Month: February 2015

Join us this Saturday for a winter fruit tree pruning workshop with Urban Forest Pro’s certified Jeff M. Hosted by Portland Fruit Tree Project (PFTP), this workshop is complimentary for homeowners who have fruit trees registered with PFTP, and just $25 for all others. It will be held in the Collins View neighborhood of Portland.

Workshop instructor Jeff M is our Head of Sales and Career Development. He began learning the tree trade as a sapling, under the tutelage of his father. Jeff kick started his first tree service firm in Colorado seventeen years ago. In 2000, he moved to the Portland area and founded Urban Forest Pro. Today, he is an ISA-certified arborist with more than 24 years of experience in all things arboriculture, including Portland tree pruning service. He trains new arborists and emphasizes the importance of education for Urban Forest Pro’s arborists and customers. Jeff is thrilled to be sharing his expertise on winter tree service!

Portland workshop participants can expect the following agenda for our workshop:

• 9:45-10:00am – Attendees arrive, create nametags, and receive an informational packet.
• 10:00am – Welcome from Portland Fruit Tree Project’s Jake Reynolds. Jake will introduce the instructor and participants. He will also provide an overview of Portland Fruit Tree Project’s offerings.
• 10:15am – 11:15am – Jeff presents in-depth information on proper winter pruning for fruit trees.
• 11:15am – 11:35am — Hands-on learning begins! Workshop attendees will put their newly acquired knowledge to work, first by taping potential cuts. The group will then review suggested cuts according to the information Jeff provided. Finally, the participants will start pruning trees.
• 12:35pm – Site clean up begins. Jeff distributes workshop surveys to participants.
• 12:50pm – Jake leads reflection circle and wrap-up.
• 1:00pm – Workshop concludes.

Those who sign up for this workshop can expect to walk away with a basic vocabulary of tree pruning terms. They’ll learn how heading cuts differ from thinning cuts, as well as why apical (terminal) buds grow more robustly than lateral buds. Water spouts, suckers, and other growth to remove will be covered in this workshop, as will the “3 Ds” of pruning (removing diseased, dead/dying, and disoriented branches first). Finally, the basic why, when, and how of fruit tree pruning will be discussed.

Anyone with fruit trees on their property would be wise to attend this workshop. For those who are unable to participate, stay tuned to this blog for pruning information, and check out the articles we’ve already posted on Portland Winter Tree Care and Why Winter Pruning is Best for Fruit Trees.

This post first appeared on https://www.urbanforestprofessionals.com

Homeowners who arrange for Portland tree services are often shocked by standard instructions to keep kids and pets inside, to prevent potentially hazardous chemical exposure. Why spray something on a beloved tree that could harm your family? Our Portland ISA-certified arborists wondered the same thing. After years of experience identifying tree pests and using a variety of products, our certified arborists knew that organic pest control techniques often work best for ridding Portland trees of unhealthy pests. So we’ve recently updated our pest control methods for trees. Let’s take a look at how Urban Forest Pro tackles tree pests.

Urban Forest Pro’s State of the Art Tree Pest Control Techniques

Go Organic First. Our policy is to prioritize organic pest control methods first. Not doing organic approaches tend to be more affordable, but they’re also as or more effective than standard pest sprays. We only stray from organic or natural pest control when the pests in question aren’t responding to this treatment, when our experience indicates such an outcome, or when the tree we’re reviewing is too widely infested to rely on organic approaches.

Avoid the Need to Protect Property by Avoiding Sprays. Trunk injections are favored by our certified arborists. Portland families receive immunizations through needles, and trees can too, via trunk injection. We’ve selected tree injection products that are pre-packaged, so there’s no need mix on site, and there’s no danger of spills. The problematic side effects of spraying—dragging a hose through the yard, damaging other plants; potentially coating lawn furniture and toys with spray; tainting pools; exposing family members to chemicals—are eliminated with trunk injection. Unlike traditional organic tree spraying methods, trunk injections provide a safer and more targeted alternative.

Increased Dispersal in Five Minutes, with No Drilling Damage. Trunk treatments were previously delivered via holes drilled into the trunk. Not only could this method cause permanent damage to the tree, but it also proved to be ineffective because the treatment was often placed in the wrong area, the inner rings. You see, trees’ circulatory systems move nutrients through the outer layers of tissue. If the pesticide or preventative solution is placed too deep, at the inner heartwood, it will stay there and not move throughout the tree. Advanced injection systems, such as those used by Urban Forest Pros, deliver treatment to the outer layers, where the tree’s circulation naturally distributes it throughout the organism. Even very tall trees can be treated in just five minutes with this method, and there’s often no need for repeat treatments.

Tree injections work great for conifers, palms, and more.

Regardless of which of your trees is suffering pest infestation, our knowledgeable arborists have the experience to recommend effective solutions. Call us today to arrange a visit for more information.

This post first appeared on https://www.urbanforestprofessionals.com

Rachel Carson’s 1962 landmark work Silent Spring spurred a whole generation to take action against DDT pesticides. In that book, Carson showed how careless, widespread pesticide use killed insects and the species that ate them, including many songbirds. Carson also connected pesticides to many cancers. Today, millions of bees die each year. While their demise is still puzzling, many scientists believe a new class of pesticides, neonicotinoids, is driving the bee holocaust.

The Declining Health of Pollinators
Since 2006, beekeepers have reported massive bee die-offs, formally termed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). For the last decade, many beekeepers report losing 30% or more of their hive populations annually. The winter of 2012 was especially harmful for bees; many keepers lost 40%-50% of their hives. While a federal report found that fewer bee deaths occurred in the winter of 2013 compared to the previous winter, the overall picture for bee health is still grim.

How Declining Pollinator Health Impacts Trees and Agriculture in General
Bees are one of the globe’s top pollinators. According to the USDA, one third of all American agriculture is dependent on pollination, and certain crops are heavily dependent on bees in particular. Without bees around to pollinate, we could be facing a serious food shortage (not to mention an ugly planet).

Many trees depend on pollinators to take pollen from one blossom to another, thereby transferring genetic material. While some trees can self-pollinate, many cannot. Apples, pears, almonds, and dozens of other crops require cross-pollination to produce fruit.

During spring blooms, orchards depend on bees and other pollinators to facilitate pollen distribution, which is a precursor to fruit development. Without adequate pollination, fruit may be tiny, deformed, and sluggish to ripen, if present at all. To date, only the most pollinator-dependent crops have suffered damage due to bee shortages. In 2012, for instance, California’s almond farmers scrambled to find the 1.6 million bee colonies needed to pollinate the state’s 800,000 acres of almond orchards.

Recently, over 100 businesses sent a letter to the White House calling for the EPA to suspend neonicotinoids, a type of pesticides that more than 30 studies have linked to bee death. Neonicotinoids, or “neonics,” are the most commonly used pesticides across the globe. As research has revealed, neonics cause short- and long-term memory loss in bees; they can even cause bees to forget what food smells like. These businesses, many of which are food manufacturers, wrote to express their deep concern “about the continued and unsustainable loss of bees and other essential pollinator populations.” The letter continues to explain, “Bee losses have a ripple effect across the entire economy, and in many cases, affect our bottom line.”

Scientists are quick to highlight the fact that these bee deaths likely have multiple causes, including bee pathogens and mites. However, some etymologists have hypothesized that neonics weaken bees’ immune systems, allowing diseases to take root.

What’s Being Done about Declining Pollinator Health

Europe has already banned neonics, and some American cities are following suit. Last February, Eugene became the first city in the nation to ban the use of neonicotinoids. Spokane has also banned the pesticides. The National Fish and Wildlife Service is phasing out neonic use in its parks. Lastly, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has put temporary restrictions on the use of certain neonicotinoid chemicals. As tree lovers, we believe more awareness is required to protect pollinators across the country.

How you Can Help Protect Pollinators
—Always select the least toxic pesticide. The Portland arborists at Urban Forest Pros can help you decide on which pesticide will do the least amount of harm while still shielding your trees from pests.
—Advocate for bee health by talking to friends and family about this important topic. For instance, while chatting about a recent order for tree service, Portland homeowners can mention their love for bees, and the connections between bee health and neonic pesticides.
—Sign up for volunteer opportunities to help spread the word and to provide homes for bees. The Portland-based non-profit Xerces Society has excellent resources for concerned citizens.
–Vote for politicians who have made pollinator health a top priority.
–Plant trees that attract honeybees, such as maples, oaks, sumacs, and California laurels.
–Consider keeping bees yourself. Portland is home to dozens of bee events, non-profits, and commercial bee keeping supply companies.

To learn about which bee-attracting trees would be appropriate for your yard, give us a call. We would be delighted to provide information on which species would thrive in your location.

This post first appeared on https://www.urbanforestprofessionals.com