Headshot for Beth Botts - Original Credit: John Weinstein

Beth Botts

Beth Botts is a staff writer for The Morton Arboretum, a 1,700-acre outdoor museum and garden of trees near Lisle. She works with the Arboretum’s horticultural and scientific staff to provide practical, reliable garden advice in her weekly column. The author of two books, she writes and speaks widely about trees, gardening and nature. She was an editor and reporter at the Chicago Tribune for more than two decades.

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Dead trees and trees with holes in them may look ominous, but they provide valuable habitat for wildlife. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Spooky trees are full of life

Bats, screech owls and many other animals live in holes in dead or living trees, or overwinter nestled deep in the furrows of their bark.
Because most potted chrysanthemums are chosen and grown to be enjoyed for just a few weeks in fall, they may not be winter-hardy in the garden. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Enjoy colorful mums while they last

Even though chrysanthemums are biologically perennial, not all of the mums you buy in pots in September or August will be winter-hardy if planted.
Wounds such as these in small branches from last year’s emergence of 17-year cicadas are nothing to worry about. If a larger branch has a wound, soft spot or oozing sap, it may be a sign of a fungal or bacterial infection. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Don’t assume tree wounds are from cicadas

Homeowners may be seeing some lingering effects of last year’s 17-year cicada emergence in smaller branches of trees, but it’s nothing to worry about.
Fallen leaves make fine mulch around perennials, shrubs and trees. Simply leave them where they fall or rake them where you want them. (Beth Botts /The Morton Arboretum)

Falling leaves are a free gift

Keeping fallen leaves in your yard is more sustainable than packing them up to be trucked away as landscape waste.
Evergreens, such as this dwarf blue spruce, are vulnerable in winter and need water because they are not fully dormant. Water evergreens regularly until the ground freezes in fall. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Autumn care helps evergreens in winter

In the gray of winter, we’ll be grateful for the color of our evergreen trees and shrubs. “It’s cheery to see those touches of green from plants that don’t go...
Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is one of a number of native tree species that are suitable for Chicago-area yards and can be planted in autumn. Its spring blooms offer nectar and pollen to wildlife. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Plant a native tree to support wildlife

Every yard needs a tree. All the better if it’s a native species of tree, one that will support native bees, butterflies and other wildlife.
Trees change color in fall as part of their preparation for winter. If some trees turn early, it’s usually because they have been under stress from drought or other adverse conditions. (Beth Botts /The Morton Arboretum)

Flashes of color hint at fall

Leaf color is a sign that trees are preparing for winter by entering the sleeplike state called dormancy.