By TJ Nagel
ISA Board Certified Master Arborist® OH-6298B
August 1, 2025
Happy Friday, August 1st! Here are 3 quick thoughts I’d like to share this morning:
1. SO MUCH RAIN!
This is the wettest growing season I can recall to date in my professional career as an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist®. Normally by this point in the year, I’m watering different parts of my garden daily and have set up the sprinkler on my lawn at least a few times. I have done neither of those things thus far and even found myself moving some of my container grown trees this past weekend onto the porch because they were being over-watered by mother nature and starting to show signs of stress. Despite the beautiful green lawns and lush new growth in our trees and shrubs, the high volume of rain mixed with cool overnight temperatures have resulted in some of the most prolific foliar fungal disease symptoms I have observed to date. Anthracnose, a common foliar fungal disease of oak, maple, ash and sycamore has run rampant through central Ohio and I’m even noticing it in native forest grown trees. Applescab, black spot and rust diseases on foliage have also been unusually bad. Even some trees that have been preventatively treated in the spring are developing symptoms due to the longer than normal “spring-like” wet season we’re experiencing. The good news is that most of the foliar fungal pathogens we deal with are aesthetic in their damage, often just causing leaf distortion, brown spots on the leaf surface or partial defoliation, and have little impact on the overall long-term health of the tree. Some of these diseases can be easily managed so give us a call if we can help!
An example of anthracnose
2. The Dryness is (Likely) Coming
Despite the excessive moisture we’ve had throughout the summer so far, we’re at the beginning of what has historically been the driest part of the growing season in central Ohio. August and September are the two months that I see the highest mortality of newly planted trees and shrubs due to drought stress. The drought of last August and September 2024 was historic and for the first time, I observed established trees that had been planted correctly and in the ground for over a decade dry up and die. Generally, healthy and established trees that have been in the ground for over 5 years do not require supplemental water to get them through the growing season. When we have stretches of 6 to 8 weeks without rainfall, even your established trees need help. Do not let yourself be fooled by how wet the season has been thus far. When conditions change this month, be sure to have your watering wands (and buckets) out and ready. Remember that delivering water to trees and shrubs slowly and deeply is the key and that in most cases, irrigation systems and sprinklers, although great for lawns and flower beds, will not reach the depths required to sufficiently hydrate tree roots. Last year, Russell Tree Experts began offering a new service called deep root irrigation (DRI). DRI uses a lance to inject water deep into the root system of trees and shrubs. This method helps bypass the roots of turf, weeds, or ground cover and delivers water directly to the tree roots while also reducing water lost to runoff or evaporation like you might experience if applying water at the surface level. We saved many newly planted trees and woody landscapes with this service through the end of last summer/early fall and kept a lot of newly planted trees hydrated while their owners were on vacation. Let us know if we can help you with your tree watering needs!
3. Meet New Team Members!
Lastly (but not leastly), I’d like to introduce the two newest members of our management team, Andrew Hendricks and Alex Miller. Both of these gentlemen are ISA Certified Arborists®, have a long history of excellence at Russell Tree Experts and have likely been in your yard already to prune a tree or treat for a disease/insect problem. Andrew joined Russell Tree Experts in 2020 and has been working in the green industry for over a decade. He holds degrees in forestry and wildlife management and is an avid gardner and outdoorsman. Alex has a strong background in the nursery industry and has been working to keep your trees maintained and healthy at Russell Tree Experts since 2021. These guys are dedicated to the long term care of trees and to making the world a better place. We’re fortunate to have them on staff! They’ll be out and about regularly performing consultations and estimate requests so don’t be shy if you see them in your yard. You’ll be in great hands. As always, for a free tree work quote by one of our 25+ ISA Certified Arborists®, visit RussellTreeExperts.com/Quote or speak with our friendly, local office at (614) 895-7000!
ADDITIONAL ARBOR ED™ ARTICLES!
TJ Nagel I Scheduling Production Manager, Russell Tree Experts
TJ joined Russell Tree Experts in 2012 and loves trees. He is an avid gardener and plant collector. TJ graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Agriculture with a major in Landscape Horticulture and minor in Entomology. TJ is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist® and well versed in plant pathology and tree ID.