KENNEWICK -- I've admitted in the past that I'm a sucker for garden gadgets and tools, so when the A.M. Leonard catalog arrived in the mail, I was tickled to flip through the pages to see what I could find.
A.M. Leonard is a Horticultural Tool and Supply company geared towards horticultural professionals but with many handy tools and gadgets that appeal to home gardeners too.
The very first item I noticed was on the cover. It's the "Nut/Fruit Wizard" which looks perfect for picking up walnuts, apples, and other hard fruit without bending over. This gadget has a spherical head made of horizontal strands of spring wire. All you have to do is run it over the fruit or nuts lying on the ground and the head traps them. When full, you just spread the wires open to dump out the load. The fruit needs to be firm, so it won't work on ripe plums or mushy apples, but it does work with golf balls.
I usually cringe when I see how trees are staked in commercial and home landscapes. Most are tied fast to stakes with materials that can dig into the tender bark of the young trees. Leonard offers "Tree Saver Staking Kits" that tie a tree to metal stakes in the ground using strong yet flexible rubber straps. The rubber straps allow a tree to sway some in the wind, but still stay upright. Swaying of a tree stimulates the production of growth regulating hormones that stimulate root growth and trunk development. A staking system that allows for some movement of the trunk will result in a healthier tree.
At my previous house, wild barn cats used the smooth bark of my young red maple trees as scratching posts. Darn cats! I wish I had known about "Tree Bark Protectors." These are 4-inch-diameter tubes made of open, hard but flexible, plastic mesh. They can be easily placed around tree trunks to protect them from cats, rabbits, deer, squirrels, woodchucks and weed trimmers. They're sold in bundles of five and come in either 2-, 3- or 4-foot lengths.
In our bright and hot sunny clime, some trees, especially those with dark bark like cherries, benefit from protecting their trunks from sun and heat during the first year or so after planting or risk damage from sunscald. Generally, the only option for protecting tree trunks has been to apply interior white latex paint to the trunks to reflect the sun.
A.M. Leonard offers their own "Corrugated Tree Guards." These are 3-inch diameter tubes made out of corrugated HDPE resin. The outside is white to reflect sunlight and there are vents along the tube to allow for air circulation. They are sold individually and also come in either 2-, 3- or 4-foot lengths.
Leonard also offers an interesting line of equipment for precise application of herbicides, such as glyphosate (Roundup). This includes the Sideswipe with a wipe-on applicator and protective shield that puts the herbicide only on the weeds; the Weedball Applicator where the herbicide comes out of a roll-on applicator that's designed for treating along fence lines, edging or in tight places; and the Weed Stick that can be used to spray herbicides or insecticides directly onto a plant under a shield.
They even sell a floating "gator" head to scare birds and animals away from your pond and a lifelike menacing coyote for scaring cats and dogs away? The Leonard catalog is free, just contact them at 800-543-8955 or www.amleo.com.
* Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for the Washington State University Benton County Extension.
