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Tree roots wrapped around tree trunks or the lower stem can be very troublesome for tree health and safety. Stem Girdling Roots (SGR) are very common in maple trees and can eventually compress the stem so greatly that it creates a situation where the tree can be more prone to windthrow or blowing over. Additionally, it reduces the flow of water and nutrition to the tree, causing a slow decline and eventual death if not corrected or unable to be treated.

Roots that are not directed away from the trunk causes serious issues, and oftentimes, there is no good rescue treatment or mitigation of the issue.  If the tree is small or juvenile and the roots have NOT compressed the stem, careful pruning of the circling roots can be accomplished. If these circling roots are less than one-third the trunk diameter and they can be removed without damaging the trunk, then carefully cut and remove them. This will stop the circling habit and allow roots and trunk under the girdling root to develop in the proper way. Some arborists have removed larger girdling roots with no adverse effects on the tree, and they often respond to removing girdling roots with increased vigor. However, roots that have embedded themselves into the trunk or stem should be left alone. There are no guarantees with this risky process. Any time roots are removed, there is a danger for reducing stability and health.

I would suggest contacting an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist to complete the task and ensure the best possible results.

For resources on tree care, view FNR Extension Publications.

Resources:
Stem Girdling Roots, Purdue Landscape Report
Trees and Storms: Understanding Damage, Risk and Recovery – Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
Tree Risk Management – Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
Planting Problems: Trees Planted Too Deep, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Planting Your Tree Part 1: Choosing Your Tree, Video, Purdue Extension YouTube Channel
Tree Planting Part 2: Planting a Tree, Video, Purdue Extension YouTube Channel
Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees, The Educational Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Surface Root Syndrome, The Education Store
Iron Chlorosis of Trees and Shrubs, The Education Store
Tree Pruning Essentials, Publication & Video, The Education Store
Cold Injury to Trees, Got Nature? Post, Purdue FNR Extension

Lindsey Purcell, Executive Director
Indiana Arborist Association

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As an Extension Wildlife Specialist, this is one of the most common questions I receive. The answer to this seemingly simple question can actually be quite complicated. It depends in part on what wildlife species you desire and what objectives you have for wildlife and other land uses for your property. There is no one plant that will do it. Food habit studies show that deer, turkey and many other wildlife species can consume hundreds of plant species throughout the year. With that in mind, focusing on one or two “miracle” plants would not yield great results (also remember that the presence of wildlife on your property depends on the surrounding properties).

If you have a particular species of wildlife you are interested in, you can compare their habitat to what you have available to determine what is missing or limiting. You may also use a more general approach, looking at what major plant types are limiting such as hard mast trees, soft mast trees, shrubs, vines, annual forbs and perennial forbs. You will also want to evaluate water, cavities, downed woody debris or snags.

For questions about what to plant, it is easier to answer specific situations. Recently, a blog reader wrote that they just dredged their pond and spread it on a large open pasture about 50 yards from the pond. The reader wanted to know what to plant to attract quail and pheasant while also benefiting deer and turkey populations. Being in Monroe County, quail is more likely, so I will focus on that.

In the fall and winter, quail feed heavily on plant seeds, especially ragweed, pigweed, foxtail and agricultural crop residue. Spring and summer foods include tender green vegetation and soft fruits. Invertebrates are consumed when available and are essential for the development of chicks.

Cover is equally important in deciding what to plant. A mixture of herbaceous (grass, wildflowers) cover with bare ground interspersed with some woody shrubs or open woodland edges will generally benefit quail. With these in mind and using what the “typical” Indiana landscape looks like, the owner may want to consider the following:

Native Warm Season Grass mix – This provides quality brood and nesting cover. Rates are listed in pounds (lbs.) PLS (Pure Live Seed) per acre. A typical mix for quail recommended by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is listed below. The general idea behind this and other mixes for quail is the bunch grass provides overhead cover above and bare ground and space below. This allows free access to seeds on the ground from the wildflowers along with invertebrates on the ground and vegetation. Quail are small and can’t scratch their way to seeds like turkey and other larger birds.

Species	Rate (PLS)
Grasses
Big Bluestem	0.25 lbs.
Sideoats grama	2.00 lbs.
Canada Wildrye	1.25 lbs.
Little Bluestem	0.50 lbs.
Wildflowers
Partridge Pea	4 oz.
Illinois Bundleflower	1 oz.
Purple Prairie Clover	3 oz.
Purple Coneflower	2 oz.
Black-eyed Susan	1 oz.
Wild Bergamot	1 oz.
Showy Tick Trefoil	1 oz.
Butterfly Milkweed	2 oz.
Lead Plant	2 oz.
Round-headed Lespedeza	2 oz.

Plant a mixture of shrubs – Shrubs provide good resting cover and winter cover for quail. Bare root seedlings planted in the spring should be planted 6 ft. x 6 ft. spacing in clumps “about the size of a large pickup truck.” Species that provide good structure for quail include gray or silky dogwood. American plum and serviceberry will also benefit wild turkey and white-tailed deer.

IMPORTANT: Plant species and mixes recommended above may not be suitable for the site moisture or soil conditions. Improper site preparation and methods will lead to planting failures. Contact your county extension office for proper methods and species that are appropriate for your area. It is always best to have a resource professional visit your site to provide you specific advice that considers your current habitat condition and the equipment and resources available to you, along with what you want to accomplish. In addition to your county extension office, you may want to contact your DNR district wildlife biologist. Finally, planting is only a start. Providing habitat for wildlife, and especially for early successional species such as bobwhite quail, requires continually habitat management that may include invasive species control, prescribed burning, disking or more.

Resources:
Natural Resources Conservation Service Indiana
Pheasant Forever
Quail Forever
Pure Live Seed: Calculations and Considerations for Wildlife Food Plots, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)
Seed Fillers and Carriers for Planting Native Warm-season Grasses and Forbs, Purdue Extension – FNR
Calibrating a No-Till Drill for Conservation Plantings and Wildlife Food Plots, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Subscribe: Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Habitat Help LIVE Q&A – Native Grasses and Forbs for Wildlife, Purdue Extension-FNR Got Nature? Blog/Video
Frost Seeding Native Grasses and Forbs with a Drone (UAV): Lessons Learned, Purdue Extension-FNR Got Nature? Blog/Videos
Creating a Wildlife Habitat Management Plan for Landowners, Purdue Extension-FNR Got Nature? Blog
A Template for Your Wildlife Habitat Management Plan, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer, The Education Store

Dr. Brian MacGowan, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Purdue University

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There are 36 species of snakes and lizards in Indiana and about 8,000 species worldwide. Lizards are the most taxonomically diverse and speciose group of reptiles with approximately 5,000 species. Serpentes represents the second most diverse and successful group of reptiles with approximately 3,000 species. Assistant Professor Rod Williams and Extension Wildlife Specialist Brian MacGowan of Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources have authored a book that provides information on the identification, ecology and behavior of snakes and lizards. This colorful resource with maps and photos expands upon their food habits, reproduction and conservation.

For more information about Indiana snakes and lizards, view The Education Store’s Snakes and Lizards of Indiana.

Resources:
Turtles of Indiana, The Education Store
Appreciating Reptiles and Amphibians in Nature, The Education Store
Forestry Management for Reptiles and Amphibians: A Technical Guide for the Midwest, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching, Unit 3: Reptiles, Amphibians, and the Scientific Method, The Education Store
Snakes of Indiana, The Education Store
IDNR list of Endangered, Threatened & Rare Species
Indiana Herp Atlas
Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC)
A Moment in the Wild: Black Racer, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube channel
A Moment in the Wild: Eastern Kingsnake, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
A Moment in the Wild: Eastern Hognose, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Ask An Expert: Turtles and Snakes, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Ask An Expert, Purdue Extension – FNR Playlist

Brian MacGowan​, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University

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I recently received an email from a private landowner:

I had a question for you about Black Locust and the Indiana’s Most Unwanted website. I saw Black Locust is listed on there even though another site says it’s native range includes Indiana. I see invasives.org mentions that it can become invasive in prairie and savanna areas. Can you shed a little light on this? I mean, I see it all over but not to the point of other invasives. Is it invasive in woodlands or just open areas? What is the deal?

Also on the Most Unwanted site, I see a lot of the plants say something like “Note – do not buy, sell or plant Asian bush honeysuckles,” but Black Locust does not. Any idea why? This site doesn’t really give a good feel for their classification as invasive, aggressive, noxious, etc. I didn’t know if there was a better site that could give me an idea for that or not as well.

I guess mainly I’m confused since it’s a native, it wouldn’t seem to me that it should be an invasive.

Thank you for your assistance.

This landowner has some really good questions regarding a tree species that is found across the state of Indiana. Now I have been talking on and off with this landowner about various species over the past year or so as he is fighting the good fight and trying to eliminate invasive and non-native species from his property but is also attempting to re-vegetate with native species. This is not the first time that I have had this discussion, so I thought why not answer his question so that others could also get to the information?

The websites this landowner provided are all great sites with tons of information for a bunch of different species. So inevitably when you get lots of great information about one species, it is easy to skip or unintentionally omit some details for other species. I hope the folks behind sites like these continue to build these great sources of information, update them with current best management practices and add new species as they become problematic.

Now, onto the questions.
Black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, is native to the state of Indiana (Deam 1940, Flora of Indiana). However, when we talk about species that are native to the state, they may not be native to the whole state. With the settlement of the Midwest, it is thought that European settlers brought black locust with them as they traveled due to its fast growth, wood quality and even perhaps for its nitrogen-fixing capabilities. There are numerous species which may be native to one part of the state but not others. One example of this, bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, is native to southwestern portions of the state where bald cypress swamps can be found, but it wasn’t historically found in the dunes of northwestern Indiana. A map of its native range can be found here.

I commonly have the discussion of the “official definitions” of invasive, non-native, exotic, aggressive, noxious, weed, etc., with folks. These definitions are an area of much debate in scientific literature and among professionals that regularly work to manage these species. It is my belief that “invasive” species can be both exotic (not from the geographical region in question) and native (belonging to the geographical region in question), just like exotic species don’t have to be invasive (grow and spread aggressively). Noxious plants (“any plant, or plant product, that can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage to….”) can fit into each of those descriptions, and then of course, there is the definition of a weed…a plant that grows in an area that we don’t want it to. Everyone has their own opinion though, right?

There are many places to look up species-specific information on a state-to-state as well as a county-to-county level. For example, I like to use two websites: www.bonap.org and plants.usda.gov. Unfortunately, there are so many species and so many records that are needed to update these types of databases that they may not accurately represent what is truly out there. Plus there are the differences between historical records and current records which can bring about another debate.

So to wrap this thing up and provide short answers to Scott’s questions:

Q: Is black locust native to the state?
A: Yes.

Q: Can black locust be invasive in prairie and savanna habitats?
A: Absolutely! It spreads aggressively into these environments, especially in the absence of disturbance (another topic for another posting…).

Q: Is it invasive in woodlands or just open areas or what is the deal?
A: Mostly in open areas. It doesn’t tolerate high shade very well.

Q: Any idea why websites don’t suggest to “buy, sell or plant” even though they list it as an invasive (paraphrased)?
A: No, I don’t. That said, I am not familiar with where to buy seedlings, but then again, I don’t have an interest in planting them!

In closing, would I plant black locust? No, I wouldn’t unless I intended to use the trees as a crop. Black locust makes great firewood and great fence posts, and the flowers taste pretty good in the spring. However, they can grow and spread quite aggressively through root suckers as well as by seed. Commonly the little patch of a few trees turns into acres and acres!

Resources:
ID That Tree – Video Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
ID That Tree of Indiana: Black Locust, Purdue Extension – FNR blog post
Purdue Arboretum Explorer
Conservation Tree Planting: Steps to Success, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Invasive Species
Indiana Invasive Species Council
Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA)
Report Invasive, Purdue Extension
101 Trees in Indiana, Amazon
Episode 11 – Exploring the challenges of Invasive Species, Habitat University-Natural Resource University
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
An Introduction to Trees of Indiana, The Education Store
Professional Forester, Indiana Forestry Woodland Owners Association
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Find an Arborist, International Society of Arboriculture

Lenny Farlee, Extension Forester
Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center
Purdue Department of Forestry & Natural Resources

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