Arborist Blog

I am finally able to talk about that snow storm, it gave me PTSD! Over 2 feet on my greenhouse brought it to the ground and did over $10,00.00 in damages to it....And then there are the Japanese Maples I've worked on for years that are now in Maple Tree Heaven with the Angels.

I am cabling all my Japaneses Maples that remain so next snow storm they will not break, there is special ropes we use to support the trunks and hold them together. The cabling or rope is flat and wide so it doesn't dig into the bark or wood, the rope can expand and stretch just enough to prevent damage but not hurt the tree. The cabling ropes are camouflaged and installed 2/3rds the way up, hardly noticeable but will save trees!

Tall wispy trees like White Birch that are bending all over the place look awful, however I believe they will straighten them selves out over the summer and it's almost impossible to cable those skinny, wispy top branches.

So I recommend that if the branches are not broken then leave them alone for the summer and we can all see if the are going to straighten up. If they don't straighten up then we can do some topping or pollarding to reshape them and get a new crown, pollarding them is the last thing to do but will save the tree and it will look a lot better.

Next time I hear it's going to snow I'll take it more seriously and protect my trees before the snow!!! I do expect it to happen again next winter, plants can be covered with tarps and trees can be tied up.

The snow was beautiful for a few hours then it was not, my wife and I live on a farm in the woods on top of a hill we were snowed in for a week, running the generator and eating our home canned foods, I knew my phone was going to be ringing of the hook as we used to say and it did...it was sad to see all the trees damaged it gets an Arborist right in the tree huger part!

Steve

The Pacific Northwest is a great place to live, on a world wide scale I can’t think of a better place, especially if you like big trees! I love big trees!

When the winds get strong there is added stress to our trees because they can’t run inside and wait it out. Trees have to” weather” the storms, stand there and take it right in the face. The trees out in the forests depend on these winds to get a free hair cut, weak and loose branches are dislodged and fall to the ground, foliage flies every where. This storm residue is also food for the forests as it breaks down due to soil biology, it becomes tree food. This cycle doesn’t always work when we have our house in the middle of it all. The trees around houses need to be maintained, climbed and thinned before the strong winds and this work should be supervised by a Certified Arborist, it matters what branches get removed. Trees also need the missing food source replaced with organic tree food, when you clean up that mess your removing tree food.

Big trees use their branches to dampen the wind, absorb  and disperse energy to protect the tree from catastrophic failure. The trees have a structure that has to be maintained during thinning to keep the trees’ wind system working properly.

After a storm when you go out to look at the mess on the ground, look up first…look for “widow makers” or broken branches about to fall. Pick your path carefully and stay out from under the trees until you get them looked over in the daylight.

As we look forward to summer around here it came  a little brutal. The last few summers have been real dry and this is a drought as far as the trees are concerned, how much water does a 90′ tall Cedar tree need?

You’ll be amazed at what they can drink, but they also get confused in a drought. A mature Red Cedar can drink 400 gallons of water in one day, that’s why they live here.

However a tree in drought stress can over drink if too much water comes at once, so water them slow. The foliage let’s water escape and when water is scarce they close up some to slow the water evaporation down. If they get a huge drink it kinda water logs them and can cause branches to break and fall, the reaction is slow for the tree to know it has water now.

Any way water your trees, at the drip line, where the rain would drip off the leaves and hit the ground…it’s dry under a tree, so water at the drip line.

You can use a soak-er hose or a sprinkler to give them a drink, but like in the old western movies in the desert the guy is dying of thirst but he can only have a little at a time!

Steve

Seeing signs of stress and or decline early enough can save your trees. Douglas Fir tees have a few tell-tell indicators of just how they are feeling and are easy to read.

Douglas Fir branches have a turned up tip, I always called it a smile and if they are not smiling then something is askew. Sometimes the heavy new growth will weight them down for awhile in the early summer but the rest of the year it should be a smile.

Douglas Firs will have cones on cycle of about 6-7 years apart, if you have cones more often than that it could be stress seeding, the last of their energy is spent on making seeds. It make take a year or two for ou to remember to notice it seems the cones are constant. The way I can check on a site visit is if I see brown cones from last year and then there are green cones from this year…not a good sign.

Compare the color of the foliage to other Firs in the area, Douglas Firs should be a dark green not yellow or light green.

Needle  drop or needle cast us Arborists call it, heavy needles on the ground and bare looking branches, again compare to other Douglas Firs.

Hope these tips can help you feel better about knowing the trees around you, if you see any of these signs call a Certified Arborist, like me, to come have a look.

I almost get in a car wreck everyday looking at the flowering trees, not really, they are so welcoming after the cold wet winter. My favorites are real cherry trees the kind that gets cherries. After that big show of flowers comes tasty little cherries…if the birds let you get any!

The trees that flower only and don’t set fruit have no pollen either, nothing for bees, humming birds and no cherries. So I think they should all be fruit bearing, so what if you have to clean up some old fruit once a year at least it’s honorable…lol

Steve

I get amazed at the advice some people get from tree services…Just because someone can run a chain saw does not mean you are a tree expert! Some people who pay for me to come over and really tell them what’s going on with their trees, usually have a story for me…like well the tree guy said that the trees were all bad and had root rot from those beetles..  Now there are beetles and there is root rot however these afflictions have clear signs. Just because a tree guy needs money is not a reason for removal.

Always consult an independent Arborist who does not work for a tree company and most independent Arborists have companies they can recommend and or work with on occasion.

Spring is here…and a little snow maybe.

Steve

These late winter days are rough…there is more sun but still to cold to plant seeds. I’ve seen some Camellias blooming already, some swollen Rhodie buds and a few bulbs poking up. Not sure if it’s comforting or agonizing..it’s still too cold to be out side playing in the garden.

Planning is the only alternative, I’m goring to move those shrubs this year, plant some nut trees and maybe a couple more peach trees too..wait I was supposed to do all that last year! Oh well maybe this year!

Hang in there friends it’s almost over for at least a few months!

Steve

Wow what a start to the stormy season, I was so spoiled I forgot where I lived!

The summer was so awesome you could count on sun everyday…my back was dry! That has changed…

A few trees have come down in the last few days and all the trees I looked at had root rot. It is important to learn the signs of decline so you don’t get that surprise. When a tree goes down people see one up close all the way to the top and that is a realization of a big heavy and some times scary thing laying in the yard, like a dead Dragon or something.

Suddenly all trees seems dangerous and that is not the case, we do need to learn to live with the big ones, what are the needs of the tree.

Often over looked is…the tree…sure it stands there all day and says nothing but it is  alive and has basic needs, When basic needs are not provided to any living thing they decline, immune systems get over taxed and disease or insects appear for the bounty.

I typically charge $75.00 for a on site tree inspection and the cost can go up from there depending on the situation, location, accessibility and quantity. So it is not that expensive to have me take a look and teach you how to “keep an eye”on them.

It’s so nice having a dry back while working on trees! It’s looking like a dry hot summer, so we need to water our trees!

Trees in the woods have compost and tree litter as mulch to help them conserve water, but the trees in the yard usually don’t.

The woody plants, trees and shrub like plants should get watered at least once a week in the summer, Try to get at least an inch to soak in the ground.

The place to water a tree is called the drip line, that is where the rain drips off the leaves onto the ground, trees know where the water will be. Have you noticed it’s dry under a tree? We run under a tree in the rain, I bet the tree knows it’s dry there too so why put your drinking roots there?

Adding a few inches of good mulch, compost around the drip line will help save water too!

Enjoy the sun!

Steve

She was a friend and a great defender of plants.

Lynda Mapes of the Seattle Times published a lovely article about Cass online:

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/plant-amnesty-founder-cass-turnbull-dies-at-65/

and Peggy Sturdivant wrote in the Ballard News-Tribune:

https://www.westsideseattle.com/ballard-news-tribune/2017/01/30/large-ballard-cass-turnbull