Arborist Insights Archives - Page 6 of 10

Feb 12

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Tree Born to be a Landscape Specimen

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Landscaping, Plant Species Information, Species | No Comments

While blowing a strata site on a recent sunny December afternoon, I almost tripped on a huge cone. Intrigued, I smuggled it home past my wife in a lunch bag.

Using my trusted Sibley guide to trees by David Allen Sibley and Google, I found out it was a female Cedrus deodara cone. Deodar cedar is a Himalayas native. According to the Arbor Day Foundation website, www.arborday.org, this tree was born to be a landscape specimen. It has elegant pendulous branches, attractive coloring, pleasing shape and interesting branching patterns.

Tree guru Michael Dirr calls the deodar cedar “the most graceful cedar”. It tolerates drought but it’s not really suited for cold zones. The needles are bluish-green or silvery with sharp tips usually borne in clusters, smaller toward twig tips. The needles are shed in spring as new growth appears.

The cones are upright like in firs (Abies) but stouter and they disintegrate over winter, leaving an upright central spike.

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Needles in clusters

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Female cone, upright

Feb 06

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Red Seal Vas on periodicals

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Landscape Industry, Landscaping, Magazines, Resources | No Comments

As the 2016 season approaches, I try to finish my dusty magazines from last year. Below are the key periodicals I read. Because my budget is limited, I subscribe to some and buy interesting issues from the others. What do YOU read?

Horticulture Magazine (USA)

It has nice detailed plant and how to articles. I get the digital version because shipping for paper copies to Canada is too high. Lee Valley sells paper copies in the store

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Arborist News (International)

This comes bi-monthly and is included with your ISA membership. It’s the main magazine for arborists. Includes quizzes, scientific tree articles and book reviews.
Warning: ISA also publishes a book catalogue full of great but pricey books. I never seem to have the budget for everything on my wish list.

Gardenwise, Canadian Gardening and Garden Making (Canada)

Good coverage of Canada. The best part of Gardenwise is the chores page that outlines what to do in your garden for a particular month. Garden Making is the newest and prettiest of the three. It has nice how to articles and lots of plants.

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Fine Gardening (USA)

Great photos but this magazines can seriously add to your food bill as you throw it into your food cart. Covers all of USA so my interest is in the Pacific Northwest. I enjoy the how to articles on pruning. Plenty of botanical names.

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Landscape Management (USA)

A magazine for landscape company owners and managers. The most interesting issue is the one with top annual revenues. The numbers will blow you away.
You can get it for free if you own a landscape company in Canada. You can also check out the online version at www.landscapemanagement.net.

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Success magazine (USA)

Every issue comes with bonus audio CD. I listen to it on the way to my sites. Articles cover important topics related to business and personal success. I am also a fan of publisher Darren Hardy. His book “Entrepreneur Rollercoaster” is a must read. Darren also has a daily blog you can subscribe to. Available at local stores.

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What do YOU read?

Jan 29

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Frequently asked about this native shrub……

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Species | No Comments

After fielding many, many questions about this native shrub, it’s time to give it its own blog. Symphoricarpos albus (Common Snowberry) is a native shrub. In the wild it forms dense thickets. In strata landscapes it gets sheared down to size in winter. Now would be a good time to do it. The shrub produces small flowers in June which attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Then in fall we get many clusters of white berries and they last into winter. This is why, I presume, my workers and residents ask about this native shrub. The white berries are hard to miss. Native birds eat them. Sometimes I think about this when I am asked to shear the shrub to size. The poor birds might go hungry.

The common snowberry is easy to grow and tolerates all but very wet soils. If you don’t have this shrub on your strata property you are bound to see it on your nature walk. If you see clusters of white berries, chances are it’s the Common Snowberry. If you want to sound like a native plant expert, use the botanical name Symphoricarpos albus.

Symphoricarpos albus

Symphoricarpos albus Common Snowberry

Jan 22

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Review: HortusTV, Television for Gardeners…….

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Reviews | No Comments

After seeing ads for HortusTV in Garden Making magazine, I decided to give it a try. The website www.hortustv.com offers a seven day trial and you don’t have to hand over your credit card information to enjoy your free week. Most episodes are in the 20 minute range and lots of different topics are covered. The selection looks limited as I write this but the episodes are shot really well. You will learn lots of interesting stuff, guaranteed. Once the number of shows increases it will make sense to pay monthly. For the moment I will keep my cash for Netflix.

Once you get your free 7-day trial, log in and first go to the Small Town Gardens series hosted by Rachel de Thame. She is easily the world’s prettiest horticulturist!
If the number of her episodes doubles, I will subscribe to HortusTV. I watched an episode about a windy apartment patio. The owners needed more privacy and heavy winds were an issue. It was an interesting problem for the landscape architect.

The Earth’s Garden series examines the connection between people and plants. In the Kew Gardens episode you will discover an interesting tree, Amorphophallus titanum. Kew is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. It is on my “Live it” list.

Another interesting series was about spring around the world. All of these episodes are worth watching, especially South Africa.

My recommendation would be to do the free seven day trial and then wait for the number of shows to triple before paying monthly.

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Jan 15

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Stihl Dream Machine…..

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Education, Landscaping Equipment | No Comments

You know the scenario well. You are blowing a strata site and your worker stops you with a question. So you stop and then take the blower off your back to start it again. Back to your leaf avalanches. Then a strata lady stops you with a pressing landscape emergency. You get the picture. I always wanted a better system where I wouldn’t have to take the unit off my back to restart it. And this year Stihl came out with my dream machine, BR 450 C-EF professional blower!

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(Image courtesy of Stihl USA, www.stihl.com)

Key features:

Electric on/off switch so you can keep the blower on your back and eliminate idling (and excessive noise) as you go from one area to the next.
The blower tube extends by loosening the orange collar, no need to fit two pieces together like on my Echo blower
The trigger has adjustable cruise so you are not stuck at maximum power on cruise control
The trigger is easily moved along the tube with one lock, no need to tighten anything

I am not sure if this blower is available in the Lower Mainland but it is on my wish list!

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Jan 08

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Get Landscape Industry Certified!

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Landscape Industry, Resources | No Comments

This past fall, with daylight quickly fading out, I witnessed a residential landscape service blitz at a house next door. Three men mowed and pruned in semi-darkness. When you look at the globe cedars pictured, pruning must be used loosely. The cedars should be evenly sheared into nice globes and the clean up should match the pruning job. Always! Incredibly, this is their finished product and the clippings remain on the ground weeks later. Presumably they got paid for this “service”.

Then it hit me! This is why landscape professionals get certified. To get some separation from people who produce and accept this kind of service.

The Canadian Nursery and Landscape Association (CNLA) runs the Landscape Industry Certified program in Canada. The program helps landscapers validate their skills and prove, by passing all written and practical tests, that they have the minimum required skill levels. Employers love it and clients should look for this logo. If you are lucky your employer will cover your testing fees. Ask nicely.

landscape industry certified technician

Visit www.cnla-acpp.ca/certification or e-mail certification@cnla-acpp.ca

Dec 25

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World Record Weed Pull!

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Education, Events, Landscaping, Plant Species Information | No Comments

As soon as I found about this project, I knew I had to be there. World record attempt for the most people involved in invasive plant removal sounded interesting. This was a good chance to give back to the community and improve my green resume. I used to run at Mundy Park in Coquitlam with the Phoenix Running Club so why not remove some invasive plants and make it better.

On October 4, 2015, my group went through orientation with City of Coquitlam staff and then we picked up paper bags for green waste and gloves for safety. Water was also provided. I opted to join the group heading deeper into the woods. I love trees and hiking; and collisions with dog waste are less likely deep in the woods.
After a short hike we reached our work zone. It was a patch of ivy (Hedera helix). At your house the plant can be contained in a bed but in the woods it can do as it pleases. I am happy to report that my group attacked the ivy with great passion. All green waste was hauled out to the trail to be taken away by an ATV. Snacks and drinks were provided at the baseball diamond afterwards.

As the Tri-City News reported recently (Friday December 18, 2015, A34) the record was officially set for the most people involved in an invasive plant removal.
Over 800 people participated. If you are interested in becoming a Mundy Park Champion or a Park Spark volunteer visit www.coquitlam.ca/parkspark, email parkspark@coquitlam.ca or call 604-927-6334

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Learn about these Bad Seeds

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Orientation with City of Coquitlam staff

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Work zone: Hedera helix Ivy about to be removed

Vas in his element

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Green waste

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Dec 18

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Quick Trimmer Head Change

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Company News, Education, Landscaping, Strata Maintenance | No Comments

This week I found myself on a narrow median up in the Westwood Plateau buzzing down crack weeds when my trimmer head died of old age. No problem.
With tools in the truck and a spare head, this was a quick job.

1) use a screw driver or Allen key and look for two openings, one on the edger and one on the head

2) spin the head until the holes align to immobilize the head

3) unscrew the old head

4) screw on the new one, tight but not super tight!

My new head was already full of string so I was back in action very quickly.
Put your safety equipment back on and line edge carefully.

Dead trimmer head, save the line and discard

Allen key immobilizes the head

Dec 11

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Side-Job Hell….

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Company News, Education, Landscaping | No Comments

Two young landscapers arrive at a residence and make decent cash by pruning cedar hedges. We have all been there. Living the dream, making extra cash on weekends. Then the owner asks them to prune her Acer palmatum away from the house and below the gutters. Then mistakes happen. First examine pictures of the FINAL product and then consider the many mistakes that were made.

Owner’s request: bring the tree crown below gutters

Brutal chainsaw cuts

Huge stubs that will die off, potentially invite disease in and give the tree zero chance of healing the wound

Let us consider the mistakes that were made.

1) Agreeing to top a tree

The crown could be reduced but topping is not done for several reasons. Educate your clients!

2) Starving and stressing the tree

In drought conditions, leaf openings (stomates) are closed to prevent water loss. That also means that CO2 can not enter and therefore food production stops. Now the tree is forced to use up food reserves stored in younger branches. The same branches that are likely to be pruned off.

3) Bad cuts

The chainsaw work is inadequate and the stubs amateurish. We have seen in an earlier blog how to make a nice cut, one the tree can cover over and heal.
The stubs die off, can invite disease in, and the tree has no hope of covering the wound.

4) Failure to wear protective gear

Chainsaw work can be dangerous so protection is mandatory; the same goes for high-visibility clothing since the workers repeatedly crossed the road to assess their work. Work which did not get completed.

Dec 04

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Pterocarya stenoptera (Chinese Wingnut Tree)

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Company News, Education, Landscaping, Plant Species Information | No Comments

The Chinese wingnut tree is a 40-70 foot deciduous tree from the walnut family: Juglandaceae. I first encountered this tree species by the City of Coquitlam animal shelter off Mariner Way. What immediately struck me were the seed clusters, green strings of winged seeds suspended below the branches. Then there was the scientific name which required a lot of memory work.
This is a fast-growing tree which tolerates drought. It has no fall color; the winged seeds turn brown and fall. The two specimens I know well are both used for shade. Since the trees have aggressive roots they are not well suited for lawns or gardens.

Winged Seeds

Seed Clusters

Arborist Insights