Last summer, I had the opportunity to introduce our field staff to the practice of yoga. In heavy work boots and on a hard concrete floor, we made our way through Triangle Pose, Downward Facing Dog, and even a few Sun Salutations. Practicing yoga for 20 years and teaching it for the last 10, I’ve learned that the stretches and postures of yoga can help keep the joints and soft tissues of our body, like muscles and tendons, healthy and functional.
Growing Degree Days
This semester I am enrolled in a class called Integrated Pest Management, taught by Dr. Luis Cañas at The Ohio State University. One of the first lectures we had was centered around the effects that the environment has on insect populations. As we explored this theme we soon came across the concept of “growing degree days”, and I was reminded of how useful this idea is to increase awareness of what is happening in the natural world around us and to be aware of when potentially damaging insect pests are about to emerge.
Oak pruning, fascinating tree facts, and other thoughts
Here we are, fresh out of the holiday season, and the end of January is in sight! I wanted to reach out to you with some timely advice concerning trees, some reminders of why trees are so essential to life as we know it, and perhaps some other thoughts that might sneak out through my fingers as I type.
"Can you recommend a tree that is not messy?"
“Can you recommend a tree that is not messy? One that will not drop fruit, or twigs, or stuff all over the place.” This is perhaps the request I run into the most when someone wants advice on what trees to plant. The first time I heard this one I had to fight the urge to smile and reply that yes, there are trees like that which also happen to be disease-free, not attacked by any pest, grow quickly (instantly, in fact) to the desired size, shape, and color you want them to be and never need to be pruned…
Drought Stress!
The passing of time seems so fast that it can skew our perception of the present. In central Ohio, most non-farmers are still thinking about the record amount of rain fall we experienced this spring, so much so that we didn’t really pay attention when the wet spring turned into a dry, dry, summer and fall. I drive around large parts of town, regularly covering over 100 miles of road per day, and trees are what I notice…
10 Trees with Amazing Fall Color... and One You Should Avoid!
I was recently pruning trees in a newer neighborhood on the east side of Columbus where every house had two red maple in the front yard. Although Red maple is a native tree to Ohio, this subdivision was planted with a cultivated variety of the species called ‘Red Sunset.’ ‘Red Sunset’ red maple was selected and well marketed for its compact habit, good branching structure and most notably for its showy and reliable orange to red fall color.
Tree ID Quizzes
We’re always looking for fun and exciting ways to educate our employees and customers. Below are two quizzes we initially made for our crews to improve their tree identification skills — now we’re making them available to you! Don’t worry if you get a question wrong, you’ll be informed of the correct answer right after each question! The quizzes feature over 40 common trees to central Ohio so you’ll be able to walk outside and quickly apply what you’ve learned.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side (no, really!)
When people in Japan coined the term ‘shinrin-yoku’ in 1982, they likely weren’t inspired by Lou Reed’s now classic 1972 hit. But shinrin-yoku, which translates in english to ‘forest bathing’, is a practice that takes us back to our wild side, back to experiencing the calming and healing qualities of the forest and all of the plants and animals that reside there.
Floral Designs with Flowering Trees
Spring! We made it through the monochrome silence of winter and now, suddenly, spring clashes with a crescendo of color and I just can’t wait to get my hands on the proof, the promise of life - flowers. I love watching while tree and flower friends wake up from their long, quiet naps. Every year I am sure I am the first to greet them. Hello, my beautiful friends!
Mulch Mounds! Oh My!
Two days ago I stopped by the local gas station/grocery store compound around sunrise to replenish my truck’s fuel tank. As I drove on the service road passing the commercial property I felt something strange tugging at my peripheral vision, like large chocolate chips dotting the edge of my field of view. I took my eyes off the road for a moment, and sure enough, seemingly overnight the landscape had changed. It was as if a very large community of rodents had decided to move in and dig burrows in the landscape, leaving all the soil in regular mounds, perfectly spaced on the lawn. The next moment I saw that each mound had a tree growing out of it. Then the colors of breaking dawn also brought the light of knowledge to me as I realized “It’s spring, and the mulch mounders are at it again”.
Tree Law: "Who Owns This Tree?"
First and most importantly, I am not an attorney. What I am is a concerned business owner who has an interest in the law. Having recently read Arboriculture and the Law co-authored by Victor D. Merullo and Michael J. Valentine, I am inclined to share my findings in hopes of answering a few common questions we receive every year dealing with liability basics and the general risks associated with tree ownership.
Watch Out for Girdled Trees!
Quite regularly I encounter trees that are being girdled by some sort of material, mostly guy wires or straps installed during planting, and subsequently forgotten. Sometimes there are other things that catch me by surprise. Usually these are things placed by people and never maintained. For this article I will start with the most common girdling issue and then mention some of the other items.