Tag: woody

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!”

Let It Snow!

Here in Minnesota one of the things that we need to worry about is the cold.  Over the winter we can see temperatures down into the -30s (even the -40s in the Northern part of the state) and it can damage many of the plants that we grow.  The tops of the trees are usually able to handle these types of temperatures — though a good heavy snowfall can cause a limb to collapse now and again.… Continue reading this article “Let It Snow!”

Inspecting nursery plants, part IV

(Note:  this is a really LONG post.  Not in text – but in photos!  Sorry for all the scrolling.)

I don’t know about you, but after spending three weeks on my hands and knees looking for trunk rots, surface roots, and suckers, I’m ready to become bipedal again.  So today let’s look at trunks – and what shouldn’t be missing on them.

Many young trees have numerous short branches along their trunk, as shown in the photo below:

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Unfortunately, many nurseries and gardeners think this looks scruffy, and respond by pruning these branches off, leaving a tree such as the one in this picture:

Personally, I think these trees look like lollipops, but aesthetics aside, this type of pruning can inadvertently damage young trees. … Continue reading this article “Inspecting nursery plants, part IV”

I think about these things as I peer into my coffee cup…

This winter, we’re working on renovating part of the campus Hort Garden. We’re tossing around lots of ideas/themes, but I’m leaning towards a garden full of “Plants with a Purpose”. Edible, fiber-producing, medicinal…you get my drift.  Which brings me to today’s bloggerific topic: beverages.

Mankind has, throughout history, infused or fermented just about every species of flora in an effort to get either perked up or calmed down.  These plant potions are often classified anthropologically as, ahem, “ceremonial beverages”.… Continue reading this article “I think about these things as I peer into my coffee cup…”

Salt solutions

Hopefully everyone got their filling of turkey and dressing over the long Thanksgiving weekend.  I used our unusually mild weather on Saturday to celebrate a time-honored tradition around the Cregg farm: The annual cursing of the tangled Christmas lights.

Turning the calendar over to December in Michigan means another Midwest tradition is just around the corner as well: The annual dumping of the road salt.  Although totals vary, at least one source estimates that road crews pour 8 million tons of salt on roads in the US each year. … Continue reading this article “Salt solutions”

Advice Requested!

Greetings, all!

I am not a tree-care expert, having invested most of my mental capital into herbaceous plant stuff.  But I know enough to be dangerous: spiraling/strangling roots and narrow crotch angles are bad news. But at what point do they become “unfixable”? So I’m asking my illustrious colleagues and diligent readers (a.k.a “all y’all) for advice.

We have a lovely specimen in our campus Horticulture Garden…Acer ‘White Tigress’ – a hybrid between A. davidii and A.… Continue reading this article “Advice Requested!”

Friday puzzler addendum

OK, I know we gave you a tough assignment for the weekend, so I want to post something fun as well.  (Think of this as dessert after your healthy meal!)  Take a look at the photos below:

This hedge is regularly sheared and no one part of it has been maintained any differently than another part.  Both sections of the hedge face east, and the damage is anywhere from 2 to 4 feet from the ground. … Continue reading this article “Friday puzzler addendum”

Inspecting nursery plants, part ll

Well, I’m recovering from this simply horrific chest cold or whatever it is and feeling brain function returning.  The last time we were at our virtual nursery, we were looking for root flare and inspecting the trunk for damage from improper bagging.  Since we’re already down on our hands and knees, let’s consider roots.  In general, you really don’t want to SEE roots, except where they meet the trunk (the root flare).  The presence of coyly crossed “knees” in this photo is a clear indicator of a plant that wasn’t potted up quickly enough:

Likewise, while the fused, circling woody root mass in this next photo might be aesthetically interesting, it sure doesn’t make a functional root system:

It’s pretty easy to avoid these types of plants, because you can see the root problems before purchasing. … Continue reading this article “Inspecting nursery plants, part ll”

What Makes Growers Change?

Over the last few weeks I’ve said a lot of complimentary things about the Minnesota Nursery Industry and how they’re careful to avoid situations where trees are planted too deeply.  What I haven’t mentioned is that there is a reason for this.  During the 1980s and early ’90s trees were usually planted deeply with lots of soil over the uppermost roots.  It was just common practice.  Unfortunately this practice led to roots growing across the trees stems and, when those roots cross the stem, the roots always win  (as you saw in Linda’s quiz last week)! … Continue reading this article “What Makes Growers Change?”

Inspecting nursery plants, part 1

I’m frequently asked to give seminars on selecting healthy plants at the nursery, especially trees and shrubs which can run hundreds of dollars.  (Nobody seems to want a seminar on how to pick out a flat of petunias.)  I routinely visit nurseries with my camera so I can record examples of good and not-so-good choices.  What better forum to share these than on our blog?   I’m also curious whether the problems we see in the Pacific NW are found elsewhere in the country, or in the world for that matter. … Continue reading this article “Inspecting nursery plants, part 1”