During the winter months, when your landscape lays dormant from the vitality of the growing season, it’s easy to forget that your lawn is still susceptible to insects and diseases. Your lawn experiences two common problems during the winter months – lawn mites and snow mold. Lawn Mites Mite damage typically occurs during an abnormally…
If Sudden Oak Death is present in a portion of the property remember to: Schedule all landscaping and construction operations to occur first in the SOD-free area. Ensure that equipment is cleaned after work in the SOD infested area. Minimize all activities and operations in the Spring. Fall is the best work to avoid spreading…
The polarizing climates across the U.S. from extreme heat, droughts, and flooding have been incredibly stressful to lawns as we enter the heart of the summer. Of particular occurrence has been Dollar Spot and Slime Mold – two unique issues plaguing lawns that aren’t commonly known to homeowners and commercial property managers. Dollar Spot is…
The copper beech tree (Fagus sylvatica), more commonly known as the European beech tree, creates a larger-than-life visual impact in home landscapes, parks and communities. SavATree Commercial and Consulting Arborist Jean Zimmerman recently shared a personal experience which closely explains that “visual impact” quite well. “When I was growing up, we gathered beneath “The Elephant…
While shopping at a local garden center or nursery searching for a shade, drought tolerant, low-maintenance shrub that’s also deer resistant, you might find Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) at the top of the list of options. For the novice gardener who didn’t spend enough time doing their homework before heading to the garden center, this…
June 20 marked the official start of summer. Though for much of the United States, from coast-to-coast, summer’s arrival seemed to occur several weeks prior as unseasonably warm temperatures have been recorded throughout much of the country. Tom Di Liberto, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says, “It’s virtually certain that…
One of the most destructive of all lawn diseases is known as patch. What’s most surprising about patch disease is that your lawn will appear perfectly healthy one day and then virtually overnight (with ideal weather conditions) large “patches” of your lawn are completely, and many times, irreversibly destroyed. Dr. Jason Fausey, Director of Technical…
These pictures show crabapples visible from our clients property. The picture on the left shows what heavy Spring and Summer rainfall can do to an ornamental tree species sensitive to foliar fungal diseases. The ornamental apple on the left is pruned and thinned regularly as well as covered under a disease treatment program. The other…
In over 20 years, I had never encountered bagworm in the Boston area. This pest is more common to the Mid-Atlantic and coastal regions as far north as Cape Cod. However, I found it in several locations this summer – including in a public parking lot in Watertown, as seen in these photos. These are…
This unique maple tree was spotted in Lake Zurich Illinois. The tree grows at a very fast rate and exhibits pressure cracks. Sap that flows from these cracks can be misconstrued as a major health issue, but is not a cause for concern.
