Ask the Tree Doctor.Don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. when to prune? Curious about lobed lobed adj. Having a lobe or lobes: lobed leaves. Adj. 1. lobed - having deeply indented margins but with lobes not entirely separate from each other lobate leaves? Have no fear--the Tree Doctor is here. Q: Is it better to prune maple trees in the Bangor, Maine For other places with the same name, see Bangor. Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, MaineGR6, United States. It is the major commercial center for eastern and northern Maine. For U.S. , area in the spring or fall? Jim MacDonald, via e-mail A: Pruning is best done when growth is stopped. Generally that's after the first frost in the autumn and until the sap starts to rise in the early spring, but from late summer on is OK. Dormant season pruning gives the wound time to dry and seal itself against decay-causing organisms. Pruning cuts are best left without a coating of tar or other material. For complete information on proper pruning procedures and practices check out materials by Dr. Alex Shigo Alex Shigo is widely considered the father of modern arboriculture. He developed many of the principles that have become central to arboriculture, and his work served as a foundation for much of the research following it. . They should be available in your local library. Q: I have a huge pecan tree in my yard in northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern that produces so many blossoms and nuts each year that it has become a nuisance. Is there is a market for this wood? It would be nice to know that the tree went into something that would endure, instead of being used as firewood. Edward McKiver, via e-mail A: Pecan, and the rest of the hickory family, makes handsome furniture. It is hard and durable, has good grain patterns, and mills and finishes nicely. Besides that, firewood adds carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. to the atmosphere, while furniture or other products will act as a carbon sink for years and years. Many sawmills will not take yard trees because they could contain embedded metal from nails, barbed wire barbed wire, wire composed of two zinc-coated steel strands twisted together and having barbs spaced regularly along them. The need for barbed wire arose in the 19th cent. , old horseshoes, or gate hinges. But do ask; many modern sawmills have metal detectors to screen logs. As for potential users, try locating a local woodworkers club or guild. Your local forester with the California Division of Forestry might have a list of local sawmills or know of specialty wood products producers. If there are any cabinetmakers near you, you might ask where they get the wood they use. They might be able to suggest potential local sawmills. Q: I have thought of starting my own life out in the forest and building a log cabin log cabin or log house, style of home typical of the American pioneer on the Western frontier of the United States in the great westward expansion after 1765. It was constructed with few tools, usually an axe or an adz and an auger. suitable for only my needs. Could I do that without paying anything to the government (as was done during the time of western exploration)? I'd like to know how it felt to develop on my own, using trees from the forest and replanting for each one I took down. Dan Howard, via e-mail A: Your idea of pioneering sounds attractive, but you would be trespassing on someone's property and subject to arrest. The "old West" just isn't what it used to bel Somebody owns everything now, and there are no longer any American lands open for entry and settlement. Some things we have to just do vicariously, and pioneering is one of them. Of course, you can hike wilderness areas and try to live off the land, but the game that once populated the West is gone, and the hunting of what is left is highly regulated, if allowed at all. We are now cautioned to "leave nothing but our footprints," when using wilderness areas. My advice is to enjoy reading some of the great stories of the mountain men and other early pioneers, and try to imagine yourself in their shoes. It is a different world, and there are new challenges worthy of your attention. Q: I want to plant a royal paulownia pau·low·ni·a n. Any of several Chinese deciduous trees of the genus Paulownia, having large, heart-shaped, opposite leaves and pyramidal panicles of purplish or white flowers with a spotted interior. Also called princess tree. or princess tree (Powlonia tomentasa) in my front yard in North Beach, MD. Where can I get one? The local nurseries don't carry them. Blake Harper, via e-mail A: Not all nurseries handle the royal paulownia, but one that does is Mellinger's Inc., 2310 W. South Range Rd., North Limo, OH 44452-973 1. Call to check on current availability (330/549-9861) or email mellgarden@aol.com. The Cooperative Extension Service Cooperative Extension Service, in the United States, publicly supported, informal adult education and development organization. Established in 1914 by the Smith-Lever Act, it constitutes one of the largest adult education programs in the world and consists of three office for your county will be able to supply you with a booklet regarding the culture of royal paulownia. E-mail questions for the Tree Doctor to mrobbins@amfor.org or write: Tree Doctor/Pubs, AMERICAN FORESTS, P0 Box 2000, Washington, DC 20013. |
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