Sylvan Roots: Ecological Arboriculture

06/25/2024

This is a great DIY option for getting a slow, soaking watering for your trees in the summer months!

Five tips for watering during a heat wave:
1. Water deeply and slowly. Set a hose on slow drip on your newly planted tree, or use a 5 gallon bucket with a small hole. Use a soaker hose for a perennial plantings.
2. Water early morning or in the evening.
3. Water the soil, no need to wet the leaves of the plant. Moisture on the leaves can cause scorching or fungal issues.
4. Wiggle your finger into the soil a few inches to feel the soil. If it is cool and moist there is no need to water just yet.
5. Wilting is a sign of over-watering as well as under-watering. Some plants wilt in response to the heat and perk up again when temperatures cool. Check the soil moisture before assuming the plant needs water.

This image from the City of Ames shows how to use a 5 gallon bucket to slowly water a tree

05/18/2024

Great tips from CSU extension on how to battle weeds without herbicides
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

05/16/2024

Where did all the fireflies glow?

We get asked the question all the time - hey, why don't I see that many lightning bugs anymore? The simple answer is, maybe your community is no longer a good habitat for them. Before we get to the longer answer of why you're not seeing them anymore, you need to know how this beetle starts out life.

Fireflies lay their eggs in the ground where they then mature into glow worms. It's during this larval stage where they spend all their time eating other, tinier insects. Born and raised in the duff, they need the leaves that naturally litter the ground.

That’s why it's important to leave your backyards and street sides as untouched as possible every autumn to preserve the larvae and small insects living in the leaf litter. This helps to ensure a healthy, new year of fireflies.

Ok, leave the leaves, but what are some other ways to help?

💡Turn off outdoor lights in the evening. If you have inside lights on, close the blinds
💡Plant native plants
💡Mow grass less frequently and raise the length of the cut to 4 inches
💡When leaves drop in the fall, rake them if you want, but keep them in your yard
💡Use non-pesticide solutions for insect control

Check out the comments for more ways you can help re-glow and re-grow the firefly population.

Photo courtesy of Jessica Lucia (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

05/04/2024

Applications are open for the EAB treatment cost share! If you need help assessing whether your ash trees are healthy enough to save, reach out for a tree health checkup!

Got live ash trees? The invasive emerald ash borer has decimated Virginia's ash populations. To help preserve healthy remaining ash, applications are open through June 24 for our Emerald Ash Borer Treatment Cost-Share Program, which offsets up to 50% of the costs of treating ash trees against the invasive beetle. 🪲🛡️Learn more: https://ow.ly/HfTL50RvI3r

04/23/2024

Make friends with your “weeds” y’all!
This fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) flower was the preferred snack of this beautiful zebra swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus). Its host plant is the pawpaw tree, but having high quality nectar sources such as this fleabane nearby is also very important!
Reach out today for a custom consultation to create a beautiful, pollinator friendly garden today!

04/09/2024

Quiz time!!
What is wrong with this tree?

It’s an unfortunately common practice called topping.
Why is this bad? This type of pruning is very unnatural for trees and results in rapid and vigorous sprouting from the cut branch. This is a stress response. The tree wants those areas of its crown back to produce food!
The new branches are also weak from growing quickly and close together. Over time they can break or cause further problems.
Remember trees aren’t bushes! Don’t top your trees! Call us for a pruning plan. 👷🏼‍♀️🌳

04/08/2024

Wait to clean up your garden! Beneficial insects and pollinators 🐝🦋 are still hiding out for warmer weather!

Early spring garden cleanup can disrupt critical invertebrate habitat and leave pollinators out in the cold. Our guidelines will help you determine when cleaning up won't bug the pollinators in your space.

04/07/2024

Be a part of this global event to discover and document the biodiversity of our urban spaces.

03/23/2024

If you need help restoring your riparian buffers, reach out for a custom consultation! We specialize in functional, natural beauty.

Riparian buffers are nature's water filters. When it rains, these strips of vegetation along riverbanks soak up runoff like sponges, trapping excess nutrients in the soil. This prevents fertilizers, manure, and other pollutants from entering our waterways. Without riparian buffers, contaminants would flow freely into streams, rivers, and lakes, promoting algae growth and reducing water quality. By storing nutrients and stopping pollution at the source, these buffers keep our waters clean and healthy. It's amazing how a thin barrier of trees and plants can protect an entire watershed!

Learn more about why buffers matter:https://www.jamesriverbuffers.org/why-buffers-matter.html

03/20/2024

Have you ever spent the whole day inside sitting in school or work feeling exhausted, but when you walk outside into the sun and fresh air, you instantly feel better? There’s an actual scientific term for this feeling! Biophilia is a word for human’s innate draw to the natural environment.

03/13/2024

They may look pretty, but they pack a powerful unpleasant punch…
The invasive callery or Bradford pear is entering its blooming season. Folks have likened the smell to dead fish.
This invasive tree is not only stinky, but has very weak and brittle wood, often resulting in branch failure.
They also have large thorns at the end of their branches.
If you have callery pear on your property, do your future self a favor, remove it and plant something else!

03/13/2024

I see topping all over Wise County. Unfortunately this practice leads to weak branches that are more prone to failure.
Before you decide to top your tree, give us a call for proper pruning recommendations!

A little louder for the people in the back!