Charlotte’s trees are shouting “It’s FALL y’all” by turning glorious colors despite the fight between warmer days and cooler crisper weather. Ginkgo, Maple, and Oak leaves are now shades of yellow, orange, and red, and falling in perfect time to welcome the holiday season. And with that, leaf and landscape cleanup season is well underway! Pruners, rakes, and leaf blowers are hard at work. Snip, rake, gather, then bag and drag to curb. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until every spent flower stalk, brush pile, and leaf, has been removed from the area.

But is it necessary? What if we just don’t do it? Or, what happens if we reduce the amount of bagging and dragging? Our Tree Canopy Preservation Program (TCPP) and General Services Tree Management teams discussed this and decided there is a lot to learn about fallen leaves and spent plant stems, what they mean to our ecosystem, and why we should consider alternatives to completely removing them from our yards and landscapes.

“Many of the pollinator species we look forward to seeing every year overwinter in the piles of leaves and plant stems we remove when the weather cools. These places are part of their habitat, along with woodpiles, and even stone wall crevices” says Victoria Aguilar, Assistant City Arborist for Landscape Management. The intense fall cleanup practices we are accustomed to disturb the places pollinators and other insects overwinter and interrupt their lifecycle.

“‘I don’t see as many butterflies, grasshoppers, bumblebees as I used to.’ We all hear that, but don’t realize how our actions affect those numbers,” says Tara Moore, Tree Canopy Preservation program manager. We can make a difference though. Our friends at the The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation have been pushing this message for over 50 years. The organization provides tips and tricks and deeper information on insect and pollinator habitat, and how to preserve it. The urgency of their rallying cry to Leave the Leaves!, tells us that now is the best time to start pollinator preservation.

Interested in learning more about trees and landscaping, including fun and engaging events and exactly how our canopy is cared for? Visit City of Charlotte Tree Management!

16 November 2024 TAG Tree Pruning Workshop & Arboretum Tour Arborist will be on-site to demonstrate tree-pruning techniques, discuss tree care and provide tree tips for the winter months.

Tuckaseegee Arboretum & Gardens, 701 Tuckaseegee Road, Charlotte, NC, 28208  View Map