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7th Annual New England Lawn Thread

CoastalWx

By CoastalWx,
in New England

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Ginx snewx

Ginx snewx

Posted
Posted

Traveled Maine-SNJ on 6/15, returned 6/20. Southernmost noticeable defoliation (of more than 2-3 trees at a location) was in W. CT, some apparently gypsy, some ash-specific so likely EAB. Larger patches 1-3 acres or so, began appearing a bit north of the Tolland exit from I-84, with larger patches a few miles either side of the CT-Mass line, and no ash-specific defoliation. A northerly view of several thousand acres from an I-84 high point near mile 84 and a bit south of the rest area revealed no widespread damage, in fact almost none visible at the landscape scale. Then we saw considerable multi-acre areas along I-290 and especially I-495, the latter perhaps biased as the stop-and-go traffic gave us a longer look - took 2+ hours to go the 50 miles from I-290 to Haverhill, for no apparent reason - no accidents nor lane closures and the construction is done at night. Defoliation was noticeably increased during the 5 days between drives. Saw only small patches in Maine, and that might be browntail moth rather than gypsy.

Things have dried out since the 2.5" of June 5-8, with only 0.03" since then (and only 0.14" in the 20 days prior to 6/5.)

totally decimated here, all trees affected some bare
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tamarack

tamarack

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Still a long way from the early 1980s, and I hope it remains that way. In 1981 or 82 I can recall seeing essentially complete defoliation of hardwoods and most softwoods along I-93/I-495/etc from just south of CON down to my brother's (then) home in Milford, Mass. (And probably a ways farther south as well)

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Ginx snewx

Ginx snewx

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Still a long way from the early 1980s, and I hope it remains that way. In 1981 or 82 I can recall seeing essentially complete defoliation of hardwoods and most softwoods along I-93/I-495/etc from just south of CON down to my brother's (then) home in Milford, Mass. (And probably a ways farther south as well)

ECT WRI is approaching 83, just stripped
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Baroclinic Zone

Baroclinic Zone

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ECT WRI is approaching 83, just stripped

Delayed but not denied in SE MA.  Areas are really taking a beating.  I have them in the yard but the defoliation is not all that bad "knock on wood".  See if the rains helped.  You can drive 1/2mi down the street and Oaks are bare.

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CTFarmer

CTFarmer

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Just about any Ash trees- green/white/etc, are nearly 100% infected now throughout New England (source- buddy is South Central CT Regional Water Authority arborist). In some of the last few meso wind events, we've had power outages mostly caused by dead Ash trees here in south central CT, where Green Ash trees are wild (and despite Eversource's never-ending tree trimming efforts). They are normally shallow-rooted and blow over easy anyways. Metro areas will have the worst problems with dead limbs falling off from a height. Municipal arborists have their work cut out for them to get the funds to remove them all where ever they will become a hazard.

 

And the Gypsy moths- they are creeping into south-central CT from the southeast for sure. CT DEEP keeps telling me, "when it rains, fungi will destroy them..."- well guess what, here we are again with another sustained rainfall deficit headning into mid-summer. I can't even get a 2nd cut of hay done, ground is powder-dry again.

 

 

EAB is becoming a big issue here, unfortunately. Lots of dead/dying ash trees in the Pittsfield, MA area and some of the nearby towns.

 

That tree looks like it's in the early stages of an EAB infestation and it becomes very difficult if not impossible to save a tree once it starts showing signs of damage. EAB will kill a healthy tree in 2-3 years. We have a huge population of ash trees around here, and our forests will be completely different if it is not stopped soon. Here's a few photos of an EAB infested tree I took last summer in Pittsfield.

 

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tamarack

tamarack

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Just about any Ash trees- green/white/etc, are nearly 100% infected now throughout New England (source- buddy is South Central CT Regional Water Authority arborist). In some of the last few meso wind events, we've had power outages mostly caused by dead Ash trees here in south central CT, where Green Ash trees are wild (and despite Eversource's never-ending tree trimming efforts). They are normally shallow-rooted and blow over easy anyways. Metro areas will have the worst problems with dead limbs falling off from a height. Municipal arborists have their work cut out for them to get the funds to remove them all where ever they will become a hazard.

 

And the Gypsy moths- they are creeping into south-central CT from the southeast for sure. CT DEEP keeps telling me, "when it rains, fungi will destroy them..."- well guess what, here we are again with another sustained rainfall deficit headning into mid-summer. I can't even get a 2nd cut of hay done, ground is powder-dry again.

Saw patches of dead and/or damaged ash along I-84 in CT west of Hartford, but also saw considerable ash that appeared fine. However, it usually takes 2-3 years of EAB work before the damage is sufficiently visible to detect at 70 mph.

During a forestry trip in 2014, I heard that various ash species have different susceptibility to EAB. According to this report, green ash suffers essentially 100% mortality, white ash close behind with 80% or more, and the west coast's blue ash had about 50% survival. No one could say how brown ash was affected. It's less common than white or green, but very important to the indigenous folks in Maine and the Maritimes. One caution on that 80% for white ash, implying up to 20% survival - a couple of our forest certification auditors, one from MI and one from Sault St. Marie, Ont, reported total wipeout in their areas. Green ash is much more common there than in the Northeast, but they have white as well.

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Nikoss427

Nikoss427

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Had a black bear visit the yard this morning. Never saw one in my own yard before. Pretty cool.

On another note, my yard is holding it's own, luckily I get shade for most of the afternoon.

Went to Newport again today and couldn't believe the lack of foliage along route 101 in western Rhode Island. It looks like spring never came. Much worse than it was a couple weeks ago. I was born in 83 so I never experienced anything of this magnitude with gypsy moths.

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Ginx snewx

Ginx snewx

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Had a black bear visit the yard this morning. Never saw one in my own yard before. Pretty cool.

On another note, my yard is holding it's own, luckily I get shade for most of the afternoon.

Went to Newport again today and couldn't believe the lack of foliage along route 101 in western Rhode Island. It looks like spring never came. Much worse than it was a couple weeks ago. I was born in 83 so I never experienced anything of this magnitude with gypsy moths.

I cry every morning

post-322-0-75299200-1466898624_thumb.jpg

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tamarack

tamarack

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I cry every morning

 

It's bad when the pines get stripped.  I'm not sure that little fella will recover.

 

Just being the positive me, pool gets more sun, less fall cleanup, less trees down if a cane hits, thats all I got

 

Except the oaks and maples will grow a new set of leaves, this year anyway - several years' full defoliation and the trees have no energy left to do that.

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Lava Rock

Lava Rock

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It's bad when the pines get stripped. I'm not sure that little fella will recover.

Just being the positive me, pool gets more sun, less fall cleanup, less trees down if a cane hits, thats all I got

Except the oaks and maples will grow a new set of leaves, this year anyway - several years' full defoliation and the trees have no energy left to do that.

I don't see any defoliation around here. Is the problem heading this way?
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Ginx snewx

Ginx snewx

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It's bad when the pines get stripped. I'm not sure that little fella will recover.

Just being the positive me, pool gets more sun, less fall cleanup, less trees down if a cane hits, thats all I got

Except the oaks and maples will grow a new set of leaves, this year anyway - several years' full defoliation and the trees have no energy left to do that.

yea but the leaves are half the size and if I remember correctly the volume is greatly reduced.
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backedgeapproaching

backedgeapproaching

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If I recall correctly, Lava Rock has major lawn issues. Bedrock close to the surface and a low flow well that makes meaningful watering difficult.

Yea, I know, we have been talking about his issues for the past couple years. I meant that particular area, if I recall he does have a few areas that do have some decent grass,he also has areas that are pretty rough including that pic and his other area with the massive ledge of stone protruding from the earth's core..lol

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