Category Archives: Trees

The Mowing Crew “Mowed” These Apple Trees!

Fruit trees are not a lawn to be mowed or a hedge to be sheared! So don’t let your gardener or your mow, blow and go guys touch (attack!) your fruit trees. All they know how to do is to shear things or hack and wack trees back to nothing! Rather, hire a qualified arborist to do your pruning, unless you want your trees and shrubs decimated!

The other day the Good News Tree Service crew went to a client’s house to prune their fruit trees. Unfortunately, the mowing crew, against the client’s wishes, had gotten to the fruit trees before we did.

Here is the pathetic sight that greeted us — two apple trees hacked back to stubs and denuded of all fruiting wood! In my many decades of pruning fruit trees, I have never seen anything like this before. I was horrified!

These tree butchers had cut off all of the fruiting wood that we had carefully nurtured for many years. It will take several years before these trees produce new fruiting wood, and until then, they will bear no apples. Needless to say, our client wasn’t very happy about this sad state of affairs.

The problem in many of these situations is that the mowing crew speaks little or no English. I hear this again and again from my clients. Thus, a language barrier exists between the homeowner and the crew doing the work. You are telling them one thing, and think you’re saying something else, and off they go. Yikes! Yes, you save a little money by hiring cheap labor, but in the long run, you risk losing money in other ways. So do your homework and hire the right people for the job who know what they are doing.

Here is what a well-pruned apple tree should look like:

Educated Arborists Make Better Arborists!

“Old fashioned service, modern techniques since 1985,” is one of the mottos of Good News Tree Service, Inc., and we mean it! To stay up with modern techniques, you have to stay up with new technology and the science of arboriculture. This means staying on the cutting edge (pun intended or not, your choice) of what’s going on outside of your own localized, professional ghetto. That’s why we attend conferences, go to workshops, read books and magazines, do online learning and earn credentials in various aspects of tree care.

Growing up in the family business working with shrubs and trees while learning from my father, and I thought I knew everything. Then I realized how little I really knew. Finally, after many years in my own tree service, I decided to do something about my ignorance. I studied hard and became an International Society (ISA) or Arboriculture Certified Arborist, then a State of Oregon Licensed Commercial Pesticide Applicator, an OSU Master Gardener and I earned an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. Along the way, I began attending conferences and workshops, and encountering others who knew more than I did. That’s also when my passion for trees was ignited, my business began to take off, and true professionalism became a reality rather than some vague idea. I had become a craftsman in my trade, not just a run-of-the-mill tree whacker!

Keep learning! Ignorance is not a badge of honor anywhere!

This brings us to the present. The 2023 ISA International Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico just ended a couple of days ago where about 700 plus arborists from some 20 countries gathered for several days of 8 AM until 9 PM total immersion in all matters tree-related. Every tree care conference we attend is a literal tree-lover’s oasis — a who’s who in the world of tree care from top scientists, industry leaders, the CEOs of professional organizations, arborists, and world-renowned educators. This year was no exception. My son Jared and I attended many classes and workshops during our rendezvous in Albuquerque with other tree geeks. We came away with our heads bursting with new ideas and the latest scientific information to help us to be better craftsman arborists.

Here are are just a few of the people we hung out with and learned from at this year’s ISA conference:

Dr. Richard Hauer, professor emeritus of urban and community forestry at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, is a leading expert on the invasive emerald ash borer among a plethora of other tree related subjects. Nathan and Jared have attended many of Rich’s lectures at three recent conferences.

Dr. Stephanie Adams, plant health care expert at the nationally renown Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, has taught Nathan and Jared about tree roots, plant pathology and tree health care at a couple of conferences in the last year. She has provided Nathan and many others with valuable information to help us become better arborist. Thank you Stephanie!

Shawn Bernick is the COO of Rainbow Ecoscience at Minnetonka, Minnesota which is a supplier of some of Good News Tree Service’s plant health care products and equipment. Shawn has provided Nathan with valuable technical info on choosing the right products and equipment in our tree care business. Our thanks goes out to Shawn and to Alison Herrell, Rainbow’s local rep, for their excellent customer service.

Next year, Nathan and Jared plan to be in Atlanta, Georgia, for the ISA’s international conference as it celebrates its 100th anniversary as the world’s leading arboricultural professional organization. Nathan is planning to be one of the speakers at that conference.

The Emerald Ash Borer Tree Killer—What it is and what to do about it

There’s a new tree pest in town called the emerald ash borer (or EAB) and it wants to kill all the ash trees in this area.

The Emerald Ash Border (or EAB) was discovered in the summer of 2022 in hundreds of trees in the Portland Metra area and is spreading rapidly throughout the region. 

According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the EAB “is a highly destructive invasive forest pest” that has killed over 100 million ash trees so far in the US. It moves quickly, and can cause nearly complete mortality of ash trees within about several years after detection. There are no effective means of eradicating the EAB once the insect is established in an area. Once a tree canopy has been thinned or been reduced by 20 to 30 percent or more by EAB feeding activity, it is too late to save the tree. It will die.

Good News Tree Service, Inc. can save your ash tree from the EAB beetle before it’s too late. CALL US TODAY FOR MORE INFO!

Frequently Asked Questions About the EAB

What trees species does the Emerald Ash Borer  attack?

The EAB attacks all varieties of ash or Fraxinus trees regardless of variety, size, age or the health status of the tree. It also attacks the white fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) and cultivated olive trees (Olea europaea).

How quickly does EAB spread? 

The beetle can fly several miles (sometimes up to 15 miles) from one infested tree to one that is not. However, the most likely means by which the EAB spreads is thought to be by hitchhiking on vehicles and by translocated firewood. That’s why the EAB is more likely to spread to trees in areas along major freeways and highways, which opens up the entire Willamette Valley to the EAB.

How quickly will the EAB kill my tree? 

An ash tree usually dies within four to six years after initial infestation. For the first couple of years of EAB infestation, it may be impossible to detect EAB activity in a tree, which is why trees worth saving need to be treated earlier rather than later.

What are the signs that my tree has EAB?There are several including:

  • Thinning of a tree’s crown.
  • Branch dieback.
  • Woodpecker activity.
  • One-eighth inch sized  capital “D” shaped holes in the bark of the tree.
  • Splitting bark.

Progression of EAB symptoms in a tree, which may occur a couple of years after the tree has already been infested include:

  • Year one: no crown thinning.
  • Year two: moderate crown thinning.
  • Year three to four: heavy crown thinning and death.

What are my options when it comes to EAB?

  • Do nothing. Then wait for your tree to die as you unwittingly facilitate the spread of the EAB to your neighbors’ ash trees.
  • Remove the tree. If your ash tree is small (smaller than six inches in diameter), we recommend removing it and replacing with another species of tree. The cost to remove an ash tree and its stump can be $1,500 or more. This does not factor in the diminished value to your property that the removal of a mature tree will cause. In Portland, for example, the assessed value of mature ash tree is $3,12013.  Plus, this not cover the cost to replace the tree, which is often a requirement in many municipalities.
  • Treatment. Considering treating high-value ash trees with an insecticide, which is a proven way of protecting your tree. Keep in mind that this will cost hundreds of dollars and must be repeated every few years, thus requiring a long-term commitment. 

Is there anything I can do to protect my ash tree?

Other than treating your tree with a systemic insecticide, the answer is no.

How effective are treatments?

If an ash tree is treated in time, usually before 20 to 30 percent defoliation occurs, the survival rate is about 99 percent. After that level of defoliation occurs, will die the tree thus becomes a standing hazard requiring removal.

What is the cost to treat my ash tree for EAB? 

The cost to treat an average sized ash tree (20 inch diameter at breast height) is around $300 to $400 (or less for quantity discounts). Generally one can treat an ash tree for 20 to 30 years for the same cost as removing it and replacing it with another tree. Often local municipalities require that you replace your tree especially if it is a street tree, which adds to the overall cost of removing a tree.

How often do I need to treat my tree? 

An ash tree will need to be treated only once very two to three years, and will need to be treated for the life of the tree.

How are the treatments applied and are they environmentally safe? 

Yes! Absolutely. The systemic insecticide we use is injected directly into the tree’s vascular system (like and IV), so it all goes into the tree, thus there is no residue present to harm pets or people. The product we use also doesn’t harm bees or other pollinators.

More Info About EAB

Oregon State University Extension Service— general info: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/forests/cutting-selling/what-do-about-emerald-ash-borer-recommendations-tree-protection-eab

Oregon State University—EAB identification guide: https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/em9160.pdf

OSU Extention Service–general info and more links: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/announcements/emerald-ash-borer-quarantine-adopted-washington-county-effective-dec-20-2022-may-16

OSU Extention Service:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/forests/cutting-selling/what-do-about-emerald-ash-borer-recommendations-tree-protection-eab


Footnotes

1–EAB confirmed in Oregon: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/stakeholder-messages/plant-health-news/eab-or

2–Oregon Department of Agriculture: https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/IPPM/Documents/EmeraldAshBorer.pdf

3– Oregon Department of Forestry: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58740d57579fb3b4fa5ce66f/t/60772a17647ad466155f74a7/1618422303582/March+2021_EAB.pdf

Tree Planting Site Analysis, Planting and Monitoring Specifications

There is nothing as beautiful as a healthy looking trees that are performing well and are long-lived.

By Nathan Lawrence,
Owner of the Good News Tree Service, Inc. in Wilsonville, OR since 1985 — ISA Certified Arborist • ISA Tree Risk Assessment QualifiedState of Oregon Licensed Commercial Pesticide Applicator • OSU Master Gardener

The following information and recommendations pertain to the northern Willamette Valley areas of western Oregon.

Planting the right tree in the right location will help to minimize plant stress (both biotic and abiotic), pests and mortality, thus ensuring better tree performance for years to come. This is a wise use of resources, economical, good for the well-being of the community and for the local environment and the earth in general. This also means that fewer chemical pesticides will be required in caring for the tree, which is a good thing for everyone and everything.

To accomplish these goals requires intentional planning and tree planting strategies. Prevention is the best medicine! Property owners cannot afford to pay someone simply dig a hole and drop a tree in it, and then  walk away after the tree planter has collected their money and moved on. Garbage in garbage out! If the tree was not planted with intentional forethought with an eye on long term tree survival, it is likely the tree will under-perform, require expensive (often chemical) treatments and may even die. If the tree is planted with strategic and intentional forethought, and then properly cared for subsequently, it will be more likely to perform healthily for generations to come

The following are some things to consider before planting a tree on a site.

Site Evaluation

It is essential to determine the soil volume of the planting area, so that the appropriate tree can be chosen for that specific site. The smaller the soil volume, the smaller the tree (at mature size) that can be planted in that area. Conversely, the larger the soil volume, the larger the tree (at mature size) that can be planted. I recommend that the tree size–soil volume ratio be based on various studies of a tree’s soil requirement at its mature size. If a tree doesn’t have the proper soil volume, its roots will not be able to uptake the amount of soil moisture and nutrients they need to be healthy, nor will they be able to anchor themselves sufficiently against wind storms.

Here is a list from based on the above mentioned soil volume study for urban trees of approximate tree size and suggested soil volume requirements. These numbers are based on the tree’s crown spread and diameter at breast height (or dbh) at the tree’s mature size. (One online calculator for determining the soil volume needed for a tree can be found at https://greenblue.com/gb/resources/soil-calculator/.)

  • 14 foot crown spread by 4 inches dbh needs 100 to 307 cubic feet of soil volume.
  • 21 foot crown spread by 8 inches dbh needs 200 to 698 cubic feet of soil volume.
  • 27 foot crown spread by 12 inches dbh needs 300 to 1144 cubic feet of soil volume.
  • 32 foot crown spread by 16 inches dbh: needs 1000 to 1607 cubic feet of soil volume.
  • 36 foot crown spread by 20 inches dbh needs 1300 to 2034 cubic feet of soil volume.
  • 39 foot crown spread by 24 inches dbh needs 1400 to 2512 cubic feet of soil volume.

To determine the average soil volume of a street tree planting strip, first measure the width of the strip (from sidewalk to street curb), then the average depth of the soil (two feet or less), then the length of strip. For example,

  • If the tree’s roots spread to a radius from the trunk of 10 feet with 2 feet of soil depth in a 5.5 foot wide planting strip, then the soil volume in that area is 220 square feet.
  • If the tree’s roots spread to a radius from the trunk of 20 feet with 2 feet of soil depth in a 5.5 foot wide planting strip, then the soil volume increase to 440 square feet.
  • If the planting strip is 8 feet wide and the tree’s roots spread to a radius from the trunk of 10 feet with 2 feet of soil depth, then our soil volume is 320 square feet.
  • If the planting strip is 8 feet wide and the tree’s roots spread to a radius from the trunk of 20 feet with 2 feet of soil depth, then our soil volume increase to 640 square feet. 

Another way of determining the soil volume is to calculate the soil volume based on the size of tree’s canopy. One to three cubic feet of soil is needed for every square foot of crown projection. This is the anticipated area under the drip line of the tree at expected maturity. This formula does not apply to fastigiate and columnar habit trees. The soil volume requirement can be calculated for narrow form trees by basing the canopy diameter on the parent tree’s natural growth form.

The volumes generated in the above lists is an estimate and should only be used to generate an order of magnitude as a guide or target volume. Furthermore, there is a wide range of soil volumes recommended by soil scientists, botanists and landscape architects. The bottom line? The smaller the tree the better for most street tree situation, since recommended soil volumes are seldom high enough to support healthy trees long term.  

Please note that if the soil is only 18 inches deep, then the soil volume will be even less. In many cases in planting strips along roads and sidewalks, it is not uncommon to hit compacted, impermeable gravel in various spots in the tree’s root zone at only a depth of 6 to 12 inches. 

In light of the reality that street trees are seldom planted with the optimal soil volume and soil fertility they would prefer, the manager of the street tree will need to monitor the tree to ensure that it has the proper nutrients needed to sustain maximum tree performance. A planting site that sub par to the tree’s optimal needs may necessitate occasionally feeding the tree if it begins to show signs of stress. This needs to be factored into the long term care of street trees.

Soil Type, Texture and Structure

Soil sampler tool

Next, we must conduct a soil test to 12 inches deep to determine soil type, texture and structure, so that the right tree is planted in the soil type that it prefers. This involves determining the approximate proportion of sand, clay, silt (and loam, which is a combination of the previous three soil types).

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Visit Bend, Oregon’s World Class “Japanese” Garden

The Bend region of Central Oregon has a world class Japanese style garden that is largely unrecognized for its exquisite grandeur and masterful artistry. It is open to the public, easily accessible and the cost to visit it is negligible. In this video, tour this jaw-dropping, mesmerizing and mind-boggling ancient garden and find out where it is located.

Nathan’s Private Japanese Garden of Eden

There is a saying, “Practice what you preach”. Well, on this channel, we talk a lot about Japanese style tree and shrub pruning, but we live it also. This video is the first ever debut of and your personal invitation to tour Nathan’s own private Japanese garden, which he has created from nothing in his own, somewhat eclectic, Pacific Northwest style over the past 30 years. When he started, the yard was a blank palette…well, not exactly. It was actually a non-landscaped, weed-infested garbage dump. Nathan hauled out a 30-yard dumpster load of old motorcycle and car parts parts, broken furniture, pallets, dead animals, and a lot of other junk besides, and then he got to work transforming it into what it is today. Like all Japanese gardens, this one has been a work in progress, and there is still more to be done. In the mean time, please allow me to share it with you as it currently is. Enjoy.

September in the Garden—A To Do List

The Willamette River at Mary S. Young Park in West Linn

This guide is tailored for the western valleys of Oregon and Washington. 

YOU can help to make the world a better, a more friendly, loving and beautiful place by being a good steward of the spot on this earth that you are privileged to be borrowing for a time—your garden. Nathan, the Treevangelist, urges you to treat your spot on this planet like your own personal Garden of Eden paradise. Then notice the joy that it will bring to you! This is your Divinely mandated responsibility.  Your trees, shrubs, flowers and the wildlife in your yard will express their smiling appreciation back to you as they radiate love,  joy and beauty bursting forth with vibrant and verdant life. The following garden checklist will help you to do just that.

Even though fall is knocking on the door with cooler nights, the daytime temps, though a little cooler, are still way up there, and our drought continues with no rain in sight. Another heat record was broken with August being the hottest month in Portland’s history.  To wit, I am seeing more and more large forest trees suffering from heat stress with many  dying. It is bad enough when our yard shrubs stress due to drought, but to see our old, colossal and majestic native tree species dying is, to say the least, alarming. We have never seen this before. Obviously, this is the effects of climate change—a phenomenon that has been occurring since time began. Fossils, petrified wood and coal deposits prove that trees have been slowly marching north and south for eons of time in their effort to adapt to nature’s cycles. For example, you find tropical trees in arctic regions and vice versa as proof of this. The strong trees will survive while the weak ones will die off—the survival of the fittest. Drop man into the middle of this ongoing and relentless cycle, and it is disturbing to see a few of the trees in the forest behind your backyard dying, in our parks or in the state and national forests succumbing to these forces beyond man’s control. But that’s life, and like the trees, we too will adapt to nature’s endless circle of life and death.

But despite it all, there is still joy to found in the garden. The flowers are still smiling joyfully as the humming birds show off their aerial acrobatics in their dive bombing raids of flower’s sweet nectar. The trees are waving their leafy arms in the gentle breezes, the green grass is still growing, and yes the weeds are too. So extricate yourself from that black, depressing hole called watching or reading the news, take a break and get out in the garden!

While you’re at it, take a few moments and scroll back through this same Good News Tree Service, Inc. blog and check out the archives for any tree and plant care articles that you may have missed. Also check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvcu2lL9NpgoXQtUFYyQShw, our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GoodNewsTreeService/ and our main website at https://goodnewstree.com. Please enjoy!

Readers’ suggestions on how to improve this list are gladly solicited. If you, the reader, have any suggestions for additions to this month’s list, please put them in the comments section of this article, and I will add them to the list. Thank you in advance! — Nathan Lawrence, the Treevangelist


Tree and Shrub Care

  • Drought issues. The Willamette Valley remains in a serious drought (as well as the rest of this region). For a number of years, the fall, winter and spring rains have not been enough to sufficiently hydrate the soils to maintain the trees during the dry summer months. Each day, a tree sucks up vast quantities of water to keep it hydrated. If the soil moisture content is insufficient, then a tree will dry out, and begin to suffer by showing signs of stress. We are seeing more and more large native trees (e.g., Douglas-fir, western redcedar, spruce, native firs) getting stressed while some are even losing the battle to survive and are dying. If you have a tree that is showing signs of drought stress (e.g., pitch globules exuding from the bark, excess needle drop, yellowing of foliage), then you need to water your tree to save it, or pay the high price to have it removed after it has died. With a whirlybird, impulse or similar sprinkler or soaker hose, saturate the soil under the tree out to the tree’s drip zone (i.e., the outer tip of tree’s crown) for several hours once or twice a week to achieve deep root watering. Typical lawn irrigation systems don’t put out enough water to adequately irrigate the deeper roots of a tree, so don’t rely on your irrigation system to proved the water that large trees need to survive. 
  • Fruit trees. This is an optimal time to prune trees that are done fruiting, since wounds will heal more quickly in warm weather. This is a good time to reduce the height of overgrown fruit trees, since they are likely to produce fewer water sprouts now then when pruned in the spring. 
  • Maples (including Japanese maples). Monitor the leaves of all maples and other trees and shrubs for symptoms of the potentially lethal verticillium wilt fungal disease. If you see branch dieback, call GNTS, Inc. Other trees susceptible to this persistent and potentially lethal fungal root disease include ash, box elder, golden rain tree, mountain ash, prunus spp. (cherry and plum), redbud, tree of heaven or silk tree, southern magnolia, tulip tree.
  • Mulch. Apply two to three inches of mulch around all trees and ornamental shrubs. This helps to fertilize the plants and feed the soil, and also protects them against weed growth and loss of water when the warmer  weather returns.
  • Pines. Once the hot weather has passed, you can begin to prune your pines.
  • Prune fast growing ornamental shrubs (e.g., laurel, privet, photinia, laurustinus, barberry) that are beginning to look shabby. You may need to prune them again in the early summer for a more neat and manicured look.
  • Pruning of large trees. Most trees in the temperate western valleys of Oregon and Washington can be pruned anytime of the year. If you’re not sure what to do, or how to do it, call Good News Tree Service, Inc. for a consultation, pruning lessons or to have them do the pruning for you. It is likely best to wait for cooler weather to prune stressed or sick looking trees. Call us if you have questions about this.
  • Pruning of trees and shrubs. You can do all aesthetic pruning of all ornamental shrubs and trees (except pines) at any time of the year including summer. Don’t over-prune the top crowns of thin barked trees (e.g. Japanese maples, flowering cherries), since the sun’s UV rays can cause trunk and branch bark dessication resulting in cracking and dieback of sapwood and even heartwood resulting in entry points for diseases and potential structural failure of branches and trunks.

Be careful not to do major pruning during periods of hot weather, since doing so exposes tender leaves underneath that haven’t acclimated to the sun’s ultraviolet rays yet, since they have been shielded by the layer of leaves you’ve just removed by pruning. Sun scald of these tender leaves may occur, especially on southern and  southwestern sides of the plant. Sun scalded leaves won’t kill the plant, but it looks unsightly and diminishes the plant’s ability to photosynthate (produce food for itself). 

  • Tree and shrub removal and stump grinding can be done all year long. 
  • Trees. Have an ISA Certified Arborist with an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (like Good News Tree Service, Inc.) inspect your large trees for the potential of failure due to weak root systems and defects in trunks and branches. This can be done anytime of the year.

Jared and crew removing a dead tree along the Willamette River.

  • Watering. During the hot summer months, well established trees and larger ornamental shrubs need little or no watering under normal weather conditions. However, newly planted trees and shrubs will need watering for the first two to three summers until their roots get established. Regular lawn irrigation isn’t sufficient to give trees and shrubs the deep watering they need to survive the summer heat. During warm weather, deep water your new plants at least once per week. During hot weather, twice per week.

Plant Health Care

Nathan deep root fertilizing a tree.
  • Deep root fertilization. Deep root fertilize your trees and shrubs to promote healthy root development in preparation for next springs growing cycle. Fall and spring are the best times to give your plants a shot of liquid fertilizer into their roots zones via hydraulic injection Good News Tree Service, Inc. provides this service.
  • Dogwood anthracnose. If you missed the spring sprays topical fungal sprays,  and you see signs of anthracnose on your tree’s leaves (reddish, purplish, brownish splotches), you can spray your trees with a basal bark fungicide. Call GNTS, Inc. for information on this treatment.
  • Verticillium wilt. The fall is the best time to treat, and spring is the second  best time. Maples are especially plagued by this disease. During hot weather, symptoms include smaller than normal cupped leaves in the upper canopy, often with the death of the entire branch occurring.

Elsewhere in the Garden

A wild aster along the Willamette River at Mary S. Young Park in West Linn.
  • Birds. Dutifully maintain your bird feeders. Bring life and excitement to your backyard by turning it into a bird sanctuary. The birds will thank you for your generosity by providing you with hours of entertainment, and by eating insect pests that harm your ornamental trees and shrubs. Birds in the yard are not only fun to watch, but they perform the vital task of eating harmful insects. Keep bird baths full. In hot and dry weather, birds need water to drink and to bathe in.  For more information on caring for the birds, check out https://backyardbirdshop.com.
  • Ivy (an invasive species). Cut English ivy off of the base of trees. (This can be done any time of the year.)
  • Mulching. Apply two to three inches of mulch (e.g., bark dust, garden compost or wood chips) on all of your shrub beds. Covering bare dirt areas in your yard with mulch helps to prevent soil compaction from rains, and weed growth, and helps to enrich our heavy clay soils.
  • Planting. This is a good time of the year to plant trees and shrubs. Visit your local nursery and select your favorite ornamental shrubs and shade trees. After planting your new shrubs, just make sure that you water them well immediately and regularly subsequently for the first two or three summers until their roots get established. During warm weather (in the 60s to low 80s), deep root water once per week. During hot weather (mid-80s and higher) deep root water at least twice per week.
  • Slugs. Put slug bait around your flowers and tender perennials like hostas.

Rose Care

  • Pruning. Prune your roses down by about one-third and remove any dead flowers and dead or diseased canes. 
  • Mulching. Heavily mulch your roses. Organic mulch (such as wood chips, rotted compost, rotted manure) is the best. While barkdust helps to hold moisture in the soil, it contains little or no nutrients, so it doesn’t feed the soil and thus won’t feed your roses.
  • For more information on the care of roses, go to the Portland Rose Society website at https://www.portlandrosesociety.org/all_about_roses.html.

Lawn Care

  • Irrigation. Water deeply, slowly and as infrequently as possible. Try to avoid watering established lawns more than two or three times per week if possible except during extremely in hot conditions. It is not a bad idea to let the soil under your grass to dry out for a short time in between watering as this forces the grass roots to grow deeper in search of water thus making for a more drought tolerant lawn. It is best not to rely on timers for irrigation as temperatures will dictate water needs in addition to lack of rainfall. However, timers are helpful if you have lawns areas that are to large to micromanage or you will be gone for a period of time. 
  • Mowing. Mow once a week or as needed, removing no more than one-third of the height of the grass to avoid stressing it. Mow regularly to prevent weed seed spread.
  • Letting your lawn go dormant. If you want to save on your water bill during the summer months, you can skip watering your lawn if you don’t mind it turning brown. It is not dead; it is merely sleeping or in a dormant state. When the rains start up again in the fall, your lawn will turn green and start growing again. 
Artistic beauty comes in many forms and is to be found everywhere in the forest. Take a walk and open your eyes and your heart do nature’s wonders.
September is wild blackberry season ripe for free picking and eating.
Even common weeds like fireweed adorn the garden of God’s earth. Stop and enjoy!
One of the hundreds of laceleaf Japanese maples we regularly prune. This time from another perspective.
At Good News Tree Service, Inc., we try to save as many trees as possible, but sometimes trees die. In this case, it was the drought that killed this cedar tree, sadly.

Help Wanted—Come Join Our Team!

Wilsonville Tree Service Employment Opportunities

Full or Part-time positions available at Good News Tree Service, Inc. of Wilsonville, Oregon. We are seeking associates who are passionate about a career in the tree care industry.

Qualifications

  • Some tree or shrub pruning experience is preferable, or you must have a quick ability to learn basic pruning skills through on-the-job training and self-directed learning through on-line videos and reading.
  • Valid drivers licence and proof of insurance required.
  • Willing to work hard in all types of weather conditions.
  • Must be able to follow instructions and eager to learn.
  • Must be clean and neat in appearance, polite, well-mannered, possess good morals and ethics and have clean speech.

Pay

  • Starting at $18 to 25 per hour (depending on experience and qualification) for ground workers. After a two month probation period followed by favorable evaluation, pay increase are possible.

Advantages of Working for Good News Tree Service, Inc. of Wilsonville

  • Get to work for a small, family owned business where you’re treated with care and dignity.
  • Learn a variety of arboricultural skills.
  • Work in many varied situations—a different job site every day.
  • Nearly all of our jobs are within 5 to 15 minutes of Wilsonville.
  • We work mostly on high-end (beautiful) properties.

Job Description

  • Brush dragging and clean up.
  • Become a ground-worker under a high climbing arborist.
  • Basic tree and shrub pruning.
  • Operating and maintaining a brush chipper, chainsaw, stump grinder and other small equipment.

Opportunities and Advancement

  • After learning the basics of being a ground worker, one can advance to basic pruning of trees and shrubs, then onto climbing of small trees, then onto larger trees including pruning and removals, aerial lift operator, crew leader or project supervisor, or a plant health care specialist.
  • We will work with you personally to develop your skills in the tree care industry and help you advance in your career path including becoming an ISA Certified Arborist and beyond.

Check us out at www.goodnewstree.com, Facebook or on YouTube.

Call Nathan at (503) 789-9881 for more information

July in the Garden—A To Do List

This guide is tailored for the western valleys of Oregon and Washington. 

YOU can help to make the world a better, a more friendly, loving and beautiful place by being a good steward of the spot on this earth that you are privileged to be borrowing for a time—your garden. Nathan, the Treevangelist, urges you to treat your spot on this planet like your own personal Garden of Eden paradise. Then notice the joy that it will bring to you! This is your Divinely mandated responsibility.  Your trees, shrubs, flowers and the wildlife in your yard will express their smiling appreciation back to you as they radiate love , joy and beauty bursting forth with vibrant and verdant life. Here is a to do list to help you to do just that…

In July as Americans, we celebrate our independence from extreme and overreaching  governmental tyranny as well as our liberty and freedom to pursue our happiness, to speak freely and practice our beliefs and religions according to the dictates of our own individual conscience without fear of others fascistically imposing their beliefs upon us.  To be sure, our freedom and liberty from oppression is a God-given blessing that most other countries don’t have!

In a similar though slightly oblique vein, in the garden, our plants have a celebration of their own going on as they declare their freedom to express their full potential as they burst forth with a panoply of starburst blooms of all shades of red, white and blue. The photo above is a montage of flowers from my own garden.

Let’s all rejoice along with our flowers and be thankful for the blessings that we have of living in the greatest nation on God’s green earth! As one person recently said in light of current negative events rocking the U.S. and the world, it is all too easy to focus on the weeds in the garden instead of on the beautiful flowers, vegetables along with the trees and shrubs. Let’s all work together at pulling the weeds out of our own personal garden without destroying other people’s gardens along with all the other good plants that are out there! Those who are  wise among us will ponder these words and will work to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, that is, without destroying the whole garden of our society in the process. 

While you’re at it, take a few moments and scroll back through this same Good News Tree Service, Inc. blog and check out the archives for any tree and plant care articles that you may have missed. Also check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvcu2lL9NpgoXQtUFYyQShw, our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GoodNewsTreeService/ and our main website at https://goodnewstree.com. Please enjoy!

Readers’ suggestions on how to improve this list are gladly solicited. If you, the reader, have any suggestions for additions to this month’s list, please put them in the comments section of this article, and I will add them to the list. Thank you in advance!

This information is courtesy of Nathan Lawrence, the Treevangelist
(Preaching the good news of tree care and preservation and the good news or gospel of Jesus Christ—Yeshua the Messiah, who lovingly delivers those who trust in him from the wages of their sin which is death. HalleluYah! Now that is great news!!!)


Tree and Shrub Care

  • Birch trees. Thanks to the bronze birch borer beetle, a large number of the Pacific Northwest birch trees are dying. To make your tree less hospitable to this nasty and lethal pest, there are two inexpensive things you can do. First, apply several inches of mulch to the ground under the canopy of your birch tree. Second, with a whirly bird sprinkler, irrigate the area under the birch’s canopy. The more water the better, since birches are water-loving trees. Irrigate once a week for several hours during warm weather and twice during hot weather. These two actions will lessen the chances that the beetle will attack and kill your birches. The bronze birch borer beetle can be treated in the late spring, but treatments are expensive. Call GNTS. Inc. for more info.
  • Dogwood trees. Monitor leaves for signs of anthracnose. (See more info below.)
  • Hedge. Shear after spring growth and before hot weather. Shearing during hot weather may result in sun scald of newly exposed under-foliage.
  • Maples (including Japanese maples). Monitor the leaves of all maples and other trees and shrubs for symptoms of the potentially lethal verticillium wilt fungal disease. If you see branch dieback, call GNTS, inc.
  • Mulch. Apply two to three inches of mulch around all trees and ornamental shrubs. This helps to fertilize the plants and feed the soil, and also protects them against weed growth and loss of water when the warmer  weather returns.
  • Pine tree pruning. Don’t do major pruning of pine trees during the growing season, since this attracts sequoia pitch moth infestation.
  • Pruning of trees and shrubs. You can do all aesthetic pruning of all ornamental shrubs and trees (except pines) at any time of the year including summer. Don’t over-prune the top crowns of thin barked trees (e.g. Japanese maples, flowering cherries), since the sun’s UV rays can cause trunk and branch bark dessication resulting in cracking and dieback of sapwood and even heartwood resulting in entry points for diseases and potential structural failure of branches and trunks.
  • Be careful not to do major pruning during periods of hot weather, since doing so exposes tender leaves underneath that haven’t acclimated to the sun’s ultraviolet rays yet, since they have been shielded by the layer of leaves you’ve just removed by pruning. Sun scald of these tender leaves may occur, especially on southern and  southwestern sides of the plant. Sun scalded leaves won’t kill the plant, but it looks unsightly and diminishes the plant’s ability to photosynthate (produce food for itself).
  • Pruning of large trees. Most trees in the temperate western valleys of Oregon and Washington can be pruned anytime of the year. If you’re not sure what to do, or how to do it, call Good News Tree Service, Inc. for a consultation, pruning lessons or to have them do the pruning for you. It is likely best to wait for cooler weather to prune stressed or sick looking trees. Call us if you have questions about this.
  • Prune fast growing ornamental shrubs (e.g. laurel, privet, photinia, laurustinus, barberry) that are beginning to look shabby. You may need to prune them again in the early summer for a more neat and manicured look. 
  • Tree and shrub removal and stump grinding can be done all year long. 
  • Trees: Have an ISA Certified Arborist with an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (like Good News Tree Service, Inc.) inspect your large trees for the potential of failure due to weak root systems and defects in trunks and branches. This can be done anytime of the year.
  • Conifer trees that are drought stressed. The Willamette Valley remains in a severe drought. Large native trees (e.g. Douglas-fir, western red-cedar, spruce, native firs) are getting stressed and some are dying. If you have a tree that is showing signs of drought stress (e.g. pitch globules exuding from the bark, excess needle drop, yellowing of foliage), then you need to water your tree to save it, or pay the high price to have it removed after it has died. With a whirlybird, impulse or similar sprinkler or soaker hose, saturate the soil under the tree out to the tree’s drip zone (i.e. the outer tip of tree’s crown) for several hours once or twice a week to achieve deep root watering. Typical lawn irrigation systems don’t put out enough water to adequately irrigate the deeper roots of a tree, so don’t rely on your irrigation system to proved the water that large trees need to survive.
  • Watering trees and shrubs. During the hot summer months, well established trees and larger ornamental shrubs need little or no watering. However, newly planted trees and shrubs will need watering for the first two to three summers until their roots get established. Regular lawn irrigation isn’t sufficient to give trees and shrubs the deep watering they need to survive the summer heat. During warm weather, deep water your new plants at least once per week. During hot weather, twice per week.

Plant Health Care

  • Deep root fertilization. Don’t do so after the weather becomes too hot. Fertilizer will push out new growth, which will likely scorch in sun. This is a waste of fertilizer and plant resources.
  • Dogwood anthracnose. If you missed the spring sprays topical fungal sprays,  and you see signs of anthracnose on your tree’s leaves (reddish, purplish, brownish splotches), you can spray your trees with a basal bark fungicide. Call GNTS, Inc. for information on this treatment.
  • Monitor trees and shrubs for insect pests. Piercing and sucking plant pests (e.g. aphids, lacebugs, scales, weevils, mites, etc.) are now out and active. If major infestation occurs, plan a course of action to treat your trees and shrubs against these pests. Small numbers of piercing and sucking insects are not harmful to plants. In fact, they provide food for the beneficial, predatory insects that feed on them. To control harmful insects, one can apply systemic insecticides against piercing sucking insects (aphids, lacebugs, scales, weevils, etc.) via soil injections (one treatment gives season-long control). If applied according to label directions, this will kill only the harmful and not beneficial insects.
  • Spider mites will start to become active as the weather warms. Systemic insecticides are available against this pest.
  • Tent caterpillar. Apply systemic pesticide for season-long control.
  • Verticillium wilt. You can still treat trees for this soil born fungal pathogen during the summer, but fall is the best time to treat, and spring is the second  best time. Maples are especially plagued by this disease. During hot weather, symptoms include smaller than normal cupped leaves in the upper canopy, often with the death of the entire branch occurring.

Elsewhere in the Garden

  • Birds feeding. Don’t stop feeding the birds even during the spring and summer seasons. Dutifully maintain your bird feeders. Why? Even though we’re now past the winter season and there is more food available for the birds, having these feathery friends frequent your garden serves several purposes. First, they bring life and excitement to your backyard by turning it into a bird sanctuary. Second, your singing friends will thank you for your generosity by providing you with hours of entertainment, and by eating insect pests that harm your ornamental trees and shrubs. So bring life and excitement to your backyard by turning it into a bird sanctuary. Don’t forget to keep bird baths full. In hot and dry weather, birds need water to drink and to bathe in. Fertilizing shrubs. Fertilize your ornamental shrubs with a slow release fertilizer. If the shrubs have a layer of barkdust or other mulch around them, rake the mulch away and apply the fertilize to the bare dirt, so that it actually reaches the plant’s root zone. 
  • Flowers. Continue planting annual and perennial flowers. Water and fertilize annuals and perennial flowers. The hotter the weather, the more water they will need. Flowers in pots and hanging baskets dry out especially quickly, and so need watering every day or two.
  • Ivy. Cut English ivy off of the base of trees. (This can be done any time of the year.)
  • Mulch. Apply two to three inches of mulch (e.g. bark dust, garden compost or wood chips) on all of your shrub beds. Covering bare dirt areas in your yard with mulch helps to prevent soil compaction from rains, and weed growth, and helps to enrich our heavy clay soils.
  • Planting trees and shrubs. This is a good time of the year to plant trees and shrubs. Visit your local nursery and select your favorite ornamental shrubs and shade trees. After planting your new shrubs, just make sure that you water them well immediately and regularly subsequently for the first two or three summers until their roots get established. During warm weather (in the 60s to low 80s), deep root water once per week. During hot weather (mid-80s and higher) deep root water at least twice per week.
  • Slugs and snails. Put slug bait around your flowers and tender perennials like hostas.
  • Vegetable garden. Start making plans for your vegetable garden. Once the soil has dried out, you can begin working it for planting our veggies. Usually this will occur in late April or early May and sometimes later depending on the weather. The earlier you plant, the sooner you’ll be feeding on delicious veggies from your own garden! 
  • Water and fertilize annuals and perennial flowers. The hotter the weather, the more water they will need. Flowers in pots and hanging baskets dry out especially quickly, and so need watering every day or two.

Rose Care

  • Pests. Spray or treat roses with a fungicide as needed preventively to insure protection against fungal pathogens such as black spot, powdery and cottony mildew, rust and spot anthracnose. Apply a fungicide only after the rose has put out several inches of new growth. Excellent choices of both organic and inorganic fungicides are available at your local garden center or nursery. Some fungicides require spraying in the early spring as the new growth is emerging. Major plant pests include mites, aphids, thrips, rose slugs, leaf rollers, rose midge, spittle bug and sawfly. Determine what pest or disease your rose has, do some research online if necessary to ascertain this, and then visit your local garden center or nursery to find the right product for the job. Always read and follow all label directions. It’s the law! 
  • Watering. During prolonged warm, dry weather, deep root water your roses at least once a week. A rose needs five gallons of water per plant per week.
  • As needed, remove spent flowers after they are done blooming.

Lawn Care

  • General lawn maintenance. Summer is about mowing, watering, and pest control. Stay on top of mowing for a healthy lawn.
  • Irrigation. Water deeply, slowly and as infrequently as possible. Try to avoid watering established lawns more than two or three times per week if possible except during extremely in hot conditions. It is not a bad idea to let the soil under your grass to dry out for a short time in between watering as this forces the grass roots to grow deeper in search of water thus making for a more drought tolerant lawn. It is best not to rely on timers for irrigation as temperatures will dictate water needs in addition to lack of rainfall. However, timers are helpful if you have lawns areas that are to large to micromanage or you will be gone for a period of time. 
  • Mowing. Mow once a week, removing no more than one-third of the height of the grass to avoid stressing it. Mow regularly to prevent weed seed spread.
  • Letting your lawn go dormant. If you want to save on your water bill during the summer months, you can skip watering your lawn if you don’t mind it turning brown. It is not dead; it is merely sleeping or in a dormant state. When the rains start up again in the fall, your lawn will turn green and start growing again. 
Jared (Nathan’s son) and Nathan of Good News Tree Service, Inc. in Wilsonville, Oregon in front of their vintage 1952 GMC tree service mascot truck.