Heavy heavy lawn thread 2019

[IrishRob17]

5 minutes ago, dendrite said:

If you want a fast growing maple I think silver maples tend to grow like a weed. 

No thanks, they're weak. 

[moneypitmike]

2 hours ago, IrishRob17 said:

No thanks, they're weak. 

I think that's the nature of fast-growing trees.

We're looking for one ourselves....perhaps a weeping willow or a red maple.

[Baroclinic Zone]

Willows are awful for limbs falling and roots seeking out moisture sources.  Not a good fit in residential areas imo

[IrishRob17]

12 minutes ago, moneypitmike said:

I think that's the nature of fast-growing trees.

We're looking for one ourselves....perhaps a weeping willow or a red maple.

 

Just now, Baroclinic Zone said:

Willows are awful for limbs falling and roots seeking out moisture sources.  Not a good fit in residential areas imo

Yah, I’d skip the willow too for the reasons stated 

[moneypitmike]

21 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Willows are awful for limbs falling and roots seeking out moisture sources.  Not a good fit in residential areas imo

 

19 minutes ago, IrishRob17 said:

 

Yah, I’d skip the willow too for the reasons stated 

Thanks for the tip!

[dendrite]

4 hours ago, IrishRob17 said:

No thanks, they're weak. 

If you want to wait a year or two, SUNY ESF is waiting for government approval of their slightly gene edited american chestnut. I'm on the waiting list with them and I'm growing mother trees to pollinate with them. Only 2 of the 40,000 genes have been edited with these trees...1 gives the tree blight resistance and the other is a marker for the blight resistance gene.

https://www.esf.edu/chestnut/

If they get government approval they will be available to the public and reintroduced into the forests to hopefully fill back in across the eastern US. Joining the NY chapter of the american chestnut foundation would probably get you some if/when they're available.

I have a coupe of hickories that I planted out back, but those take awhile to grow and don't do well  with transplanting since they have a monster tap root. I laso planted a yellow birch and a tulip poplar, but the tulip is another fast growing tree that drops a lot of branches over its lifetime.

I got a lot of my native trees from here. They're about 3hrs form you, but they ship smaller trees. Maybe this list will give you some ideas.

https://www.gonativetrees.com/PriceList.pdf

This catalog from a place local to me has a bunch of different maple varieties with descriptions which may be of some help.

http://www.brochunursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brochu-Nursery-2019-Catalog.pdf

[IrishRob17]

15 minutes ago, dendrite said:

If you want to wait a year or two, SUNY ESF is waiting for government approval of their slightly gene edited american chestnut. I'm on the waiting list with them and I'm growing mother trees to pollinate with them. Only 2 of the 40,000 genes have been edited with these trees...1 gives the tree blight resistance and the other is a marker for the blight resistance gene.

https://www.esf.edu/chestnut/

If they get government approval they will be available to the public and reintroduced into the forests to hopefully fill back in across the eastern US. Joining the NY chapter of the american chestnut foundation would probably get you some if/when they're available.

I have a coupe of hickories that I planted out back, but those take awhile to grow and don't do well  with transplanting since they have a monster tap root. I laso planted a yellow birch and a tulip poplar, but the tulip is another fast growing tree that drops a lot of branches over its lifetime.

I got a lot of my native trees from here. They're about 3hrs form you, but they ship smaller trees. Maybe this list will give you some ideas.

https://www.gonativetrees.com/PriceList.pdf

This catalog from a place local to me has a bunch of different maple varieties with descriptions which may be of some help.

http://www.brochunursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brochu-Nursery-2019-Catalog.pdf

Wow, thanks for all of this info. 

[Damage In Tolland]

In all seriousness.. can any of the horticulturists identify this cat? In addition to gypsies these are everywhere. They are crushing every white Oak in the neighborhood. Every yard already has trees that look like this and it’s way early . Any idea what kind this is?

[Baroclinic Zone]

 Counted 3 of these blooming with a couple more, behind my house.  Love seeing these every year.

 

[Baroclinic Zone]

30 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said:

In all seriousness.. can any of the horticulturists identify this cat? In addition to gypsies these are everywhere. They are crushing every white Oak in the neighborhood. Every yard already has trees that look like this and it’s way early . Any idea what kind this is?

That’s your Tent Caterpillar.

[Damage In Tolland]

4 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

That’s your Tent Caterpillar.

Nah. We have those too. Actually this spring I have not seen their tents in the same small trees they’ve been in the last few years. There’s no blue markings on these and tents have blue.  They didn’t do much to the Oaks the last 2 years. This is a new type I’ve never seen before . They are super squiggly when they move and crawl fast . Much faster than gypsies or tents .

[mostman]

5 hours ago, moneypitmike said:

I think that's the nature of fast-growing trees.

We're looking for one ourselves....perhaps a weeping willow or a red maple.

River birch might be the right choice, depending on the spot you want to put it in. 

[tamarack]

13 hours ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

That’s your Tent Caterpillar.

The description fits the Eastern tent caterpillar but the picture looks more like the forest tent caterpillar.  The latter doesn't make visible tents, and in an outbreak can defoliate whole forest.  They prefer aspen but will eat all broadleafed trees.  The early 1980s outbreak in N. Maine/NB had these critters being called "army worms."  People would open a door and a hundred would crawl in, causing some folks to move away temporarily.  Squished caterpillars stopped a few trains from climbing grades.

I have a coupe of hickories that I planted out back, but those take awhile to grow and don't do well  with transplanting since they have a monster tap root. I laso planted a yellow birch and a tulip poplar, but the tulip is another fast growing tree that drops a lot of branches over its lifetime.

Tulip trees drop branches, but they're not in the same league as weeping willow for that.  Wood of tulip tree is about as weak as silver maple but the former's vertical growth habitat makes it less likely to break from ice or wet snow.  There's a large one - 30"+ diameter and 70'+ tall, in downtown Farmington (Maine) that doesn't seem to shed many branches and has withstood a lot of snow and ice.  Two houses up from that specimen is a littleleaf linden (European relative of native basswood) of similar size that is a bit worse for branch loss.

[moneypitmike]

16 hours ago, dendrite said:

If you want to wait a year or two, SUNY ESF is waiting for government approval of their slightly gene edited american chestnut. I'm on the waiting list with them and I'm growing mother trees to pollinate with them. Only 2 of the 40,000 genes have been edited with these trees...1 gives the tree blight resistance and the other is a marker for the blight resistance gene.

https://www.esf.edu/chestnut/

If they get government approval they will be available to the public and reintroduced into the forests to hopefully fill back in across the eastern US. Joining the NY chapter of the american chestnut foundation would probably get you some if/when they're available.

I have a coupe of hickories that I planted out back, but those take awhile to grow and don't do well  with transplanting since they have a monster tap root. I laso planted a yellow birch and a tulip poplar, but the tulip is another fast growing tree that drops a lot of branches over its lifetime.

I got a lot of my native trees from here. They're about 3hrs form you, but they ship smaller trees. Maybe this list will give you some ideas.

https://www.gonativetrees.com/PriceList.pdf

This catalog from a place local to me has a bunch of different maple varieties with descriptions which may be of some help.

http://www.brochunursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brochu-Nursery-2019-Catalog.pdf

Thanks--this is really helpful.  I don't think we'll wait beyond this year to plant anything.  I just discovered this week that we have a couple chestnut trees tucked behind the garage (I think they're ours).

 

 

13 hours ago, mostman said:

River birch might be the right choice, depending on the spot you want to put it in. 

How much of a canopy do they have?

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

Anyone have experience/feedback on the Ryobi 40V trimmer (weed wacker)?

[dendrite]

3 hours ago, tamarack said:

Tulip trees drop branches, but they're not in the same league as weeping willow for that.  Wood of tulip tree is about as weak as silver maple but the former's vertical growth habitat makes it less likely to break from ice or wet snow.  There's a large one - 30"+ diameter and 70'+ tall, in downtown Farmington (Maine) that doesn't seem to shed many branches and has withstood a lot of snow and ice.  Two houses up from that specimen is a littleleaf linden (European relative of native basswood) of similar size that is a bit worse for branch loss.

Good to know...thanks for that. I'd been afraid to plant it too close to my run for fear of that.

[mreaves]

45 minutes ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

Anyone have experience/feedback on the Ryobi 40V trimmer (weed wacker)?

I have the 18v system and like all of the tools.  I think the trimmer lasts about an hour on a charge.  I don't have a ton of trimmimg to do so it works for me.

[mostman]

3 hours ago, moneypitmike said:

Thanks--this is really helpful.  I don't think we'll wait beyond this year to plant anything.  I just discovered this week that we have a couple chestnut trees tucked behind the garage (I think they're ours).

 

 

How much of a canopy do they have?

Not much. They grow mostly upright and have branches near the ground  

[IrishRob17]

7 hours ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

Anyone have experience/feedback on the Ryobi 40V trimmer (weed wacker)?

I don’t have the Ryobi but have the Black and Decker 40v trimmer, blower, chainsaw.   I love the trimmer, light weight, can control the amount of power you’re using which is handy since trimming after mowing doesn’t require much power but if I go trim some tall grass along the wood line I can crank up the power to get it done. The blower is ok for grass trimmings and light leaves but you’re not doing the yard in October with it. The chainsaw has come in handy many times over the past couple of years. My old man had a Kobalt trimmer, what a clunker, heavy and not balanced well but that blower is a bit better than mine. 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Yeah I’d skip the willow unless you have a gigantic property. I’ve had several people tell me absolutely no dice with a well.

 

[dendrite]

Just now, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Yeah I’d skip the willow unless you have a gigantic property. I’ve had several people tell me absolutely no dice with a well.

 

Yeah...gotta keep it away from the septic, well, foundation, etc. But I have one out back and wish I had another to suck up all of the excessive moisture I get out there. Those broken branches propagate easily too. I have a dozen of them in a bucket of water right now with roots shooting out of them.

[Baroclinic Zone]

I have a Betula jacquemontii (Himalayan Birch) that I planted at the same time I did the Maples. Great tree.  Moderate growing.  Is susceptible to the caterpillars so I gotta watch.  It also loves to spring new growth at the base so to keep it as one trunk, I need to trim it every year.  It’s about 15’ tall now, about double the size when I planted it.

[tamarack]

15 hours ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

I have a Betula jacquemontii (Himalayan Birch) that I planted at the same time I did the Maples. Great tree.  Moderate growing.  Is susceptible to the caterpillars so I gotta watch.  It also loves to spring new growth at the base so to keep it as one trunk, I need to trim it every year.  It’s about 15’ tall now, about double the size when I planted it.

When visiting the Minnesota Arboretum some years back, I saw a Mongolian birch (Latin name forgotten) about 20 feet tall and 6" diameter.  It had beautiful copper-gold bark, as pretty as any tree I've seen.  Is your birch like that?

[Baroclinic Zone]

7 minutes ago, tamarack said:

When visiting the Minnesota Arboretum some years back, I saw a Mongolian birch (Latin name forgotten) about 20 feet tall and 6" diameter.  It had beautiful copper-gold bark, as pretty as any tree I've seen.  Is your birch like that?

No, mine has the traditional white bark.

[dendrite]

If anyone wants a rare birch look for a betula uber (Virginia round leaf). That is probably the most endangered tree in the nation...it’s only native to Smyth county in VA. 

[dendrite]

One of my pure american chestnut saplings struggling to survive. There's a spot where it appears the bark is ripping away. I'm not sure if it's blight related, but I may wrap it in a mud pack just to be safe. It looks healthy otherwise.

[dendrite]

So I wanna drop this dead tree to the right despite a slight lean to the left (south). Any recommendations on how to go about this? Cut a wedge on the right first and then back cut? Do a bit of a back cut first, add felling wedges, cut a small wedge on right, and then continue with the back cut and pounding in the wedges? Cut that remaining stump off first and then do my cuts lower below the two trunk seam? I don’t want to risk crushing my newly planted trees on the left side. It’s been dead for a few years too so I’m not sure if part of the center is hollow.

[tamarack]

My thoughts:  Since it's a double tree, things get complicated.  Perhaps the cut should be made as close to the ground as feasible, despite all the extra cutting needed.  Those twin stems kind of keep either one from going to the right by itself.  If there's room to tip the left stem toward the camera, I'd do that first, cutting about 2' above the old stump to keep the right stem from interfering.  First thing I'd do is tie a stout rope to the tree, preferably around both stems (unless the left one can be dropped first) and as high as safely possible, with the other end to a solid anchor, like another sizable but living tree.  If a come-along is available, I'd tie a loop in the rope such that, when the tag end was firmly lashed to the anchor and the line from tree to tree was taut, the loop would be almost out to full come-along extension.  That way the winch can be used without releasing from the anchor.

--Here's how I was taught to safely dump a tree against its lean:  Make a normal front notch; I'd recommend open face (90° angle between top and bottom of notch) to help control the fall all the way to the ground.  Then make a plunge cut  1-2" behind the notch, making sure there's at least an inch (or 2 with a dead tree) of hinge wood remaining.  Then continue the plunge cut toward the back of the tree, stopping 2-3" from going all the way.  Then do another plunge cut from the back side 3-4" below where the 1st one would've come out, making sure that 2nd cut covers the "footprint" of the wood left at the back of the tree by stopping plunge cut #1.  With the tree held by the hinge and the wood in back, drive a wedge into the 2nd plunge cut (on a big tree I've needed 2, struck alternately, and maybe sprayed with WD-40 first.)   The wedging will split the wood between 1st and 2nd plunge cuts and tip the tree in the desired direction.  Sounds complicated, but with the rope for safety and the tree never resting on less than 2 spots until it falls, things should go okay.   ("Should" requires some "splaining", as Ricky would tell Lucy.  I did this procedure on a large ash - 16" by 80' - and unfortunately there was hidden rot that compromised about half the hinge, all one side.  The hinge failed and allowed the tree to fall not toward its lean, but sideways away from the rot, where it solidly lodged in another ash.  If you see interior rot when you make the front notch, leave a wider hinge, especially behind the rotten part.)

[wxeyeNH]

This cool, wet season is really making my lawn green......okay I'll be honest.  I hired a company this year to fertilize.  They came earlier this spring and applied the fertilizer with weed killer. My lawn looks fantastic but I know it's not good for the environment.  I asked if they can use an organic product and they said yes.  So going forward this season this is what they will use.

Apple trees are peaking with blossoms this year.  It's a great year for the blossoms.  Some years I don't have many blossoms and some years I do.  So lots of apples for the deer.  Last summer was very dry as I missed almost every thunderstorm.  Wonder if they were stressed and that helped this season?  Don't trees/flowers produce more fruit after a stressful time.  Will have to Google that...

Pictures of the front lawn and a few of the apple trees.

 

[dendrite]

1 hour ago, tamarack said:

My thoughts:  Since it's a double tree, things get complicated.  Perhaps the cut should be made as close to the ground as feasible, despite all the extra cutting needed.  Those twin stems kind of keep either one from going to the right by itself.  If there's room to tip the left stem toward the camera, I'd do that first, cutting about 2' above the old stump to keep the right stem from interfering.  First thing I'd do is tie a stout rope to the tree, preferably around both stems (unless the left one can be dropped first) and as high as safely possible, with the other end to a solid anchor, like another sizable but living tree.  If a come-along is available, I'd tie a loop in the rope such that, when the tag end was firmly lashed to the anchor and the line from tree to tree was taut, the loop would be almost out to full come-along extension.  That way the winch can be used without releasing from the anchor.

--Here's how I was taught to safely dump a tree against its lean:  Make a normal front notch; I'd recommend open face (90° angle between top and bottom of notch) to help control the fall all the way to the ground.  Then make a plunge cut  1-2" behind the notch, making sure there's at least an inch (or 2 with a dead tree) of hinge wood remaining.  Then continue the plunge cut toward the back of the tree, stopping 2-3" from going all the way.  Then do another plunge cut from the back side 3-4" below where the 1st one would've come out, making sure that 2nd cut covers the "footprint" of the wood left at the back of the tree by stopping plunge cut #1.  With the tree held by the hinge and the wood in back, drive a wedge into the 2nd plunge cut (on a big tree I've needed 2, struck alternately, and maybe sprayed with WD-40 first.)   The wedging will split the wood between 1st and 2nd plunge cuts and tip the tree in the desired direction.  Sounds complicated, but with the rope for safety and the tree never resting on less than 2 spots until it falls, things should go okay.   ("Should" requires some "splaining", as Ricky would tell Lucy.  I did this procedure on a large ash - 16" by 80' - and unfortunately there was hidden rot that compromised about half the hinge, all one side.  The hinge failed and allowed the tree to fall not toward its lean, but sideways away from the rot, where it solidly lodged in another ash.  If you see interior rot when you make the front notch, leave a wider hinge, especially behind the rotten part.)

Wow. Thanks for the detailed reply. It’s definitely trickier than it looks. I’d love to drop the front stem toward the camera, but I have a chestnut and cherry trees in the proximity there too. That old dug well isn’t used (although I probably should use it for watering purposes) so I don’t mind dropping it anywhere in that direction. I’d just prefer to drop it where there’s a bunch of cut up logs and brush already. The clump river birch is safe, but my eyeballs say the corner of the run would be close with the crown of the tree. The image should have “objects are closer than they appear” watermarked on the bottom of it.