The Arbor Matters Newsletter


April 2014
In This Issue
On the Lookout for Spring Insects
Battling the Emerald Ash Borer
Scale Insects on the Attack
Oak Wilt on the Rise
We Want to Hear From You
The Gardener's Corner

The Best of the Midwest  Trees
Kentucky Coffeetree
Each month, Arbor Masters® will highlight the best trees and plants for the Midwest, providing pros and cons as well as maintenance tips for each species.

Kentucky Coffeetree
The Kentucky
Coffeetree is native to the Midwest. The dense, durable wood is highly valued by cabinet makers and carpenters. Early settlers roasted the seeds to produce a substitute coffee. This tree is a moderately fast growing tree reaching heights of approximately 82 feet. The tree produces a green-ish white fragrant flower in spring.  

Pros:
The Kentucky Coffeetree is an ideal shade tree, offering a spread of 40-50 feet. It tolerates drought conditions easily and is virtually pest free.

Cons:
The tree produces a seed-pod fruit which can be messy, but are easy to clean up.


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The Gardener's
Corner
The Gardener's Corner
Now is the time to divide perennials such as day lilies and peonies.    

Apply mulch to newly planted trees and shrubs to help retain moisture and control spring weeds. 
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On the Lookout for Spring Insects
Now that Bag worm infested pine tree spring is here, so are the insects! Insects that have overwintered in your landscape are emerging, ready to dine on your trees, plants and shrubs. Many of these pests can be classified into three categories: sucking, boring and chewing insects.

Chewing insects like bagworm, tent caterpillar and elm leaf beetle dine on foliage and can strip a tree or plant of its leaves. Sucking insects such as aphids, spider mites, scale, and white fly will extract the sap from branches, hindering plant growth and causing branch dieback. Finally, Boring insects such as the bark beetle, long-horned beetle and the flat head borer will create tunnels underneath the tree bark, disrupting the flow of water and nutrients vital for the trees survival. While not all insects are fatal to your landscape, they can cause significant damage. Trees, plants and shrubs that may be suffering from last year's drought or from other environmental issues may easily succumb to an insect infestation.

Your first step in determining what is attacking your trees or shrubs is a thorough evaluation by a Certified Arborist. Once the problem has been identified, your Arborist can recommend a treatment to control or eradicate the insects.

Contact the disease and insect control specialists at Arbor Masters® for your tree, plant and shrub evaluation.
Battling the Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald Ash Borer

There seems to be no end in sight to the Emerald Ash Borer's (EAB) path of destruction. The EAB has spread to a total of 22 states and shows no sign of stopping. Most recently, infected ash trees were discovered in both Brookside and near the Plaza in Kansas City, MO. 

 

If you have an ash tree, there are key indicators that the EAB is present; increased woodpecker activity, new growth or shoots at the base of the tree, canopy dieback and "D" shaped exit holes in the trees' trunk. Unfortunately, once these symptoms are visible, it is too late to save the tree. There are preventative measures you can take to defend against the Emerald Ash Borer. A systemic trunk injection can be administered to the ash tree which will provide two years of protection (a yearly systemic spray is required for trees 4" in diameter).  

 

Arbor Masters® can help you win the war against the Emerald Ash Borer. Talk to one of our Certified Arborists to find out which option is best for your ash trees.
 
Scale Insects on the Attack
    Brown Soft Scale

Branch Manager and Certified Arborist Glen Jennings has spotted numerous trees in and around the Fort Worth area suffering from lecanium scale.

 

Lecanium scale, also known as scale insect, are parasites that feed on the sap of a variety of trees such as maples and oaks. Female scale will overwinter on tree branches and lay their eggs in early spring. New scale hatch in mid June through July and will cling to the underside of the tree leaves.

How do you know you have a scale problem? Mature scale will excrete a sticky matter known as honeydew. This honeydew is a sticky light brown speck found on the undersides of leaves and attracts wasps, bees and ants. A scale infestation will also cause branch and twig dieback and premature leaf drop. While there are some natural enemies for the scale insect, a large infestation is best controlled by a dormant oil application in early spring and a systemic insecticide, either topical trunk spray or soil injection within the root zone of the tree.

If you suspect your trees may be suffering from scale, contact your local Arbor Masters® for a preventative treatment program.  
 
Oak Wilt on the Rise
Oak Wilt infected tree  
Oak wilt is considered one of the most destructive and fastest spreading tree diseases in the US. It affects all oaks, however, the white oak is less susceptible and has the ability to control the spread of oak wilt disease.

Oak wilt fungus is a spore that is transmitted from diseased trees via sap feeding beetles, spread from one diseased oak root system to another. It is also spread through un-sanitized pruning tools used to prune an uninfected tree shortly after the same equipment is used to remove a sick tree. The disease disables the flow of water and nutrients throughout the tree, subsequently starving the tree. Symptoms of the disease are leaf wilt, leaf discoloration from green to bronze, premature leaf drop, branch dieback and dying crowns. The disease spreads quickly and can kill a tree within one to two months of infection.

While there is no cure for the disease, it can be prevented. A systemic fungicide is recommended to prevent oak wilt. In addition, any dead or diseased oaks should be removed from the property to avoid spreading the fungus. Finally, do not move diseased wood from one site to another.

Oak trees are valuable not only to your landscape but are vital to the wood milling industry. Contact your local Arbor Masters® to learn more about oak wilt and how you can protect your trees from this devastating disease. 
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Arbor Masters, ISA Certified Arborist, 50 Years and Growing and an Accredited member of the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA)