The Trees in Your Yard



Did you ever wonder why the trees you have in your yard are there?  When our family moved into our first house we bought, there was a stump about 10 feet from the road and 10 feet from the driveway.  The previous owner had cut it down because it had branches that somewhat limited his view of the road.  I replaced that with a 3 to 4 inch caliper maple I selected from a nearby woods and bare root transplanted in the same location.  Twenty five years later it is a 15 to 20 inch beautiful tree with high branches that set of the corner of the property. 

Ash tree lining a city street

Much of the country from Minnesota to Missouri, and Tennessee to New York are undergoing a tree transformation not of our choosing.  The rest of the country is going to be affected where ever ash trees grow.  The emerald ash borer is chewing its way through America’s ash trees.  Twenty to forty years ago many streets were lined with beautiful elm trees.  Dutch elm disease has caused most of those to be replaced, 

Dead Ash from Emerald Ash Borer

including the beautiful trees lining my mother-in-law’s street in Aberdeen, S Dakota.  Previous to any of our memory the major forest tree in much of the Eastern US was the chestnut tree.  Chestnut trees succumbed to chestnut blight. 

An Emerald Ash Borer and tunnels under the bark

The lesson to learn when putting trees in your yard is to choose a variety of species so when the next tree malady occurs you will not loose all of your trees.  Cities are replacing ash trees with a variety of trees.  No more monoculture of trees lining the streets of the USA.  You should make sure your yard is not a monoculture.  The reasons ash trees replaced elm trees were, they were hardy, grew fast and had gorgeous foliage with beautiful fall color.  Until emerald ash borer, they were considered the perfect tree.

If or when you lose your ash tree consider this advice from Beth Corrigan of the Morten Arboretum near Chicago.  Make an assessment of the sun, soil condition, and space.  “It’s tried and true: put the right plant in the right spot.  Does the space get full sun? Only west sun?  Is it near a downspout?  High and dry on a berm?  This data will help you find a tree that’s happy in your yard.  There will always be another pest or disease coming down the block.  A healthy tree will resist attacks better than one that’s stressed.”  Other thoughts to consider are:  Do you want to shade your house or patio?  Screen an ugly view?  Or do you want a tree to just look pretty?  Will the mature tree fit the space?

For the ash tree you have now, if you don’t want it or it is unhealthy remove it and replace it with a better tree for that location.  If you want to keep your ash tree, get it treated.  You can pay a professional to treat the tree for about $200.  You can treat it your self for $10 to $40 based on size.  The product to choose from are either Merit based products with several Brand names, many from Bayer Advanced or Safari based products from Green Light.  Safari based products are Emerald Ash Borer Killer or Tree & Shrub with Safari.  Most Safari products are granules and Merit based products are liquids.  Both are easy to apply.  You will have to make an application every year.  If your tree is already infested you may salvage the tree if it has lost less than 40% of the foliage.  If it is in bad shape remove it.  Dead ash trees don’t stand for very long.  They have large branches fall and whole trunk will eventually fall possibly causing damage to cars, houses, and possibly people. 

Home yard with multiple tree species

The Garden Doc

Brown Marmolated Stink Bugs

June 3, 2011

Many articles have been written and much research is being conducted on the Brown Marmolated Stink Bug.  If you live along the I-95 corridor around Wilmington Delaware to Richmond Virginia and over into the Appalachian chain you had stink bugs, especially if you were in a somewhat rural area.  Smaller infestations were found in just about all Midwestern states.  They ruined fruit and vegetables, in the fall they congregated on houses trying to get in for the winter.  They are expected to be a problem in many farm crops and around home ornamentals this summer.  

The term stink bug is not a scientific name, but a nickname because of the unpleasant odor they emit. Stink bugs emit their odor as a means of self-defense and protection against harm. A stink bug’s odor smells very distinct, it is difficult to describe, only to say that it is sour, pungent and unpleasant. What do stink bugs smell like? I’ve heard the smell being compared to rotten cilantro and skunk.  They also stink when you crush them.

They and are expected to be a large problem this summer and fall all over the Midwest..  What can you do?  Protect vegetation, both small plants to trees with an insecticide.  Systemic products like Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub or Green Lights Tree & Shrub Insect Killer with Safari will kill the bugs if the plant is treated in time for the insecticide to get through out the plant.  When the stink bug chews on the vegetation it gets the insecticide and dies.  There will be some damage when they chew some foliage to get the insecticide.  Other wise you will have to spray insecticide and reapply it about every 2 weeks.  Don’t believe the claims that a spray will last for up to 12 months.  It will only last about 2 weeks on vegetation.  Sprayable insecticides are Sevin, malathion, and pyrethroids which are most of the rest of the products.  These products will only give about 40 to 80% control.  Even if you spray, new bugs will come into your yard regularly.  This fall spray around your windows and doors and possibly the sides of your house to kill the bugs that are trying to get into your house for the winter.  An insecticide spray on the outside of your house will last longer than on vegetation but most decompose in sunlight.  You will have to re-spray once or twice through the fall.

Invasive pests on trees and ornamentals

Invasive pests on trees and ornamentals

In the last few years, several very devastating pests have arrived that infest specific plants in various locations throughout the USA.  The list includes the ficus whitefly in Florida; the hemlock woolly adelgid in hemlocks throughout the Appalachian mountains, now spreading to surrounding areas; emerald ash borer in the great lakes states spreading out as far as Tennessee, Missouri, Maryland and by the Hudson river in New York; chili thrips in Texas and other warm climates; marmorated stink bug in the Eastern US across many Midwest states; myoporium thrips in California; and others.  There is also a royal palm bug and a red palm mite that suck juice from the fronds of palm trees.  As travel and international trade continues these invasive pests will continue to invade.  This blog writer will write about some of these pests individually as the season progresses.

These pests arrive with a susceptible host plant or plants that have no resistance to a place where there are no natural predators to keep the population under control.  Ficus, or fig, hemlock, and ash trees are being killed causing heavy financial burdens to homeowners and cities who have to pay to treat or remove these dead trees.  People like trees in their yards and trees lining the streets to keep the neighborhoods fresh, cooled, and beautiful.  Trees cool the environment and shade our homes to lower air conditioning costs.  Losing the trees can reduce the value of the home.  From my youth, I loved climbing trees and climbed as high as possible until I no longer trusted the small branches to hold my few pounds of weight.

What do homeowners do to care for trees that are infested?  Number one choice of many is nothing.  Yes, you can do nothing and with ficus white fly, hemlock woolly adelgid and emerald ash borer, your tree will most likely become infested and after three to five years will die.  Then it will either fall down in a few more years or you will have to cut it down.  Trees falling can injure people and cause damage to nearby cars, homes, and other trees and shrubs.  Cutting trees down on your terms is always better than letting nature put the tree down.  The second choice is to treat the tree to kill the invading insect and save your tree.  Research has shown that you can treat the tree yourself or have it professionally treated with similar positive results.  Get the tree treated before it has declined by 40% or more and your chance of saving the tree is very high. 

Professionals may spray the tree with a high powered spray to kill insects on the outside of the tree that suck juices from the tree -  like ficus white fly and hemlock woolly adelgid.  These types of sprays may also coat the tree trunk and leaves and leave a residual spray that will kill new insects that land on the trunk or leaves for a period of time.  The second type of professional treatment is to drill holes into the tree trunk at the base and inject insecticides into the tree.  When the insect chews or sucks juice from the tree, it gets a lethal dose of insecticide and dies. 

Homeowners rarely have the type of sprayer that allows them to spray higher than about 15 feet.  Many of the insecticides used by professionals can be purchased by homeowners and used with similar results.  These can be applied by drenching or placing granules near the trunk of the tree and watering it into the soil.  These products are very effective when insects drill into the tree and eat the cambium layer.  Research has shown these applications can be just as affective as professional applications.  The cost of these pests on a mature tree may be $1500 for tree removal, $200 for a professional treatment or $20 to $40 for do-it-yourself treating. 

What would a homeowner use?  Several companies provide products.  Imidicloprid is widely used under several product names.  Those names include several brands from Bayer Advanced with the Merit brand, Bonide, Green Light and others usually with Tree & Shrub in the brand name.  Green Light markets a unique product with dinotefuran brand named Safari.  Trade names with the Safari brand include Tree & Shrub with Safari, Emerald Ash Borer Killer and Rose & Flower with Safari Insect Control.  Both imidicloprid and dinotefuran effectively control insects.  Safari gets into the tree or shrub fast because it has higher water solubility and lasts for several months in the tree.  Imidicloprid takes longer getting into the tree, moves slower in the tree but lasts for a few months longer than Safari because it has very low water solubility. 

From a personal point, I have treated an azalea bush with Tree & Shrub with Safari that had skeletonized leaves.  Two days later a bunch of little green worms were all dead and laying on the ground under the bush.  Two red pine trees with woodpeckers attacking them for the insects were treated and both have stayed alive and are recuperating nicely.  One of the red pines had about 75% of the needles lost due to insect injury.  Another tree died before I treated the living tree and the insects had eaten the cambium layer under the bark.  These products are amazing at killing insects that attack trees and shrubs. 

If you live in an area with these insects, do treat your trees.  Doing so will save the tree and maintain the value of your property.

The Garden Doc