Last week a neighbor of mine called me up to ask how likely it was that their 4 year old (or so) crab apple tree was dead. Sometime over the course of the winter cute fuzzy bunnies had decided that the tree’s bark was tasty and decided to eat it. Naturally they ate it all the way around the circumference of the tree with the exception of a strip about an inch wide. At this point you’re probably asking yourself why the neighbors suspected the tree might be alive. … Continue reading this article “When Trees Don’t Know They’re Dead.”
Tag: stress
Planting trouble: multiple trees in one hole
[I enjoyed Jeff’s Valentine story so much that I thought I’d stick to the theme of togetherness…for better or worse.]
A week or so ago a reader asked about the practice of planting three or four fruit trees in the same hole. Having not heard of this before, I checked on the web and found many “how to” pages geared to home gardeners who either want a longer harvest of a particular fruit (early to late) or a mixture of different species. … Continue reading this article “Planting trouble: multiple trees in one hole”
Good to the last drop
As part of our discussion of the relative merits of fall planting, Linda mentioned an article in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry that suggests that frequent, light irrigation might be better for landscape trees then the usual recommendation of infrequent soakings. While I will withhold final judgment until I see the article (I did a scan of the last two year’s table of contents for A&UF but missed the article in question), here’s my rational for following the standard recommendation.… Continue reading this article “Good to the last drop”
Surviving the desert with beauty and efficiency
I’m away this week for an out-of-state seminar and a little annual leave. Some of my favorite places to visit this time of year are the high deserts of California. Today we hiked to Horse Thief Creek, a relatively easy trail in the Santa Rosa Wilderness. It’s the perfect time of year to see the high desert in bloom, especially with last winter’s substantial rainfall.
In graduate school I became interested in environmental stress physiology, and I still am entranced by the plant kingdom’s ability to overcome nearly every environmental extreme on earth. … Continue reading this article “Surviving the desert with beauty and efficiency”
Better Red than Dead!!!
David, one of our newer readers, asked why his red-stemmed roses seem to be more cold hardy than the green-stemmed cultivars. So today’s blog will be dedicated to a brief discussion of why it’s better to be red than dead.
The brilliant red, blue, and purple colors seen in flowers and fruits are due to anthocyanins (and the closely related betacyanins). These water-soluble, non-photosynthetic pigments are also commonly found in stems, leaves and other vegetative tissues. … Continue reading this article “Better Red than Dead!!!”
Are natives the answer?
Last week Jeff kicked off a lively discussion about invasive plants. Let me state up front that no one on this blog is promoting invasive plants. But the issues surrounding invasive plants are extremely complex and have profound implications for many groups with whom we work in landscape horticulture and urban and community forestry. It is essential in these discussions that we separate fact from hyperbole. In some quarters, lines have been blurred and people fail to make key distinctions and lump exotic, alien, or non-native species together with invasives. … Continue reading this article “Are natives the answer?”
Friday puzzle solved!
Great discussion over the weekend, with some very astute observations. If you looked at the brown needles under the tree in Friday’s picture, you may have noticed that some of them weren’t needles:
Not only was this tree planted too deeply, as several of you pointed out, but the burlap and twine were left intact. It appears the nylon twine has already started to girdle the trunk, based on the trunk swelling just above where the twine is wrapped.… Continue reading this article “Friday puzzle solved!”
Friday fun!
It’s the holidays, but this pine tree is feeling anything but merry. It was installed about a year ago. While the upper foliage looks lush and green, the lower branches have no new needles and in fact the current needles are dropping:
This is a two part question:
1) What might be directly responsible for the needle decline on the lower branches? (Hint: this is caused by the plant itself.)
2) What might be the underlying stress causing the needle decline? … Continue reading this article “Friday fun!”
Inspecting nursery plants, part lll
By now you’re probably ready to stand up, brush off your pants, and stretch your back after crawling around looking for surface roots and root crowns. Not so fast! There’s one more thing to look for – and to avoid.
Take a look at these two photos:
You can easily see the suckers at the base of these trees. Whether or not they are actually suckers (coming from the roots) or watersprouts (coming from the base of the trunk) doesn’t matter. … Continue reading this article “Inspecting nursery plants, part lll”