Observations from Tree and Lawn Care Experts
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July, 2013The SavATree management team visited the Minute Man National Park in Concord, MA for their annual Community Service event. While there, they helped prune trees, clear walkways and remove invasive plants.  May, 2013They’re heeeere! This photo of a cicada was submitted by SavATree arborist Jeff Calvert in Martinsville, NJ. Learn more about the upcoming invasion of Brood II in our press release.  Jordan Orwig from Autumn – SavATree demonstrates a systemic, emerald ash borer treatment to a group of attendees following a recent public outreach seminar titled Emerald Ash Borer: Everything You Need to Know. Autumn – SavATree is the official emerald ash borer educational parter of the Chicago Botanic Garden and together, the two organizations are co-presenting this series of free seminars to educate attendees on the dangers of the invasive beetle.  An interesting article from Rutgers Cooperative Extension on the green up of Kentucky Bluegrass this season  March, 2013A lonely tree in Brookfield, CT.  February, 2013Dane Buell of SavATree (far right) stands with students from Wamogo High School in Litchfield, CT. SavATree donated the 2001 Isuzu truck pictured (formerly used for Arbor Patrol) to Wamogo where it will be used for fertilization and integrated pest management on the school grounds.  Cold, gray start to the day at our Basking Ridge, NJ branch!  January, 2013This great photo is courtesy of Angela, our SavATree Mountainside, NJ Office Manager!  December, 2012Kudos to our Old Saybrook Branch who was recognized in the Westbrook Land Conservation Trust Newsletter after volunteering their services to help remove a potentially dangerous tree. Click here to view the newsletter. November, 2012The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.More photos from the field           Reason #1 to have your trees checked with a resistograph October, 2012Hurricane SandySandy’s gone and our crews are out in full force helping customers to clean up their damaged landscapes.   SunriseThanks to Jeff Calvert, arborist from our Basking Ridge branch, who captured this great sunrise on a property last week!  September, 2012And….action!SavATree Danbury Branch Manager, Ron Sieraki on location filming a series of instructional videos. Stay tuned for more information and availability.  From the SavATree Consulting GroupWhat did Consulting Group @SavATree find on our inventory at Hartford Hospital? The biggest pecan in New England!  August, 2012What a long, hot summer it’s been… Stick BugsThanks to Jeff Calvert from our Basking Ridge branch who sent this great picture of a stick bug on our logo!  July, 2012Consulting Group UpdateSubmitted by Mike Galvin, Director of The SavATree Consulting Group The Consulting Group is very excited about serving as the Ambassador for the Baltimore Urban Waters Federal Partnership. Today we had the pleasure of paying a visit to one the Baltimore Urban Waters Federal Partnership sites. We visited young people from the Baltimore area that were working for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Park Service’s Conservation Job Corps. The young people are working with the support of a number of agencies and entities including MD DNR, Parks and People Foundation, and the US Forest Service-State & Private Forestry. The students working in green jobs this summer have been helping improve the Gwynns Falls Trail by planting trees, removing invasive vegetation, and constructing camping pads as we see here. We’re very excited to participate in this effort to restore natural resources in cities around the country.  Questions for Mike? Email them to [email protected] We’re RollingOur tree and lawn crews are out in the field working hard to deliver the quality services that our customers expect!  Hummingbirds!These incredible images were submitted by Steve Willard from our Princeton, NJ branch!    Risk Management PresentationSubmitted by Mike Galvin, Director of The SavATree Consulting Group “Risk management. It is important in everything we do, including managing our landscapes to maximize the benefits we enjoy from trees an minimizing risks they may pose. The Consulting Group at SavATree is pleased to be speaking on Avoiding Injuries Caused by Trees at the Professional Grounds Management Society’s 2012 Field Day at American University today in Washington, DC. Presenting on tree safety to green industry colleagues in the Trees and Spanish Language tracks helps all improve safety for trees and those that work around trees.” Questions for Mike? Email them to [email protected] Tree InventorySubmitted by Mike Galvin, Director of The SavATree Consulting Group  “Stickers. Like most kids, my daughter loves to play with them. Today I am at work playing with stickers. The stickers you see in this photo are not the kind kids play with. They are RFID tags, like the ones that make your EZ-Pass work. They are being affixed to metal plates attached to trees. This is one university campus’ high-tech solution to manage its tree inventory, a solution provided by the Consulting Group at SavATree. Next time, we’ll tell you how a key fob can be used to manage trees.” Questions for Mike? Email them to [email protected] Storm Damage The devastating storms that ripped through the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions last weekend wreaked havoc on trees and landscapes. SavATree crews are hard at work helping customers to clean up the mess. Heat Stressed LawnsSubmitted by Matt Lindner, Director of SavaLawn  This photo depicts classic heat stress as shown by the mower tracks and spottiness. Based on the photo, the lawn needs to have the soil moisture level replenished and then maintained until the heat damaged turf recovers…which could take 4-5 weeks at minimum. If possible, avoid mowing when the lawn is under this type of stress.
June, 2012Update: Deer ActivitySubmitted by Greg Van Steinburgh, DeerTech Program Director  The deer are continuing to come out of the woods in full force. Birthing season is winding down, and young fawns and Doe’s are eating all the plant material they can. Mother deer need additional nutrition to provide milk for their young, and fawns will start eating solid food just a few weeks after they are born.The pressure will likely stay high over the next 4-6 weeks, especially as the heat increases. Deer will be looking for plants high in water content, such as Sedum, Hydrangeas, and Impatiens so keep an eye on your landscaping, and let us know if you are struggling with Deer damage. Questions for Greg? Email them to [email protected] Spider Mite damage to Oak Leaves Plant Health Care Update: DiseaseSubmitted by Patrick Parker, Director of Plant Health Care On the disease front I have seen all of the common diseases this year and some that are not so common. With new growth still not hardened off on many plants, the potential for further disease development is still there and continuing disease treatments to protect this susceptible growth will be beneficial. There is still frost damage evident in the landscape from the cold snap we had after the hot weather in March. I have seen it particularly prevalent on big-leaf hydrangeas, butterfly bush, and other sensitive plants. The damaged tissue is usually black vs. the brown colors that are generally associated with disease infections. I have received many calls regarding the yellowing and dropping of leaves by hollies and other evergreens. This is normal seasonal leaf drop of the older leaves. As long as it is the interior leaves only then there is nothing to be concerned about. If you see the same symptoms on the new growth then you should keep an eye out for for cankers or root rot.
Stink BugsAn excerpt from the University of Maryland, TPM/IPM Weekly Report, 6/1 issue  With the temperatures reaching into the 90s last weekend, adult brown marmorated stink bugs went wild. In black light traps, very high numbers of adult bugs were captured on Saturday and Sunday. On a glass window the count was over 150 bugs on Monday afternoon. The adults are laying eggs on plants now. Some were found on tomato and pepper foliage on May 28. May, 2012Plant Health Care UpdateSubmitted by Patrick Parker, Director of Plant Health Care  What a spring it has been! From too hot to too cold, and from too dry to too wet, and now the heat of summer is upon us and we have our second named tropical storm all before June 1st! Needless to say, that the weather has resulted in conditions in the landscape that should be addressed with a customized plant health care program. In my recent travels I have seen all types of insects, mites and disease including:
Deer Activity is Heating UpSubmitted by Greg Van Steinburgh, DeerTech Program Director  Over the last 2-3 weeks we have begun to receive more reports of deer activity and damage from our clients. This is likely due to the onset of deer birthing season, which typically occurs from the beginning of May until the beginning of June. The mothers will eat an increased amount of plant material to produce milk for their young, and because of their reduced range can result in serious plant damage if in range of a homeowner’s landscaping. Over the next few weeks, temperatures will begin to increase and deer will be starting to search out food sources as new growth in the forests begin to dwindle. They will not only be eating grass, but are already targeting emerged hosta leaves and other garden flowers. Daylilly and lily buds are also favorites and will be targeted over the next 2-4 weeks.
Is it Spring, Summer or Winter? Weather confusion is wreaking havoc on our landscapesChallenging Weather Extremes: When we hit 80 degrees IN MARCH and many trees bloomed early, only to have the flowers and seed pods freeze into clumps when temperatures dipped into the low thirties the following week. And if that isn’t enough, we are seeing new threats, such as boxwood blight – early insect infestations of aphids, spider-mites, sawflies, psyllids, leafminers, scales of all kinds, hemlock woolly adelgid, and in Massachusetts – winter moth; in Illinois and now Pennsylvania – Emerald Ash Borer! Last but not least, deer tick populations are soaring, and deer browsing damage is prevalent in many communities. Here is what SavATree and SavaLawn are doing to help:
Here is what you can do:
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Dry Soil, Frost Damage & Insect ActivitySubmitted by Patrick Parker, Director of Plant Health Care Overall, soil conditions are dry and some plants may be showing signs of moisture stress. There were several frosty nights in most areas recently and I have seen quite a bit of frost damage on a lot of different plant material but especially hydrangeas, butterfly bushes and hollies. There have been very low levels of disease activity because of the dry weather but lots of early insect activity due to the warm weather – aphids, spider mites, sawflies, psyllids, leafminers, scales of all kinds, hemlock woolly adelgid, and in Massachusetts – winter moth.
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Fertilization Does WorkSubmitted by Matt Lindner, Director of SavaLawn  The following picture, taken on a client’s property in the Northeast, is proof that fertilizer does work. You can see the difference in the section towards the back of the yard that did not receive any treatment vs the front of the lawn which did. Also, notice the stress marks in the turf due to the mower. This is very unusual for spring. Normally these marks don’t show up until July/August. (click the image to enlarge) Questions for Matt? Email them to Boxwood Blight
 Boxwood, long popular with homeowners for being versatile, easy to prune and largely resistant to deer browsing has recently come under fire from a very dangerous fungus. Boxwood Blight, a fungal disease that first reared its head in the United kingdom in the 1990’s, has made its way to the United States with reported cases in North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Read more… |
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