Frost Cracks Explained
An ISA Board Certified Master Arborist explains frost cracks. Here in the frozen North, we pride ourselves on our hardiness and ability to embrace the winter. Whether indoors or out, we have all developed adaptations that help us get through the cold and dark. Our native trees and shrubs are no different, having evolved over […]
The Art of Pruning Young and Mature Trees
Ever since the agricultural revolution, humans have been pruning trees. While the tools and techniques have changed, the underlying purpose has remained the same: we’ve needed to tame nature. Pruning was originally used to increase orchard production and create sustainable sources of firewood but eventually expanded to include the landscape management we often think of […]
Bird Populations Might Benefit From Emerald Ash Borer
I recently read the 2013 study, titled Effects of Emerald Ash Borer EAB on Four Species of Birds by Koenig, Liebhold, Bonter, Hochacka, and Dickinson from Cornell Lab of Ornithology with great interest. In Michigan they found both red-bellied woodpecker and white-breasted nuthatch populations increased in areas with EAB infestation from 2005 – 2012. The […]
Winter Stem Protection for Young Trees
Protecting the trunks of young trees is one of the most important things we can do to help with establishment after planting. It is essential in order to set a tree up for a long and successful life in the landscape. The question to ask is, how to protect your tree in winter? Winter subjects […]
What Happens After a Storm?
Here in Minnesota, we’re fortunate to not have to deal with some of the worst that Mother Nature can throw at us, but we do still have significant storm events. While trees are quite resilient, everything does have a breaking point. When storms come through our area, we inevitably end up dealing with broken limbs, […]
Have You Flossed Your Trees Lately?
Stem girdling roots grow against soil covered tree trunks, compressing the vascular system, and ultimately reducing the tree’s life span. As the trunk expands, the roots close in on the trunk, forming a tourniquet which slowly strangles the tree to death. When these trees fail, they break off at the base like a ball and […]
Trees and Pesticide Use: Finding a Balance
I try to see both sides of most issues. I’m willing to consider two seemingly contradictory, yet only contrary, viewpoints at the same time. I’m a Vikings fan, but I don’t hate the Packers. (I do hate the Cowboys since in my youth Drew Pearson did push off.) I think the conservatives have great ideas; […]
Emerald Ash Borer
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is serious insect pest of our native ash trees in MN. Although new to Minnesota in 2009, EAB has killed hundreds of millions ash trees in North America since 2002. Learn more at the EAB Network. The State of Minnesota has roughly a billion ash trees. Treating ash trees with insecticides […]
Our Least Favorite Pest — Sawfly
One of our early season “most wanted” for insect and disease control is the European pine sawfly usually found on Mugo, Scots, red, and various other pines. An infestation of these glutinous, greedy little larvae starts as a few stray larvae feeding on an inconspicuous shoot and grows into massive numbers that strip an entire […]
What Are These Orange Trees?
Do we have orange trees in Minnesota? Yes, we do have trees in Minnesota that are orange. However, they are hawthorn trees that have turned orange due to a non-harmful disease called quince rust. Some refer to the disease as cedar apple rust but that’s a little different. Quince rust infects the hawthorn fruit when […]