Last week the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) held its annual conference at Incline Village, NV on the shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe. The ASCA staff has a knack for choosing some of the most beautiful locations in the country to hold our conferences, so as usual, we spent a few extra days to take in the sights.  Coming from the east coast, I’m always awed by the trees our western members get to work on every day.

This six-foot diameter Incense Cedar is a good example!

ASCA Conferences are known throughout the tree care industry for their exceptional educational programing, and this year was no exception.  Dr. George Hudler from Cornell University gave an excellent presentation on Phytophthora disease on beech trees.  Attorney Hailey Hibler conducted a mock deposition to help train ASCA members in their roles as expert witnesses.  Scott Steen discussed how enhancing our urban forests can save energy.  For example, the city of Sacramento, CA determined that it could reduce the heat island effect by 3 degrees Fahrenheit by doubling its urban forest canopy, a goal that includes planting two million trees.  So far, they have planted 450,000 trees and reduced energy consumption by two million kilowatt hours per year!

I can’t cover the entire program in this post, but rest assured that it was as exciting and informative as could be.

Next year’s conference will be held in San Diego.  I can’t wait!

We all know that trees go by two names; their common names and their botanical names (often reffered to as their Latin names, which I eschew because many of the names are derived from Greek as well).  We’re all familiar with common names that describe our trees such as flowering cherry.    But what’s with these botanical names?  Even if you can manage to get a pronunciation out, it all sounds like gibberish!  What do we need those for?  Well, as we saw in my April post on shadbush, also known as serviceberry, some trees can have more than one common name depending on where you come from and what characteristics you choose to describe with that common name.

Botanical names were devised to provide a standardized nomenclature that everyone everywhere could use to talk about their trees without confusion.  For example, for me, red maple means Acer rubrum, but lots of folks call them swamp maples, because, in their minds, red maples are those maples that have red leaves in the summer, Crimson King Norway maples, Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’.

As crazy sounding as those botanical names sound, they do have meanings that are very descriptive of a plant’s characteristics.  The genus name Acer, for example, comes from the latin word acer meaning bitter, sour, sharp, or pointed.  Its the pointed meaning that applies to maples, describing the pointed tips of the leaf’s lobes.  (Thanks to collegue Alby Thoumsin for helping me figure that one out!)  And rubrum means red, to describe the fall color of the leaves.

OK, so I agree it can get a little crazy.  How about this one: Gleditsia triacanthos inermis. The genus name, Gleditsia, is a tribute to the German botanist Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch.  Not exactly a descriptive of the plant, but interesting none the less.  The specific epithet triacanthos, the second part of the name that refers to the species, means three-parted thorns, describing the tree’s thorns that are not just a single prong, but produce three levels of branching.  The suffix inermis indicates that this variety is thornless.  So, this is a thorny tree named after a famous botonist that has no thorns!

So next time you are searching through your nursery and garden catalogues, don’t ignore those botanical names, they can tell you a lot about the plants you are looking at.  There are many websites that provide dictionaries of specific epithets.  Here’s one:  http://www.nargs.org/nargswiki/tiki-index.php?page=Dictionary%20of%20Specific%20Epithets#p http://tomclothier.hort.net/page37.html

I haven’t found any dictionaries of the meanings of genus names.  To understand these names I do etymological searches of the name on websites such as these:  http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=acer http://www.myetymology.com/

If this all gets to be too much to bear, check out this fun article for a sanity check:  http://tomclothier.hort.net/page36.html#C

Fall color on a young eastern white pine.

Its that time of year when I start to get frantic calls from clients worried that their pine trees are dying.  “The needles on my pine tree are turning yellow and falling off,” is the usual distress call.  But this is normal fall color on evergreens.  Evergreen trees are not evergreen because they never loose their needles, but because the needles remain on the tree for several years before falling off.  Every spring a new set of needles is produced on the new growth, and every fall the oldest needles turn color and fall off, just like the leaves on their deciduous counterparts.  Depending on the species of tree, the needles can last from two to four years before their useful life expires. 

So, if you see needles on your evergreen trees turning color this fall, don’t panic!  Look closely.  If the needles turning color and droping are the oldest needles furthest in on the branches then you are experiencing yet another variation of our wonderful fall experience.

The older, interior needles turn yellow and fall while the newer needles at the tips of the branches are retained for the next season.

A few years back, I had the opportunity to go to Kauai, Hawaii.  I have always been fascinated by Hawaii; in the fifth grade I did a report on Hawaii, writing to the Chamber of Commerce and tourism agencies to gather as much information as I could about the state.  There was no internet in those days, but I got an enthusiastic response from the folks promoting the state’s virtues. 

When I finally got there 45 years later, I was not disappointed!  Something was in bloom everywhere!  We were staying in a cottage at Waimea Plantation, surrounded by pomegranate, banana, and star fruit trees.  Fifty foot tall Plumeria trees perfumed the air with their pinwheel shaped white flowers. 

A short walk from the cottage brought me to a secluded beach where I could bathe bare to the world.  “Swimming” entailed standing shin deep in in the lukewarm Pacific water while 8 foot waves broke over my head.  All was good.

One night, while laying on the beach, looking at a Milkyway that I had never seen before, I schemed how to get my dog to Kuai so that I would not have to go back to Connecticut.  But, alas, the vacation ended. 

It was mid October when the last leg of our return flights landed in Providence.  The landscape was ablaze in fall color.  I was overwhelmed!  For all of the exotic flowers and fruits on the Islands, there is nothing like this in Hawaii!

Sorry I’ve been away from the keyboard again.  Its just been crazy busy around here for the last month or so.  Just when we were getting caught up on cleaning up damages from the June 1, 2011 tornado that hit Massachusetts (here is a link to photos of the damage, don’t miss the aerial photos beginning on page 9: http://www.wellfleetosprey.com/Other/TORNADO-JUNE-1-2011/17485276_9v8zLR/16/1352807981_Wtv2Mgc#1330773729_42QLcVG) and the severe thunder storms that hit our area in the following weeks, we were hammered by the remnants of Hurricane Irene.  To make matters worse, Irene struck two days before I was scheduled to travel to Berkley, CA for a meeting of the American Society of Consulting Arborists Board of Directors.  It was a commitment I had to keep.  Fortunately, our team of Chris Haynes, Adam Bumpus, and Mike West had things under control, providing prompt service to our clients most in need.  Kudos to those guys! 

While we still have a heavy backlog of work to catch up on, things are normalizing again, so I thought would make a post. 

It looks like the fall colors will be pretty dismal around here.  With such a wet season as we have had, just about every kind of tree has been infected with some type of leaf spot disease, causing the leaves to drop prematurely.  Most of the red maples (Acer rubrum) in my back yard are half defoliated already, and the remaining foliage is turning with weak colors. 

Most of the sugar maples, the signature fall foliage plant in New England, have been infected with Anthracnose, leaving them with brown and shriveled leaves that won’t amount to much, color wise.  Our poplars, noted for their brilliant, golden-yellow fall color are just about completely defoliated, as are many of our white ash trees, which often contribute purplish hues to the fall landscape.

The TV Meteorologists alwas make a big deal about peak fall color, But I have always considered there to be three peaks.  The red maple peak, which comes first, followed by the sugar maple peak that TV guys like to crow about, and lastly, the oak peak, a subdued but long lasting show of muted crimsons, golds, and browns that look best in setting sunlight.  It looks like the oak peak will be the star of this year’s fall color show as the oaks around here seem to have fared well this year with regard to leaf diseases. 

On another note, the Massachusetts Arborist Association held our fall Certified Arborist Exam on Friday, September 30.  As Chair of the Examining Committee, I am happy to announce that about two-thirds of the 35 or so candidates passed the exam.  Congradulations to our newest MCAs.  As a member of the Committee for the past seven years, I have witnessed the Committee’s commitment to improving the Certification process through developing a Study Guide CD and redesigning the exam.  Our goal is to ensure that the public has access to quality tree care services by selecting tree care companies that employ Massachusetts Certified Arborists.  The Massachusetts Arborist Association plans to launch Version 2 of our study Guide in early 2012, with an improved exam format for the Fall 2012 Exam.

 If you want to know what pests to look for in your yard this month head on over to this site:   http://umassgreeninfo.org/landscape_message/landscape_message.html.

That’s all for today.  I hope to be back soon.

Well, its that time of year again.  Crab apple trees are loosing their leaves leaving bare, unattractive trees in front yards, birch trees are dropping leaves like rain, and soon I will be receiving calls about the large black spots that develop on maple leaves.

These diseases are what we arborists generally lump together as leaf spot diseases and are very common when we have wet spring seasons like we had this year.  The fungi that cause these diseases infect the leaves of trees early in the season, usually when the leaves of the affected trees are just expanding.  The leaves and fungi mature together until the fungi reach their reproductive stage, when they begin to produce spore producing structures.  These are the leaf spots we see on our trees that cause the premature leaf drop that alarms so many of my clients.

With apple trees, apple scab and cedar-apple rust cause premature leaf drop in July.  Giant tar spot on maple causes large black spots on the leaves of maple trees that can result in early leaf drop of maple leaves in August and September.

Most of these leaf spot diseases are more of a cosmetic problem than a health problem for the affected trees, although repeated defoliation of trees can weaken the tree over time. 

By the time most of us see the damage to the tree, it is too late to treat the problem.  The only way treat leaf spot diseases is to make preventive applications in early spring when the fungi are infecting our trees. 

While I have an established spray program to control apple scab and cedar-apple rust on apples because of the severe effect these diseases have on the aesthetic value of these trees, most leaf spot diseases don’t require any treatment at all.  The minimal effect on the health of the tree and its aesthetic contribution to the landscape just don’t warrant the cost and effort to control these diseases.

So, if you see spotted  leaves dropping early from your trees this time of year, don’t panic!  Its just a result of the wet spring we had and your trees will be fine next year.  If you are unhappy with the way your trees look this time of year, consult with your arborist to set up a preventive spray program next spring.

I always get a strange look when I recommend that my clients water their trees. There is a common misconception that trees have these enormous, deep root systems that penetrate to the water table and are immune to drought. But with the typical tree, most of the tree’s absorbing roots are in the top 18 inches of soil, and when this soil layer dries out, the trees become drought stressed.

Just today I had a client ask, “With all the rain we have had this spring and all the snow melt, do you really think my tree needs watering?” My answer was an unequivocal “Yes!”, and to illustrate, I pulled out my trusty soil sampling probe. It was difficult to penetrate the baked-dry soil, but the 12 inch soil core I pulled up was powder dry.

Soil dries out quickly once it stops raining. What isn’t taken up by the plants or evaporates from the soil surface drains through the soil beyond the reach of most trees’ roots. A good rule of thumb for New England is that we need an inch of rain per week throughout the growing season to keep trees at optimum growth. While most trees can tolerate missing the full dose of water for a couple of weeks, valuable trees, or trees already exhibiting signs of stress, should be irrigated when the soil dries out.

So, how much water should you apply? One inch of rain equals 625 gallons of water per 1,000 square feet! It is best to apply this water in a single session so that it can soak deeply into the soil. I understand some people’s concern about the cost of pouring that much water on the ground, but I can only advise you as to what is good for your tree, not your budget. Another concern is running a well dry. Using soaker hoses instead of sprinklers slows the draw on the well and also allows the water to slowly soak into the soil; a win-win situation for both your well and your tree. If you do use a sprinkler, you can tell how much water to apply by simply placing an empty tuna fish can under the sprinkler. When the can is full, you are done!

Drought stress is the most common factor that predisposes trees to insect and disease attack and premature death. If you value your trees, get that hose out and start watering. Its DRY out there!

I get a lot of calls from clients about trees that “don’t look well.” Upon inspection, I often find trees with thinning tops, the branches dying back from the tips. Whenever I see these symptoms, the first place I look is to the root crown, the portion of the tree at ground level where the trunk transitions into the root system. Any damage to the root system or root flair will disrupt the flow of water and nutrients to the above ground portions of the tree. Symptoms of this type damage typically show in the top portions of the tree first.

The disruption can be caused by root loss caused by construction or disease, or root suffocation because of being buried too deep or excessive water. These can often be difficult to diagnose because the problems are buried deep in the ground. So the first thing I look for when I see these symptoms is girdling roots – roots that encircle and strangle the trunk of the tree. Girdling roots seem to be most common on maples, but can be found on any type of tree.

Girdling root can occur naturally, but usually arise from human influences. Container grown nursery stock that is left in the pot for too long develops roots that encircle the inside of the pot. If these are not removed at planting, they will begin to strangle the trunk when it grows to the diameter of the container size. It is amazing how many Japanese maples I see suffering from girdling roots when they reach 8 inches in diameter, often the size of the first container they are grown in. Another common cause is planting or mulching a tree too deeply. The excess moisture in the soil or mulch can cause adventitious roots to grow around the buried part of the trunk, often encircling and girdling it. One study I read indicated that Norway maples, which are particularly prone to girdling roots, respond to root pruning in the nursery by producing root branches that emerge at 90 degree angles from the parent root. These then become girdling roots.

A healthy tree will have a natural root flare where the trunk meets the ground. This is the point where healthy roots radiate out away from the trunk and into the soil. If your tree has a trunk that appears to go straight into the ground like a telephone pole, or appears to have no root flare on one side, in my have girdling roots. Girdling roots are often visible at the soil surface, but you may have to dig from a few inches to a foot below ground to find them. If detected early enough, and the constriction is not too severe, the problem can be solved by severing the offending roots, however, trees with large, embedded girdling roots often cannot be saved.

This Norway maple was strangled by its own roots. The buried girdling roots,exposed during the stump grinding process, totally encircled the trunk of the tree.

You wouldn’t buy a new home without having a home inspection done first, would you?  Home inspectors are trained to spot problems with a structure that we laypeople would simply overlook.  Having a home inspection done before you sign on the dotted line can save you major expenses and headaches down the road.  Yet most people never think to have the rest of the property inspected.  The trees surrounding your new home can be some of the most valuable assets on the property.  They can also be some of the most dangerous.  And as with a home inspection, it takes a trained eye to spot the problem trees on a property.  This is where an ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist® can help.

For example, several years ago I was called to a home that the client had purchased that winter and it seems that no one recognized that the three foot diameter, ninety foot tall elm tree growing six feet away from the home was dead.  The tree was not accessible with conventional equipment and was too dead to climb safely.  It cost the homeowner $6,000 to have that tree removed.

Just last week, a client whose home on a large property is up for sale, called to have a fallen dead limb leaning against the house electrical service wires removed.  He wanted the property to appear in good condition for a showing.  When I arrived and inspected the site, I found 26 dead trees interspersed with the live trees along the property line.  These 50 foot tall trees overhung the house electrical service wires and the state highway.  When I notified him of the situation, he said he couldn’t justify the cost to remove them because he was selling the house.  So, this $4,500 liability will most likely be passed on to an unsuspecting buyer.

While most people can recognize dead trees if they take the time to inspect for them, there are other situations where only a trained professional can recognize potential problems, such as assessing decayed and diseased trees, evaluating trees with weak forks, or identifying trees damaged during the home construction process.

Construction damage is particularly insidious.  One client purchased a building lot in a subdivision in 2004, paying considerably more for the lot because of a beautiful 55 inch diameter white oak.  The tree was 60 feet tall with an 80 foot spread and would make a perfect center piece for the front yard.  While the tree was clearly marked “to be saved” on the plans, unfortunately, the preservation plan was left to the contractor.  To most contractors, saving a tree simply means not cutting it down.  The contractor crushed the roots with heavy equipment while stripping off the top soil that held most of the tree’s absorbing roots, then trenched for utilities too close to the trunk and buried the remaining root system and trunk under 12 inches of compacted clay that I had to chip away at as if it were concrete to find natural grade.  It was no surprise to me that the tree was dead four years later.

You can avoid these and many other home purchasing nightmares by simply expanding your insistence on a home inspection to an inspection of the entire property.  An ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist® can assess the trees on an existing property and provide an estimate of the future costs to maintain the trees that attracted you to the property in the first place, and identify the hazard trees on the property so you don’t get stuck with unexpected expenses after you have purchased the property.  If you are building a new home, hire an ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist® prior to the commencement of construction to assess which trees on the site can be preserved and provide a tree protection plan to avoid the heartbreak of losing that special tree that you designed your whole landscape around.

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I see it every day.  I cover a lot of territory tending to my business and everywhere I go I see tree that have been hacked by some “tree expert.”  The saddest thing about it is that, for the most part, most homeowners don’t even know they got ripped off, because, like most people, they don’t understand trees. That’s not a put down, I don’t understand the wiring in the three-way switches in my house or the rules of Cricket; it’s just the way it is, we all have our own interests and expertise.  It takes years of study to truly understand how trees live, grow, and die.  As an arborist, my eye is trained to lock onto these catastrophes as I drive around.

Bad tree work is more than just ugly.  It can affect the health of your tree for years to come.  Improperly made pruning cuts can introduce decay into the main trunk of the tree, resulting in a hazardous condition years down the road.  The common and catastrophic practice of topping trees not only leaves you with a really ugly tree, but often results in the tree’s death because the most productive and vital part of the tree is removed.  Tree topping is most commonly performed (or perpetrated) to reduce the risk of tall trees falling.  The problem is, if the tree survives the procedure, the regrowth from the decaying wounds created by the topping cuts is poorly attached to the tree and creates a greater hazard down the road.  For more on the topic of tree topping visit:

http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/topping.aspx

This is only the beginning of a long list of poor tree care practices.  So how do you avoid falling prey to these “tree experts?”  A good place to start is to check their credentials.  Organizations such as the International Society of Arboriculture and the Massachusetts Arborist Association offer voluntary certifications that require passing a vigorous exam and continuing education to maintain certification.  Isn’t it good to know that the person you are hiring to care for some of the most valuable assets on your property is interested enough in what they do to keep abreast of ever changing arboricultural practices?  Many states such as Connecticut require that arborists be licensed to perform tree care.  If you live in one of these states be sure that the person you hire is licensed.

If you really care about your trees, make sure the person you hire to care for them really understands trees.