trmontano

Because of an unusual spring, some of you may have noticed some alarming leaf and needle death in your trees. Here is what is going on. When a certain number of winter/spring days average above a temperature threshold, plants and insects will begin developing for the upcoming season. We call thpis Growing Degree Days. (click here to learn more). Our unusually warm winter and spring triggered this development earlier than usual. For trees, this process entails transforming stored...

Trees are like people, they will adjust their behavior to whatever their environment is giving them. If a tree is getting water everyday, it will grow its roots shallowly and it will expand its water conducting vessels to maximize an ample supply of water. It will also put on large solar arrays of leaves because it is in no way short on water. If the water suddenly gets turned off, that same tree is susceptible to serious tissue damage in several ways. The first thing it will do is close...

There are many misconceptions about roots, such as the roots of trees being strictly outside the drip line (outer branches) of the trees, or that trees have a tap root that grows deep into the earth. I hope I can shed som e light on this dark and mysterious aspect of trees. Besides anchoring the tree to the ground and storing extra sugars and other precious nutrients, the main purpose of roots is to actively collect resources. Trees are extremely good at seeking out resources such as water...