Like something out of a children’s story book, galls come in many different shapes and sizes. Galls are also a common type of damage affecting tree leaves, needles, and/or twigs. Their size and shape can range from pointy to round and small or large. The color of a gall can be a simple brown, a bright red, or even blue. This leaf damage can be quite visible and easy to search for too!Continue Reading
I often have clients who contact me because branches on their trees are dying. Their assumption is that there is something going on directly in the branches that is causing the dieback. While that can be the case, there are also a myriad of other reasons why tree branches can die. Here is a laundry list of what I commonly see causing branch dieback in my clinic.Continue Reading
A tree with yellow leaves in your landscape can be concerning. View our guide for causes of tree leaves turning yellow and how to revive your tree’s health. Continue Reading
Most healthy trees should have leaves with an even green color. Leaves should also have a similar size, density, and an even distribution throughout the tree. If a tree exhibits a yellowing of leaves with a network of darker green veins (interveinal chlorosis), this likely indicates a serious nutrient problem. In severe cases the entire leaf turns yellow and leaf size is stunted. Leaves may scorch or wither and drop prematurely. Symptoms may be on a few leaves, an individual branch, and portions or all of a tree.Continue Reading
Ten years ago, I wrote an article for this newsletter about the state of emerald ash borer (EAB) and what the future of ash trees looked like then. If you have kept past newsletters, you will find the full article in the winter 2013 issue. At that time, EAB was relatively new in our area and most ash were not yet affected by this destructive insect. Fast forward to today, we have progressed upward on the mortality curve. Thankfully, death does not overrun the current story for all ash trees.Continue Reading
Pruning is a beneficial management tool and often overlooked when it comes to suppressing diseases. Learn more.Continue Reading
Guess Which Insect? A sloppy painter might finish up the ceiling work and call it day. Cleaning off the brushes with some water and flinging the excess moisture and leftover paint onto the shrubbery. Once this dries you might find tiny white flecks on the needles of your Mugo Pine (or other evergreen host). Maybe it’s a stretch, but this does come around to a tree care topic. These white paint flecks mimic the look of a tiny insect that can damage your trees or shrubs if left alone.Continue Reading
Our comprehensive guide to tree maintenance will walk you through the best time for a tree treatment, when to prune a tree, and more to keep your trees healthy.Continue Reading
Proper tree identification can be tricky. Many trees share similar attributes such as branch and bud configuration, leaf shape, and bark texture, making it easy to mistake one type of tree for another. When it comes to protecting your ash tree against EAB the first step is proper identification.Continue Reading
Well what do you think? Do trees need our help? I was first introduced to this line of thinking early in my career as people would ask me, “Why do I need to treat my trees?”Continue Reading