Killing Them With Kindness

There's nothing more relaxing than a hammock between two trees to hang out, and enjoy the weather, read a book, take a nap, or my personal favorite, pick the banjo.

tree girdled by strap

However, you have to attach the hammock somehow.  Many people with the best of intentions use a strap or tie a rope around the trunk to hang the hammock, to avoid wounding the tree by screwing in a big metal hook.   Unfortunately, when the hammock is taken off for the season, the straps are often left on, year after year.  as the trees continue to add new rings of growth, the straps compress and strangle the vital conductive tissue that moves water and nutrients up and down the tree.  Trees do the best they can to compensate, but they can only take so much, and eventually they succumb, or break at the point of compression.

After straps are removed

This is also a common pitfall in tree planting.  Stakes are often used to help support a tree during it's early establishment period, and one common method of attaching them is with wire around the trunk, with a piece of tubing to prevent abrasion.  It is not always necessary to stake a small tree, in fact it seldom is.  Tree develop quality trunk taper and root structure by reacting to the forces around them. The stakes and wire should be removed after the first year in the case of most small trees.  The problem is, that doesn't always happen, and our desire to help the tree succeed becomes it's demise.


MULCH....MULCH.....MULCH
Mulch is great for trees, it helps to regulate soil temperatures, it helps retain moisture, inhibit weed growth, and return nutrients to the soil.  BUT, if not used correctly, it can kill trees.

• Excess mulch holds moisture against trunk and flare tissues, promoting development of girdling roots, and potential stem and root rots.
• the excess depth can inhibit water air and nutrient penetration, which can lead to anearobic conditions that may be toxic to plants
• It provides a place for rodents and insects that may cause damage to hide.

So, love your trees.  Take off straps and wires before they can girdle your tree, mulch them wide, not deeply, and they will love back! And get a hammock frame, so you can put your hammock wherever you want it!

Buy a hammock frame (It's cheaper than cutting down a tree!)

 For more about planting and mulching plus other great tree care advice, visit www.treesaregood.com

Money Grows on Trees.....

WIFFIM.

What's In It For Me?

That's a question everybody asks to some degree when they are deciding on just about anything.  When it comes to tree care there are many ways one can answer that question.

• Taking care of my trees makes me feel safer.
• Taking care of my trees makes my yard prettier, and nicer to be in.
• Taking care of my trees helps me feel like I'm doing something good for the environment.
• Taking care of my trees helps me do less work in my yard. 
• Taking care of my trees pays me money (Wait! What?)

Money doesn't grow on trees does it? Well it does, for me sort of, since I'm in the business of taking care of trees, but for you, the tree owner? Really?

YES! There are numerous studies that show trees can:

• Improve peoples health
• Increase property values 
• Create a sense of well being 

All very nice things, but let's face it, the values appear to be a little bit subjective and variable, squishy perhaps.  Well there's a tool you can use to firm that up in dollars and cents.

The National Tree Benefit Calculator

Developed in part by Davey Tree Experts (plugging my employer here) this online tool can provide you with an analysis of what your tree provides to you in economic and environmental benefits.

You can also have some fun with iTree Design, to see how virtually "planting" trees can impact your bottom line.

You can always contact me to help be your green investment advisor.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Hopefully, you're reading this because you have finally had your power restored, or maybe you're reading it on your mobile device.

If you're in Southeastern PA, especially in Chester County, you took a hit, and so did your trees.  Ice weighed down branches past the point of no return, some entire trees came crashing down, and unless you're really lucky, the power went out.

As you're beginning the clean up, please keep a few things in mind:

LOOK UP! there are cracked and broken branches still hanging in trees just waiting to let loose.  Don't work underneath those areas, call an arborist to help remove those hanging branches safely.

LOOK DOWN! Watch your footing, slips, trips and falls resulting breaks starins and sprains are common when working on icy uneven surfaces.  Throw down sand or salt to help you keep your feet, and move deliberately and carefully.

LOOK FOR WIRES! Trees hanging or leaning on wires may be come energized with deadly levels of electrical current.  wires can energize anything metal they may touch.  If you see a situation like this call your utility company.  Many arborists are not qualified to work around conductors and most will not, without cooperation from the utility to make the situation safe.


Finally, once the snow has gone, have an arborist evaluate your trees.  They may need additional loving care to help recover from the damage caused by the ice and snow.

Stay warm, and stay safe!

Winter Tree Care

Cold Enough For Ya?

You're probably sick of the ice, snow, and cold temperatures.  You wish you could go dormant, like your trees.  Believe it or not, tree care still happens in the winter....

Winter is a great time for :

• Tree removal: Frozen ground lets crews get equipment closer to trees without damaging the landscape, and the labor intensive nature of the work helps crews keep warm.
• Ornamental and Structural Pruning: without leaves on trees, pruning for structure becomes easier to do, especially on young trees, where it can be one of the best ways to ensure a strong tree!
• Larger projects: Got a whole lot of trees that need pruning?  Winter is a time of lower demand, where companies can easily dedicate larger crews and longer periods of time to jobs, often at reduced costs.
• Pruning Certain Pest Susceptible Trees: In areas where Oak Wilt is present for example, it is required that oaks are pruned while dormant to help prevent disease transmissions.

Where Trees and People Come Together

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it still make a sound?  It's an age-old question that can be answered in many ways depending on how you choose to analyse it.

Owl Nesting in Tulip Tree Cavity

When a tree falls in the forest, nature continues on with business as usual, animals shelter in the debris, arthropods, fungi and bacteria get down to the business of breaking down all that organic material, and the rich black layer of humus grows.  It's an ancient process, and it goes on without any input from us.

But what does it mean when humans and trees occupy the same space?  It means a lot.  We love to modify our environment. In fact for our lives as we live them now, it's a necessity. Trees provide raw materials for building, we plant them and care for them to create the kind of environment that we want to live, work and play in.  But we really change their lives, don't we?  we grade and compact the soil, we take away all the valuable litter that they used to recycle, we plant them where they don't want to be and say "GROW!"

We love trees....BUT

BUT "It's too big"
BUT "It drops leaves/fruit/bark"
BUT "I'm scared it will fall on my house"
BUT "It's growing lopsided"



And that's where I am needed, where trees and people exist together. That means more than just getting a crane and a crew on short notice to get the tree that ripped through a  new client's roof in a storm, it's giving her a hug and telling her it's going to be OK  it's taken care of , giving her a moment of calm before she has to face the insurance adjuster.  It's changing a light bulb for a client who is too old and frail to do it when you're there to estimate a tree job, and then she shows you the birthday card her and her best friend have been sending back and forth since before you were born.

It's about keeping the trees on a client's property healthy and growing, so they can do all the things they love in their yard, and feel safe doing it.  It's evaluating a historic tree with problems, and helping people to hold onto that piece of history that means so much to them.

To take your relationship with trees to a new level, visit Davey Tree Experts or Contact Me!

Still some winter left? Maybe, Maybe Not

 I seem to remember as a child in the Hudson Valley, there was always snow, and lots of it every winter.  Perhaps it was just the selective memory of childhood, but it seems to me decades later, that winter has become unpredictable. 

Snow fall forecasts despite models, maps, and professional opinions still can be summed up with the sarcastic statement "we're getting somewhere between a dusting and a foot."

There seems to be no substitute for looking out the window, or using a similar real-time weather recording device like the venerable weather rock.

When your work is affected  by weather you start to get a little crazy.  You're looking at 20 different weather blogs, listening to the radio, watching the TV, trying to make the right descision, and you know what? You still might as well flip a coin, or ask a groundhog.

So relax........ and hope we get to see some more beatiful snow covered landscapes like this before spring comes and we're off to the races!