From the ground up: Harsh winter damages trees

We found this great article on thegazette.com that looks at the effect winter will have on your trees and garden. Click here to read or begin below.


"From the ground up: Harsh winter damages trees"
By Lisa Slattery

Winter isn't giving up easily this year, but we know spring will come --eventually-- and with it may come signs of damaged trees and shrubs. Temperature drops to minus 20 degrees is cold enough to leave behind some fruit tree species that may have adverse effects from this winter's extreme cold are peach and sweet cherry trees. Iowa gardeners should expect poor cops on peaches and sweet cherries this summer. Peach trees are not reliable cold hardy in much of Iowa and temps below minus 18 will destroy flower buds on peach trees, while temps of minus 25 or below may destroy the peach trees themselves.

Click here to read the entire article.

Preventing Tree Disasters and Spring Maintenance for Your Yard

Monster Tree Service was recently featured on About.com in a Q&A titled "Preventing Tree Disasters and Spring Maintenance for Your Yard." The article was based off an interview with editor Vanessa Richins Myers and Max Wahrhaftig, Monster Tree Service ISA Certified Arborist. The Q&A goes in-depth to decipher a variety of important issues that may arise with your tree (e.g. if your tree is dead, what trees are most susceptible to storm damage, how close you should plant a tree near your house, how you can tell if the root system is compromised). Read an excerpt from the article below: 

1)How can I know if my tree is dead and not just dormant? What changes and signs can you look for in your tree?

There are several ways to tell if a tree has died. First, in North America, all trees should have leaves on their branches by the end of May. If it's June and your tree has no leaves, it has died. Second, check the buds. Are there buds at the tips of the branches? Are they soft and moist, or dry and crumbly? If the buds are dead or absent, your tree has died. Third, use a fingernail or a knife to scratch off a small area of bark on a small stem. If you can't find any green tissue underneath, or at least moist and bright white wood, it's time to say goodbye. If your tree is rapidly losing its crown year over year, has a profusion of new shoots along the stems, or very early leaf drop, then you are seeing signs of late decline, and the tree is dead or nearly so. When in doubt, have an Arborist check your tree.

2)Which trees are the most susceptible to storm damage?

In general, Bradford Pears and White Pines break very easily under wind or slow loads compared with other trees. Norway Spruces uproot much more easily than other trees. Specifically, your tree may have certain risk factors present that make it a hazard. Aside from being one of the aforementioned species, there are other warning signs to look for, including cracks, poor branch attachments (included bark), fungal fruiting bodies on the stems ("mushrooms"), irregular trunk diameter (bulges), and flat sections of the trunk flare. Again, when in doubt, ask an Arborist to have a look.

3)How close should you plant a tree to your house?

How close a tree should be planted depends on many things, most importantly the species of tree you've selected. Contrary to popular opinion, there is little risk that a tree will grow roots which will punch through your foundation or otherwise damage your house from below (aside from getting into pipes). However, a tree can become a problem in other ways by pushing up driveways and walkways, by casting dense shade to kill grass, by blocking windows, and by growing onto and over your roof. When selecting a tree to plant near your house, consider the species and its mature size, and how long it will take to get that large. For example, an American Dogwood (Cornus florida) will have a sparse crown 20-30 feet tall and 15-25 feet wide at maturity and might be acceptable planted 8 feet from a house, while a Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) may exceed 80 feet in height with a medium to dense crown spreading 60 feet, which might be a problem any closer than 30 feet from the home.

4) How can you tell if the root system is compromised, or if the soil is so loosened by rain that the tree might go over in a storm?

There are several warning signs you can look for which might indicate a tree is especially likely to uproot. A flattened or died-back section of the trunk flare, the part of the trunk which meets the ground, may indicate that part of the root mass has died. Also, construction, including the digging of foundations, the installation of pavement or sidewalks, or "trenching" for the installation of utilities, can all result in roots being cut. Movement of trucks or construction equipment under the canopy of trees can compact the soil structure, starving the roots of the oxygen they need to survive, causing dieback and a possible hazard. Finally, if you see the ground moving, or "heaving," as the tree is rocked by wind, the tree is probably going to fall down very soon and any nearby buildings should be evacuated until the tree is taken down.

5) My tree is covered in snow and/or ice. Should I remove it?

If you can, removing snow and ice from small trees and shrubs can help them weather storms well. Simply tapping Arborvitaes with a rake, for example, can knock off snow and help keep the stems from bending over. Most trees will survive snow and ice just fine, but if they appear to be bending under load and you can safely remove the weight, it won't hurt to do so.

Read the entire article here. 

What Happens to Trees in the Spring?

Now that Spring is blossoming, we found a great article on ehow.com titled, "What Happens to Trees in the Spring" that showcases the multiple effects spring time has on trees. The article discusses how the various elements associated with spring have different effects on trees throughout the season and highlights the positive impressions spring has to offer for the trees. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"What Happens to Trees in the Spring"
By Anise Hunter

In the spring, the days grow longer, animals return to feed and pollinate local plants and people begin to work in the garden again. Spring is a busy time for trees. Deciduous trees sprout leaves again, while coniferous trees create new growth. All trees grow taller. Spring is the time when sap flows, flowers bloom and trees begin to grow and reproduce.

Click here to read the entire article.

Study Finds How Trees Adapt to Climate Change

We have found a great article on Greenoptimistic.com titled, "Study Finds How Trees Adapt to Climate Change". The article looks into the adaptation of forest trees to our constantly changing climates and locates areas where trees are most or least likely to adapt in the future. Read the article below or click here.

"Study Finds How Trees Adapt to Climate Change."
By Mila Luleva

Raising temperatures influence growth and health of all plant species on the planet. This has already been observed as warming has been taking place since the last Ice Age. However, recent changes have caused rapid warming and it is still unknown whether species will be able to adapt.

A new study, funded by National Science Foundation and conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory, will look into adaptation of forest trees....

Click here to read the entire story.

Who says money doesn't grow on trees?

What do trees and coins have in common you say? Coins have been mysteriously appearing in trunks up and down the UK country and have people talking! Read the full article posted on the U.K. website, mailonline.com.

Who says money doesn't grow on trees?
By: EMMA REYNOLDS

They say money doesn't grow on trees. But it certainly appears to do so on the mysterious coin-studded trunks dotted around the UK's woodland. The strange phenomenon of gnarled old trees with coins embedded all over their bark has been spotted on trails from the Peak District to the Scottish Highlands. The coins are usually knocked into felled tree trunks using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune. These fascinating spectacles often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark and warped by the passage of time. The tradition of making offerings to deities at wishing trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare.

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Research On Wood Formation Sheds Light On Plant Biology

ScienceDaily.com has a story about how scientists at North Carolina State University have discovered a phenomenon never seen before in plants while studying molecular changes inside tree cells as wood is formed. Read the full article here.

Research On Wood Formation Sheds Light On Plant Biology

By: ScienceDaily.com

In research published online inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of Aug. 20, the team found that one member of a family of proteins called transcription factors took control of a cascade of genes involved in forming wood, which includes a substance called lignin that binds fibers together and gives wood its strength.

The controller protein regulated gene expression on multiple levels, preventing abnormal or stunted plant growth. And it did so in a novel way.

The controller, a spliced variant of the SND1 family, was found in the cytoplasm outside the cell nucleus. This is abnormal, because transcription factor proteins are always in the nucleus. But when one of the four other proteins in its family group was present, the spliced variant was carried into the nucleus, where it bound to the family member, creating a new type of molecule that suppressed the expression of a cascade of genes.

“This is nothing that’s been observed before in plants,” says Dr. Vincent Chiang, co-director of NC State’s Forest Biotechnology Group with Dr. Ron Sederoff. Chiang’s research team was the first to produce a transgenic tree with reduced lignin. High lignin levels are desirable for lumber, but lignin is removed during the process of making paper or manufacturing biofuels.

Sequoya. Scientists at North Carolina State University have discovered a phenomenon never seen before in plants while studying molecular changes inside tree cells as wood is formed. (Credit: © Galyna Andrushko / Fotolia)

What Is a Tree Worth?

The Wilson Quarterly highlights how trees brighten city streets and delight nature-starved urbanites in the article, What is a Tree Worth. You can read the full article here.

What Is a Tree Worth?

By: Jill Jonnes

On April 8, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt, attired in a dark suit and top hat, could be found in Fort Worth, Texas, where youngsters looked on from a nearby window as he shoveled soil over the roots of a sapling. It was Arbor Day, which schools across the nation had recently begun commemorating, and the ever vigorous president was demonstrating his hands-on love of trees. For Roosevelt, Arbor Day was no publicity stunt. In an address to America’s schoolchildren a couple of years later, he celebrated “the importance of trees to us as a Nation, of what they yield in adornment, comfort, and useful products.” He saw trees as vital to the country’s well-being: “A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as hopeless.”

For centuries, tree lovers mighty and humble have planted and nurtured trees—elms, oaks, ginkgoes, magnolias, apples, and spruces (to name but a handful of America’s 600-some species). “I never before knew the full value of trees,” wrote Thomas Jefferson in 1793. “Under them I breakfast, dine, write, read, and receive my company. What would I not give that the trees planted nearest the house at Monticello were full grown.” But trees were often taken for granted in a new nation that seemed to have a limitless supply.

Then along came Julius Sterling Morton, a nature lover who moved to Nebraska in the 1850s, briefly edited the state’s first newspaper, and soon entered politics. He conceived of an annual day of tree planting, inaugurating a tradition that was rapidly adopted around the country and then the world. (Today, Arbor Day is observed nationwide on the last Friday in April, though individual states mark it on other days.) In 1874, when Nebraska proclaimed Arbor Day an official holiday, The Nebraska City News rhapsodized about trees: “The birds will sing to you from their branches, and their thick foliage will protect you from the dust [and] heat.”

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Which Trees Offset Global Warming Best?

About.com features an article by Earth Talk about how some trees are better than others at absorbing carbon dioxide. You can read the full article here.

Dear EarthTalk: Which trees are best to plant to help combat global warming?
By: Tim C., Perrineville, NJ

Trees are important tools in the fight to stave off global warming, because they absorb and store the key greenhouse gas emitted by our cars and power plants, carbon dioxide (CO2), before it has a chance to reach the upper atmosphere where it can help trap heat around the Earth’s surface.

All Plants Absorb Carbon Dioxide, but Trees are Best while all living plant matter absorbs CO2 as part of photosynthesis, trees process significantly more than smaller plants due to their large size and extensive root structures. In essence, trees, as kings of the plant world, have much more “woody biomass” to store CO2 than smaller plants, and as a result are considered nature’s most efficient “carbon sinks.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), tree species that grow quickly and live long are ideal carbon sinks. Unfortunately, these two attributes are usually mutually exclusive. Given the choice, foresters interested in maximizing the absorption and storage of CO2 (known as “carbon sequestration”) usually favor younger trees that grow more quickly than their older cohorts. However, slower growing trees can store much more carbon over their significantly longer lives.

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How a Tree Grows - All About Tree Growth

How Much of A Tree is Actually Alive? Learn more in this article featured on About.com, part of the New York Times Company. 

How a Tree Grows - All About Tree Growth

By: Steve Nix

Very little of a tree's volume is actually "living" tissue. Just 1% of a tree is actually alive and composed of living cells. The major living portion of a growing tree is a thin film of cells just under the bark (called the cambium) and can be only one to several cells thick. Other living cells are in root tips, the apical meristem, leaves and buds.

The overwhelming portion of all trees is made up of non-living tissue created by a cambial hardening into non-living wood cells on the inner cambial layer. Sandwiched between the outer cambial layer and the bark is an ongoing process of creating sieve tubes which transport food from leaves to roots.

So, all wood is formed by the inner cambium and all food-conveying cells are formed by the outer cambium.

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Monster Tree Service Featured in Turf Magazine

Monster Tree Service was recently featured in Turf Magazine in an article titled,“Why Not Add Tree Services, Too?.” The article discusses how landscaper Josh Skolnick stumbled into the tree maintenance industry, founding a multi-millionaire dollar company, Monster Tree Service. Josh discusses franchise opportunities, and why someone with a landscaping company would benefit from integrating Monster Tree Service into their current business. Click here to read the entire article.

Why Not Add Tree Services, Too?

By Ron Hall

In June 2008, a client asked landscape professional Josh Skolnick to take down a 70-foot-tall elm tree. Skolnick, 25 at the time, had never taken down a tree before. But, since he constantly told clients "we're a full-service company," he hired an experienced tree contractor to remove the elm.

That's when he discovered an opportunity. Leaving the arborist to dismantle the tree, he literally went door to door offering tree removals and related services in the suburban Philadelphia neighborhood where his Skolnick Landscaping had been providing landscape services. In just four hours he sold $20,000 in tree work.

Suddenly, Skolnick was in the tree business.

(Read more)