Steve's Forestry Blog May 2008 Archive

Royal Paulownia's beauty, quick growth and wood value make the tree extremely popular but somewhat hard to find. Here is a short list of producers of Royal Paulownia planting ... Read More

Bernhard Eduard Fernow, a German forester, emigrated to the United States in 1876 simply because he met an American woman who would become his wife. She suggested their marrige be ... Read More

Pin oak is named for a characteristic where small, thin, dead branches stick out like pins from the main trunk. Pin oak is among the most widely planted native oaks ... Read More

Hoedads are hand tools used to plant bare-root trees by the thousands quickly and mainly used by experienced crews. They are designed for steep slopes versus the dibble tool, used ... Read More

A lot of trees are dropping leaves and have brown spots according to my email. These spots are probably symptomatic of leaf spot disease. Leaf infections called "leafspots" are ... Read More

Axel Erlandson's passion for sculpting trees, also known as arborsculpture, started out as a hobby for the amusement of himself and his family but turned into his life's work as ... Read More

"Here's some interesting videos of tree felling. The first shows a guy using wedges in the process of felling a good sized tree. I'll leave it to the experts ... Read More

The United States Department of Agriculture takes herbicide application practices very seriously. You have to have a state pesticide handlers license to apply many of these chemicals or even to ... Read More

New seedlings and saplings need plenty of moisture. Lack of water is the main cause of severe stress to newly planted trees. Mulch is a trees best friend, period! It ... Read More

Q: I wonder if you can help me. We have a very old yew tree on our property (centuries old with a dbh of probably 4 feet). Last year cattle ... Read More

I have a Japanese Maple Tree purchased from a nursery and planted two years ago. I believe it to be an Acer palmatum. My concern is that all of ... Read More

Q: Just a month ago, I bought a Cornus Florida "Rubra" plant from my local nursery and have planted it on a small sloping bed on the east side ... Read More

Japanese maple is one of the most versatile trees for any yard, patio or garden and can be planted though out several broad hardiness zones in the United States. Often ... Read More

"When coming back, this week, from Myrtle beach, I spotted several trees that were leafless but had beautiful light blue to lavender flowers on them. The trees were ... Read More

Ideally, growing trees should be fertilized throughout the year. The greatest amounts should be applied during the early spring and summer months. Right now is an excellent time to fertilize ... Read More

The fast-growing, deciduous mimosa has a low branching, open, spreading habit and delicate, lacy, almost fern-like foliage. Fragrant, silky, pink puffy pompom blooms, two inches in diameter, appear from late ... Read More

Q: I am renting a house and have three 2 year old trees in the garden. Each tree has a wire cage still encasing the root ball. I have not seen ... Read More

David Beaulieu, About's Landscaping Guide, says Frederick Law Olmsted is known as the "father of American landscape architecture". Among other achievements, his was the mind behind Central Park, New ... Read More

Tree roots usually invade through water and sewer lines that are damaged and in the top 24 inches of soil. Sound lines and septic systems have trouble with root damage ... Read More

"Had a call today from a woman, frantic that space aliens had invaded her tree. After she explained what kind of tree it was I pretty well knew what ... Read More

Small engines, including chainsaws, can be frustrating to start. This is especially true when starting a saw that needs a tune-up or when engine temperatures are extremely cold. Many ... Read More

Guy Sternberg, along with Jim Wilson, has written an excellent book called Native Trees for North American Landscapes. Here is a portion of an interview done with co-author Sternberg. Question: ... Read More

There are 2.3 billion acres of land area in the U.S. and forest land was about one-half in 1630 (one billion acres). Some 300 million acres of forest land have ... Read More

Steve, I thought that studies had shown controlled burns were not advisable in eastern U.S. forests, that the undergrowth there is not a problem the way it is in the west. ... Read More

Joe is a forester who worked for a major forest product company in the southern United States. He became acutely ill and was unable to help with his own diagnosis ... Read More