Planting Trees is Easy... Right?
Tree Planting; It’s easy right? Well that’s what I thought when I took a position years ago (with a different company) where we planted 650 balled and burlapped trees the first year I was there.
Bend So You Don’t Break
Last summer, I had the opportunity to introduce our field staff to the practice of yoga. In heavy work boots and on a hard concrete floor, we made our way through Triangle Pose, Downward Facing Dog, and even a few Sun Salutations. Practicing yoga for 20 years and teaching it for the last 10, I’ve learned that the stretches and postures of yoga can help keep the joints and soft tissues of our body, like muscles and tendons, healthy and functional.
Growing Degree Days
This semester I am enrolled in a class called Integrated Pest Management, taught by Dr. Luis Cañas at The Ohio State University. One of the first lectures we had was centered around the effects that the environment has on insect populations. As we explored this theme we soon came across the concept of “growing degree days”, and I was reminded of how useful this idea is to increase awareness of what is happening in the natural world around us and to be aware of when potentially damaging insect pests are about to emerge.
Oak pruning, fascinating tree facts, and other thoughts
Here we are, fresh out of the holiday season, and the end of January is in sight! I wanted to reach out to you with some timely advice concerning trees, some reminders of why trees are so essential to life as we know it, and perhaps some other thoughts that might sneak out through my fingers as I type.
DID YOU KNOW? Tree Care In the Winter
In some cases, pruning trees in winter is actually more beneficial than during other times of the year due to increased canopy visibility and lower risk of disease. Check out the video above to learn more!
"Can you recommend a tree that is not messy?"
“Can you recommend a tree that is not messy? One that will not drop fruit, or twigs, or stuff all over the place.” This is perhaps the request I run into the most when someone wants advice on what trees to plant. The first time I heard this one I had to fight the urge to smile and reply that yes, there are trees like that which also happen to be disease-free, not attacked by any pest, grow quickly (instantly, in fact) to the desired size, shape, and color you want them to be and never need to be pruned…
Identifying & Managing Rhizosphaera Needle Cast
Rhizosphaera needle cast (RNC) – quite a mouthful, especially when one is an arborist in training, still green in the green industry. My supervisor had just handed me a photocopy of a fact sheet on the disease since I had asked him about spruce trees I had been seeing with defoliating branches.
"Stop and Notice Me" said the Pawpaw Tree
Last weekend I was in southern Ohio, working on a personal building project that needs to reach a certain stage of completion while the dry summer weather persists. Usually a time of relaxation, my weekend visits to this site have become slightly stressful due to time constraints. As I moved about the building frame, I kept dodging low branches from several Pawpaw trees growing about the place.
Humid Air: Tough for Plants and People
Summer in central Ohio brings good times outside but also often brings hot humid air. Heat and humidity can aggravate some foliar fungal disease on trees and shrubs. One of the most common diseases we see is rhizosphaera needle cast on Blue Spruce trees.
New Video: Our Family-Owned Company
Welcome to Russell Tree Experts. We are a family-owned business located in Westerville, Ohio. We opened our doors in 2005, and our goal - every single day - is to provide the best tree care and arboriculture resources to you. Our office representatives are kind, caring, and eager to answer your questions; Our arborists are highly educated, industry trained, and have years of experience; Our business leaders are always focused on education, safety, and quality of work. Simply put, we believe our employees are the finest in the industry and they are what make our company special.
The Mighty Bur Oak
Few species of trees have such a universally recognized name as the Oak. Worldwide, there are some 600 species of Oaks, and in Ohio alone we have over a dozen. Here in Columbus, they tower over the homes of Clintonville, line the streets of Upper Arlington, and bathe the yards of Bexley with their shade. Oaks in Ohio can be divided into two groups - Red Oaks and White Oaks. Many of the large Oaks we see throughout the city in urban landscapes are of the Red Oak group. Less commonly planted are Oaks in the White Oak group, of which the Bur Oak belongs. Let’s take a closer look at this under-utilized tree that is native to most parts of our state.
Soil Compaction = Not Good for Trees
Soil compaction is a big no-no for trees. When soil is compacted (above left graphic), water and oxygen cannot get to the vital root system of the tree. Water will collect on the surface and evaporate since it is unable to penetrate the soil. Seeing as trees need water and oxygen to live, compacted soil can quickly and severely impact the health of a tree.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side (no, really!)
When people in Japan coined the term ‘shinrin-yoku’ in 1982, they likely weren’t inspired by Lou Reed’s now classic 1972 hit. But shinrin-yoku, which translates in english to ‘forest bathing’, is a practice that takes us back to our wild side, back to experiencing the calming and healing qualities of the forest and all of the plants and animals that reside there.
A New Favorite: Blackhaw Viburnum
My palette of favorite trees is always changing. This spring, while I was hiking in Noble county’s Wolf Run State park another woody plant found its way onto my list: Blackhaw viburnum, Viburnum prunifolium. I have admired this plant for years for being native, for its adaptability, ease of establishment, its ability to easily naturalize into new areas, and because it provides forage for birds, bees and butterflies. I have observed Blackhaw viburnum in arboreta, gardens, and native area across the state but this past weekend it really stood out to me in the woods amongst the redbuds, dogwoods and other spring flowering plants.
5,000 Trees Planted!
Last Friday (April 26th, 2019) was Arbor Day and to celebrate, all of us at Russell Tree Experts teamed up to give back to the central Ohio environment by planting 5,000 trees (via our TREE FOR A TREE® program) at Scioto Grove Metro Park. The section at Scioto Grove Metro Park that received the trees is a donated addition that park managers are actively working to reforest. For decades the land was used for farming crops; in the future, the area will be a lush forest to be enjoyed by the community.
Mulch Mounds! Oh My!
Two days ago I stopped by the local gas station/grocery store compound around sunrise to replenish my truck’s fuel tank. As I drove on the service road passing the commercial property I felt something strange tugging at my peripheral vision, like large chocolate chips dotting the edge of my field of view. I took my eyes off the road for a moment, and sure enough, seemingly overnight the landscape had changed. It was as if a very large community of rodents had decided to move in and dig burrows in the landscape, leaving all the soil in regular mounds, perfectly spaced on the lawn. The next moment I saw that each mound had a tree growing out of it. Then the colors of breaking dawn also brought the light of knowledge to me as I realized “It’s spring, and the mulch mounders are at it again”.
Tree Law: "Who Owns This Tree?"
First and most importantly, I am not an attorney. What I am is a concerned business owner who has an interest in the law. Having recently read Arboriculture and the Law co-authored by Victor D. Merullo and Michael J. Valentine, I am inclined to share my findings in hopes of answering a few common questions we receive every year dealing with liability basics and the general risks associated with tree ownership.
Watch Out for Girdled Trees!
Quite regularly I encounter trees that are being girdled by some sort of material, mostly guy wires or straps installed during planting, and subsequently forgotten. Sometimes there are other things that catch me by surprise. Usually these are things placed by people and never maintained. For this article I will start with the most common girdling issue and then mention some of the other items.
New Research: Boxwood Blight Update
If you read my first installment on this relatively new disease, you will know the major difficulty of this pathogen (Calonectria pseudonaviculata) is that it infects otherwise healthy plants, and once it is at a site, removal and destruction of the infected plants is recommended, with no plant replacement for 3-5 years. This is because the spores remain in and on the soil to infect new plants. Existing asymptomatic plants were to be sprayed with fungicides to help prevent infection.
Trees: Links to the Past and Messages into the Future
Last year my wife and I spent a week or so vacationing with family, visiting Civil War Battlefields. The time was well spent, although sobering to be on the actual soil where so many people died, not that long ago, locked in a struggle that is difficult to understand, at least for me. This article is not about the Civil War, but about two things I found there that came back to me early this year and reminded me a little bit of why I do what I do. I would like to share a bit with you. I know you are busy… Will you stop and sit with me for a moment?