn to red, yellow and orange earlier than other trees.The other trees follow and most of themturn yellow or brown.

Up until this last week, we have had little or no wind. The leaves have stayed on the trees and all the trees had turned to their fall colors in our area. What a beautiful sight it was.

The recent wind/rainstorm cleaned many of the trees completely but we still have the later yellows and browns around. There are still some beautifully colored trees around, I hope you enjoy them. Sheryl Casteen, OSU Extension Master Gardener

Arborvitae hedgeOSU Extension Service

Q: We were thinking of planting a willow oak in our backyard for a shade tree. However, I am worried about the tree leaning. There is a very large arborvitae hedge on the property line (easily 35-40 feet tall. taller than our house) that can shade certain areas in the afternoon. I know willow oaks can get quite large and dont want it to grow all lopsided or lean away from the arborvitae because I dont think its realistic for the arborvitae hedge to live as long as the oak. We are trying to work with the neighboring apartment complex to have the arborvitae hedge trimmed (hasnt been done in years). Another ice storm is likely to see some damage to the plants we have planted underneath.

The arborist had estimated they maybe could take 10 feet off the trees. Do you think leaning will occur regardless? If the oak leans away from the arborvitae will it straighten up when older? The tree is going to be planted on the southwest part of our yard and would still get mostly full sun (and be easily 25-plus feet away from the arborvitae) but it would be shaded earlier in the day than the other trees more on the southeast side of our property. The arborvitae is also sort of downhill from the potential oak (since we live in a tiered neighborhood), so root competition with arborvitae Im not as concerned about. Multnomah County

A: I would not recommend topping the arborvitae hedge. It just wont look as good moving forward.They regrow slowly. Damaged branches should be cut back to the base.

Your newly planted oak tree might lean a bit toward the sun if the hedge is to the south of where you plant it. Use tree stakes in the first year to make sure it grows straight. After that, use pruning methods to select a central leader that points a touch away from the hedge (north side of the tree). Prune the tree to look like figure 5 in this publication. Weston Miller, OSU Extension horticulturist

Q: How do I keep the neighborhood mask bandit from enjoying all my grapes? Multnomah County

A: The first thing to make sure of is that you are not attracting the raccoons to other food sources like trash, compost or pet food. Raccoons prefer grapes so it may be a challengeto keep them totally blocked off once they become habituated. There are a few things you can do to keep them from reaping the whole harvest though. Grapes generally need most protection when they are almost ripe. Before they are ripe, the tannins keep most critters from eating them, so this doesnt need to be a year-round effort, unless you have deer hanging around.

Motion-activated lights, noise devices or sprinklers can help scare them away, andeven scents like coyote urine can keep them from being habituated. Take care not to have the sprinkler directly spraying the plants, as this can create amildew or botrytis(fungus)problem.As a last resort, you could set up a temporaryelectric fence around the vines, which is generally effective against most critters, so long as they cant climb around it. Thomas Stokely, OSU Extension forestry and wildlife specialist

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Save yourself time and money by leaving the leaves: Ask an expert - OregonLive