Tree Questions

I recently cut all the branches from the ground to about 6 feet up on my Thuja Green Giant Evergreens to expose the flower beds. The trees are about 40 - 50 feet tall, and are in otherwise perfect condition.

Have I killed the trees, and will the branches I cut grow back?

Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,

Michael R

No you have not killed the trees but the branches will not grow back unless you left some buds somewhere.

Thanks for your question.

Tom

Hello,

I live in central Indiana and am trying to establish trees on a very extreme

site. This site was used as a "dump" site in the 70's construction of I-74.

The site is extremely compact and is full of chunks of asphalt, concrete

and rocks of varying sizes. Grass does grow but quickly turns brown when it

gets a little dry. I was wondering if you could reccommend spruce and pine

species that might have the best chance of surviving here. I was also

wondering what hardwoods you might reccomend?

Thank you for your help.

T.J.

Based on my experience in the northeast I'd recommend Scots pine (Pinus sylvestra) or Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). Note that both are very hardy. In the case of black locust this is not a favored tree in some native forests, though it is hardy and a great nitrogen fixer. It is sometimes hard to get rid of.

Good luck.

Tom

I live in Central NJ and I planted some trees and bushes last spring and some have died. My friend put in a pool and he gave me 2 10' white pines. I transplanted them, but one is dead and the other one looks like it's also going to die. I want to replace these. What would you suggest? I am interested in an evergreen tree. I don't want to purchase a 10' tree, but would probably try 5-7 ft. I have some colorado blue spruces, but may want something different. These are not used for borders, but are used for privacy in conjuction with other trees. I also planted row of leyland cypresses on a different part of my property and one is dead. Should I replace it now or wait unti fall? I noticed there are some good prices at the nurseries (summer sale).

I also lost a Hinoki cypress in the front of the house and have the same question. Do I repalce it now, or wait till fall? Thanks Ira .

I'd try the white pines again and be patient with the one that remains. After they grow a bit prune them each year in order to retain the bush shape. I had a wonderful white pine hedge in New York State years ago.

You might also try Norway spruce or Scotch pine--these trees are survivors in the New York area. The Colorado spruce will grow slowly. The leyland will probably also grow fine.

Transplant in October or November or early spring. Don't disturbe the trees now.

Hope this helps.

Tom

Pines are a little different. You sometimes have to soak the seeds, or even heat the cones to get the seeds out, depending on the species.

Good luck.

Tom

> We have a dogwood tree in our yard that has been slowly going down hill over

> the past few years. I'm hoping it is not too late to do something about it.

> Each year it has had less blossoms and leaves and now near the end of summer

> the few leaves it does have turned brown already. We live in TN so we have

> hot summer weather, but I have seen other dogwood trees in the neighborhood

> that are doing fine. Any ideas about what the problem could be or what we

> might be able to do to save it?

Rufus

It is probably Anthracnose, and as such I don't believe there is much you can do. There may be resistant dogwoods available. You can get lots of information by entering into Google "dogwood anthracnose Tennessee"

Tom

I read your online article concerning the California Oak worm.

I have several California Oak trees in my yard.....one over 200 years old

and another around 150 years old.....all of my others are probably ten

years plus old. For two straight years, the oldest two and some of the

others have been defoliated by a ugly black worm with a bulbous head about

an inch long. This happens to me in Sep and Oct, whereas everything I

have read indicates that this usually happens in the Spring? So, I am not

sure if this is the same as indicated in your article.......if you would

like a picture let me know.

If this is what I have I assume the non-toxic insecticides listed on your

web site will work, however, the 200 year old is extremely tall and

impossible for me to spray????

Would appreciate your help.

Galen S.

Hi Galen

Yes, that BT should work on it. Sometimes the oak moths do multiple

generations in a year. The 200 year old oak will likely survive regardless.

Thanks for your question.

My friends the Tuolumne Band of the Southern Sierra Me-Wuk eat Black Oak

acorn, prepared in the form of a carbohydrate drink, known as Nupa and of

course in other forms (stew, bread etc.). In discussion with them they have

on occasion asked about the status of Sudden Oak Death Syndrome, which was

much in the news as afflcting North California Oaks. It was also reputed to

be spreading. I actually made a small donation to the research team at U.C.

Berkeley (my alma mater) some years ago. But I have heard nothing about the

disease's status recently. Could you tell me what the status of the disease

is or refer me to a data source?

Thanks Steve

Yes. You can check the recent article I wrote about coastal SOD at www.forestdata.com/sod2.htm and, for more detailed information, you can go to www.suddenoakdeath.org

For you the good news is that SOD is climatically limited and the southern Sierra is unlikely to become significantly affected until such time as it gets a lot wetter and warmer there. Also tan oak is much more vulnerable than black oak.

Thanks for your inquiry.

Tom

Hello,

I am new to managing a property that has a lot of oak and cotton wood trees. There is a current vendor who has been 'spraying' the trees twice a year for the past 15 years. The spay used did seem to cause irritation to my cat/dogs eyes and also to my eyes. Can you please let me know if 'spaying' trees is necessary? Also...can you recommend a vendor in the area (Thousand Oaks, CA) who can check out the trees at this property? There are about 50 trees...thank you.

Stacey

Your trees are natives. From time to time they might get defoliated by a leaf-eating worm, but they should do just fine without any spraying. I'd say you can lay off the vendor and save a few $$.

You could probably talk to the forester at LA County Fire. I believe his name is Lopez. Alternatively Dave Rogers in Riverside could probably provide you with the name of somebody nearby. You could also contact TreePeople in LA, or ask at the Forest Service office. I think there might be one in Filmore.

Good luck.

Tom

Subject: my tree sounds like it's cracking

Hi Tom

it's like 0 degrees here in Minneapolis and my tree, when a few hairline fractures, it looks like, is making constant cracking noises.

Do I need to be concerned about it falling on my house?

Thanks - Peter

Yes. Of course frost cracks are natural, but you also have a seam where water turns to ice, and therefore pushes the two trunks apart. One or the other trunks of this tree (which looks like a silver maple) could quite easily split and fall. You might be able to put a bolted steel bar through it to prevent the failure. Ask an arborist whom you trust.

Thanks for the question.

Tom

Hello. I saw your website when I was trying to find help for my tree which appears sick. It primarily has a green coating of fungi of some kind growing up the trunk and seems to have caused some deep crevices in the trunk wherever the green coating it( I tried to hose some of it off, and allot did come off). Also now I notice this season my tree is lacking leaves at the top and leaves are thinning out throughout the tree. I would really appreciate ANY help or suggestions in any way. Thank you, Jackie L.

I don't think you provided enough information here. Like everything else Google is good at diagnosing tree problems. Enter the most descriptive words you can think of including the kind of tree (genus and species), location, "fungus" and description of the growth and see if you find a photo of your tree.

Hope this works, because I haven't a clue.

Regards

Tom

I was wondering if you could tell me about aussie trees…My boss is looking for some info and says its called an AUSSIE tree. Are there any diseases or insects related to this tree?

Heather

I think you probably mean Eucalyptus trees--they are the quintessential "Aussie" trees. There are 500 species of them, so there are lots. And then there are all the acacias, melaleuca and other types.

Check out the aussie tree of the day on our website. There is a new tree for each day of the month. www.forestdata.com/autree.htm

Regards

Tom

At school we are researching about old growth forests and are using your

site to help us complete this task.

We would like to know if you could name a few old growth forests that

still exist today and 3 timber characteristics that could be found in

these forests.

Thank you

Yours Sincerly,

Alana and Fiona

The Headwaters old growth redwood forest in California (near Fortuna) is the most famous one. There are also old growth redwood forests (giant sequoia Sequoiadendron gigantea) including the world's largest tree in the Sierra Nevada of California. In Chile you can still find a few Allerce trees, and in New Zealand you can find the old growth beech (Nothofagus spp) forests. The characteristics are that there are of course very old trees, but there are also snags (dead standing trees), downed logs, and openings in the forest where new trees will grow. In terms of carbon they are neutral--old growth forests rot away just about as fast as they grow. You can probably find a few photos on our website.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely and good luck on your project.

Tom

Hello, I am having a problem with a weeping willow that we planted 3 years ago. It is about '10 tall now and was doing well last year. This year it sprouted leaves as usual about a month ago and appeared to be normal. I noticed the leaves seemed to have stopped growing any longer than about 1" long and most of them were dry and could be stripped off the branches. The tree has been watered well all winter so that isn't the problem. I think the problem is the bark on the trunk. I had cats that were clawing on it and about 1/2 the bark has been disturbed and the center is exposed. I have covered the affected area to prevent further damage but I am afraid the tree may be doomed. Any ideas? Thanks! John H.

Weeping willows are fast growers, need a lot of water, have a lot of diseases, mites, cankers, etc. and so may not last too long. Sounds like the tree is responding to a dry year (right now) and perhaps the cats, and there are so many problems associated with weeping willows I don't know where to start. For instance take a look at

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/tree/willow.htm

perhaps some of this will resonate with your tree.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your tree.

Tom

We have a few trees that our horses ate the bark off the trees.

1st tree they started from about one foot up from the ground and went up to about six feet from the ground and ate all the way around the tree. All the bark was stripped from the tree. What do we need to do to save the tree?

2nd tree was only a small section about one foot wide and two feet up. They did not go all the way around this tree. What do we need to do?

Thank you for any help,

Mary

The first tree is probably going to die if the horses reached the inner bark. The second might live--keep the horses away! Good luck with your trees.

Tom