9th annual Lawn Thread 2018

[S&P]

21 hours ago, amarshall said:

Hypercapitalist that mows his own lawn. 

it was a jab a some , not you, i hope you realize that

[Baroclinic Zone]

Variety of tree?  I’ve seen this grow from a seed to what it is now which is around 20’ tall.  Not bad over 14 years time.

[DavisStraight]

11 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Variety of tree?  I’ve seen this grow from a seed to what it is now which is around 20’ tall.  Not bad over 14 years time.

Looks like pin cherry, grows fast, terrible wood for burning.

[Baroclinic Zone]

 

14 minutes ago, DavisStraight said:

Looks like pin cherry, grows fast, terrible wood for burning.

It's does not flower or produce fruit.

[Baroclinic Zone]

I'm leaning yellow birch.  It's clustered among white birches that are of similar height and age.

[HIPPYVALLEY]

38 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Variety of tree?  I’ve seen this grow from a seed to what it is now which is around 20’ tall.  Not bad over 14 years time.

I have those too!

[dendrite]

Looks like my yellow birch. No peeling bark yet?

edit...looks like I see some on the back side.

[dendrite]

Anyone know this one?

[dendrite]

Persimmon or black gum?

[tamarack]

10 hours ago, dendrite said:

Anyone know this one?

Looks kind of willow-ish, though that family has so many similar species that it's hard to be sure w/o a better look - tree or shrub, bark character, etc.

I agree that B-Z's specimen is probably yellow birch, slight possibility of black birch.  Try a scratch and sniff of bark on a twig - mild wintergreen=YB, strong wintergreen=BB, no wintergreen=idk.

[dendrite]

2 minutes ago, tamarack said:

Looks kind of willow-ish, though that family has so many similar species that it's hard to be sure w/o a better look - tree or shrub, bark character, etc.

I agree that B-Z's specimen is probably yellow birch, slight possibility of black birch.  Try a scratch and sniff of bark on a twig - mild wintergreen=YB, strong wintergreen=BB, no wintergreen=idk.

I’ll go out and get a few more pics. It’s growing out of the edge of the woods so it’s lanky and reaching for sun.

[dendrite]

1 hour ago, tamarack said:

Looks kind of willow-ish, though that family has so many similar species that it's hard to be sure w/o a better look - tree or shrub, bark character, etc.

I agree that B-Z's specimen is probably yellow birch, slight possibility of black birch.  Try a scratch and sniff of bark on a twig - mild wintergreen=YB, strong wintergreen=BB, no wintergreen=idk.

Bark, branching, more leaves, size comparison to my hand. It seems ash-like with the leaflets.

[dendrite]

Maybe pu$$y or grey willow?

friggin word filter...lol

[mcwx]

46 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Bark, branching, more leaves, size comparison to my hand. It seems ash-like with the leaflets.

I don't believe it's Ash. Ash has leaves that are directly opposite of each other.

[dendrite]

2 minutes ago, mcwx said:

I don't believe it's Ash. Ash has leaves that are directly opposite of each other.

I agree. I should've been more clear. I just meant the new growth has leaves full of multiple leaflets like an ash.

[tamarack]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Maybe pu$$y or grey willow?

friggin word filter...lol

It definitely looks like a willow, species unknown.  When I had dendrology (tree ID) at U. Maine, we had to identify down to species level except for willows, as the many species often can only be ID'ed with magnification and much experience.  There's only 2 willow species I can ID reliably, the first being obvious.  I don't think yours is the feline variety (take that, filter!) though a check in the weeks after equinox would tell for sure - I think you'd have already noticed the furry buds.  The only native to Maine willow that gets to "tree" size is black willow, often seen along swampy waterways and the 2nd I can ID.  I highly doubt that's what you have there.

[wxmanmitch]

Willows are very tough to ID...as are the various species of Hawthorne. It seems like there are dozens of species in each category, and they all look alike. With the exception of White Ash, which is easy to ID, ash trees are a bit of a challenge too. 

I didn't think yellow birch occurred naturally in the dry, sandy soils of SE MA. You typically see them in cooler, moist areas and often along stream beds or on north facing hillsides in association with hemlock, spruce, or fir. There is some yellow birch in coastal SW CT where I grew up in the wetlands just inland from LI Sound, but the soil there is not as sandy and is richer than that of SE MA. Yellow birch is probably the number one must abundant broadleaf tree on my VT property save for perhaps the red maple. 

Sweet/black birch is more tolerant of warm, dry conditions than yellow birch but the bark doesn't peel. It seems much more common in coastal SNE than yellow birch. I initially thought some type of cherry from the picture, but the leaves are definitely more like a birch. The bark doesn't look quite like the young yellow birches around my house...looks darker and the lenticels are longer and brighter than those on the yellow birch. It could be some type of cherry, but your guess is as good as mine. 

[Lava Rock]

Surprisingly the recent T-showers have been enough to keep the lawn somewhat green and in some places, new growth has established. Of course, looks pretty dry after any t-strms tomorrow, so we'll see how it looks end of next week.

[tamarack]

10 hours ago, wxmanmitch said:

Willows are very tough to ID...as are the various species of Hawthorne. It seems like there are dozens of species in each category, and they all look alike. With the exception of White Ash, which is easy to ID, ash trees are a bit of a challenge too. 

I didn't think yellow birch occurred naturally in the dry, sandy soils of SE MA. You typically see them in cooler, moist areas and often along stream beds or on north facing hillsides in association with hemlock, spruce, or fir. There is some yellow birch in coastal SW CT where I grew up in the wetlands just inland from LI Sound, but the soil there is not as sandy and is richer than that of SE MA. Yellow birch is probably the number one must abundant broadleaf tree on my VT property save for perhaps the red maple. 

Sweet/black birch is more tolerant of warm, dry conditions than yellow birch but the bark doesn't peel. It seems much more common in coastal SNE than yellow birch. I initially thought some type of cherry from the picture, but the leaves are definitely more like a birch. The bark doesn't look quite like the young yellow birches around my house...looks darker and the lenticels are longer and brighter than those on the yellow birch. It could be some type of cherry, but your guess is as good as mine. 

Nitpicky comments: 
I find the differences between green and white ash to be rather subtle, exacerbated by the fact that green is uncommon in Maine, though it's probably the Fraxinus most commonly planted in urban locations.  (This causes more ID difficulties, as urban trees grow in far different environmental conditions than forest trees, and thus will often look quite different from their woodland brethren.)   Brown ash is markedly different from either, especially bark (color and texture) and buds, but also leaflet number and arrangement.  Bring in the western US ashes and I'm lost. 

YB likes a moist cool site, will tolerate a somewhat poorly drained soil, and warm-dry can be damaging.  One theory for the 1940s birch dieback (mainly in YB) was a multi-year warm trend that weakened trees enough to allow the bronze birch borer to finish the job.

In my former NNJ habitat, black was the most common birch, except for early successional stands where gray was more abundant.  YB was rare and PB essentially absent other than as planted.  (We always referred to GB as "white birch.")  BB thrived on well drained soils but did not compete well on droughty sites.  Of course, my NNJ home was about 10 miles north of the terminal moraine and over granitic bedrock, so that "droughty" meant thin-to-ledge, prime chestnut oak country.  That said, BB is a central hardwood species and YB a northern hardwood, so the former does like a bit more warmth.

[Baroclinic Zone]

I'll take a look at the bark again tonight.  I do think it is peeling so that would confirm a birch to me.  The area in which this tree grows is shaded for 50-70% of the day.  It only receives AM sun.  Underneath the canopy there I have pink lady slippers  come up annually.  There are ferns and wild blueberry shrubs.

[Baroclinic Zone]

Tree definitely has peeling bark to it.  

[Ginx snewx]

On 7/4/2018 at 8:06 AM, tamarack said:

Looks kind of willow-ish, though that family has so many similar species that it's hard to be sure w/o a better look - tree or shrub, bark character, etc.

I agree that B-Z's specimen is probably yellow birch, slight possibility of black birch.  Try a scratch and sniff of bark on a twig - mild wintergreen=YB, strong wintergreen=BB, no wintergreen=idk.

Chewing black birch twigs is a quick way to quench thirst and freshen breath. 

[tamarack]

13 hours ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Tree definitely has peeling bark to it.  

Have you tried scratching the bark on a twig and sniffing for wintergreen?  Mild aroma = YB, strong aroma = BB, no aroma = idk.

[Baroclinic Zone]

4 minutes ago, tamarack said:

Have you tried scratching the bark on a twig and sniffing for wintergreen?  Mild aroma = YB, strong aroma = BB, no aroma = idk.

I have not.  I will later if the weather permits.

[dryslot]

Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible.

[Baroclinic Zone]

On 7/6/2018 at 8:43 AM, tamarack said:

Have you tried scratching the bark on a twig and sniffing for wintergreen?  Mild aroma = YB, strong aroma = BB, no aroma = idk.

Not much of an aroma to the bark.  

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

Sniffing trees ftl. 

Man, my lawn is so brutal. I may just go artificial grass this fall and save myself money and pain.

[dendrite]

2 hours ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

Sniffing trees ftl. 

Man, my lawn is so brutal. I may just go artificial grass this fall and save myself money and pain.

Kevin would love my lawn. I let the clover flower and drop seed during the heat wave. Clover as far as the eye can see soon!

[mreaves]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Kevin would love my lawn. I let the clover flower and drop seed during the heat wave. Clover as far as the eye can see soon!

Me too.  I am of the "if it's green and I can walk on it barefoot, then its lawn enough" school

[tunafish]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Kevin would love my lawn. I let the clover flower and drop seed during the heat wave. Clover as far as the eye can see soon!

I'm trying to spread the clover on my lawn; in fact I wish my entire lawn was clover.  Nice, hearty green that's essentially drought resistant.  It keeps the grass that's inter-mingled nice and healthy, too.  The honey bees love it as well. Win-win-win.