Between Casorzo and Grana in Piemonte, a region in northwest Italy, there is a cherry tree growing healthily on top of a mulberry tree with branches spreading over 5 meters long. This tree, or should I say, these trees, are known as the Double Tree of Casorzo (Bialbero de Casorzo in Italian) or the Grana Double Tree.
Lecanium Scale (Part One)
If “Lecanium” is a new word for you, consider yourself lucky, or at worst, blissfully ignorant. If you have experienced species of this genus in your landscape you may know how devastating, unsightly, and generally… uncomfortable this insect can be. If you have ever stood under a tree covered in a scale population which is actively feeding and digesting you will know why the word “uncomfortable” came to mind. In this installment I will briefly describe Lecanium scale and its life cycle. In the next installment, I will share an unusual finding from last season, and stand out on a limb to make a forecast for this season.
Where’s the Fruit?
As an arborist, I often feel like I need to double as a detective. Trees, obviously, cannot tell us verbally how they are "feeling" or why they are behaving in a certain way. We have to look for clues as to what is possibly going on with them. When I am asked why a tree is performing poorly, oftentimes I need to swap out my helmet for a Sherlock Holmes cap and start digging around, asking questions of the tree's caretaker and standing back to observe the environment in which the tree exists.
Fall Webworm In Full Effect
Black Knot Disease In Plum & Cherry Trees
Fire Blight is No Delight
This year has been a particularly bad one for fire blight on Pear and Apple trees. Fire blight is a bacterial disease that affects plants in the Rosaceae family, causing a characteristic blackened wilting of leaves and twigs. This family of plants is also popular for its landscape value, both for flowers and fruit production. Pear, Cherry, Rose, Apple, Serviceberry, Cotoneaster, Hawthorn are just a few trees and shrubs that are very familiar to us. Have you noticed a profusion of dead, blackened leaves in your neighborhood? In your trees?