Posted on October 26, 2009 with 1 Comment
Every fall you your family goes through the same routine, and let’s just say it’s not one that many enjoy. Of course this routine is one of the least popular chores; raking leaves have given blisters from the 7 year old boy to the 65 year old grandfather. While we all love the colors of the Northeast during autumn months, we for sure do not enjoy the work that is endured picking them up. Yet, the question that is often overlooked is; why do the leaves actually fall off the trees?
The leaves of the tree are there for nutritional purposes as well as to collect some water. When the cool are of late autumn and early winter arrive the leaves are open to the dry weather of these months. With dry air the leaves cannot contain the moisture inside of them since they are flat, thin and susceptible to harsh outdoor weather. In order for the tree to make it through the winter it must have its water and nutrition supply stored in other places. To keep away from the cool dry air the tree moves its water and nutritional supplies towards the trunk leaving the leaves without any of the two. This allows the tree to live through another winter and ready to blossom the next spring. A downside of the tree’s adapted defensive mechanism is how brittle some of the outward branches become. Since the water is brought closer to the trunk, the branches become more brittle. Any type of snow or ice accumulation can send these strong healthy branches of the summer crashing down to the lonely life-less ground below.
There you have it, the reasons why trees loose their leaves in the fall.
Posted on October 26, 2009 with No Comments
Creative Commons License photo credit: OregonDOT
As winter creeps up on us here in New York, there are many different things that as homeowners we have to and should do to maintain the plant life on our property. In recent times the spraying of antidesiccants on shrubs, evergreens, and some broadleaf plant life has really caught on to the general public. What happens in the winter time is that plant life will tend to dry out because of the lack of moisture and the cold. Antidesiccants help plant life by sealing the plant’s stomata (a plants sweat pores) therefore creating a waterproof sealant. Antidesiccants are sprayed on your plants and trees creating almost a waxy covering that sticks to the leaves and needles and locks in moisture for a healthier winter season.
The process of applying antidesiccants to your plant life is actually quite simple. Our technictions will spray the waxy coating on your choice of evergreens, shrubs and as well as plants. The spray is at first a white waxy-like substance but after just a short time it dries and becomes clear. Some use antideiccants right before gathering cuttings from the flowers. Spray about an hour before hand then cut, this will lock in moisture and it tends to root surprisingly well afterwards. Others actually use the spray more often than others, spraying antidesiccants once a season or so. The growth on your trees, especially broadleaf evergreens, will be more apparent in the spring.
JP McHale Pest Management’s Tree and Turf Department offers an anti-desiccant tree and shrub service. Please visit our Tree and Turf Department’s page or contact us now for a free evaluation of your property.
Posted on June 19, 2009 with No Comments
Arborist Inspecting A Leaf
Most Americans have a full landscape of trees that not only add value to the property but provide a quiet, comfortable, and enjoyable amount of living space. There are many ways that you can ensure trees continue to thrive and grow for hundreds of years to come.
There are several simple methods that people do not realize that can drastically contribute to the quality of life and health of a tree.
- When planting a tree, make sure that you remove the burlap covers that comes from the nursery, or metal wire that hold the roots and dirt together. This prevents gurdling roots from developing.
- If you put mulch around your trees, use the “Mulch Volcano” method. At the bottom of the tree, mulch should be moved about six inches away from the tree. This will ensure that the tree does not rot with the sitting much around it.
- If you spot dead branches, perform “Dead Pruning” and cut all the dead areas off the tree. Call a professional if needed.
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Mulch Volcano
Make sure that your trees don’t grow into each other. This will make sure that the trees get the proper sunlight needed to grow.
- You should water trees like plants. Everything outside your home needs water to grow.
Along with those methods there are some that might not be possible for the average homeowner, and need to call a professional in. Some of these services include:
- Fertilization, also called a deep root feeding. The arborist/technician will use a hose with a special attachment to inject the trees roots. This not only breaks up the soil compaction around the tree, but provide slow releasing nutrients, and make them readily available to the tree for proper grow and stimulation.
- You can aerate around the bottom of trees to ensure moisture gets to the roots that lye below the ground. Compaction can sometimes be a major concern.
Deep Root Feeding
- Systemic Injection is where an arborist/technician will inject the tree’s vascular system with an insecticide to protect it from insects that feed on trees such as caterpillars, gypsy moths and beetles. Providing quicker, longer lasting results.
- An Anti-Desiccant can be applied to trees that keep their foliage over the winter. In November and December and even in January. We recommend this service so that trees will not loose their moisture over the winter, during the cold whipping winds. This is an application also utilized when moving trees, Anti-Desiccant will protect the tree during transplanting. Keeping the moisture in a tree is imperative to the trees life.
- Horticulture Oil is great for the trees in late October/November. Also called “dormant oil” The oil, when applied will kill insects and their egg masses by smothering them and preventing them from overwintering on the branches.
*In the approaching two weeks keep an eye out for the emerging grubs, they have now developed into their adult stage of Japanese Beetles. Plants and trees that Japanses Beetles feed on include, Japanese Maple, Norway Maple, Horsechestnut, Hollycock, Gray birch, American chestnut, Rose-of-Sharon, Shrub Althea, Black walnut, Flowering crabapple, London planetree, Lombardy poplar, Cherry, black cherry, plum, peach, Roses, Saasafrass, American mountain ash, American linden, American elm, English elm and grapes.
