6 Steps to Spring Tree Care

By onthehouse on February 11, 2018

You may be looking out of your window at your yard and wondering, “where am I even going to start”. Bayeradvanced.com released an article that says, “trees are low-maintenance, not no-maintenance” and they are the right place to start. When it comes to spring care, tree maintenance should be high on your priority list. Here are six easy steps to taking care of your trees once spring arrives. Read More

Trees with Grassy Areas Soften Summer Heat

Trees on a suburban streetStudy on the cooling effect of black locust and linden trees in from Technical Univ. of Munich

Trees cool the environment; however, the degree of cooling depends greatly on the tree species and the local conditions. In a recent study, scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) compared two species of urban trees – the black locust and linden. Read More

Diseases of Pine Trees

Article by John Fech from March 14, 2018 Tree Service Magazine

Pines grow in most every state of the U.S., and are planted for many reasons. They offer year-round color, protect homes from wind and snow, subtle fragrance, harborage for wildlife and a great backdrop to help show off ornamentals planted in front of them. Unfortunately, they are susceptible to several maladies.

It’s important to keep pines viable by providing good tree care especially in two areas, separating trees from turf and proper planting procedures. These basic, but foundational factors are all-important and should always be a reference point when diagnosing tree maladies such as ones on pines. Read More

Paper Birch & Douglasfir: An Odd Relationship

Blog on Arbor Day Foundation website – written by James R. Fazio – February 15, 2018

Trees in a forest are usually thought of as fierce competitors, each struggling for control of available light and soil moisture, usually at the expense of neighboring trees. But Canadian researcher Suzanne W. Simard and her colleagues found that Paper Birch trees can actually aid their neighboring Douglasfirs. Read More

Sycamore Trees And Frost Crack From Winter Temps

Blog edited from Tree Services Magazine article by VIC FOERSTER — FEBRUARY 7, 2018

A couple of weeks ago, local temperatures were quite frigid. During a similar stretch of severe weather up in west Michigan, most of their sycamore trees across town literally exploded. As a species, sycamores retain a great deal of water. The water within the wood can freeze to the point where the expansion in the wood cells causes tree trunks to burst. Read More

Turf and Tree Wars*

* Shared from Tree Services Magazine article by Sharon Lilly from 1/1/13

There may be a battle brewing on your property between your trees grass. Trees and turf tend to be mutually exclusive in nature; you don’t see many trees growing in the prairies or grasslands as you may have noticed that grass is not common on the forest floor.

Our urban landscapes represent an unnatural ecosystem in which we force two somewhat incompatible plant types together and expect optimum performance from each. Trees and turf compete for sunlight, water, mineral nutrients and growing space below ground. Turf roots typically outcompete tree roots and win the belowground battle. However, the dense shade of a tree’s crown can be too much competition for turf, and trees win the aerial war. Read More

One Tree That Look Like An Entire Forest – The Quaking Aspen

Think of a tree and what comes to mind probably has some leaves, some roots, and a trunk. The Quaking Aspen regularly reproduces via a process called suckering. An individual stem can send out lateral roots that, under the right conditions, send up other erect stems; from all above-ground appearances the new stems look just like individual trees. The process is repeated until a whole stand, of what appear to be individual trees, forms. This collection of multiple stems, called ramets, all form one, single, genetic individual, usually termed a clone. Read More

Fall Foliage Report for Maryland: November 4-5

In November we’re starting to think of oyster dressing, pumpkin pie and turkey dinners, despite the fairly mild temperatures and presence of still-green leaves on many Maryland trees. While the leaves are past peak and have even started to drop in western Maryland, the brilliant orange, scarlet and yellow foliage is coming on strong in central Maryland and the mid-Eastern Shore. Read More

Tough Locations for Trees

Even after a tree is selected and installed based on the site conditions of sun, shade, soil drainage, proximity to other trees and shrubs, nutrient availability, desired size, slope, surroundings, adjacent activity and more, it can fail to thrive.

Sometimes that’s because the tree wasn’t chosen well and sometimes it’s because it wasn’t planted well. But even more critical to the tree’s success is where it was planted. A tree’s proper location usually will determine whether it becomes an asset or detriment to the landscape. Read More