Trees and Your Neighbors

No issue stirs passion like a dispute over trees between two neighbors. Ignorant of the law, the rights and responsibilities of tree ownership. People tend to do the strangest things, this lack of judgement and rashness always comeback in the form of a lawsuit. So before you take matters into your own hands consider these few point:

1. Who really owns a tree or is ownership in common. You can't split a tree by anything but equally if it's a shared tree. You and your neighbor have equal rights and responsibilities. The care of the trees has to be shared and the decision to cut that tree has to be a mutually arrived one.

2. The right of self remedy as stated in the Massachusetts rule is that you can cut branches that are a hazard to your property but not kill or cause irrepairable harm.

3. Trees that may impact your neighbor need to be assessed for hazards, true if something falls it's an act of god, but the law of common sense and reasonableness comes into play. Knowing that a large dead limb is hanging over a play set in the next yard could be consider negligence and willfull negligence in the hands of a clever attorney.

So when these issues come up try the following, speak with your neighbor in a calm voice and express your concerns. Hire an arborist to assess the trees and file a written report. Remember that this report will carry more weight if it's unbiased. If all else fails seek arbitration and see if the issue can be settled without law suits. On your trees practice due diligence and have safety inspects periodically. Owning trees is a joy and has responsibilities be aware of these and of the impact your trees have on your neighbors.

Native Trees and Shrubs

Native plants hold a special place in my heart. They seemed to grown out of favor for exciting new exotic plants and next to them they look like poor cousins. The importance of natives only now is being appreciated and understood as valuable parts of a diverse ecosystem.

Diversity is the key to a healthy ecology and protecting natural habitats encourages wildlife, improves water quality and the quality of our lives. A simple act of choosing the correct plants has wilder implications in our place in the natural world. As they say "choose wisely" is the watch word in a lot of our day to day decisions, so why not make the right choices in plant selection. Make natives a key part of your garden.

So what's the next step? Check with the local cooperative extension agent for a list of suitable native plants for your region, climate and site conditions. Then go to a nursery and check them out. You'll be surprised by the selection and variety.

Invasives, Plants and Bugs

Emerald Ash Borer

ALB, EAB, maybe your familiar with those letters and what they mean. The invasive insects that have changed the face of the urban forest that covers most of the northeast USA and the eastern province of Canada.

EAB, Emerald Ash Borer is the latest insect to devastate the native forest of the northeast. attacking Ash trees  quickly girdling the trunk through the feeding activity of the larvae. All size trees have been affected and this infestation has the same repercussions that the Chestnut blight and Dutch elm disease had in forever changing the face of our native forest. An extensive effort is now underway to confine this pest and eliminate host trees, unfortunately the adults do fly and the spread is inevitable.

ALB, Asian longhorn beetle arrived under the cover of shipping pallets and crates from China. A byproduct of the opening of imports from the east, the larvae chew their way out of the wood and fly over to the nearest tree to lay eggs. The signs of an infested tree are the dime size exit holes and the very distinctive egg sites. Piles of sawdust give them away. Once an infected tree is spotted, the area is then surveyed to see if more trees are infected and trees deemed to be host trees are then removed as well as the infected tree. Wood and byproducts of the removals are then taken to a special disposal site for incineration. Check out this site for more information.

Just when all sound bad, it gets worse, lurking in our gardens are trees, shrubs and other plants that have snuck in under the cover of something new to plant. So what's the harm? These plants hurt the diversity of our environment, they provide no useful purpose; no fruit for the birds, no insects to feed on the leaves. So that's sounds great no bugs, bugs are bad? Yes and no, harmful insects and beneficial insects abound, we need beneficial insects to keep the checks and balances in the environment. Losing the native plants to non-native invasive create a bland environment and losing native bird species is tragic. So the take home message is to plant natives whenever possible. Create a multi-layered garden, not just in plant types, species and heights. By creating this we help with the environment and create a natural one were the balance is restored, harmful insects are kept in check. Thus we can reduce the use of pesticides which for all is a very good thing!

Warmer Days and Spring Equinox

Tomorrow starts Daylights Savings Time and early next week Spring will sprung upon us. Not a minute too soon after a every snowy and long winter. Lots to do outside, branches down from the snow and wind have finally been freed from their frozen prison of ice, lawns with patches of snow mold and yet a glimmer of life, crocuses, tulips and daffodils poking thru the ground with a promise of color to come.
If you overused deicing salts the damage to the landscape will show up soon, so look around and gets some gypsum to put down in those areas to lessen the effects. Prune the damaged branches from the trees and shrubs now before everything starts to grow and get the debris that's accumulated from the winter cleaned up. If you have had problem weeds that have been tough to control a pre-emergent is the best course of action. Identify the weed, do the research, read the label and apply according to the directions. Call your arborist!

Spring Ahead

The last few weeks of winter are giving a tease of spring. The days are getting longer each day till the equinox on the 20th. Extra daylight to spend some time doing some early gardening chores like getting those Christmas lights that were frozen in place, pruning those broken limbs on the shrubs (snow damaged no doubt) and just look at that lawn, ugh!

So grab a leaf rake and lightly rake those snow mold spots careful not to damage the lawn. Restrain yourself the green will come as the grass starts to grow, so no need to fertilize now! Look at the shrubs, sometimes those spread branches can be tied up use heavy sisal twine and go easy.

Some chores need to wait: soil test after the soil has warmed up, crabgrass pre-emergent later in the month and fertilizer after April 1st, it's the law. However in preparation you can measure your lawn so that you buy and apply the correct amount of weed control and fertilizer.
The next decision is to seed or not to seed? If you had bad crabgrass, best to seed later at the end of summer, grass seed and crabgrass germinate around the same time when the soil reaches 55 degrees. So chose wisely or you'll have another summer of crabgrass.

Try the organic approach, corn glutton has some effect on crabgrass and also adds nitrogen to the soil. You need to take a few additional steps for a nice organic lawn. First you need a dense stand of grass, over seed, over seed, over seed! Keep the pH balanced and test soil for proper nutrient levels. Next the grass needs to be high 3" so the weeds are in the shade, next you need to adjust the watering. Most lawns are overwatered at the wrong time and under watered when the need is greatest. One inch either from the sky or the sprinkler. This may mean some work.

It all depends on your expectations. When I was in Ireland I looked at the lawns, every where 40 shades of green. Close up I noted the Irish are a tolerant lot, they overlook weeds and less than perfect lawns. So we may need to be focused less on perfection and more on the green.

The Beauty of Trees

As  Joyce Kilmer wrote " I think I will never see a poem as lovely as a tree", expresses the kind of emotion trees have represented. Over centuries from Druids seeing deities in trees to our modern obsession with urban trees both good and bad. We all love our trees!

Proper care and concern for their health and safety is important to owing a tree. No tree then plant one, they come in all sizes shapes and species to suit anyone's taste and sense of design. Plant a tree today!