The Country Arborist Tree Care and Mulch

02/19/2022

(WSIL) -- Are you interested in learning about making your own maple syrup? If so, head out to the sixth annual Backyard Maple Syrup Production Workshop on February 19 at

11/17/2021

11/16/2021

The magnificent fallen Dyerville Giant. The giant redwood once stood 362 ft. tall and was considered the tallest tree in the park before its fall in 1991. The redwood’s crash to the ground moved the earth so much that it registered on a nearby seismograph and one local, who heard the impact from half a mile away, thought a train had crashed. Today you can walk the whole length of the tree and stand in awe of its massive root system beautifully on display. Dyerville Giant Facts: 362 ft. in height 17 ft. diameter 52 ft. circumference Possibly 2,000 years old! location is Humboldt Redwood State Park, CA.
Follow along on Instagram.com/bigtreehunters

Photo credit: Fred Breglia

11/15/2021

11/15/2021

07/07/2021

Queen Anne’s lace

Queen Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family, Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods.

Distinguishing Features
The Queen Anne's lace flower resembles lace, and oftentimes the flower has a solitary purple dot in the centre. In addition the root smells like carrots!

https://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx

07/05/2021

Amur honeysuckle is one of the most problematic invasive species in Illinois. Correct identification is important.
Young Amur honeysuckle plants or sprouts can look a lot like the native coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus).
I ran across this scene the other day with a coralberry (left) growing right next to a young Amur honeysuckle (right). As you can see, Amur honeysuckle has larger leaves that have noticeably pointed tips. Coralberry leaves are smaller and rounded.

05/19/2021

I found a good example of Southwest Injury. This trunk injury faces the southwest.

"Bark cracking is a phenomenon that occurs in many species of trees and can have many causes. One of the most common types of bark cracking is termed Southwest injury. Southwest injury occurs during the winter months on the lower section of the trunk on the southwest side. This happens when there is a sudden temperature drop, for example, the sun going behind a cloud during the winter. The freeze-thaw cycle happens very quickly when there is a change from very warm to cold conditions, which results in a crack. If there is a snow pack, the reflection of sunlight on the bark will actually increase the temperature in the bark.

Usually Southwest injury occurs on thin-barked trees, such as Acer spp., Cercis spp., Malus spp., and many others. A thin-barked tree lacks the amount of cork cells in thicker-barked trees, thus allowing the vascular tissue to be located very close to the bark. Thick bark trees tend to be more resistant to cracking due to a greater lag in the freeze/thaw cycle. Trees that are under stress due to environmental factors, herbicide injury, and/or insect and disease are more susceptible to cracking." https://www.extension.purdue.edu/article/31039

For more on trunk wounds and decay:
https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/tree-plant-care/plant-care-resources/trunk-wounds-and-decay/