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Denver Tree Service Updates

Blog updates focus on news and tips for tree removal and tree care in the Denver metro area. Content is reviewed by ArborScape's certified arborist and plant health care experts (QS). Enjoy.

Organic Lawn Care Defined

2 Sep, 2010 in Lawn Service Care by Matt

Considering New York’s ban on lawn fertilizers and tightening restrictions in other states it seems inevitable that your lawn care will evolve as pesticide applications become more and more limited.

But what is organic lawn care?

The term is more or less unregulated so it is difficult to make an apples to apples comparison. However, there are two main approaches.

Organic – Organic lawn care is a multi year process that takes patience and commitment. Weed control involves hand picking and application of clove oil or citric acid. Insect control may include microbial products and specially formulated insecticidal soap.

Cultural methods with compost and topdressing improve soil and overseeding and appropriate watering provide a good ratio of grass to choke out broadleaf weeds.

Your lawn will respond even better if the lawn species is native to your area and the grass is kept at 2 to 3 inches long with mowers blades sharp and well maintained.

Hybrid (IPM) – A hybrid approach mixes in the above practices but may also include spot spraying of weeds and the use of “bridge” fertilizers (containing urea) to keep the lawn green until organic processes start to take root.

Because a true organic approach is likely a three year process, you may find a hybrid approach a good mix of environmental awareness, results and lower cost.  It may not take as many visits from a lawn care company.

Picking the Right Organic Lawn Service

Before you decide on a lawn service, it’s important to know what they mean by organic. It’s also important to know what you mean.

If you want your lawn to quickly green up or don’t want to spend too much dough, then a hybrid or traditional non-organic program may be the right choice.  If you are a true believer who is patient and will enjoy the natural process of your lawn improving, then a fully organic program is probably exactly what you want.

Large national chains have about 2% of their clients on an organic program.  There may be a local lawn service with a deeper knowledge of organic practices in your area, so look around and get quotes.

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Condolences to the family of Adam Mackintosh

30 Aug, 2010 in ArborScape News by Matt

David Merriman and the entire ArborScape family wish to express our condolences to the family of Adam Mackintosh, the tree trimmer who died last Thursday in Littleton, CO. According to news reports, Adam was thrown from the cherry picker he was using and fell 30 feet. The arm of the picker appears to have broken and collapsed while Adam was perched in the bucket.

It’s a sobering reminder that there is no such thing as a routine tree trimming job. We send our thoughts and prayers to Adam’s wife and children.  Rest in peace, Adam.

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When is the best time for a sprinkler blow out?

12 Aug, 2010 in Uncategorized by Matt

A sprinkler blowout is best done in October in the northern climate of the United States.  When to turn off your sprinkler is a delicate balance of good timing and luck.  Do it too early and your lawn may lose precious water it needs to prepare for the winter. Wait too late and sprinkler repairs may become necessary if  a hard freeze occurs

Moving into a new home, or having a new sprinkler installation can create uncertainty about how to handle the routine sprinkler maintenance at the end of the sprinkler season. You may want to call a sprinkler repair company of good reputation, at least the first time.  Most will do a free evaluation.  We recommend contacting ServiceMagic to get up to four quotes for a sprinkler blowout.

Sprinkler blowouts usually cost around $10 per zone with discounts available for larger systems.  We’ve charged around $55 when providing the service in the past.  An air compressor is used, typically at about 80 psi (pounds per square inch) or lower. Higher and you could blow off the heads.  A good irrigation tech will know the recommended psi whether your brand of sprinkler system is Rainbird, Toro, Hunter or another brand.

So what is the cost of not properly blowing out your sprinkler? We once talked to a woman who had an extra $800 on her monthly water bill because there was a leak in the system.  Sprinkler system repairs can include replacing blown out pumps, defective backflow preventers and cracks.  It’s easy to rack up hundreds of dollars in repair bills.  At worst, a hard freeze can cause a sprinkler system re-installation.  A sprinkler system for a 5000 sq. foot lawn can cost $3500 or more to replace. Makes a $50 blowout seem cheap and easy to do doesn’t it?

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Thousand Canker Spotted in Tennessee, Missouri

12 Aug, 2010 in Plant Heath Care by Matt

Walnut trees are dying off right and left throughout the Denver area and along the Front Range due to thousand canker disease.  I was talking on the phone with the city of Boulder, Colorado forestry office and the eastward expansion of the disease seems to be going more quickly than first thought. Missouri and Tennessee have seen 1000 canker infected walnuts this season. Given the thick stands of walnuts in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains regions, this is nothing but a discouraging sign.

Black walnuts are a common ornamental tree in Denver. Yes, it sucks if it dies but ultimately its replaceable.  In certain parts of the South, losing walnuts means losing jobs and disrupting entire communities. Walnut wood is a prime material for the woodworking and furniture manufacturing trade throughout the South. If thousand canker moves aggressively, it could wipe out millions of acres of walnuts in Tennessee and North Carolina disrupting tourism as well.

Boulder is taking strides to have qualified tree contractors remove infected walnuts and deposit them at a holding facility off of Arapahoe Rd.  As late as spring 2009, there was a strategy by a consortium of  Colorado agencies to keep 1000 canker contained  west of I-25. Obviously, new ideas will need to be developed but it could take a miracle to avoid a dutch elm like epidemic of dying walnuts.

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Four and Half Ways to Control Aphids

23 Jun, 2010 in Plant Heath Care by admin
In our last post, “Ladybugs Feast on the Most Common Garden Pests: Aphids” we discussed one of nature’s ways to combat the pesky aphid – the mighty ladybug. There are also a few other ways that you can mitigate aphid propagation.
 
1) Examine Your Plants then Prune or Blast with Water
Word on the street is that a single little aphid can produce 80 baby aphids a week! It’s important to carefully examine your plants weekly for the little buggers. They live on the underside of leaves and tend to be found in groups or colonies. If you find them, you can blast them with water, collect and squish them while wearing your favorite garden gloves, or clip off the branch or shoot where they have congregated. These methods are effective with a mild aphid gathering.
 
2) Over Fertilization
 
Be careful not to over fertilize your garden. Since the aphid preys upon the youngest parts of a plant, fertilizers can cause an abundance of new growth. If you do fertilize then it’s best to use fertilizers that release slowly over time.
 
3) Dish Soap to the Rescue!
Another effective method is to use ordinary household dish soap or mild laundry detergent which destroys the aphid’s waxy coating on their bodies causing dehydration. Mix two teaspoons of the soap or detergent into a spray bottle of lukewarm water and spray the leaves once a week.
 
4) Avoid Plants that Aphids Love 
Birch trees are known to attract aphids, so don’t plant your garden near one. A better plan is to plant Queen Anne’s lace, spearmint, or fennel because these are known to attract aphid predators such as ladybugs and lacewings.
 
1/2) Commercial Aphid Insecticides
If all else fails, you can use some commercial insecticides to kill the buggers. Gardeners use insect growth regulators (IGRs), pyretherins, and/or insecticidal soaps. IGRs work in different ways to kill aphids. Some mimic juvenile hormones which prevents the aphid from reproducing. Other IGRs interfere with the production of “chitin” which causes problems with exoskeleton formation. Pytherins are extracted from chrysanthemums and they attack the nervous systems of insects. Finally, insecticidal soap sprays can suffocate the aphid by washing away its protective waxy coating, or the soap sprays can hinder the permeability of the cell membranes. Any of these insecticide types will help dramatically reduce your aphid population.
 
This post is by Justin Rickard, a writer living on the Front Range of Colorado.
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Plant Health Care (PHC) Glossary

8 Jun, 2010 in Plant Heath Care by Matt

Today we published the first of what will be many updates to a tree trimming and tree care glossary of terms. The arborist is in love with accuracy and he may use the most accurate and obscure arboricultural words in diagnosing your tree.  That may leave you in doubt.  You want a tree that looks good and is healthy on the inside, wittout knowing the entire biological process. At the same we thought it would be helpful to start a glossary,  eventually one that is searchable with definitions that make sense to any tree owner.

Our editorial assistant Amanda helped in putting this glossary together. We tried to define these terms in the barest of language. Please let us know if any questions.

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Ladybugs Feast on the Most Common Garden Pests: Aphids

1 Jun, 2010 in Plant Heath Care, Summer Tree Care by admin

The Aphid: A Brutish and Uncivilized Thug

Nasty little creatures called aphids can destroy a lovely garden. These brutish insects hang out in colonies and swarm poor unsuspecting garden plants. They are tiny, about the size of a sharpened pencil tip and their little pear-shaped bodies feed on fragile young leaves, new shoots, and twigs or branches. What’s worse is that while these aphids feed, they leave a residue (often called “aphid honeydew“) on the plants. The residue is a blackish brown color that resembles mold and essentially suffocates a plant leaf preventing it from photosynthesizing properly. The leaves then curl and turn brown. What did your garden ever do to deserve this?

Ladybugs to the Rescue

One natural way to get rid of aphids is to introduce lady bugs into your yard. You could spray aphids in your garden with pesticides, but do you really want to eat produce that has synthetic chemicals on it? Fortunately, the natural world has a provided a mechanism of aphid control for wrestling control over your garden.  The almighty predator of the smarmy aphid is none other than the precious ladybug. The ladybug will provide natural aphid control by feasting upon colonies until its belly is full, and then feast some more. Adult ladybugs can eat up to a 1,000 aphids a day. Not bad for a precious lady.

You Can’t Cage Ladybugs So How Do they Stay in the Garden?

Yes it’s true, ladybugs are fierce aphid predators, but they are also free spirits. Ladybugs like to roam the world in search of the perfect flower where they can have a cup of tea with their friends and swap tall tales of aphid conquests. So, keeping them in your garden is a challenge but not impossible. Here are some tips for keeping the precious ladybugs in your garden:

  • Since ladybugs use the sun for navigation, release them at a time when there is no sun! This means releasing them after the sun sets or before the sun rises.
  • Before you release them water your garden so that they have nice fresh water to drink from.
  • And another thing you can do before you release them is to cool them off in the fridge. This tends to make the ladybugs a bit lethargic and less likely to seek adventure elsewhere so quickly.

Most of your local nurseries have ladybugs for sale or you can buy them online. Treat your garden right this summer – nature’s way!
Please let us know if you have tried ladybugs and what kind of results you got.

This post is by Justin Rickard, a writer living on the Front Range of Colorado.

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Ash Tree Trimming – Understanding the Process

26 May, 2010 in Spring Tree Care, Summer Tree Care by Matt

We have an overview on ash tree care but one thing you should know is that ash trees very commonly break from snow weight.  Thus ash tree trimming can be quite extensive and you will lose some shade in the short term.  However over the course of the growing season,  you’ll find that the tree grows into its new look.  Ash trees branch out again quickly,  so the newly pruned ash will really beautify and provide shade cover for years to come.

And not break in the winter.  Remember,  we offer winter tree trimming after the leaves have fallen so you can wait until then and earn a winter discount as a bonus.

Trim an ash right the first time and it will  hold its value. Thoughts?

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Rain and Overwatering Trees

19 May, 2010 in Spring Tree Care by Matt

We’ve gotten, rain, snow, sleet and hail in May 2010. You may not have to water your trees as much as past years. There is no hard and fast rule about how much water a tree needs. But you can over do it.

Taking into account the amount of snow we had in Denver, the ground is very saturated.  Consider the following factors.

  • Drainage -   Is the tree on a hill or in a low lying gully. Water will move away on a hill and pool in a gully.
  • Species – Volunteer trees need like Chinese elm need less water for instance.
  • Tree Size - Smaller trees may respond better to a drip watering system while larger trees need a deep root watering.
  • Tree context – A cottonwood is a water hog, so it will take more than its fair share from a neighboring tree. Xeriscaping,  lawn condition and proximity to pavement and other structures also play a factor.

This is just a high level overview. We’ve looked at trees that the owner thought was stressed from drought but it turned out the tree was getting too much water.  The symptoms are similar.  Here’s more food for thought on this and also some pictures of overwatered trees.

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Aerial Tree Rescue Seminar – Washington Park, Denver

17 May, 2010 in ArborScape News by Matt

On Saturday, we had seven of our tree crew members attend an aerial rescue seminar at Wash Park. It is part of our continuing education units required by the ISA. It was sponsored by Vermeer. They talked about new equipment and demonstrated a proper way to do an aerial rescue. In fact, we are now implementing a new technique into our safety training.

FYI. David has never had to do an aerial rescue in three decades of tree work. But it’s better to be safe then sorry because it does happen.

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