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When a Storm Strikes
Tree Care
When a Storm Strikes
By Arbor Day Foundation | August 14, 2018
Never is danger greater to a tree than during the inevitable trial by storm. The weight of ice or snow and the fury of wind test the strength of limbs, trunks, and roots. The homeowner, helpless at the moment, can only watch and hope that the tree survives. Survival or loss — the key can be the care you give your tree before and after a storm. Knowing ahead of time what to do when a storm strikes can prevent or minimize your financial loss.
The Right Tree for the Right Place
Tree First Aid After a Storm
1. Take safety precautions. Be on the alert for downed power lines and “widow makers,” dangerous hanging branches ready to fall. And, unless you really know how to use one, leave chain saw work to the professionals.
2. Remove broken branches that are still attached to the tree. Branches should be pruned at the point where they join larger ones, following the steps shown below.
3. Don’t top your tre..
Keep Deer Away with These Trees and Shrubs
Landscape Design Tree Planting
Keep Deer Away with These Trees and Shrubs
By Sheereen Othman | August 13, 2018
One of the most common culprits for browsing on trees are deer. They love nibbling on fruits and nuts and have no shame leaving their mark. Tree guards, repellants, and fences can be great deterrents to keeping them away and protecting your trees. But at times, the effort of constantly playing defense can get exhausting. Luckily, there are trees and shrubs that provide great shade, look beautiful, and rarely appeal to deer.
These trees and shrubs are sectioned into two categories: rarely damaged and seldom severely damaged and are best for landscapes prone to deer damage.
Rarely damaged: the highest degree of deer resistance a tree can receive.
Seldom Severely Damaged: the second highest degree of deer resistance a tree can receive.
Flowering
Rarely damaged
Arrowwood Viburnum
This shrub adds plenty of seasonal interest to any landscape. Creamy white flowers a..
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Raspberry
Tree Care
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Raspberry
By Kim Peacock | August 8, 2018
How to Plant and Care for Everbearing Red Raspberry Bushes
Everbearing red raspberries are self-pollinating and have two crops, which make them a favorite for the home garden, as well as commercially.
Heritage Everbearing Raspberry is picked by gardeners for its flavor, firmness, and large fruit size. This bush has two harvest seasons with a moderate yield in July and heavy yield in September until frost. Preferred uses include extra-sweet, juicy fruit that is good fresh, canned or frozen.
September Everbearing Raspberry is one of the most popular home and commercial cultivars. It produces crops in two seasons, with a light crop in June followed by a heavy crop in September. The berries are medium-size, tart, juicy, rose-red raspberries with small seeds. Preferred uses include fresh eating, frozen, and in preserves and pies.
Read Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Grapes
Choosing a ..
6 Ways Urban Trees Make You More Active Outdoors
Misc Trees
6 Ways Urban Trees Make You More Active Outdoors
By Sheereen Othman | August 6, 2018
Healthy Trees, Healthy Lives
Spending time outdoors in nature is not only fun, but it’s therapeutic and rejuvenating. Time spent in nature improves your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Residents who live in greener communities are three times more likely to be physically active and 40 percent less likely to be overweight than those living in less green settings.
To kick-off National Exercise with your Child Week, we’re sharing 6 ways trees lure you outdoors and make you want to stay there.
Shade
People like to stay cool, so when there are opportunities to walk or sit under a shaded area, residents are more likely to go outdoors. But it doesn’t only apply to parks and green spaces, trees in the city brings more people to the city. Evaporation from leaves can cool a neighborhood by a few degrees during the hottest periods. Summer heat waves make this more evident than e..
Happy American Adventures Month
National Forests
Happy American Adventures Month
By Sheereen Othman | August 2, 2018
Did you know that August marks American Adventures Month? American Adventures month was started by adventurer Peter Kulkkula as an initiative to celebrate and explore American lands. With more than 400 national forests and state parks and hundreds of wilderness areas, there is so much to be explored. Our nation’s forests are a beautiful place to start.
Forests are full of natural wonder and recreational opportunities. In 2016, national forests saw an estimated 148 million recreation visits.
Forests filter our water. More than 180 million Americans depend on forest watersheds for their drinking water.
Forests are the largest natural carbon sinks in the world. National forests sequester more than 50 million metric tons of carbon every year. Slowing climate change and cleaning the air.
7 Natural Adventures to Visit This Summer
Forest are home to unique wildlife habitat. National forests..
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Grapes
Tree Care
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Grapes
By Kim Peacock | August 1, 2018
How to Plant and Care for Grapes
Concord, Niagara, and Catawba are all native American bunch grapes. The grapes are used for the table, juice, jelly, jam and wine.
For grapes you must be particularly careful to match the type and variety of grape to the site’s climate. We recommend that you consult with your local county extension service, local nurseries, or gardening neighbors for the best selections for your area.
Read Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Blueberry
Choosing a Site
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Prefer a deep, acidic (low pH 5.0-6.5), well drained, sandy soil, but they tolerate a wide range of soil types except alkaline and wet. Organic matter content should range between 4-5 percent, but a highly fertile soil is not recommended. If the soil is too fertile, the vine grows too fast and doesn’t bear well. If possible, do a soil test and amend the soil before planting.
Pollinatio..
Designing a Landscape with Trees
Landscape Design
Designing a Landscape with Trees
By Sheereen Othman | July 30, 2018
Plants are some of the easiest (and most sustainable) ways to make a landscape more vibrant and welcoming. Planting the right tree for the right place helps ensure that your tree will live a healthy life for years to come. The most successful designs are those that are planned and take climate and environmental factors into consideration.
The Right Tree for the Right Place
This guide will help you get started on creating a healthy and functional yard using trees and shrubs.
Plan Before you Plant
What do you want? Before you can narrow down your tree selection determine why you are planting a tree. Here are some of the most common reasons trees are planted in the home landscape.
Shade: Do you want to add shade to your yard? Pick a tree with a broad canopy that will cast a big shadow.
Beauty: If you want to enhance your curb appeal, consider planting something with vibrant color or uniq..
How to Properly Water Your Trees
Tree Care
How to Properly Water Your Trees
By Arbor Day Foundation | July 27, 2018
Guest post by John Lang of Friendly Tree.
Now that summer is in full swing, watering your trees properly is one of the best ways to keep them healthy and stress-free. With much of the Southwest United States currently in drought conditions, consistent watering is key to happy trees. But did you know — the most common watering mistake is actually too much water?
Whether it’s too much or too little, watering can be tricky if you don’t know how to do it. Follow this guide to ensure your trees make through summer with flying colors:
When to Water
During a summer afternoon, up to half of the water can be lost to evaporation. The best time to water is in the morning or evening, so the roots have a chance to absorb most of the water.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic schedule for watering trees. How often you should water will depend on the size of your tree, soil conditions, and weather conditio..
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Blueberry
Tree Care
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Blueberry
By Kim Peacock | July 25, 2018
How to Plant, Care, and Prune Blueberry Bushes
Northern highbush blueberries are natives of North America. They are an upright bush with a relatively shallow, fibrous root system and woody canes. Fruit is borne on buds formed during the previous growing season in late summer. Highbush blueberry plants leaf, flower, and fruit in June. They are used as hedges, shrub borders, beautiful ornamentals or for wildlife.
This guide will take you step by step, from selecting and planting the right fruit trees, bushes, and vines for your backyard garden or orchard, all the way to upkeep of your mature tree.
Read Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Blackberry
Choosing a Site
Light: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil: Moist, acidic, organic, well-drained soil. Highbush blueberries require a soil pH of 4.0-5.2. If you do not have acidic soil, it can easily be changed by working with a local lawn and gar..
The Carbon Footprint of Coffee
Arbor Day Coffee
The Carbon Footprint of Coffee
By Jon Ferguson | July 23, 2018
Great coffee starts with great beans, but harvesting beans requires energy, energy that releases carbon. There are so many people involved from seed to cup that it makes it more crucial than ever to offset carbon and cut emissions wherever possible. One pound of roasted coffee produces an average of 11 pounds of carbon. The three largest culprits of carbon emissions in the coffee supply chain happen at the farm, mill, and consumption level.
Harvesting coffee emits a lot of carbon, which is why growing coffee in harmony with trees is so important to offsetting these emissions. In countries where limited resources are available, much of the traditional harvesting methods that don’t depend on heavy machinery are more sustainable than modern techniques.
But the greatest area of carbon emissions happens at consumption. Think of a coffee shop and all the energy it requires to operate. Things like..
TruGreen Helps to Distribute Free Trees to Communities in Need
Community Tree Recovery Corporate Partnerships
TruGreen Helps to Distribute Free Trees to Communities in Need
By Abbie Eisenhart | July 20, 2018
Guest post by our friends at TruGreen.
In celebration of National Arbor Day, TruGreen once again teamed up with the Arbor Day Foundation to support the Community Tree Recovery Program. Several TruGreen branches in the areas of Buffalo, Detroit, and Boulder helped homeowners by planting trees in areas affected by natural disasters. These new trees were free and will help to replace those lost to the emerald ash borer and hurricanes of 2017.
Detroit: Kevin Sayers, Michigan DNR Urban Forestry Program Coordinator, Service Manager Tony Bryant, Christine O’Neil, and Service Manager Tom O’Neil.
Buffalo: Service Manager Bob Chu along with his branch team leading tree planting efforts to support TruGreen.
The events in each community were led by branch leaders and branch teams. According to Caleb Hall, TruGreen general manager in Litt..
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Blackberry
Tree Care
Caring for Fruit Trees and Bushes: Blackberry
By Kim Peacock | July 18, 2018
How to Plant, Care, and Prune Arapaho Blackberry Bushes
Blackberries are often considered one of the easiest fruits to grow at home. They are a native species to the United States and grow as a small shrub or trailing vine. The fruit from this plant can be used for table fruit, syrup, jams, and jelly. Proper care starts when you select a proper plant, and what you do in its first few years of life will affect its shape, strength, and even its life span.
This guide will take you step by step, from selecting and planting the right fruit trees, bushes, and vines for your backyard garden or orchard, all the way to upkeep of your mature tree.
Choosing a Site
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Prefer acidic to slightly basic (6.0-7.0), well-drained, organic soil. However, they adapt to most soil types except alkaline and wet. If you have clay soil, you will need to amend with organic matter. To increas..
Helpful Tips & Articles
Up With Trees Inspired to Re-envision Program Outreach by Trees Forever
Urban and Community Forestry/Green Infrastructure
Up With Trees Inspired to Re-envision Program Outreach by Trees Forever
By Matt Spitsen | October 17, 2018
This year, Alliance for Community Trees hosted a mentor exchange program for members through a grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The mentor exchange program paired smaller non-profit groups with larger groups and allowed them to learn by travelling to their location and doing a site visit.
Guest post by Steve Grantham, Executive Director, Up With Trees
Before the Mentor Exchange, I had never been to Iowa. Everything I knew about the Hawkeye State had come from following the Iowa Caucuses, watching The Music Man, and being a fan of Big Ten football (GO BLUE!). Three days in and around Cedar Rapids gave me a newfound respect and love for the state, the people, and the mission of my host, Trees Forever.
If you ever have the chance to sit across from and talk to Trees Forever’s Executive Director Shannon Ramsey, do..
Girdling Roots And What To Do About Them
Tree Planting
Girdling Roots And What To Do About Them
By Arbor Day Foundation | October 15, 2018
Guest post by John Lang of Friendly Tree.
Imagine wearing a belt around your waist that is being squeezed tighter and tighter, and you’ll get an idea of what girdling roots do to a tree.
Girdling roots are more common than many people realize, yet they can be deadly. When lateral roots at (or sometimes, just below) the surface of the soil encircle or cut into the main trunk of a tree, the flow of water and nutrients becomes restricted. The longer a tree has to deal with girdling roots, the weaker and more unstable it becomes.
What Causes Girdling Roots?
Typically, girdling roots don’t just “happen.” Trees in urban environments are exposed to certain factors trees in nature don’t have to contend with, which can cause numerous issues, including girdling roots.
The most common cause is improper planting/transplanting. When trees remain in their nursery containers for too long..
Ask an Arborist: How do I Avoid Damaging my Tree’s Roots?
Ask An Arborist
Ask an Arborist: How do I Avoid Damaging my Tree’s Roots?
By Arbor Day Foundation | October 10, 2018
One of the most common questions we’re asked by members is, “what can I do to avoid damaging my tree’s roots?” In this video, Pete explains how roots stabilize our trees, how they help our trees grow, and how much space they need to grow and thrive.
How long are tree root systems and how deep do they grow?
Most roots are found within the top two feet of soil. The majority of tree roots grow within the dripline of a tree, the area at the edge of a tree’s crown where rainwater would drip. It is important to see the root flare of a tree, the area at the base of the trunk that spreads out to the roots. Identifying the root flare helps to determine whether a tree was planted at the appropriate depth and how healthy its root system may be.
How do I avoid damaging my tree’s roots when planting?
Surface roots are common on trees that were not planted deep enough. ..
