The 2020 Lesco & Lawn Thread

[dendrite]

My green ash trees are producing a decent amount of seeds. Haven’t checked the sugar maple yet. But we have plenty of the ash and red maples if you need any to spread out there before winter. 
 

Maybe the shrubby willow is pussywillow?

[OceanStWx]

5 minutes ago, dendrite said:

My green ash trees are producing a decent amount of seeds. Haven’t checked the sugar maple yet. But we have plenty of the ash and red maples if you need any to spread out there before winter. 
 

Maybe the shrubby willow is pussywillow?

Probably the closest looking leaves that I've found so far.

The (alleged) ash on my back property line is at least 30 ft tall. So it's a healthy tree and I would love to know for sure what it is.

My main goal is to find something to replace all the jewelweed that grows in there. I want to go native like cardinal flower.

[Chrisrotary12]

My oak trees are starting to drop acorns.......is that normal for mid-July? Product of the drought?

[tamarack]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

My green ash trees are producing a decent amount of seeds. Haven’t checked the sugar maple yet. But we have plenty of the ash and red maples if you need any to spread out there before winter. 
 

Maybe the shrubby willow is pussywillow?

The various willow species are quite confusing to ID at the species level.  The dendrology (tree ID) class I had at U. Maine only required Salix, the genus name, while mandating species for everything else.  Of course, pussywillow is an easy ID in April but by now it looks about the same as several other willow species.  Also, any willow in Maine over 12" diameter (almost could say 6") is black willow, but when it's young an ID is problematic.

White and green ash will tolerate some wetness while brown ash is often found in wetlands, in part because it's slower growing than white/green on good sites but competes well in the swamp.  There's not a lot of native green ash in Maine but it's probably the mot widely planted ash and it will naturalize.  If your tree is white ash, there is evidently some chance it will tolerate EAB.  An article in "Maine Woodlands" (monthly publication from Maine Woodlot Owners, formerly Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine) stated that green and brown ash suffered near extirpation from EAB but up to a third of white ash survived.  With all the ash (mostly white, some brown) on our woodlot, I hope the tolerance comment is valid.

My oak trees are starting to drop acorns.......is that normal for mid-July? Product of the drought?

Most acorns drop in September.  Are yours full size?

[dendrite]

6 minutes ago, tamarack said:

The various willow species are quite confusing to ID at the species level.  The dendrology (tree ID) class I had at U. Maine only required Salix, the genus name, while mandating species for everything else.  Of course, pussywillow is an easy ID in April but by now it looks about the same as several other willow species.  Also, any willow in Maine over 12" diameter (almost could say 6") is black willow, but when it's young an ID is problematic.

White and green ash will tolerate some wetness while brown ash is often found in wetlands, in part because it's slower growing than white/green on good sites but competes well in the swamp.  There's not a lot of native green ash in Maine but it's probably the mot widely planted ash and it will naturalize.  If your tree is white ash, there is evidently some chance it will tolerate EAB.  An article in "Maine Woodlands" (monthly publication from Maine Woodlot Owners, formerly Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine) stated that green and brown ash suffered near extirpation from EAB but up to a third of white ash survived.  With all the ash (mostly white, some brown) on our woodlot, I hope the tolerance comment is valid.

My oak trees are starting to drop acorns.......is that normal for mid-July? Product of the drought?

Most acorns drop in September.  Are yours full size?

Do you think blue ash would grow well up here? We’re pretty far NE from its native range. I’ve read that it has shown the best resilience to EAB although maybe that’s just a case of them preferring other ash first. Maybe the chemical that helps produce the blue dye inside the bark isn’t very appetizing?

[OceanStWx]

9 minutes ago, tamarack said:

The various willow species are quite confusing to ID at the species level.  The dendrology (tree ID) class I had at U. Maine only required Salix, the genus name, while mandating species for everything else.  Of course, pussywillow is an easy ID in April but by now it looks about the same as several other willow species.  Also, any willow in Maine over 12" diameter (almost could say 6") is black willow, but when it's young an ID is problematic.

White and green ash will tolerate some wetness while brown ash is often found in wetlands, in part because it's slower growing than white/green on good sites but competes well in the swamp.  There's not a lot of native green ash in Maine but it's probably the mot widely planted ash and it will naturalize.  If your tree is white ash, there is evidently some chance it will tolerate EAB.  An article in "Maine Woodlands" (monthly publication from Maine Woodlot Owners, formerly Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine) stated that green and brown ash suffered near extirpation from EAB but up to a third of white ash survived.  With all the ash (mostly white, some brown) on our woodlot, I hope the tolerance comment is valid.

My oak trees are starting to drop acorns.......is that normal for mid-July? Product of the drought?

Most acorns drop in September.  Are yours full size?

Looks like I need to figure out how many leaflets per leaf.

[dendrite]

1 hour ago, OceanStWx said:

Looks like I need to figure out how many leaflets per leaf.

Green ash has very short petioles (stems) from the leaflets. White ash has longer leaflet petioles. Black ash have none.

[OceanStWx]

17 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Green ash has very short petioles (stems) from the leaflets. White ash has longer leaflet petioles. Black ash have none.

Watch it not even be ash. 

[dendrite]

12 minutes ago, OceanStWx said:

Watch it not even be ash. 

walnut or hickory?

[OceanStWx]

5 minutes ago, dendrite said:

walnut or hickory?

 I was thinking hickory as a possibility too, but I'm trying to remember what its flowers looked like in the spring. I guess I don't take enough pictures of my yard.

[tamarack]

2 hours ago, OceanStWx said:

Looks like I need to figure out how many leaflets per leaf.

And whether the leaflets are on short stalks or are right on the petiole.  Also need to rule out boxelder (aka ash-leaved maple) which has compound leaves like ash though some leaflets are notched.  Sounds like you've got quite the puckerbrush thicket there.

Brown ash (NNE term for what's black ash elsewhere) also has markedly different bark, brownish (duh) compared to the grays of white/green ash and boxelder, and also a bit crumbly when rubbed.

[OceanStWx]

8 minutes ago, tamarack said:

And whether the leaflets are on short stalks or are right on the petiole.  Also need to rule out boxelder (aka ash-leaved maple) which has compound leaves like ash though some leaflets are notched.  Sounds like you've got quite the puckerbrush thicket there.

Brown ash (NNE term for what's black ash elsewhere) also has markedly different bark, brownish (duh) compared to the grays of white/green ash and boxelder, and also a bit crumbly when rubbed.

Yeah it's pretty nasty. I cut it back late winter, but the puckerbrush is spilling over some of the alder branches to form a nice wall. 

[Chrisrotary12]

3 hours ago, tamarack said:

My oak trees are starting to drop acorns.......is that normal for mid-July? Product of the drought?

Most acorns drop in September.  Are yours full size?

Not full size. But found a few on ground and heard a few hit house other day (no wind).  Maybe just the squirrels fooling around up there, who knows.

[Lava Rock]

So with all the dry weather in June then bunch of rain caused a mold issue on part of our lawn, which killed it. I remember a few weeks ago noticing the blades of grass were black. Didn't think much of it as it rubbed off pretty easily. On the news this morning they had a report about lots of lawns experiencing this problem. Good to know it's not just our lawn but it's one more death blow to the yard

 

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/lawn-fungus-threatens-yards-across-new-england/97-693efae3-94c0-4c31-a480-06058e3356a3

[dendrite]

On 7/20/2020 at 2:00 PM, OceanStWx said:

 I was thinking hickory as a possibility too, but I'm trying to remember what its flowers looked like in the spring. I guess I don't take enough pictures of my yard.

Was at a light in Concord by the river and was just glancing around and realized just how many honeylocust trees were growing around the area. That may be another tree that would thrive in your wetter area. You could get the native thorned ones, but they have those stunning thornless Sunburst honeylocust cultivars too.

[OceanStWx]

On 7/22/2020 at 10:02 AM, dendrite said:

Was at a light in Concord by the river and was just glancing around and realized just how many honeylocust trees were growing around the area. That may be another tree that would thrive in your wetter area. You could get the native thorned ones, but they have those stunning thornless Sunburst honeylocust cultivars too.

Was taking a walk today with my son and confirmed that the next street over definitely has white ash planted as a street tree, but definitely a more dry environment there than what's in my backyard. 

I did plant a couple rhododendron viscosum (lemon drop) along the edge though to try and beautify things for next spring.

[S&P]

On 7/21/2020 at 9:24 AM, Lava Rock said:

So with all the dry weather in June then bunch of rain caused a mold issue on part of our lawn, which killed it. I remember a few weeks ago noticing the blades of grass were black. Didn't think much of it as it rubbed off pretty easily. On the news this morning they had a report about lots of lawns experiencing this problem. Good to know it's not just our lawn but it's one more death blow to the yard

 

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/lawn-fungus-threatens-yards-across-new-england/97-693efae3-94c0-4c31-a480-06058e3356a3

Such bad luck, I am one to never give up, but if I were you I would stop plowing $$ into that lawn 

[OceanStWx]

Found this growing behind some old pallets on the side of my house.

Looks like white ash to me. Hard to figure out how it got there unless the other trees on the property are also white ash.

[OceanStWx]

@tamarack any tips for trying to transplant it somewhere it'll do better? I feel like trying to save it is better than just ripping it out of the dripline of the house.

[dendrite]

Wait until fall when it goes dormant maybe? Then try to get as much of the root mass as you can

[OceanStWx]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Wait until fall when it goes dormant maybe? Then try to get as much of the root mass as you can

I was afraid someone would say that.

[Baroclinic Zone]

About 1/2 my lawn has gone dormant now from the heat and lack of rain.  

[tamarack]

6 hours ago, OceanStWx said:

I was afraid someone would say that.

It's what I would've said had I not gone to bed before midnight.     White ash will do well in well- and moderately well drained soils and okay in somewhat poorly drained.  They like fertility but one shouldn't fertilize a fall transplant until the next spring, as the fall fert. may cause a growth spurt that gets wrecked by frost.  Ash seeds (from all species native to Maine at least) look a bit like tiny airplane propellers, and can get carried a long way by the wind.  The Dec. 1992 storm that buried ORH produced nothing but wind at our (then) Gardiner home, but there had been a good white ash seed crop and next spring we had about 10 germinants per square foot, sometimes more, and also right in front of our house despite all the ash being out back.   

[Damage In Tolland]

2 hours ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

About 1/2 my lawn has gone dormant now from the heat and lack of rain.  

Burned 

[dendrite]

Hooksett Agway had some dawn redwoods. First time I’ve seen those.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

My October glory maple and Japanese maple came in today.

I took them out of the box and put them in the shade and watered them. Should I leave them in the shade and water them for a few days before I plant them?

Also, should I leave the October glory staked the way it was shipped?

And the Japanese maple is basically a long twig, do I need to stake that as well?

[tamarack]

4 hours ago, dendrite said:

Hooksett Agway had some dawn redwoods. First time I’ve seen those.

I think "Hardy to -20" may be conservative.  The ones on the U. Maine campus in Orono were doing fine last time I looked and once the Stillwater River freezes it gets cold there.

[DavisStraight]

Honey locust and black locust are great firewood. Not many if either in my area.

[Dan]

We have black locust everywhere in our neighborhood. It’s awful


.

[S&P]

All lawns are dormant here, been watering ...