What Can a Tree Service Professional Tell You About Witch Hazel?

Did you know that Connecticut is the world capital of witch hazel? Popular skincare products are made from a shrub native to New England. The first commercial astringent products were made by T.N. Dickinson in the nineteenth century. He was inspired to create this versatile product — which can clean and protect the body — by watching how Native Americans would treat skin irritations and wounds with success.

Witch hazel also does something that most Connecticut homeowners don’t hope to have: clusters of rich yellow to orange-red flowers in the bleak winter months. This plant will bloom in late fall or early spring, depending on the species.

Tree Service Advice: Plant Witch Hazel

You don’t have to set up your own distillery to convert this plant to the clear liquid that can be used to clean skin. Your arborist will tell you it makes for a great addition to your yard because it is a native plant in Connecticut.

Native plants have adapted to this area and don’t need any special care to survive and thrive here. Once established (and your favorite tree service professional can help here), native plants are almost self-sufficient, without need for additional watering or fertilizer. They also support native animals and beneficial insects such as birds and bees.

Tree Service Advice: Enjoy Witch Hazel

A witch hazel plant can grow 10 to 20 feet tall and grows well in sun or part shade. You can use this plant to screen your home for privacy as you enjoy its beauty. A little pruning can give you the exact look you want and here is where a professional arborist can quickly shape your witch hazel and keep it healthy and strong.

Witch hazel also needs little fertilizer and can thrive in a Connecticut yard, which makes this plant very attractive for many homeowners. If you’re thinking of enhancing your home with something attractive but low maintenance, then witch hazel might be just the ticket.

Of course, it’s quite the conversation starter for proud Connecticut residents!

Advice from Your Arborist: Plant Native Trees

Understanding what your plants need means having a yard that is both beautiful and easy to maintain.  We talked about how No Mow May results in a few extra hours for yourself and food for pollinators who will enrich our plants.  In this blog, we’ll talk about native trees.

You may be aware of the terms native and invasive when it comes to plants.  We all complain about weeds and how they can take over a garden but that’s not really the point here.  A weed is just any plant growing where we don’t want it to grow.  Even a blooming rosebush in the middle of a lawn is a weed because it doesn’t belong there.

An invasive plant is one that is brought into an area from somewhere else.  We find something pretty in a shop and bring it home.  The problem is, a lot of these plants don’t play nice with others and will take over in an aggressive way.  Bittersweet is pretty but can choke a tree as this vine climbs up a trunk and grows.  That kind of damage, and the associated tree service, is hard to reverse but can be avoided.

Learn the Benefits of Using Native Trees (Hint: Less Tree Service)

Native trees are those already at home in Connecticut.  They are comfortable with the weather patterns and have developed their own resistance to heat and cold, wind and water.  That makes them less fussy.

They don’t need special fertilizers and will generally save on water.  You don’t have to spend time and money making sure they have enough to drink because they like the amount of water that they expect to get in the Nutmeg state.  They also have figured out how to defend themselves from local bugs so you can skip the pesticides, which can be good for pets as well as your wallet.

Native trees are also good at controlling erosion below the soil and preserving biodiversity above it.  The birds and bees that we fed in May count on native trees to survive and we definitely benefit as we restore their habitats by offering shelter and food for wildlife and support pollinators.  (No bees = no pollination = no food.)

You may need to hire a professional tree service to prune a native tree but that work will be minimal compared to work you may need for a specimen that is struggling to survive in Connecticut’s climate.

Get Your Native Tree Advice from a Tree Service Professional

There are several native trees you can choose from: Red Maple, Black Birch, Eastern Hemlock, Sugar Maple, Northern Red Oak, Beech, Eastern White Pine, and Black Cherry.

Each can offer different ornamental value; a Sugar Maple in the autumn can present the most amazing shades of red and orange as the days grow shorter and the crisp air calls for a warm sweater.  As a setting sun provides a backlit atmosphere, you can be grateful for planting one near your home.

But, what to choose?  This is where an arborist comes in.  If you are lucky enough to be in the market for a new tree, pick the brain of your favorite tree service professional.  You can find the perfect tree for your needs: shade, privacy screening, decoration, even protection from the elements such as wind.  Someone experienced in tree service can teach you when each type of tree blooms so you’re always enjoying a beautiful show and feeding our winged friends, too!

Consultations are free and the advice from a tree service professional is priceless!

What Does a Difficult Take Down Look Like?

We thought we’d share some photos from a recent take down so you could see what the process looks like.

Just click on the photos below to step through the process. Notice the many safety precautions we take, including how we tie off the trunk so that it can be gently lowered to the ground. This 120 foot pine weighed several tons. To allow it to fall free would have been irresponsible and dangerous. By using the right equipment to take down this tree, we were able to ensure the safety of the people on the ground and the homeowner’s property, not to mention the lawn. Several hundred pounds of wood falling onto grass does nothing positive for lawncare!

In this case, the tree had been infested with carpenter ants and, although it looked healthy, was dying. As it was only a few yards from the house, there was the real possibility that it could fall and severely damage the home, possibly harming those inside.

Enjoy the photos and call us to learn more if you are worried about removing a tree that is close to your home.

The Woodpecker: Tree Service Professional

Woody Woodpecker is Just a Cartoon

The fame of one two-dimensional woodpecker has resulted in something of a phenomenon: people will use the word pileated in conversation.

The word refers to the red crest of the bird, from the Latin pileatus, which means capped.  Pileated woodpeckers are strikingly beautiful and hard to miss.  If you don’t see that bright red, you will definitely hear the rat-a-tat of that beak drilling into a tree trunk.  A longer lower beak reduces the strain that might otherwise be put on the bird’s head.  And, a hyoid bone wraps around the woodpecker’s skull to like a seatbelt to further protect the brain.  That’s why a woodpecker can strike a tree about 20 times per second yet no one has ever seen one of these guys at the pharmacy buying aspirin.

Real woodpeckers are much more amazing, and useful, than the televised version.

What Do Woodpeckers Do?

A woodpecker is doing what the name says, drilling into wood to find its food in the form of insects and tree sap.  The work it does to survive results in useful information for homeowners.  In essence, the woodpecker is a tree service professional, providing help just like your favorite arborist.

The birds don’t necessarily kill a tree.  A healthy specimen won’t be nearly as bothered by the jackhammering as you will be.  (That sound does get on the nerves after a while.)  And while the birds will remove some bark to access a meal, a healthy tree can easily survive.

However, a woodpecker’s preference for your trees might indicate a very real problem.  Trees can appear to be in good shape, producing foliage after winter’s harsh temperatures and winds.  Bark can appear unblemished and hide a sickly or even rotting trunk.  A woodpecker might be the first sign you have that insects are deep inside, eating the weakened tree from the inside.  The next sign you receive might be that tree unable to withstand a storm, falling on your lawn or, worse, house, garage, or car.

What Should You Do When You See a Woodpecker?

Take a photo.  They’re very pretty birds and really awesome to watch for a few moments (before the sound becomes annoying).

You can also take a little inspiration from a woodpecker.  They can see value in something like a dead tree and find life within it.  Trees are wonderfully generous, giving so much throughout their long lives and for decades after that.

Then call your favorite arborist, the human version.  There are ways to tell if a tree has been singled out because of illness and if that tree can be saved but that comes with experience.  An arborist with years of tree service experience can usually tell if a tree is going to be strong and healthy for years to come — or not.  Without that know-how, the only sure way to learn the health of a tree is to cut it down and look inside.  Then, you’ll know how old it was and if you should have done that.  But, it’d be too late for a good tree.

Enjoy the birds and thank them for their service to our trees.  Call Gerry and Brian for more information.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Did you know there is a word for carving words and symbols into a tree?  Arborglyph is derived from arbor meaning tree and glyphein referring to carve.  Lots of couples have carved their initials in a tree, warmly encased in a heart, to signify their love.  Since this blog is hitting on Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d take a quick look at this and other romantic notions about trees.

Carving initials into a tree probably won’t hurt it because you’re not likely to dig deep enough into the bark to do real damage.  However, it’s not exactly a good thing for the tree and you want to take care of that tree since it’s yours.  (Don’t even think about it otherwise.  Carving is illegal in national forests and your neighbor isn’t going to like it much either.)

Create a Lasting Symbol of Love: Plant a Tree

If you’re going to impress the one you love, you want something that’ll last.  A lightly carved bark will grow over in time, much as a scratch on your skin heals.  Since the faint remnant of a scar doesn’t exactly say “romance,” then consider actually planting a tree.  Wisteria trees represent romance. Redwood trees symbolize forever.  Elm stands for inner strength and love.  Willows symbolize inner wisdom, dreams, harmony, and freedom.

A tree is also referenced in a deceptively shocking speech that can be made at a wedding while toasting the happy couple.  “We drink to your coffins.  May they be built from a one-hundred-year-old oak tree... that I shall plant tomorrow.”  That one works well if you pull an acorn from a pocket and those gathered have a sense of humor.

Call your favorite arborist and ask for ideas.  Sure, a box of long-stemmed roses is nice but a healthy tree is something that can grow with your relationship and be a special part of your history together.  Spring wedding anniversaries can be remembered with a tree that flowers in the same month as the wedding date.  Wedding vows can be renewed under the limbs of a tree planted at the same time as the wedding.  A daughter or daughter-in-law’s wedding bouquet can include flowers and leaves from that tree, carrying on a family’s symbol of love.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day from your favorite guys in the tree service, Brian and Gerry.

Trees and Our Mild Winter (so far)

Let’s take a moment to celebrate the mild winter weather we’ve had so far.  After the damaging storms of the summer and fall 2020, it’s nice to hear the quiet that comes from a lack of high winds and gusts.

As you might guess, those of us in the tree service business have been busy with cleanup after these storm events.  It’s heartbreaking to see beautiful, old trees broken or literally uprooted by Mother Nature and the recent cold weather only makes some trees, like spruce, more vulnerable because the deciduous trees nearby have lost their leaves.  These evergreens are facing the brunt of winter winds at a time when they can be brittle due to extreme cold.

When the worst happens, weight is an important factor when removing material.  The weight of a tree depends on the type and height of a tree, among other factors.  In the warmer months, a tree weighs more because of leaves.  If you want to satisfy your inner geek, this is a good resource for calculating the weight of your trees.  The quick answer is that trees are usually measured in tons and not pounds, unless you’re talking about a very young specimen.

Arborists want to save a tree if at all possible while making sure that people and property are safe.  Sometimes a tree will split so that its own limbs or the limbs of neighboring trees hold dead wood aloft.  To safely remove several tons of material from a precarious position in the air takes experience, equipment, patience, and more experience.  Never walk under a hanging limb because that could go at any time.  Dial your favorite arborist as soon as possible.

Material that has made it to the ground—usually with a sickening thud—is more stable, of course, but anyone who’s been through the experience knows that trees spread on the ground are met with the phrase, “It looks so much bigger now.”  It takes time and effort to cut trees and prep them as firewood and chip less desirable wood.  Here, the right equipment can save backs and therefore lives.

When trees hit homes and cars, the result is miserable but a little less so when you have your ducks in a row before the storm hits.  Check that you’ve bought the right homeowner’s insurance and found a trusted arborist, someone who is skilled in tree service and carries the proper tree work insurance.  Knowing who to call, like us at Tree-Scape and Fitch, will make dealing with tree damage easier.

And here’s hoping Mother Nature will continue to be kind to us in terms of good weather.

Do Trees Talk to Each Other? Yes.

The recent warm weather is being replaced by something more autumnal but we still have the chance to enjoy a few walks in the woods before winter sets in. There’s plenty of good news with this kind of activity: exercise, fresh air, and companionship that is perfect for the restrictions on our social experiences in 2020.

As it turns out, trees are very social and will talk to each other. Now, maybe you won’t be able to understand their language but check out this informative video from National Geographic to learn how they are part of an intricate communications network that you can appreciate the next time you go outside.

Take a moment to step away from the craziness around us and appreciate a good conversation that you can’t hear but maybe can feel. We’re sure you’ll feel better after some quality time with them.

Trees and Storms

Storm damage from Tropical Storm Isaias was barely off the ground in Fairfield and Litchfield Counties before residents in Woodbury and Southbury were hit with high winds and more damage on August 27.  If you’re worried about the rest of hurricane season, then you’re in good company.  We’d much rather have gentle breezes than gusts and believe rain should not move horizontally.

But, for those moments when Mother Nature is less than ladylike, we’ve prepared a few tips that we hope will help our tree owners.

Maintain Your Friendships

Wait.  What?!  Nothing about filling the tub with water, checking batteries in the radio and flashlights?  Did we forget buying milk and bread?  Seriously, there are enough blogs out there telling you these things.  If you need a refresher, check out the FEMA guidelines here.

Our first tip is about human contact because that’s really important.  Do you know your neighbors well enough to ask for their help?  Depending on the electrical grid in your area and the availability of generators, a neighbor may have power when you don’t.  Or, the reverse may be true.  Checking in with them and family members and friends is also a good way to keep spirits up in an emergency situation.

Prepare Well Ahead of Storms

Just as utility companies do tree work in good weather, you, too, should be maintaining your trees.  Are there branches close to your house or driveway?  Are your trees healthy or do they need care?  A free consultation with a professional arborist will answer your questions and give you great peace of mind when the tracking models start appearing on your television.

Keep Your Cool

Know your tree service professionals are trying their best to get everyone back to normal as we leave our homes and families to take care of yours.  You’re welcome to watch us work from inside your homes but please don’t approach the work area.  We can work faster and safer if we can control who is in the work area.

There will be an end to the mess, just hang in there.  An emergency visit from an arborist will be to move a tree from the driveway and then we’ll leave quickly to help another person.  It’s critical to keep pathways clear in case an ambulance or fire truck needs access.  Once everyone has basic access to the outside world, we’ll return to your home chip wood, blow sawdust, and tidy the area.

Call us at 203-515-3051 before the next storm.  We’d love to help you.

How Tall Can A Tree Be?

Have you done the tourist thing and tipped your neck way back to look up at the skyscrapers in New York? Have you looked up the trunk of a tree? They’re pretty impressive, too, but it seems they can only grow so high.

Trees are like us: we’re both systems. Blood in our bodies moves nutrients to our cells and removes waste. Sap does this in trees. Phloem sap contains sugars that the tree produces in its leaves as its converts sunlight during photosynthesis. This flows down the tree. Xylem sap contains nutrients that the tree needs to grow, again like our bodies (both of us need calcium but for different reasons). Xylem sap moves up a tree to make sure it has what it needs to live and grow.

Gravity only works in one direction. So, Xylem sap has to rely on forces to make it journey, including the fact that leaves take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. As they breathe, they give off water (transpiration), which creates enough negative pressure to pull xylem sap up the trunk. A little something called capillary action helps the vertical journey as does root pressure, or the pressure created at the tree’s base where phloem sap and xylem sap meet and exchange water through something called osmosis.

We’ve found a cool video that describes the process here.

Still, gravity is a law and laws must be obeyed. So, trees can only reach certain heights because this really cool system can only bring water and nutrients so far. The name for this is the hydraulic limitation hypothesis. Kind of amazing when you stop to look at some of the trees in Connecticut, which were around well before a lot of landmarks we take for granted like I-84, the beautiful Saville Dam, or even the whaling concerns showcased in Mystic, which used tall trees to build ships strong enough to weather the long ocean voyages.

Naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor measured what they believe is the tallest tree in Redwood National and State Parks in Northern California, claiming it stands at 380 feet. (They climbed it to take the measurement. People who love trees often love climbing, too.) The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is recorded as the world’s largest by volume and 275 feet in height.

OK, the Empire State Building does dwarf that, standing 1,454 feet at the tip. But, as far as living things goes, a tree is pretty cool and you don’t have to be a professional arborist providing tree services to think that.

Connecticut's Arborist Law

Were you aware that there is a law, enacted in 1922, to ensure that trees and homeowners get the best care from those who would sell tree services? Or, that there are about 1,000 licensed arborists in Connecticut?

Thanks to the Town Times for printing an article that highlights this important law and the tree planting ceremony that will honor the passage of this legislation. If you don’t have a subscription, click here to open a PDF copy of the article.

To Bee or Not to Bee, Trees are the Answer

If you enjoy snacking on guacamole or luxuriating under a refreshing avocado facial mask, then you should take care of the trees in your yard.  No, don’t rush to plant an avocado tree because it’s not likely to survive the freezing temperatures of our Connecticut winters.  However, taking care of trees that are happy to grow here will pay off by keeping the bees happy.

Think of a world without bees and realize that there would also be no grapes to eat or wine to drink.  Bees need trees to obtain nectar and pollen and trees need bees in order to produce fruit and seeds.  Locally, our native plants, trees, and shrubs rely on the 400 species of wild native bees.  When you offer a flowering tree such as a dogwood, you can support a hungry bee just coming out of hibernation.  Red maples and bushes like azalea are also good food sources in the early spring, when bees need the most energy to restart colonies yet food is still in short supply as flowers have not yet bloomed.

A queen bumble bee is a lone survivor and starts a new hive each year.  Without food, her entire colony can disappear and, without the female worker bees the queen would have produced, cranberries are unpollinated.  Imagine a summer without the gentle hum of the bumble bee on a hot, lazy afternoon and then think about a Thanksgiving table without the cranberry sauce.

Of course, a blueberry bush would be an obvious choice to feed our buzzing friends but did you know that the ash, pine, birch, and willow trees are also going to support the butterfly population?  Butterflies are also good pollinators and desperately needed as several factors act on these tiny creatures to threaten their lives and our food supply.  If you’ve cleared trees on your property in favor of a uniformly green lawn, then you’ve created what is known as a monoculture.  Creatures cannot find any nutrition there and will avoid the area.  More and more lawns mean fewer and fewer places where pollinators exist and, when we want to do something as straightforward as grow a few flowers or pick tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers from a vegetable garden, we will be unsatisfied and confused as to why we’re not successful despite hard work and cash outlays.

Trees also provide a home for native bees that are don’t live in a hive but build individual nurseries for each of their offspring.  Cavities and stems in trees are just the right listing for these real estate hunters.  And, before you judge carpenter bees as a menace, realize that they are just doing what comes instinctively and nesting in wood.  They are vital pollinators and both you and the bees would prefer that your yard contained a nice poplar or willow tree for them to use.

If you’re wondering what you can do to help these tiny but incredibly important creatures to do what they do best and help us to enjoy the foods we love, visit www.propollinators.org to learn more about the effort to create continuous corridors of land where pollinators can feel welcome and be healthy.  Also, call your favorite arborists, Gerry or Brian, to learn how you can keep your trees in tip top shape as more than just decorative ornaments in your yard and garden.

Spring Cleanup and Tree Care

There may not have been a lot of snow to clean up this winter but Mother Nature did blow hard enough to leave a lot of branches on the ground. If you own property with trees, you know you have a lot of cosmetic work ahead of you but are you ignoring a less visible chore?

Look for Signs of Tree Distress

How healthy are your trees? Take a moment to enjoy the first hints of warmer weather and slowly walk around your yard. Notice the bark on each tree and the earth over the root systems. Woodpeckers are very hard workers and if you’re seeing a lot of chips around the base of a tree, then they might be tearing apart the wood to get at bugs taking advantage of a sick or dying tree. Given the very real problem of Emerald Ash Borer in our area, you might see how the birds are trying to snack on these beetles.

Maybe you don’t have an ash tree. Then, check for other signs that can impact other species. Wings or carcasses of termites might indicate a serious issue with the health of a tree. Do the fallen branches around you look like they were dead before they fell and just too weak to stand up to the pressure of ice, snow, and wind? Or, did otherwise healthy branches snap and fall?

Help Your Trees

Don’t assume that an unhealthy tree is a doomed tree. You have more options than simply cutting and you should consider factors such as expense, loss of attractive features including shade, and possible advantages such as maintaining your property’s value by saving a beautiful, mature tree.

A professional arborist is trained to evaluate the health of a tree. Just as a doctor sees many cases and becomes adept at identifying problems and applying proven solutions, a good arborist can tell you how to protect your investment. The winter of 2019 had more than one storm where temps hovered at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Maybe a tree limb didn’t break with the ice and heavy, wet snow that resulted but that same limb is sagging and might need the assistance of a cable to remain in good condition.

Enjoy Your Yard

These big, gorgeous plants filter our air and clean our planet as well as provide us with amazing summer days to remember. Imagine a glass of your favorite beverage and a tasty snack. The light dances on your patio or deck as the sun filters through leaves rustling in a warm breeze.

When you take care of your trees, they take care of you so make the time talk with an arborist to ensure that your trees remain healthy and provide you with pleasure for decades to come.