Arborist News

According to U. S. Department of Agriculture(USDA), several household products such as food, clothing, medicine, energy, cars, and more can be produced from wood or wood-based polymers and chemicals. Therefore, USDA is pursuing and developing ways to harness these opportunities. Read more

In the same way, ArborScape believes in reusing and recycling wood to produce custom wood products. Learn more

Aphids, also known as greenfly and blackfly, are a pest that most gardeners have probably experienced. I have personally had them attack my currant bush outside. And my vegetable garden. I spray the currant bush early in the season with an insecticide soap mixture before any flowers are present because I would rather not put the pollinators at risk. Once the flowers have fallen off and before the fruit has started, it is sprayed again with the same insecticide soap mixture. After the fruit starts, I start using a more natural approach of dish soap, which is fragrance-free and not antibacterial, and a water mixture that I make myself (1 tablespoon of dish soap to 1quart of water). I use a plastic spray bottle and write soap and water with a black sharpie on the outside of the bottle. I have found that the soap and water mixture needs to be sprayed about every other day, spraying the top and bottom of the leaves. Even though this is more time-consuming, this is safer for bees and I don’t have a chemical residue on the fruit and vegetables that I and my family will be consuming. 

With all fruit and vegetables make sure you wash them to get any leftover soap off them before eating. If you choose this method, always spray a small area of your plant to make sure that your plant can tolerate the drying aspect of the soap. What the soap does is dry out the wings of the Aphids so they can’t move as easily to other parts of the plant, or to surrounding plants. Make sure to spray either earlier in the morning or later in the evening. Any water on the leaves can cause a heat scourge. A heat scourge is when the water is magnified by the sun and burns the leaves of the plant. I learned this the hard way. I feel this can be an alternative way to help get rid of those unwanted pests and yet allow you to eat your fruit and vegetables. Remember plants don’t like high heat and sprays.

I have now had Aphids on my hydroponic plants in two different cycles. In the first cycle, it took me a while to realize that it was Aphids that were causing the descent of my tomato plant and they were all over it. My choice at this time, because it was so infested, was to take all of the plants out, clean the tower, and try again. In the second cycle I ended up with a small amount of the pests on my spinach, so I looked up a few ideas of what I could do to derail them. I chose a neem mixture, and it worked great. The mixture is (¼ teaspoon dish soap, 1 teaspoon neem oil, and 1 quart of water). You will want to mix the soap with a little bit of the water, then add the neem oil and mix well, lastly adding in the rest of the water and stir, use immediately.

Always test the spray on a small area first to make sure the plant can tolerate the spray. Once you are ready, saturate the leaves, especially the underside, with the solution every other day for a couple of weeks. What is nice about neem oil is that it isn’t toxic to us, but I would recommend that you rinse off the edible plant before consuming it, it tastes better.

CONIFERS

Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is in the pine family and has a height of 50-70’ and a spread of 25’.

TRAITS

This pine tree doesn’t taper very much and loses its lower branches as it matures. The bark is reddish-brown with large, long black furrows and some scales. Ponderosa grow in a variety of soils and prefer full sun. Other names that this tree has gone by are Western Yellow Pine and Blackjack Pine.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

The diseases that can affect this tree are Rust, Elytroderm disease, Heart Rot disease, Root disease, and Needle disease. If you are interested in planting this type of tree in a garden area you may want to reconsider your choice. Pine trees make the soil around it acidic, thus making it hard to grow many other plants around it including grass.

POSSIBLE BENEFITS

The Ponderosa Pine has many positive qualities. For example, it grows rapidly and is good for erosion control because of the speed in which the roots grow down into the soil. When the tree is mature it is drought resistant and because of the thick bark makes it very fire resistant. If there’s wildlife around you its seeds feed birds and small animals, and the twigs and needles are eaten by deer.

CONIFER

Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris), obviously in the pine family with a height of 30-80’ and a spread of around 30’.

TRAITS

The trunk is usually crooked with an irregular spreading crown. The bark is orange-brown with needles 1 ½-3” long that are stiff and twisted to a point. Lives best in well-drained sandy soil, and needs full sun.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

The main problem that you can run into with this type of tree is pinewood nematodes that cause wilt disease. Wilt disease mostly goes after a Scotch Pine at the age of 6 years or older and can kill it within a few weeks of illness. High wind storms can also damage the tree by snapping the branches at the nodes at 10-20’ above the ground. Most plants won’t grow close to this tree, not even grass, the soil becomes very acidic.

 POSSIBLE BENEFITS

The Scotch Pine can be used for shade and for privacy. The primary reason to plant this tree is if you have bad soil that won’t support much in the way of other plant life.

CONIFERS

There are a lot of conifers that grow well in Colorado. Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens) is in the pine family and is probably the most popular here in Colorado.

They grow to between 40-60’ in height and have a spread of around 25’.

TRAITS

Other names that this tree goes by are Blue Spruce or Silver Spruce. It is pyramid-shaped with the wide lower branches touching the ground. The needles are bluish-green to silver-blue, with the bark starting as grayish-brown that turns to reddish-brown with maturity. Moist clay soil is the best for Colorado Spruce to be grown in, with plenty of sun and medium to high elevation.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

The possible problems that this type of tree faces is cytospora canker, Spruce Budworm, and needle fungus. The soil around the spruce will become very acidic, so planting near it will usually be unsuccessful.

POSSIBLE BENEFITS

This tree is great for privacy and covering up objects that you would rather not see (ie. telephone poles, electric boxes, etc), because of the density of the foliage. The Colorado Spruce is a good windbreaker* and a popular nesting place for birds. It is low maintenance once established and grows at a slow to medium rate, with a good lifespan.

The Arborist Safety Training Institute (ASTI), launched by TCIAF, works to bring quality, local and affordable safety training to working arborists.

Arborists cope every day with hazards that are unimaginable in most professions. Although most receive some sort of on-the-job, informal safety training. ASTI provides grants for job and safety training to minimize consequent deaths and injuries, and promote overall workforce safety.