Cold enough yet?

It’s officially winter in New England and while the temperatures haven’t reached their worst quite yet – your plants are already beginning to feel the effects! Those wet leaves you left on the lawn are
smothering your turf. Shrubs begin to buckle under the weight of hefty snow piles. You name it – your
plants are having a rough go of it!

So what are some keys to maintaining them in the winter? What techniques exist that will help give
them the best chance of rebounding quickly in the Spring? Well, that’s what we’re here to discuss today: Keys to maintaining plants during the winter. Let’s jump right in!

With the holiday season quickly approaching and pretty soon it’s going to be time to put up your Christmas tree. Nothing gets you quite in the spirit like handpicking that live tree with loved ones knowing that it’ll bring with it a sense of warmth, cheer and memories in the month to come.

That being said – if you’re like some, you might be an early bird and shop for that tree early. While that means that you’ll both beat the crowds and get the pick of the proverbial litter; it also means that you’ll have to care for your tree for a longer period of time. That longer period of time can mean more room for the tree to dry out and potentially begin to die off before the big day arrives. Obviously, we don’t want that to happen!

One of the best things about having healthy, thriving trees is their aesthetic appeal and the overall look and feel that they bring to your yard. But when trees look bad, they can be an eye sore and in some respects – look flat-out creepy.

That’s probably the thought that comes to your mind when you see large, silky looking nests in your trees. You’re probably wondering what kind of spider builds something like that, but the truth is – it’s not a spider. Its tent caterpillars or webworms. Today, we’re going to talk about what webworms are, why the webs are what they are and how you can get rid of them. Let’s jump right in.

Tree roots are an important part of any thriving ecosystem – and that includes your front yard. Roots
feed you trees and store the nutrients that each tree needs in order to stay healthy.

That being said, everyone has dealt with a tree whose roots have begun to grow up and out of the
ground. Needless to say, roots don’t offer the most aesthetic value and they’re also a huge pain in the
backside to landscape around. On one hand, you don’t want your tree’s roots to be damaged, but you
also don’t want your yard to look bad and become more of a chore than it already is.

So what do you do?

Every day, there are millions of lightning strikes all over the world. That’s millions of bolts hitting water, the ground and yes – even trees. But what if by some bad luck – lightning hits one of your trees? How bad will the damage be? Can your tree recover? That’s what we’re here to discuss today. Here’s what to do, what to expect and what can be done if your tree ever gets hit by lightning.

At one point or another – most people decide to do some sort of outdoor project that involves a tree. Maybe it’s a tree house for the kids, a birdhouse for the wild life or a hammock for the adults. Whatever that project might be, it’s going to need to be fastened to a tree and you’re going to have to use nails or something else in order to do it.

But what impact does this have on the tree? Is it harmful? Is it potentially dangerous? That’s what we’re here to discuss today. Here’s everything you need to know about using nails and staples on your trees. Let’s jump right in.

Removing a tree isn’t necessarily something any of us approach with enthusiasm, but at times you’re left with no choice. Sometimes root structures seep into pipes, sometimes trees get sick and sometimes trees are just a danger to the people and structure around them. Regardless of why we have to cut our trees down, the issue never seems to be the decision itself as much as it is the timing of it all. After all – is there such a thing as a ‘good time’ to cut down a tree?

Today, however – we’re going to try and answer that question for you the best we can. When is the best time and can you afford to wait until then? The big answer is ‘it depends’ – but there are better times than others. Let’s jump right in.

Any arborist worth their salt that will tell you that mulching around your tree is good for it. Not only does it help retain moisture, but it strengthens the soil, maintains temperature and helps kill off pesky weeds.

Mulching – as we’ve discussed here many times – is a little bit more complex then simply buying a bag and spreading the stuff around your tree. Not only is there proper technique involved, but there are also different kinds of mulch to consider. One of those is rubber ring mulch.

Gypsy moths are some of the most persistent tree pests there are. Even when trees are just beginning to sprout leaves in the spring, there they are; hard at work eating away at those fresh, new green leaves.

Gypsy Moths can be particularly pesky because they get right at leaves – and instead of merely chewing a few holes, will go as far as to strip away entire leaves at a time. If left unattended, they can cost a lot of damage to a tree’s overall health. So how do you deal with them?

Spring should be here, shouldn’t it? But it’s not – at least not quite yet - and some of you may be getting a little antsy, wondering what the aftereffects on your landscape might be.  One of those aftereffects is when leaves fall off your trees in the Spring time. It’s weird, almost always unexpected – and leads some to wonder if there’s something wrong with their trees.


Today we’ll discuss why it happens, what you can do about it and whether or not it’s something you should worry about.