Month: December 2020

The landscaping industry has increased steadily over the years with an average annual growth of 3.3% since 2015. Currently, the industry’s market size has reached $98.7 billion, with it increasing faster than the Administration, Business Support, and Waste Management Services sectors combined.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) estimates that there will be over 100,000 people starting new landscaping businesses by 2025, so you are quite literally spoiled for choice. But how do you choose the right landscaping company for your particular needs? Well, the right landscaping company should be able to tell you the following:

1. Where do you get your plants?

While it would be beautiful to have the Japanese red maple and British ivy, these are risky to have in your yard. Using native plants in your garden would be more budget-friendly and have more longevity. Native plants will most likely cost less because they don’t have to be shipped from another country. They also have the highest chance of surviving. Foreign plants might struggle to acclimatize to their new surroundings, making them susceptible to pests and disease. Therefore, native plants don’t generally need as much maintenance as foreign plants.

2. What do you do with dead plants?

A good landscaper will know whether or not it’s time to remove dead plants, trees, and shrubbery, but a great landscape company can also tell you exactly what they do with these dead plants. Remember that dead trees can be made into organic mulch, firewood, or even sanctuaries for local wildlife, and dead plants can also be used for compost. If a landscaping company tells you that they just toss these in the bin or can’t tell you what they do with them at all, then you know they’re not as sustainable or eco-friendly as they may claim.

3. How long have you been in business and how big is your firm?

The longer a company has been in business, the more experience, manpower, and skill they should have to handle projects, so take into account the projects they’ve completed in the past. Check their portfolio. The size of the company also matters because the bigger it is, the wider their reach is as well. But this is good only to an extent. Ask about how many crews are under a single manager and how many communities they are in charge of, as it might so happen that one manager is overlooking five to eight crews that are servicing maybe 10 communities. This isn’t a very good ratio as the amount of work they have to do might make them impact their attention to detail when taking on your project.

4. Is your company bonded and fully insured?

A company that is both fully insured and bonded will give you the best service because they financially protect both themselves and the client, so go ahead and ask for documentation to put you at ease. A bonded landscaper takes care of the customer as it gives the client a feeling of security that the job will somehow be completed. An insured landscaper protects the contractor. If ever your property is damaged during the work, the insurance company will pay you. Insurance also covers worker’s compensation, such as medical expenses, if they are injured on the job, and wages.

Landscaping does not have much room for error, as any mistakes could cost you and the contractor both time and money. So don’t be afraid to ask your contractor questions until you are satisfied and confident that they can get the job done in a safe and timely manner.

Image: Unsplash

Did you know that many structural defects that occur in older trees are preventable? Pruning trees when they are young helps ensure a strong and more structurally stable form as the tree grows. We call this practice structural pruning. It helps mitigate the need for more expensive tree care practices later in the life of the plant and can extend the lifespan of the tree by decreasing the likelihood of branch failures.

Growing Conditions: Forests vs. Landscapes

Structural pruning of young, developing trees provides a desirable and stable form at maturity and is one of the best investments you can make in your landscape.

Forest trees tend to develop a sound structure in response to competition from other trees. Growing in the developing forest canopy suppresses growth of large, lower limbs. Dominant forest trees tend to maintain a single stem and narrow crown as they grow toward light. This produces a reasonably strong structure in mature forest trees.

Conditions are radically different, however, when you plant trees in a landscape. Exposed to full sun, trees will grow with a broader, more complex crown than those in the forest. Lower branches may grow very large, limbs develop in close proximity to one another and multiple stems can develop. Certain species such as maple, elm, ash and dogwood are particularly prone to developing structural defects that increase the likelihood of branch failures. As trees mature and grow large, correcting these issues (if they can even be corrected) becomes more expensive.

Start Structural Pruning Early

When trees are young and small, it is much easier and less expensive to undertake pruning that encourages the development of a strong form. Frequent assessment helps determine when pruning is needed to maintain structure and correct any deficiencies. On some species, you may need to schedule pruning as frequently as every two to three years for the first 10-to-15 years after planting.

During these years, an arborist prunes trees to maintain a single dominant stem unless multiple stems are specifically desired (for species such as birch or crape myrtle). The arborist will prune branches so their size remains proportional to the stem diameter at their point of attachment. He or show will also remove some branches as the tree grows to ensure adequate spacing between permanent scaffold limbs. The shape of the tree is maintained to provide a natural open grown form typical of the species.

The post Preparing Young Trees for the Future appeared first on Tree Topics.

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

Prevent your chlorotic trees from further decline and death. Knowing how to recognize chlorosis in trees and reverse it will help you keep them growing and thriving.

toddsmariettatreeservices.com gathered information on what chlorosis is, its causes, its symptoms, and how to treat it.

What is Chlorosis?

Chlorosis is the paling, lightening, or yellowing of foliage tissue. This condition occurs when a tree’s capacity to manufacture chlorophyll (needed for photosynthesis) is reduced or interrupted. A tree’s foliage can no longer produce the food it requires to grow and thrive when in a chlorotic state.

What Causes Chlorosis?

Foliar chlorosis can occur for several or multiple reasons. The following are among the most common:

Poor Soil Drainage – When the soil retains too much water, it can cause tree roots to stop absorbing vital nutrients. This condition may also lead to root rot and the death of the tree.

Compacted Soil – Foot, mechanical, and vehicular traffic around a tree’s root plate can cause soil compaction. This condition leaves the soil void of oxygen and moisture and generally leads to root and tree death.

Root Damage – When roots are damaged by digging activities or surface roots are damaged by mechanical and/or maintenance equipment, those roots may fail or become diseased. This condition can lead to the rapid decline and death of the tree.

Soil Alkalinity – When soil pH rises above 7.0, the soil becomes alkaline. It can no longer facilitate the absorption of iron and other nutrients required for robust photosynthesis. Ideally, a soil pH of 5.0 to 6.5 should be maintained.

Iron, Manganese, or Zinc Deficiencies – Of these deficiencies, iron is the most common cause of chlorosis. You can determine which of these deficiencies is causing chlorosis by observing which foliage became chlorotic first:

• Iron deficiencies cause younger or terminal leaves to become chlorotic first, then work inward to older or more mature foliage.
• Manganese and zinc deficiencies begin on the older leaves and then move outward.

Insufficient iron availability in the soil is the likely culprit in the absence of other chlorosis causes.

Disease – When a vascular tree disease invades the cambium (xylem and phloem layers beneath the bark), it can rapidly multiply, causing blockages of nutrient flows between the roots and canopy. This reduced transmission of water and nutrients can cause chlorosis, tree decline, and death. Some of those diseases include:

• Dutch Elm Disease
• Verticillium Wilt
• Oak Wilt
• Bacterial Leaf Scorch

These “wilt” diseases cause a tree’s canopy to become chlorotic, then wilted, then necrotic (dead). In many instances, such disease can kill a healthy tree within a single growing season.

Insect Infestation – Boring insects burrow beneath tree bark, creating galleries in the cambium layer or the tree’s heartwood. This activity results in the partial or complete girdling of the tree and/or the introduction of fungi leading to disease. Some of the boring insects responsible for this are:

• Clearwing Borers (day-flying, wasp-like moths)
• Emerald Ash Borer
• Bronze Birch Borer
• Bark Beetle
• Mountain Pine Beetle
• Ambrosia Beetle (named after the fungi it introduces to its host)
• Ips
• Twig Girdlers

Boring insects generally attack trees already in distress or decline. However, when beetle populations are in great numbers, they will attack healthy specimens. When these insects, or the disease they bring, cause enough damage, the tree canopy will first appear chlorotic, then wilted, and finally necrotic.

Note: In many cases, disease and insect infestations move quickly enough to wilt green foliage and kill the tree without showing signs of chlorosis.

Chlorosis Symptoms

Symptoms of chlorosis are generally the same among all tree species. Chlorosis is another way of expressing the yellowing of tree foliage, referring to light green or yellow leaves or needles rather than a healthy dark green. Frequently, leaf veins remain dark green while the rest of the leaf turns a contrasting lighter green or yellow.

Chlorosis Treatments

Many of the following treatments or solutions take time to correct the problem you are experiencing. In some cases, you may have to strongly consider removing the tree to protect the surrounding landscape. When your tree(s) become chlorotic, the following will help you develop a treatment strategy beyond foliar nutrient sprays and other temporary solutions:

Poor Soil Drainage – Most soil drainage issues occur when your soil is disproportionately composed of clay. You can improve soil drainage by:

• Slightly reducing your watering schedule
• Carefully tilling organic material (compost or wood chips) into your soil
• Maintaining fresh mulch around the root plate
• Increasing soil biodiversity by adding earthworms

Note: Tilling sandy soil with your organic material may speed up the betterment of your soil.

Compacted Soil – Even though they occur under different circumstances, compacted soil can be improved using the same treatment used to improve poor soil drainage.

Root Damage – Damaged roots should be cleaned and observed over time. In many cases, roots will compartmentalize damages and recover well. Consider the following:

• If damaged roots soften or become mushy, contact an arborist to evaluate your tree’s health.
• Consider raising the soil level to cover and protect any surface roots.
• If multiple roots have been damaged or severed from digging activities, call a professional to help you take corrective measures (if such measures are possible).

Root damage may require multiple growing seasons for the tree to fully recover. Be vigilant and patient.

Soil Alkalinity – Soil tests can be performed to determine soil pH and nutrient composition. Based on your soil test, you can adjust soil pH by amending agricultural sulfur (powdered sulfur, aluminum sulfate, or iron sulfate) to lower the soil pH, making it more acidic.

Iron, Manganese, or Zinc Deficiencies – Nutrient deficiencies may occur naturally and over time. Such deficiencies can be corrected as follows:

• Fix an iron deficiency by applying a chelated iron fertilizer, in which iron is combined with a chemical called a chelate that helps the iron remain in a plant-deliverable form.
• Fix a Manganese deficiency by liming your soil to the proper pH level for the tree. This is the most practical way to correct and prevent problems with Manganese. Using acid-forming fertilizers in the soil can increase the uptake of this and other essential micronutrients.
• Fix a zinc deficiency by adding zinc to the soil along with compost and/or other organic matter to sandy soil.

Disease – Disease management often requires multi-faceted approaches to help your tree overcome a vascular disease. Since extensive pruning and chemical treatments may be necessary, it is recommended to hire an ISA certified arborist to help you apply specific treatments safely.

Even with the most aggressive treatments, a diseased tree may need to be removed before the responsible pathogen spreads to neighboring trees.

Insect Infestation – Much like disease management, managing insect infestations requires multiple approaches to prevent tree decline and death. Consider the following:

• Set traps to capture adult insects
• Apply insecticides to infested trees coinciding with the pest’s emergence
• Apply chemical deterrents to unaffected trees
• Work to increase the health and vigor of your trees

Note: Treating an insect infestation must include discovering what left the tree weakened, allowing the infestation to occur.

Tip: Boring insect infestations should be communicated to a tree professional immediately. Like the emerald ash borer, many of these insects are closely watched due to their destructive nature and management difficulty.

Tree Foliage Chlorosis

In this article, you discovered information about chlorosis, what causes it in trees, the symptoms to watch for, and how to treat the condition.

By knowing how to identify chlorotic tree foliage, you can take swift action to discover and correct its cause.

You may be allowing disease or infestation to spread unchecked by ignoring chlorosis, resulting in catastrophic widespread tree damage and death.

Sources:
mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-advice/horticulture-care/chlorosis
forestry.usu.edu/trees-cities-towns/tree-care/preventing-iron-chlorosis
ag.ndsu.edu/publications/lawns-gardens-trees/iron-chlorosis-in-trees
hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/pastpest/200611c.html
web.extension.illinois.edu/focus/index.cfm?problem=chlorosis
entomology.ca.uky.edu/ent43
extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/root-damage

How much do you actually know about the tree you bring into your home at Christmas? Whatever your favorite type of Christmas tree is, each has its own unique characteristics and fascinating history. Read on to learn more about some of the trees most commonly selected and decorated for a festive holiday!

Blue Spruce

Blue spruce  is a popular tree choice for the season. A waxy coating on the needles creates the characteristic ‘blue’ coloration. This tree is native to the Rocky Mountain region of the United States and was first discovered in Colorado on top of Pikes Peak in 1862. Botanist C.C. Parry named the tree for its unique color. Blue spruce is widely planted as an ornamental well outside the native range. The nursery trade has developed many varieties with various sizes and growth habits.

White Pine

Eastern white pine is a beautiful native pine that was historically an important resource for Native Americans. For instance, they would use the resin, mixed with beeswax, to seal canoes. Some Native Americans would even eat the inner bark of the white pine as a food source when all other food was scarce. European settlers continued to value the species as a natural resource, using it extensively for shipbuilding. Today, many homeowners and commercial properties select this species as a specimen tree for large spaces. This species withstands yearly spring shearing or “candling,” making it suitable for hedges.

Fraser Fir

Fraser Fir derives its common name from John Fraser (1750-1811), a Scottish botanist and plant collector, who discovered this plant and introduced it to Britain. It is native to a very small area of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee extending into the southwestern corners of Virginia and West Virginia. It is the only fir that is indigenous to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Although rare in nature, Fraser fir is one of the most popular Christmas trees sold in commerce today.

Douglas Fir

Douglas fir is one of the most predominant trees found in forests of the Pacific Northwest and western Canada. Native from British Columbia south to northern Mexico, it is a valuable timber species. Douglas fir is not actually a “true” fir, meaning it is not a member of the Abies genus. You can distinguish this tree from “true” fir or spruce by the tassels, ‘beards’, or ‘mousetails’ on each cone scale, which give the cones a fancy and festive holiday look. One legend related to these ‘mousetails’ tells the story of some mice that ran through the forest during a raging wildfire and asked the trees for shelter. A Douglas fir tree took pity and invited the mice to shelter in the pinecones to avoid the fire. If you look at the tree today, you can see the ‘tails’ of the mice peeking out from each cone.

Norway Spruce

Norway spruce originated in Europe, despite its name. It is the most widespread, fastest growing, largest and most disease resistant species in the northern hemisphere. Christmas trees farms widely grow and harvest young trees of this species. At full height, Norway spruce are often harvested for lumber with end products range from paper pulp to crates to musical instruments. This is not only a traditional tree for many families during the holidays, but also a tradition for two capital cities. Oslo, Norway traditionally gifts London, England a Norway spruce each year as a thank you for support during World War II. This tree proudly resides in London’s famous Trafalgar Square.

Scots Pine

Scots pine, also called Scotch pine, is a native pine to the UK originating from the Highlands of Scotland. This tree is a great choice for Christmas as it retains its needles even if the tree becomes dry. The species is valued as an ornamental tree and is also one of the strongest softwoods, making it a good resource for construction. In Celtic mythology, Scots pine symbolized new life and rebirth and Celts associated the tree with the return of the sun after a dark winter.

Balsam Fir

Balsam fir is known for its strong balsam scent. Consider this species if you’re looking for fragrance! This species has a narrow, pyramidal shape with cones that stand upright and have a green or purple tinge. The tree grows by adding whorls of branches around the main trunk. As the tree ages some of the lower whorls are shed, leaving characteristic scars around the trunk. You can get an approximate age on this tree by counting the number of whorls and whorl scars from top to bottom.

The post The Trees of Christmas appeared first on Tree Topics.

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

Don’t let root rot cause your trees to suddenly decline, die, and fall. Knowing how to identify root rot symptoms will help you save your tree or take action before it causes catastrophic property damages.

72tree.com gathered information on the causes of root rot in trees, how to recognize its symptoms, and what treatments you can use to stop or prevent it.

Tree Root Rot Causes

When root rot attacks a tree, the flow of water and nutrients from the roots to the crown is either impeded, or the invading pathogen is carried throughout the tree, killing its host. The following are several of those pathogens:

Rhizoctonia (this fungal pathogen adversely affects younger hosts, older trees are found to be more resistant)

Pythium (this fungus of the Pythiaceae family has 140 known species, most of which are now classified as parasites)

Rhododendron Root Rot (Phytophthora cactorum and Phytophthora cinnamomi were first thought to only survive in subtropical countries but is now known to thrive in cooler countries)

Fusarium (found worldwide, some of this pathogen’s species can adversely affect humans when infected crops are consumed)

Rosellinia necatrix (Dematophora necatrix, Hypoxylon necatrix, and Pleurographium necator, known as one of the most devastating plant fungal diseases, affecting several fruit tree and crop species)

Honey Fungi, Shoestring Root Rot, or Openky (Armillaria frequently occurs in hardwoods and pines)

Texas Root Rot (Phymatotrichopsis, Phymatotrichum, Cotton, or Ozonium root rot occurs more frequently in Mexico and the southwestern United States, causing sudden wilt and death)

Note: Fungal spores naturally occur and lie dormant in soil. These spores only begin reproducing when conditions support it. Such conditions include compacted soil, poorly-drained soil, and overwatering. As the fungi reproduce, tree roots provide a prime source of nutrients, allowing them to spread quickly.

Symptoms of Tree Root Rot

Most visible symptoms of root rot strikingly resemble the signs of an advanced pest infestation, making an accurate diagnosis more difficult. The most common, above ground, symptoms of root rot include:

• Gradual or sudden decline without a detectible reason
• Severely stunted or poor growth patterns
• Smaller, chlorotic leaves or needles (new growth)
• Wilted, yellowed, or browned leaves or needles
• Dieback
• Severe canopy thinning
• Stress crops (abnormally large amount of fruit/seeds)
• Fungal fruiting structures (mushrooms) found on the root flare or growing from surface roots
• Once in the xylem and phloem (cambium), cankers or sunken dead areas may appear on branches or the trunk of the host

A more accurate way to diagnose root rot is to dig to the roots to see if decay is present. Care should be taken when exposing roots to avoid inflicting further harm to the tree.

Note: Anthracnose is another group of fungal pathogens that cause similar above-ground tree damage but are not typically associated with root rot. You can find further information about anthracnose at 72tree.com/symptoms-of-anthracnose/

Tip: Hire an ISA certified arborist to inspect and accurately diagnose the cause(s) of the symptoms you have identified.

Tree Root Rot Treatment

Trees can sometimes be saved early on by pruning out infected roots. If a tree is in an advanced state of decline, the recommended way to control root rot diseases from spreading is to entirely remove it.

Chemical treatments that include propiconazole, chloropicrin, fosetyl-aluminum, or methyl bromide, among others, won’t completely cure or remove the disease but can reduce the infection level. These treatments are applied in and around the root plate of infected trees and especially in holes left after infected trees, and their stumps have been removed.

Note: The application of chemical treatments on your trees (for any reason) should be performed as directed on the product labeling and closely monitored by a certified arborist.

Root Rot Prevention for Trees

Trees have adapted over millennia to protect themselves against infection and illness. They are efficient at protecting themselves when healthy, and you can further assist them in resisting root rot by:

• Avoiding overwatering
• Ensuring proper water drainage by amending/enriching soil structure
• Preventing soil compaction on or around the root plate
• Protecting surface roots and trunks from mechanical and/or equipment damage
• Immediately addressing storm damage and/or soil erosion
• Removing unsalvageable trees from your property
• Planting disease-resistant species

Tip: You can also help trees fight fungal attacks by promoting their health. These are some of the things you can do to improve their health:

• Seasonal pruning
• Seasonally applying and refreshing organic mulch
• Deep watering (especially during drought conditions)
• Pre-growing season fertilization
• Annual tree inspections by a certified arborist

Note: The importance of annual tree inspections cannot be overstated. The ability to detect problems in their beginning stages offers more options to eliminate existing problems and take measures to prevent issues throughout the tree’s growing season.

Tree Root Rot

In this article, you discovered valuable information about the causes of tree root rot, recognizing its symptoms, and how to treat it or prevent it.

Taking swift action when root rot is suspected in your trees will increase your chances of saving them and preventing further infection.

Ignoring the signs of root rot will render your tree unsalvageable, invite other disease and infestation, and potentially cause catastrophic property damage when your tree destabilizes and falls.

Sources:
extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/root-rots-trees-and-shrubs
ceventura.ucanr.edu/Com_Ag/Subtropical/Avocado_Handbook/Diseases/Root_rot,_how_to_spot_it_and_what_to_do_about_it/
forestpathology.org/root-diseases/
extension.psu.edu/rhizoctonia
hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/pastpest/199922c.html

This article was first published on: http://www.72tree.com/tree-root-rot-causes-symptoms-treatments/