lessons...

The most important lesson I have ever learned, is that there is so much to learn. As soon as you think you know it, life with throw a twist in the plot.

Last week I got an e-mail "Help me with my tree..." the author had a tree, that would get infested with web like structures each year, and turn the tree brown. "What kind of tree is it?" I asked. She was pretty sure it was a honey locust. A honey locust, with web like structures, turning brown in July. "AHA!" I thought to myself. "Classic case of the honey locust mite!" (A common problem with Honey Locusts here in Missouri.)

Next I request a photo of the tree and the damage. Instead she brings me a live sample, all the better! "Webbing, Brown Leaves, Little black spots on paper when shaken, classic mites!" I explain to her that mites can easily be sprayed off young trees, and very little pesticides are available to homeowners for mite treatment. So a good daily spray should knock most of them off. CASE CLOSED!

Mimosa Webworm webbing on Honey Locust.

Then... as I walked towards the office I keep seeing what appears to be feces, and a lot of it. "Wow, I have never seen mite poop before..." I thought. "And I have seen a lot of mites!" Now, unconvinced this was mite feces, I went digging through my tree diagnosis library.

Mimosa Webworm Damage: Note Feces

Mimosa Webworm. Yet another invasive species introduced from Asia, and yet another beautiful, yet destructive pest. Apparently this is a common pest of honey locusts, though they seem to be very picky about cultivars, which may explain why I have never seen them until now! The larval form of this pest, the caterpillars, start to appear around Late June and munch on your trees until late summer. August is when the adult form is witnessed and the cycle starts anew.

Usually once damage is noticed, its already too late to treat the insect. These insects should be treated early. Hand picking the caterpillars and inviting birds to feed on the caterpillars is a great form of defense, and a high pressure water hose knocking them to the ground will also help keep the good fight!

So, like every day, I learned something new. I was also reminded that when things seem like an open and shut case, sometimes you have to dig a little deeper and never be afraid to look yourself in the mirror and realize you were wrong. What a great day to get outside and experience something new today!

Update!

Wetlands adjacent to campus.

First, Thankyou Catherine Zlotopolski for taking time out of your day to help clean up this area for our resident and traveling birds!

So today the cleaning began! Unfortunatly we are far from finished! We covered nearly half the area, and as you can see, our gator was overflowing with items. We are going to meet again on Wednesday August fourth, at noon again to finish cleaning this area! The area was already home to some birds and even if we just impact one single bird, our efforts were worth it!

Catherine, thank you!

Trash and dumped debris from the wetlands.

urgent hour!

Heartbreaking Photo: Oil Soaked Seagulls

It is hard to escape the live feed of oil spewing by the hundreds of thousands of gallons into the gulf. This is one of the biggest environmental disasters we have witnessed this century. We are going to see effects of this "spill" for many years to come. Everyone has seen images of oil soaked birds unable to hold themselves up, and those surely will perish if no one interferes.

The worst is yet to come. Millions of birds, from the gulf to the arctic circle, are now on their southward trip to overwinter in the warm gulf region of the United States and Central America. More and more birds are going to be showing up in the gulf and more and more are going to find their usual feeding grounds oil covered.

A safe and healthy journey between here and the oil filled waters is going to be detrimental to the health and survival statistics of these traveling birds. The United States Department of Agriculture is working hard to work with land managers and owners to keep wetlands open for traveling birds, and creating wetlands to increase wading and feeding areas for traveling birds. To learn more about this program and how its going to help click here.

So what can we do? We can insure that our wetlands and wild areas are healthy environments, providing birds with protection, food, and healthy water to help them in their challenging travel endeavors.

So won't you join me? Wednesday July, twenty first, I am going to be utilizing my lunch time (12:00-1:00 p.m.) to clean the wetlands adjacent to the college campus. It is five acres of wetlands that are already seeing migratory species feeding and utilizing the area!

Wetland Adjacent to S.C.C. (Note Green Heron center)

So if you can spare five minutes, fifteen, even a half hour and help me clean up the trash, tires, and other debris from this area we can do just a little to help these birds survive the oil spill in the Gulf! I will be happy to provide leather work gloves, buckets and trash bags, and trash grabbers! All you need is a sturdy pair of shoes or boots and not be afraid of a little dirt and water!

If you can come and help please e-mail me A.S.A.P. dporter@stchas.edu. The cleanup location is mapped below, indicated by the yellow spots. (South of the South-east Entrance, South side of Cottleville Expressway.)

Wetland Urgent Hour

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Noon-1:00 p.m.

(Rain out date will be Thursday July 22)

Wetlands are Accessible from the Green Parking Lot south of Cottleville Parkway. Look for the green gator!

On the Last Leg...

I just returned from a minor knee surgery, so please excuse my tardiness in my Blog update!

I often get e-mails "What is wrong with my tree?" I always perk up a bit when I see it in the subject line, as it is one of my favorite things to do. I start my investigation: What kind of tree is it? What are its symptoms? Where is it planted? When was it planted? How was it planted? Do you have a photo of the tree? Do you have an infected leaf I can look at?

Well we are now in the depths of July, and we are starting to see the after effects of fungi that thrived in our wet spring, and insects that proliferate in the hot temperature! Often this time of year when we see the after effects of disease and insects it is already too late to treat the problem, but just lessen the symptoms.

Now that we are moving into hot, and surely dry weather, this is the most important time to be sure your tree gets water, and plenty of it! Mulch is also a great idea as this will help the soil around your tree roots hold moisture. The larger the radius of the mulch ring the better! A mulch ring the same radius as the tree or larger will benefit the tree the best, as it will not have turf underneath to compete for water and nutrients.

Mulch should be 2-3" deep throughout. I often see mulch piled like a "volcano" against the trunk of the tree. This is the worst practice in mulching we see today and does nothing but harm the tree. Try to keep the mulch from coming in contact from the tree trunk as the mulch will decompose and provide some nutrients for your tree, but you don't wan't the tree itself to decompose!

A weekly check on the mulch by sticking your finger in the soil to see how dry it is, and remove any weeds that invade, should suffice. If you would like to learn more about proper mulching please click here.

I have a few e-mails and letters to investigate, and once I research and find the cause I will share some of these with you next week! Have a great week and get out and enjoy the campus!