Tree Doctor Howard Burnett.Q: How can I tell if a bush is a male or female holly when I buy it? Scott & Suzanne Wahl, via e-mail A: As far as I know there is no way, short of microscopic gene analysis, to tell the sex of a young holly. However, most nurseries that sell hollies produce cultivars that are seed bearing, as the red berries Red Berry may refer to:
http://process.com/. E-mail: <info@process.com>. should be able to advise you if efforts are made to assure you get the female. Of course, you still won't get any berries if there is not a male in the neighborhood somewhere, too. Perhaps a good strategy might be to plant several trees and hope you get a matched pair sooner or later. My experience is that the male tree can be quite far away, several hundred yards at least, and still provide the pollen necessary to get the berries. Q: Our honeylocust is not nearly as big as your national champion, but I am curious about its appoximate age. It measures 144 inches at 4.5 feet. I 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. the tree's height. We know it must be at least 100 years old and has been home to raccoons and bees. Shirley Johansson, via e-mail A: There is no real good way to determine the age of a tree, other than actually counting the annual rings annual rings, the growth layers of wood that are produced each year in the stems and roots of trees and shrubs. In climates with well-marked alternations of seasons (either cold and warm or wet and dry), the wood cells produced when water is easily available and on the stump campaigning for public office; running for election to office. See also: Stump , but even that assumes solid wood all the way to the core. Although a ring count is impossible, a little arithmetical exercise might give something better than a "wild" guess. Over the course of a tree's life, the width of each annual ring decreases. Honeylocust requires a lot of sunlight for maximum growth and, considering that your tree has survived this long, it has probably grown as rapidly as possible over most of its life. In the very early years it might grow an average of three to five rings per inch, 15 or 20 to the inch in later years, considering limb loss, disease, hollowing, and other adverse influences. Assuming it's an open-grown tree that gets plenty of water and is in good soil, we might guess the average growth at 8 or 10 rings per inch. Assuming your tree has only one trunk that you measured, the tree is over 45 inches in diameter, which would give us a radial ring count of almost 23 inches. At eight rings, or years, to the inch, an age of 184 years would result. I would have no problem with saying the tree seems to be at least 150 years old, based on all the assumptions I made along this way. Q: What do you recommend for a Crimson King
The Crimson King is one of the main villains of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. maple that was struck by lightning? It blew off a large chunk of bark on the base of the tree, which at this point seems very healthy and shows no outward signs of stress or disease I do not want to lose this tree to insects or stress if it can be saved. Scott Wheeler, via e-mail A: Sometimes a lightning strike lightning strike n → huelga relámpago lightning strike n (Brit) → grève f surprise lightning strike n (BRIT can kill a tree, while other times trees seem to be not too affected. At this point, I would recommend you clean off any loose bark from the wound area. The objective is to prevent small pockets where rainwater might collect. If necessary, at the bottom of a wound, cut out a very small teardrop tear·drop n. 1. A single tear. 2. An object shaped like a tear. shape to facilitate drainage. Do not paint the wound with any kind of dressing; the latest research indicates the tree will handle the dead tissue on the wound surface by itself. Sealing the wound seals in moisture, encouraging insects or disease. From there on, it is a policy of watchful waiting watchful waiting Expectant management, observation, surveillance-only management Clinical decision-making A stance in which a condition is closely monitored, but treatment withheld until Sx appear or change; WW to see how your maple does in the future. Usually a tree hit by a strong bolt of lightning exhibits browned leaves very soon, so it sounds like your tree is a likely survivor. Q: Please give me some advice on saving my liquid amber (sweetgum) tree, A couple of years ago the leaves, instead of being healthy green, became yellow-green and burn black from the edges until the entire leaf shrivels and drops. A liquid amber in the back yard is unaffected. Can you suggest someone I could talk to or a course of action? I'd really like to save the tree. Matthew Sanders, Via e-mail A: Sweetgum trees are susceptible to a blight blight, general term for any sudden and severe plant disease or for the agent that causes it. The term is now applied chiefly to diseases caused by bacteria (e.g., bean blights and fire blight of fruit trees), viruses (e.g., soybean bud blight), fungi (e.g. that seems somehow related to soil moisture, as well-irrigated trees are hit less severely. Trees planted close to buildings, driveways, streets, and so forth might have limited root systems, and thus be more subject to drought. Other root or soil conditions also may affect the tree. From the photos you provided, it seems as if some root disease may be at work. My best advice is that you procure the services of a certified arborist The Certified Arborist credential identifies professional arborists who have a minimum of three years' full-time experience working in the professional tree care industry and who have passed an extensive examination covering all facets of arboriculture. to have a look at your tree, and prescribe a course of action. Contact the International Society of Arborists at www.isa-arbor.com/findArborist/findarborist.aspx, and by entering your zip code zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improvement plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. get a list of local certified arborists for your area. The arborist should be able to give you a definitive answer to your concerns. Q: I collected a pod from a tree in our yard (thornless common honeylocust); and put the seeds in a clay pot indoors with potting soil/water. I would like to get some starts and transplant to another area of mid Indiana). Am I doing this right, and if so, how long before I can expect some results? Jerry Mace, Noblesville, IN A: In the case of honeylocust, the seed pods seed pod Noun Bot a carpel or pistil enclosing the seeds of a plant, esp. a flowering plant fall and may not disentegrate until late winter or early spring. The seed itself is very hard and seems to take a long time to soften up to the point where it can germinate. It sounds like you are doing the right thing by keeping the seeds moist so the seed coats can eventually absorb enough water to soften. Since the natural seeds fall on top of the ground, I would not recommend planting more than 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. In time they should start to swell, and then germinate. The one variable you may have overlooked is the possibility of some freezing being needed, but that may not be important. I assume the pod you collected was ripe, with mature seeds, collected sometime in mid- to late autumn. Germination germination, in a seed, process by which the plant embryo within the seed resumes growth after a period of dormancy and the seedling emerges. The length of dormancy varies; the seed of some plants (e.g. should occur in late spring, maybe even June, so don't get discouraged too soon. Email your arboreal arboreal pertaining to trees, treelike, tree-dwelling. questions to: treedoctor@amfor.org. |
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