Is Your Tree Healthy?

The Following Are Fun Facts Learned From the MSU Master Gardener's Class!
 
Many people believe that if their bushes and trees have plenty of leaves on them, that they are healthy.  While green leaves on any plant are always a good sign, it is possible to miss more subtle signs of slowed growth in a woody plant.  So how do you tell if your plant is growing each summer?  How much has it grown?

The answer can be discovered by closely examining a tree branch and "reading" it.  In order to do this, first you need to know the parts of the branch:

 The "terminal bud"  is the tip of the branch or stem.  It is the point from which the growth for the coming year will take place. In other words, the plant will either grow longer or branch off from this point.

The "node" is a point at which a leaf or stem can grow.

The "internode" is the distance between two nodes or points of growth.

The "lateral buds" are points on the side of the stem, usually in the leaf axil or point of attachment where either leaves,
             shoots or flowers will develop later.

The "terminal scar" is the point where the terminal bud was sometime in the past.  If the tree is more than a couple of years old, you should see multiple terminal scars.  Each represents the the place where the terminal but was at the beginning of a new growing year.


It follows, then, that the space between the terminal bud and the first terminal scar is the amount that the tree grew last year.

The distance between the first terminal scar and the second terminal scar is the amount that the tree grew the year before last, and so on.

By looking at the distances between the terminal scars, you can physically measure the growth of the branch each year!

A wider distance between terminal scars represents more growth.  This meant that the tree was "happy" that year.  It was getting enough water, sun, and nutrients to grow a great deal.

A shorter distance between terminal scars would represent less growth. That means that the tree was lacking something that it needed to grow that year.  Perhaps there was a drought.  Perhaps it was overcast most of the year.

 For Example: In the picture above, last year (summer 2014) was a good year for growth.  There are about 7 inches between the terminal bud and the first terminal scar. The distance between the first terminal scar and second terminal scar represents the growth from 2013.  That year, the tree only grew about 3 inches.  In 2014, the tree grew about 4 inches; a bit more than in 2013. As a whole, this plant is showing a good amount of growth each year, and is healthy.

If a tree is very old, and the distances between terminal scars are consistently short, and/or there are no terminal scars, and little branching, that means something more serious is wrong.  But what could it be?

Take a look at the following:

• Try taking a branch and leaves to an expert at a garden center.  This way, you can find out if your plant has a disease.  

• Check the base of the tree.  Has a creature been eating away at the bark? If so, you may have to deter or set a trap for the guilty muncher.

• Location, location, location.  Is your wet-loving tree planted on a dry hilltop? Is your dry-loving tree planted in a wet low point in your yard?  Is your smaller tree over-shadowed by a larger tree?  You may need to move your plant, or trim back plants in the immediate area. 

•  Is your soil good?  How you can tell: get a soil test!  You can do this by mailing a sample to your local extension office.   If you live in Michigan, you can find more information about this here: http://msusoiltest.com/. (If you live elsewhere, simply Google "soil test extension 'name of your state.'")  Once your soil has been tested, the information that is mailed back to you will make recommendations about what types of fertilizer to use in order to supplement the soil around the tree.  CAUTION: Remember to always read the instructions and the fertilizer and to use only the amount recommended.  Too much fertilizer is a poison and pollutant to the environment! Also, please consider using organic fertilizers and manures first.

I hope that you found this article helpful! 

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Also consider donating to one of the organizations linked to on the right of this page, and/or shopping at Amazon. 

Whatever you do: NEVER STOP LEARNING!  :) 

Plant of the Month: White Pine (Pinus strobus)

One of my favorite places to be is up North on a cool summer's day surrounded by the luscious smell and whispering quiet of a white pine forest.  The needles underfoot muffle the sound of footsteps while a gentle breeze carries their smell through the air.  The long, soft needles swish gently far overhead.  This place possesses an unparalleled sense of peace that endures in my memory.

The eastern white pine is a magnificent evergreen tree.  It towers over most other trees, typically reaching 50-80 feet (15-24 meters), but

can occasionally grow up to 200 feet (61 meters).  They can reach a width up to 40 feet (12 meters) and have been known to live up to 500 years!  It is no wonder that standing among them induces a sense of timelessness, spiritual calm, and even of being very small within a very big world.

This tree was once found nearly everywhere throughout the state of Michigan.  The lumber was so sought after that over 160 million trees were cut down as lumber between the years of 1834 and 1897.  The wood was used for everything from building the railways to rebuilding the city of Chicago after the great fire of 1871.   This lumber was an important source of income for the state.  The lumber industry was the financial bridge between the days when the first settlers hunted and traded for fur and the subsequent advent of the automobile industry.  Due to its financial importance to the state the eastern white pine was legally made the state tree on October 14, 1955. (Act 7 of 1955)

This is definitely a tree worth learning about!  So here are the facts:

Names: Pinus strobus, eastern white pine, white pine, pin blanc, soft pine, weymouth pine, northern white pine.  Also known to the Iroquois, Ojibway and Zhingwaak tribes as the "whispering pines" or "the tree of peace".

Shape: Young trees are pyramidal.  When the trees get older, the branches become more horizontal and ascending.

Needles: Soft, evergreen.  3-5 inches (7.6-12.7cm) long .  5 blue-green needles per fascicle.  No fascile sheath.

Image from http://www.forestryimages.org

Fruit/Flower: 6-8 inch (12-20 cm) long, 1inch (2.5cm) thick, often curved, cones. The cones turn from green to brown with age.  Small finger-shaped yellow pollen heads.

Twigs: Grey-green to orange-brown color.

Bark: On young trees, the bark is a smooth grey-green color.  On older trees, the bark is a thick grey-brown or reddish-brown with prominent ridges.

Where Found:  Zones 3-8 in xeric northern mine forests and mixed hardwood forests.  In Canada they range from Manitoba across to Newfoundland.  In the U.S.A. They range from Minnesota to the Atlantic Coast and south along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and Alabama.  Please click this link to the USDA's map for current range.

Growing Conditions:  Full sun to light shade.  Seedlings need at least 20% of full sunlight to grow.  Prefers moist well-drained loam, but tolerates anything from light sandy soil to heavy textured soil.

Growth Rate:  Rapid, about 16 inches per year.

Reproduction & Establishment: Pollination takes place between April and June depending upon latitude.  The trees can produce viable seed once they reach an age of 20-30 years.  The seed germinates in spring and is dispersed by wind and wild animals.

Pests & Diseases:  White pine weevil, pine blister rust, sawfly caterpillars, adelgids, bark beetles, eastern pine shoot moths.

Environmental Importance:  The seed feeds: squirrels, voles, mice and 16 species of song bird. 
The foliage feeds: snowshoe hares, deer and cottontails.  The roots of young trees feed pocket gophers.  Due to their height, white pines are the nesting site of 81% of bald eagles,  77% of osprey and the cavities house a variety of nesting wildlife.  Bears also like to climb white pines as an escape from predators.

Economic / Human Uses: Timber, Christmas trees, erosion control.  White pines are often used to stabilize strip mine spoils in the Appalachian coal fields.

Other Interesting Facts:  

•  White pines are moderately fire resistant.  Mature trees can survive most surface fires.  Seedlings do not usually survive.  
• White pines are drought tolerant. 
• Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling, Michigan has a 50 acre stand of virgin white pines as well as a museum of logging history in Michigan.  It is a wonderful place to visit! 

I hope that my blog has inspired you to seek out and spend more time among the eastern white pines.  To learn more, please visit the web pages listed in the works cited section below, and check out some of the links to the books as well!

If you have a moment, please remember to share this page via social media using the links below.

If you have a moment more, and perhaps some cash, please consider donating to the worthy causes with links to the right of the page, or consider using the amazon links or 313 sails link to go shopping.  

As always, thank you for reading.

Works Cited:

 

 http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pinstr/all.html <-- The most info is found here.

http://www.treehelp.com/eastern-white-pine/

http://www.50states.com/tree/michigan.htm 

http://statsymbolsusa.org/michigan/tree_easternwhitepine.html

http://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/pinus-strobus/

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/white_pine_blister_rust_damage_showing_up

http://pubs.cas/psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/agrs117.pdf

http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_pist.pdf

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/drought_tolerant_plants_save_water_money_and_time

http://michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_whitepine_63867_7.pdf

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5744479_michigan_S_state_tree.html

http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/state-tree/michigan.html

Winter Garden Disaster!

The good news: Whoever did this during the night was not present in the morning. So I assume that they are alive and well enough to drive away.  They did not hit the mailbox, nor did they hit the electrical pole. 

The bad news: SOMEONE TOOK OUT MY LIBERTY APPLE SAPLING WITH THEIR BUMPER!!!

It has been extremely cold out lately. The high today was 13F (-10.6C) and the low was 6F (-14.4C).  It has snowed, and we live at the bottom of a hill... it was bound to happen.

You can't see under the snow in this picture, but there is a small,  triangular garden bed that sits on the edge of our property, in the front yard, near our mailbox.  Last summer, I planted a liberty apple tree there just behind the box bush that was already there when we moved in to the house.  I had also planted several bulbs in the fall.

As you can see, the tree is a goner.  The bush is badly damaged.  I will probably have to remove it. Strangely, this isn't the first apple tree that I have lost in the winter.  At my last home, I planted a liberty apple in the back yard that got run over by the DTE truck which drove into the yard to fix an electrical pole, and was blind to my poor tree.  The tree was flattened like the one in the
picture above.  It wasn't even under the electrical line! It was just between the road and the pole at the opposite side of the yard. That incident actually made me very angry because it was caused by someone's carelessness and inconsideration. At least this time I can choose to believe that it was an unavoidable accident.

Lesson learned:  Do not plant new trees in areas where people are likely to slide off the road and crush them. 

Original plan for this garden bed: Originally, I had planned to plant butterfly & bee friendly perennials and annuals in this small plot along with some bulbs.  However, I had planned for the apple tree to grow to its maximum height of 15 feet (4.6 meters) so that it would disguise the electrical pole in the front yard without interfering with the electrical line itself.

The new plan:  I will still plant the pollinator-friendly perennials. In place of the tree I may either plant a less expensive bush such as a red twig dogwood, or a tall ornamental grass.  Either of these would get tall and disguise the pole a bit.  Neither would be so tall as to interfere with the wires.  I would also be less upset if either got run over by another car.  While I like the look of a dogwood bush better, the grass might stand up to motor-vehicle carnage more successfully.  My ultimate decision will be made in the garden in the spring as I browse plants.  I will, of course, post update pictures for this garden bed once I have replanted it.

I will be planting a new liberty apple in the spring. While I have had bad luck with them with regard to motor vehicles, I have had excellent luck with them as a cultivar in general.  The first tree that I planted made buckets of apples and had zero pest problems before it was crushed to death by the DTE people. The apples were fantastic in apple butter and pie filling as well.  They were also fairly good to eat out of hand.

This time, I will plant the liberty apple in the back yard.  There is a spot in the garden near some already established bushes where I think it will look well and thrive.

You know what they say, "hope springs eternal"! 

In the mean time, I might throw in the towel for a few months and just hibernate.