Heavy heavy lawn thread 2019

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

I want to cut so many trees on my property but would deff need help. Anything close to the house needs to go plus we are heavily wooded that shades the grass in many areas causing excess of moss. Not to mention how it breeds ticks. We were lucky none of the close trees fell on the house when the EF1 struck last May. The downside of our 1.7 acres, woods...wish it was all or mostly lawn/grass. 

[dendrite]

Thought this may be interesting to those who have talked about the EABs annihilating ash trees...

 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

3 hours ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

I want to cut so many trees on my property but would deff need help. Anything close to the house needs to go plus we are heavily wooded that shades the grass in many areas causing excess of moss. Not to mention how it breeds ticks. We were lucky none of the close trees fell on the house when the EF1 struck last May. The downside of our 1.7 acres, woods...wish it was all or mostly lawn/grass. 

Just take it one at a time... start with easy ones to free up space for the more problematic ones. Takes some practice but I’m sure you could probably do most of them yourself over time.

 

[mostman]

4 hours ago, wxeyeNH said:

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.

 

Looks awesome. Hiring a company to handle all my fertilizing (including trees and shrubs) was the best call I ever made. It’s expensive (vs doing it yourself) but entirely worth it if you are into keeping your lawn healthy. 

[moneypitmike]

11 hours ago, wxeyeNH said:

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.

 

Looks great!  I need to put down some fertilizer with weed killer.  Perhaps this weekend.

Meanwhile, marathon lawn growth coming up beginning today.  Should be pretty tall for tomorrow's mowing.

[tamarack]

13 hours ago, dendrite said:

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.

Quick and dirty way to estimate whether that tree will reach the pen.  One needs a straight stick about 30" long.  Standing with back to pen, hold the stick horizontally at arm's length with the near end against the nose, as close to the eye as is safe.  Without moving the hand closer, rotate the stick to vertical, align where it leaves the hand with the base of the tree.  If the treetop extends above the top of the stick, the pen is within reach.  Same can be done with other possible "targets."  (Similar right triangles)

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...

My Haralred, the most proctive of our 3 by far, is absolutely covered with blossoms.  The Ultramac and Empire look to have loads as well though they're just beginning to open.  (Can't recall having them all blossom so late before.)  Last year we had considerable blossoms on all 3, though not nearly as prolific as now, and there appeared to be good fruit set.  Unfortunatley, all but about 2 dozen on the Haralred and a couple each on the others suffered premature drop during the superhumid period in July - maybe the wx favored some fungal disease as the cause, but I don't really know.

[dendrite]

heh...I'll have to try that and see how it compares to some SOHCAHTOA and solar noon shadow length.

Lots of blooms on my pears and apple tree here too. Had very few on the apple last year.

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

12 hours ago, mostman said:

Looks awesome. Hiring a company to handle all my fertilizing (including trees and shrubs) was the best call I ever made. It’s expensive (vs doing it yourself) but entirely worth it if you are into keeping your lawn healthy. 

I actually find it cheaper to go with a good service vs buying tons of bags and doing the labor yourself. I pay $75 x 5 this season and they come back free of charge if weeds or crabgrass pop up. If I did all the ‘steps’ myself I would pay more than $400 for the season. I’ve also freed myself to do other landscaping projects that I otherwise would not have the time to do...cuz I’d be constantly worrying about doing my lawn care, when to apply, 1hr roundtrip drive to the store, etc etc. 

[mostman]

10 hours ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

I actually find it cheaper to go with a good service vs buying tons of bags and doing the labor yourself. I pay $75 x 5 this season and they come back free of charge if weeds or crabgrass pop up. If I did all the ‘steps’ myself I would pay more than $400 for the season. I’ve also freed myself to do other landscaping projects that I otherwise would not have the time to do...cuz I’d be constantly worrying about doing my lawn care, when to apply, 1hr roundtrip drive to the store, etc etc. 

That’s my thinking exactly. But a lot of people don’t see it that way. They say “I’ll just apply spring and fall and be fine.” Once you have a service and you see how much actually goes into a comprehensive treatment, you quickly realize how much work it is. And yeah, it frees you up to do other stuff. I like working on the perennials and the trees and all my planting beds. That stuff is fun. Spreading nitrogen is not. 

Btw - I used the hell out of the “call us with issues” service last year with the company I use. All that rain and humidity created all sorts of new problems. They were all over it. I may have also called them once because I saw about 5 little clovers in my lawn

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

10 hours ago, mostman said:

That’s my thinking exactly. But a lot of people don’t see it that way. They say “I’ll just apply spring and fall and be fine.” Once you have a service and you see how much actually goes into a comprehensive treatment, you quickly realize how much work it is. And yeah, it frees you up to do other stuff. I like working on the perennials and the trees and all my planting beds. That stuff is fun. Spreading nitrogen is not. 

Btw - I used the hell out of the “call us with issues” service last year with the company I use. All that rain and humidity created all sorts of new problems. They were all over it. I may have also called them once because I saw about 5 little clovers in my lawn

I will aerate and seed in the fall myself but other than that, I let the service do the work. It’s only my second growing season here but a huge difference from last year when I applied it myself. Money well spent imo. 

[moneypitmike]

Anyone know what kind of tree this is?  Some type of dogwood?  (no flowers though).  Curious as to how tall it might get. 

 

The guy coming to do our backyward landscaping project is expecting to start Monday afternoon or Tuesday.  The disaster is nearly done!  Also, be picked out our tree.....it's a red sunrise maple.  They'll put that is when they're doing the rest of the job.

 

 

[Baroclinic Zone]

1 hour ago, moneypitmike said:

Anyone know what kind of tree this is?  Some type of dogwood?  (no flowers though).  Curious as to how tall it might get. 

 

The guy coming to do our backyward landscaping project is expecting to start Monday afternoon or Tuesday.  The disaster is nearly done!  Also, be picked out our tree.....it's a red sunrise maple.  They'll put that is when they're doing the rest of the job.

 

 

Did it flower at all this Spring?

[dendrite]

Are those individual leaves or leaflets?

[Baroclinic Zone]

Pretty sure that’s a Dogwood.  I have a Kousa one here and it has the same exact leaf.  It’s blooming now with beautiful white blooms.

[Damage In Tolland]

Couple things here . Can anyone maybe @tamarack verify this is that caterpillar that  wipes out forests. These things are Everywhere. If you’re in a phone ..zoom in on it. It’s not a gypsy . They are very squiggly when they move. I’m def gonna lose this Oak. This is year three and it’s already worse than last 2. I was trimming hedges and saw this and ran . Yes I know gartner..Hate snakes

[tamarack]

1 hour ago, moneypitmike said:

Anyone know what kind of tree this is?  Some type of dogwood?  (no flowers though).  Curious as to how tall it might get. 

 

The guy coming to do our backyward landscaping project is expecting to start Monday afternoon or Tuesday.  The disaster is nearly done!  Also, be picked out our tree.....it's a red sunrise maple.  They'll put that is when they're doing the rest of the job.

 

 

Looks "dogwood-ey" thanks to those veins curving toward the leaf tip, a characteristics of the genus.  Almost the only tree group with leaf veining like that.   Bark isn't like that of the native flowering dogwood, which usually doesn't flower until it's a bit bigger than yours.  It's also a touchy tree to raise and transplant.  Most nurseries would be more likely to have Kousa dogwood, an Asian species that flowers (eventually.)   All that said, I can't say exactly what kind of tree, other than it almost certainly isn't found in the Maine woods.

Edit:  Desktop, so can't see the critter on Kev's oak.

[moneypitmike]

 

 

36 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Pretty sure that’s a Dogwood.  I have a Kousa one here and it has the same exact leaf.  It’s blooming now with beautiful white blooms.

Thanks!

47 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Did it flower at all this Spring?

Nope

42 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Are those individual leaves or leaflets?

Not sure what this means....I think they're individual leaves.

 

33 minutes ago, tamarack said:

Looks "dogwood-ey" thanks to those veins curving toward the leaf tip, a characteristics of the genus.  Almost the only tree group with leaf veining like that.   Bark isn't like that of the native flowering dogwood, which usually doesn't flower until it's a bit bigger than yours.  It's also a touchy tree to raise and transplant.  Most nurseries would be more likely to have Kousa dogwood, an Asian species that flowers (eventually.)   All that said, I can't say exactly what kind of tree, other than it almost certainly isn't found in the Maine woods.

Edit:  Desktop, so can't see the critter on Kev's oak.

Thanks for the insights guys.  I'm glad I wasn't way off base with my dogwood guess. 

[moneypitmike]

38 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said:

Couple things here . Can anyone maybe @tamarack verify this is that caterpillar that  wipes out forests. These things are Everywhere. If you’re in a phone ..zoom in on it. It’s not a gypsy . They are very squiggly when they move. I’m def gonna lose this Oak. This is year three and it’s already worse than last 2. I was trimming hedges and saw this and ran . Yes I know gartner..Hate snakes

You ran, but not before you took the picture. 

 

I saw my first two gypsies today.

[Damage In Tolland]

20 minutes ago, moneypitmike said:

You ran, but not before you took the picture. 

 

I saw my first two gypsies today.

Nice. On trees or the house?

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

Love those snakes. Have two on the property. They keep the mice at bay. 

[moneypitmike]

1 hour ago, Damage In Tolland said:

Nice. On trees or the house?

One on the deck and one on the front porch.

[tamarack]

The close-up pic helps, though I'm not a good enough entomologist to ID the critter.  Since it appears hairless, like an inch worm, maybe winter moth?  That's an invasive from across the pond that's been chewing up trees in southern Maine.  However, the season's massive green salad is a smorgasbord for all kinds of insects, some native and some from away. 

[dendrite]

Friggin deer (I presume) last night annihilated my chestnut and hickory saplings. Bastards. Tree guards go up today. Ugh. 

[mostman]

2 hours ago, dendrite said:

Friggin deer (I presume) last night annihilated my chestnut and hickory saplings. Bastards. Tree guards go up today. Ugh. 

The worst. I try really hard to plant things they don’t like but if they are hungry enough, they will eat anything. 

[dendrite]

1 minute ago, mostman said:

The worst. I try really hard to plant things they don’t like but if they are hungry enough, they will eat anything. 

100 acres of whatever they want in the back woods and they choose my young trees. I should know better with the chestnuts since they consider them tasty, but I didn't know they'd wipe out the hickories.

[dendrite]

Anybody ever use these air pots and have success?

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

On 5/30/2019 at 10:24 PM, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Just take it one at a time... start with easy ones to free up space for the more problematic ones. Takes some practice but I’m sure you could probably do most of them yourself over time.

 

I’ll get my bro to come up from NJ one weekend to get the bigger ones down. You’re right though,  I won’t rush it and just tackle one here or there eventually. There’s so many projects I want to do I have to tell myself to be patient, can’t get them all done at once. 

[South Shore Slop]

19 hours ago, dendrite said:

Anybody ever use these air pots and have success?

From what I've read they dry out very quickly, so you have to water frequently. I was going to try these for my Japanese maple grafts. Set them and forget them...

https://treebag.com/root-control-bag/

[IrishRob17]

21 hours ago, mostman said:

The worst. I try really hard to plant things they don’t like but if they are hungry enough, they will eat anything. 

Agreed, they will eat anything and everything, long legged rats they are!

[dendrite]

Anyone have any success with using brush cutting attachments on electric weed whackers? I just want to easily clear the new growth invasive buckthorn without pulling out the loppers. They're all under a 1/4" diameter...most smaller than that.