Spring has sprung here in Michigan; time to get cracking on lots of projects. One of our new projects is an investigation of pre-plant techniques for dealing with root systems on container grown trees. As many of you know, Linda Chalker-Scott is advocate of bare-rooting trees before planting to correct potential root defects before planting. As some of you may know, I’m skeptical of this approach. It’s not that I think root systems are perfect – far from it.… Continue reading this article “Costs and benefits of pre-plant root manipulation”
Author: Bert Cregg
Another good reason to mulch
Posted by Bert Cregg
Researchers often get accused of concluding the obvious. At some point we’ve all scoffed at headlines like, “Study finds cell phones and driving don’t mix” or “Researchers discover high heels make your feet hurt.”* But even when a study demonstrates something we already know, sometimes there is still value in being able to put hard numbers on the scope of the problem – and hopefully spur some action.
A case in point is a recent study by Justin Morgenroth, Bernardo Santos, and Brad Cadwallader at the New Zealand School of Forestry, “Conflicts between landscape trees and lawn maintenance equipment – The first look at an urban epidemic” Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 14:1054-1058. … Continue reading this article “Another good reason to mulch”
Just post some pretty pictures or something
Posted by Bert Cregg
A little over six years ago Jeff Gilman called me out of the blue and asked me to be part of a new blog about the science of horticulture that he was embarking on along with Linda Chalker-Scott. I was reluctant – I didn’t know much about social media at the time and was plenty busy already. Jeff explained that he was recruiting others and how we would rotate posts. I asked Jeff, “What if I don’t have anything to write about?” … Continue reading this article “Just post some pretty pictures or something”
Native vs Exotic: Not as simple as it seems
Lots of discussion recently over on the Facebook side regarding the recent publication in Ecological Letters by Karin Burghardt and Douglas Tallamy, “Not all non-natives are equally unequal: reductions in herbivore β-diversity depend on phylogenetic similarity to native plant community.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12492/full
While there are certainly some things to nitpick in the paper (see Linda’s comments on the Facebook discussion), I think this paper may go a long ways re-shape, and possibly even begin to end, the debate over native versus exotic.… Continue reading this article “Native vs Exotic: Not as simple as it seems”
Don’t just stand there like a statue
Posted by Bert Cregg
Reading through Linda’s recent article in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry “Nonnative, Noninvasive Woody Species Can Enhance Urban Landscape Biodiversity” (Arb. & UF 41:173-186) reminded me of some thoughts I had while I sat through a talk by Doug Tallamy at the New England GROWS conference back in February. As most GP blog readers are likely aware, Tallamy is the author of Bringing Nature Home. The basic premise of the book is that native insects only feed on native plants and therefore the use of exotic landscape plants will cause ecological food webs to collapse and the end of the world as we know it.… Continue reading this article “Don’t just stand there like a statue”
Show me the data!
One of my favorite bumper stickers from days gone by said simply “Stop Continental Drift”. Good luck with that.
Today’s topic deals with another type of drift – a phenomenon one of my professors referred at ‘Bibliographic drift’. This type of drift occurs when authors cite a paper without bothering to look up the original source. Then a second author cites original source based on the first author’s paper; then a third author cites it based on the second paper and so on and so forth. … Continue reading this article “Show me the data!”
Spring vs. Fall planting: Where you stand depends on where you sit
I’m reviewing some literature while working on a proposal and ran across a paper by Lisa Richardson-Calfee, Roger Harris and Jody Fanelli at Virginia Tech on the effects planting date on sugar maple trees. It’s not actually the topic of the proposal I’m working on but the paper caught my eye because spring versus fall planting is one of those questions that just never seems to go away. In this particular study, balled-in-burlap trees planted at spring budbreak had more new root growth than trees planted in the fall. … Continue reading this article “Spring vs. Fall planting: Where you stand depends on where you sit”
Back on the High Line again
Earlier this week I was in New York City and got to visit the High Line for the first time. For those who aren’t familiar, the High Line is an urban park that was created along an abandoned elevated rail line on the Westside of Manhattan. Linda posted about the High Line a couple of years ago. Her visit was in late winter so my visit provided an opportunity to explore the park during the height of the growing season.… Continue reading this article “Back on the High Line again”
Stuck in the middle with you
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you
More than once in the past couple months I’ve come close to pulling the plug on FaceBook. What started as a fun and easy way to keep up with family and friends back home and stalk old girlfriends has devolved into an infinite do-loop of whininess, acrimony and vitriol over GMO’s, organic food, vaccines, and President Obama. … Continue reading this article “Stuck in the middle with you”
A tale of two winters
I’m not sure we’ve ever been quite so ready for the calendar to turn to March. That’s assuming, of course, you live somewhere east of the Rockies. For people on the west coast, the sentiment is probably, “When are those people back East ever going to quit b-tching about their weather…” While I was dealing with 10” of snow and 25 mph winds whipping up 3’ deep drifts on Super Bowl Sunday, my friends back home in Washington state were mowing their grass.… Continue reading this article “A tale of two winters”