Nose To Nose With Nature

Maybe you've heard about stress in trees, but what exactly is it? A number of factors can cause it, and it reduces a plant's productivity. It can even make a tree more attractive and vulnerable to pests and diseases. Here's a perfect example.

Trees are like real estate. It's location, location, location. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what people were thinking when they planted trees. Sorry for the noisy video. It was a busy street.

There is a crucial relationship between the health of trees (and plants) and light. Light energy from the sun is essential to food production in plants and trees. But Nature shuts off the light every day, which is just as essential. We, on the other hand, keep the lights on 24 hours a day in some cases. And that's devastating to Nature.

If you've never seen the Spotted Lantern Fly, well you're in luck. I had an unexpected guest at the beginning of the video. Afterwards, let's talk about space for trees. Would you buy shoes that you knew were too small? That happens to trees all the time.

There are important considerations when planting a tree. First off, what does the tree need, which is different than what we want. It's also possible to waste money and resources when trees are planted without considering what they will develop into. Sometimes it's possible to plant too many trees...

There are sadly, so many examples of poor landscape design and tree planting, that I almost hate to look around while I drive. It's depressing. But, sometimes, I find things that raise my spirits a bit. There are standards that can inform landscape design and tree planting and care, and sometimes people follow them. Those should be celebrated.

Tree canopy goals are big news lately. Just about everyone agrees we need trees, but what is our response? Often it's doing things that make sense to us, but upon further examination, that may not be the case. We can do better. If we keep doing things the same way, we'll keep getting the same results. And apparently - at least according to recent news reports - that's not good enough. There is a better way...

Planting a tree in a city is a risky endeavor. If we plant it because we want to, we often doom a tree to a short, unproductive life. Neither we nor the tree benefit. We DO need trees in cities, but if we try to force trees to grow where and how WE want them to, we will most likely kill them. We can do better.

Late summer can be a good time to look for stress in trees. Some trees will start to show their Fall colors, sometimes only on individual branches. That's often due to stress or injury. The vascular (water and sap transport) system can be compromised or restricted and trees will start to shut down early because of lack of resources. Early Fall color may indicate poor tree health.

I'm not anti-development. I'm anti-bad policy and anti-bad implementation. We often think we're doing the right things around trees, but most of the time, we've simply convinced ourselves of that. When you look at the results, and the decline of trees around us, the evidence says otherwise. And that needs to change.

The problem can be seen everywhere. The first rain after your PG Hydrangeas bloom, and it's flop city. Why? Well, once again, understanding plant biology will be your friend. Like fruit trees, where you have too many fruit that weigh down and often break branches, it's the same with these Hydrangeas. Here's the solution.

Some more thoughts and techniques to consider when deciding whether or not to shear a shrub.

It may seem somewhat radical, but you don't have to use hedge trimmers on shrubs and hedges. They often don't make it easier on you. Or the shrub. And often, they don't look attractive afterwards. But there are techniques for pruning shrubs that you should know.

I see this from one side of the country to the other. Bad planning designs that GUARANTEE tree failures. I call it Deforestation By Design®. These trees were killed the moment they were planted. This kind of waste is foolish and avoidable. Professionals who work around trees often have no clue what they're doing or what trees need. It's time to change our ways or fire the designers. Your choice.

In 20 years of owning a landscaping company, I can't tell you how many people asked me for a small evergreen for their landscape. I had to tell them that generally, there isn't such a thing, outside of the standard Arborvitae. There could be some non-native cultivars, but many evergreens get large, and develop a different shape as they mature. Most garden centers don't tell you that. Like this one.

I get calls every week from people who find fungi or mushrooms on or around their trees. And they're concerned. Unfortunately, uneducated and unscrupulous tree "undertakers" use fear to sell tree removals, and many trees are unnecessarily killed as a result. Call an ISA Certified Arborist to get a true tree expert to assess your trees.

A lack of understanding of the value of trees, and how they are essential to our physical and mental health (and more) is prevalent everywhere. Maybe most concerning is in the Design/Build/Construction industries, and those who hire them. This is a cautionary story of how removing trees will harm students.

Nature is dynamic, and it goes through cycles. Trees (and other organisms) have specified responses and characteristics that allow them to survive in certain environments. Planting them in environments they don't have natural responses to often means they'll struggle, decline, and often die. So, don't do it.

Tree branches fail for a lot of complex reasons. Motion, weight, angle of attachment, decay, and loads all influence why branches break. Understanding biomechanics and engineering can help explain, and even predict failures, but it's not for the uneducated. ISA advanced tree risk assessors who have the TRAQ credential are the experts. Don't believe most of what you find on the internet.

Myths about tree roots are all over the internet. They need to be challenged and eliminated if we really want our urban and natural forests to survive. Right now, those myths are literally killing trees, and people are fooled into thinking other things are the cause. Protect roots.

How trees get so big and live so long often is due to very specific wood it grows based on the forces it encounters. Did you know that you can move and bend a small tree repeatedly over time, and it will grow differently than a small tree that's left alone? It's a marvel of Nature.

Emerald Ash Borer is a devastating pest to all sorts of Ash trees. Roughly half a billion Ash trees in North America have been killed by it. It's moving out from the Great Lakes region, and it's likely headed your way. Know the signs, how it moves, and treatments.

Damage done to trees by companies masquerading as tree "care" companies. Don't hire these types. "I've been doing this for 30 years" is NOT a qualification. They may have been doing it wrong the whole time. And there's science to determine if they are.

A look at how my former company separated itself by our work. I know of no other company that can do this type of work. Look for yourself. You only see this type of work at estates of the wealthy or famous. My work is my business card, and why I didn't need to advertise. Training available upon request. ;-)

It's likely we're approaching 500 million Ash trees killed in N. America by Emerald Ash Borer. It's having specific effects on our woodlands. What happens next? And just because something is oozing from a tree, doesn't mean it's the end of a tree.