Spartan Mowers Releases 2025 Product Lineup
Jessica Schwartz
Performing A Tree Species Analysis
Do your clients have too many of too few tree species? Probably. An overabundance of just a handful—such as elm, eucalyptus, Austrian pine, ash, silver maple and linden—is problematic. With species-targeting maladies such as Dutch elm disease and emerald ash borer, over-reliance on a particular tree, tempting as it may be, usually leads to big problems. Any property can be greatly improved with an evaluation aimed towards achieving greater tree diversity. Have The Conversation Among the services you provide to clients, is a tree species diversity analysis one of them? Or maybe that’s not the right term. “Right Trees, Right Place” or “Let’s Grow the Good Stuff” might get the point across better to customers. When you’re making the pitch, use terms and concepts they can relate to, such as an HVAC service contract. Create the analogy that periodic landscape assessments are essential to the continued health of the plantings, just as regular heating and cooling system inspections ensure equipment is operating efficiently. When the time is right, a walk and talk with the property owner is a great opportunity to point this out and transform problem plantings into a profit center. Create A Simple Sketch No expensive tools are needed for this one—just a sketch pad, or graph paper, and a pencil. Identify each tree and plant grouping and look for ways to introduce a more diverse group of species. A simple tear-off pad with your company logo and contact information on it will help keep the notes you ...
Three Tree & Shrub Pests To Watch
Last December, a CNN article declared 2020 as the year of scary bugs. But 2021 has perhaps been worse with the return of the infamous murder hornets, 17-year-dormant Brood X cicadas, spotted lanternflies, and more. Unfortunately, pests can sabotage the enjoyment of outdoor spaces. And 75% of people deemed outdoor spaces as indispensable this past year, according to a survey conducted on behalf of TruGreen by OnePoll. To ensure outdoor spaces remain a place of reprieve, here’s the latest information on some of the most problematic invasives that affect trees and shrubs. Emerald Ash Borer Originally from Asia, the emerald ash borer (EAB) was first discovered in the Detroit area around 2002. Strong flyers, they have since spread to 35 states (AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, Nebraska, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, TX, VA, WV, and WI) and four provinces in Canada. Though half an inch long, the metallic green EAB causes great damage to the circulatory systems of green, white, and black ash trees. Adults emerge in late May (or earlier in warm weather), with females laying eggs shortly thereafter. Upon hatching, larvae quickly bore into the tree, feeding on the cambium and disrupting the tree’s vascular system. Feeding damage inhibits the tree’s ability to transport photosynthates, water, and nutrients between the roots and leaves, resulting in canopy thinning, branch dieback, and epicormic sprouting. Often, EAB presence and damage may not be obvious to clients ...
Fall Leaf Mulching
For those in landscaping, fall is one of the hardest working seasons of the year with shorter daylight hours, large projects wrapping up, and the tsunami of leaves which “need” attending to before the snows fall. But what if the annual ritual of leaf clean-ups was reexamined? What about a simpler method, with a better understanding of the entire landscape, that leads to less labor, more profit, and satisfied customers? The Why When it comes to fall cleanups, you tend to see a lot of young bravado on display. I say that with certainty because in my younger days, I was long on biceps, but short on wisdom and learned intelligence. Then, in 2003, while walking in the woods one day, I noticed there was hardly a sound at my feet. The leaves hadn’t started falling yet and there was virtually no leaf litter on the forest floor. I leaned over, looked more closely, and noticed the remnants of skeletonized leaves—and lots and lots of worm cast. Hmm, I had never thought about what happens to leaves in the woods? As a landscaper, leaves were something one got all pumped up about in October, something that had to be handled, literally, in the coming weeks. “Leaves are bad, I’ve got to clean them up,” was the mindset. Around 2000, I had downsized my business. Gone were the leaf vacuum trucks, the workforce, and most of the equipment, so how was I going to handle leaves with a body that wasn’t ...
Tree Services: Taking Tree Care To New Heights
Editor’s Letter It finally happened this summer. Standing on my porch, a flicker caught my eye and there it was—a spotted lanternfly (SLF). I had been reporting on these invasives for several years, but had never encountered a live one in my area, let alone my yard. But I knew they were coming. Inevitable. While SLF was new to me, I had been witnessing the impact of hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) for months in my hikes along the Hudson Highlands in NY. Quiet, sacred stretches of forest, whose shady understory was once dotted with the gorgeous “redwood of the east,” were clearly showing the effects of this Eastern and Carolina hemlock-killing insect with no native predators. It’s heartbreaking. Factor in emerald ash borer (EAB) and other invasives and quite simply, the very existence of some native trees is at risk—as we learned with the catastrophic American chestnut blight. Yet in today’s global village, the influx of such threats is an ongoing problem. SLF, HWA, and EAB, are detrimental to our forests, yards, and communities, so learning early identification and proper treatment are key not only for your tree care clients but for ongoing biodiversity. When it comes to promoting biodiversity—and with the abundance of species selective insects—John Fech, a horticulturalist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, offers a perspective on the need for a greater variety of trees, or plant palette, on landscaped properties. Better yet, he takes you step by step through the process of performing a tree species analysis, ...
OSHA Issues Updated Guidance For Tree Care Industry Inspections
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a memorandum updating its enforcement guidance for compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs) when inspecting tree care and tree removal operations. The memorandum highlights some of the hazards faced by workers engaged in tree care and tree removal operations, and provides CSHOs with guidance on some of the OSHA standards that address those hazards and some of the situations where citations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s General Duty Clause (29 USC 654(a)(1)) may be appropriate. Some of the issues addressed in the memorandum include falls and falling objects, use of personal protective equipment, electrical safety, occupational noise exposure, hand and portable powered tools, machine guarding and first-aid kits. OSHA is currently considering the issuance of a proposed tree care standard (see Spring 2021 Unified Agenda). This standard, if adopted, would protect workers who prune, repair, maintain, or remove trees, and address the safe use of tools and equipment and on-site support of tree care. Learn more about the tree care industry safety here. Want to talk about tree care with fellow lawn care and landscape professionals? Join the discussions in the Tree Care Forums at www.expired-link.com.
Late Summer Tree Care
Late summer is a good time to look for potential problems in your customers’ landscapes. Early leaf color changes or drop, galls on external tree tissues, and caterpillar webs are three of the possible things that may be affecting your customers’ trees and shrubs. But before you start up the chainsaw and chipper in despair, recognize that not all stress symptoms are a death sentence for the plant. Early Leaf Color Changes. We look forward to a good fall foliage color display in October and November, but what if those colors appear early—in August or September? Premature color change can be an indication that a tree is lacking the vigor to withstand insects and disease organisms that may attack it—or there could be environmental imbalances as well. Heat, drought, and drying winds affect trees, causing leaf color changes as a response to stress. Are there only one or two branches affected? This could be a sign of a disease at work, especially if the affected leaves also have dark spots or are discolored. The more common situation is for the entire tree to exhibit premature fall coloration, a phenomenon usually linked to root-related stress. And to complicate the diagnostic process further, there are several tree species genetically programmed to go dormant during hot summer months and drop browning, curled leaves in response to heat stress. The best way to counter early leaf stress symptoms is to know which tree species you are working with. Are those curled, brown leaves on ...
Three Tree Diseases To Watch
Tree diseases continue to be a problem throughout the country causing harm and threatening otherwise healthy trees. The Davey Tree Expert Company’s Diagnostic Laboratory identified the top three most common diseases they diagnosed over the course of 2020. These top three diseases affect the appearance of a variety of trees from conifers to deciduous, and, if combined with other factors, can be deadly for a tree. Keep a close eye on these diseases in your area because they can be anywhere, and they aren’t going away in 2021. Rhizosphaera Needle Cast. The number one most common disease of 2020 and the most problematic of the three diseases, Rhizosphaera Needle Cast is a fungal disease that can be found affecting conifer trees across North America. Spruce trees are the most susceptible to this disease, as well as fir, pine, and hemlock species. Alone, Rhizosphaera Needle Cast will most likely not kill a tree after one season—but in combination with other elements, it can be a contributing factor that results in tree death or decline. There are simple visual symptoms one can look for that help determine if a tree has Rhizosphaera Needle Cast without a diagnosis from a lab. These include excessive needle drop, thinning of the canopy (especially from the bottom up), and a purple to dark brown color of the inner needles. Fortunately, there is a treatment for Rhizosphaera Needle Cast. Since it’s a fungal disease, a fungicide application can be used as a preventive to reduce infection ...
Preventative Tree Care For Long-Term Health
You never want to leave money on the table—no matter what type of business you operate. But when arborists or tree care professionals leave the job site without talking to the homeowner or property manager about preventative tree care, that’s exactly what happens. Worse, this also means you’re not leveraging your skills and expertise to help keep people, as well as their pets and property, safe. Here are few preventative services all tree care providers should be offering. Recommend regular and routine pruning. Regular pruning will not only help keep your clients’ trees vigorous and looking their best, but it’ll help you spot potential red flags long before they cause problems. For example, your client may not notice that his or her maple tree is starting to display some troubling symptoms of leaf spot. But once you get to the property and set up your gear, it’ll become obvious to you. Alternatively, you may notice an insect issue developing on your client’s ash or citrus trees, which will require immediate action to head off more serious problems. But you can only notice these types of things if you are regularly visiting clients’ properties and getting up close with the trees. Additionally, by getting your clients to sign up for a regular pruning service, you’ll stay front-and-center in your client’s mind. This means he or she is less likely to go surfing on the web for other tree care providers when they do need services. Always monitor mushrooms growing near ...
A Clean, Controlled Fell
Contributed by Husqvarna Cutting down a tree, also known as felling a tree, requires planning, skill, and a healthy amount of respect for your tools and the tree. Depending on the surroundings, environment, and size of the tree, it can be a potentially dangerous job that is best left to trained arborists. However, if the tree is a manageable size, a well-prepared person with the right tools can fell a tree safely and efficiently. When planning to fell any tree, some basic elements should always be followed: Be Well-Equipped – If you haven’t already done so, get adequate training for chainsaw usage. Make sure your saw is in optimal working order, with fuel, bar oil and a sharp chain, properly adjusted. Invest in personal protective equipment (PPE), including helmet, ear and eye protection, gloves, proper boots, and chainsaw-resistant chaps. Always wear PPE when operating a chainsaw. Assess The Tree – Understand the height and diameter of the tree as well as the lean, which may require different cutting techniques (more below). Understand the dynamics of tree-felling, especially what could go wrong. Examine Your Surroundings – It’s important to look all around, considering obstacles the tree could contact during the fall, the wind conditions during the job, as well as the slope of the ground you are working from. You need to plan where the tree will fall and plan your own safe escape route. A Good Start – A chainsaw is best started on the ground, with the chain ...
Fall Fertilization Of Trees & Shrubs
Just like turf, trees and shrubs are healthiest when the soil in which they are growing has sufficient nutrients and conditions to promote root development. With cooler temperatures and seasonal rainfall, roots of woody plants tend to grow at a higher rate in the fall than in the summer. This new fine root development allows for an increase in water and nutrient uptake. Nutrients taken up in the fall months are stored and ready to relocate to the leaves next spring. For this reason, fall is an excellent time to fertilize woody plants. With concerns about the environmental impact of excess fertilizers and the high costs of some nutrients, professional arborists are promoting the use of “prescription fertilization.” This is the process of establishing goals for fertilization, collecting samples for soil and/or foliar nutrient analysis, and applying only deficient nutrients during the fertilizer application. Goals are based on what the client expects to achieve with the fertilizer. These include promoting growth, overcoming nutrient deficiencies, maintaining health, replacing nutrients lost to leaf raking and removal, and/or increasing disease resistance. Identifying goals provides direction on the type and amount of fertilization. Soil & Foliar Samples Soil samples are the most common type of analysis arborists use to determine tree and shrub nutrient needs. Soil samples are collected from the area beneath the tree or shrub crown. The depth of sampling is based on the area where fine roots are in their highest concentration—in most areas, this is the upper 6” of ...
