With evidence mounting everywhere, we finally seem to be taking climate change seriously. In Maryland, we are blessed with an extensive tree canopy, which helps to mitigate the damaging effects of climate change. Through photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, use the carbon for their growth, and release oxygen back into a cooler atmosphere. We are experiencing a growing interest in planting trees that seems to be a worldwide movement. Some local examples: The State of Maryland, through the 2021 Tree Solutions Now Act, plans to plant 5 million trees by 2031. In […]
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You Just Can’t Hack It: Correct Pruning for Healthy Trees
By Adreon Hubbard On my walks through the neighborhood, I’ve noticed street and yard trees with various issues that might have been prevented through correct pruning. Our trees are subjected to many stressors beyond our control, but pruning when a tree is young is something the average person can do (even an arthritic retiree such as myself) to help the tree withstand these threats and live a longer, healthier life. Pruning also provides a fun outdoor workout and sense of accomplishment. Having just completed my TreeKeeper Pruning Certification, I am excited to share some tips […]
Continue readingBefore You Build, Think About Your Trees!
Planning a construction project at your house? First, consider your trees. They provide you with beauty, shade, and higher property value, so try to plan around them if you can. Design your new room with a view of your tree and the bird house or the feeder and the squirrel’s acrobatics, and the ever-changing display of leaves and branches throughout the season. To preserve the trees you already have, protect the roots. Tree roots can be damaged easily in the process of home renovation. Weakened roots can lead to slow death for the tree that […]
Continue readingQuestions About Tree Care? You’re Not Alone
By Margaret Roach, New York TimesAug. 4, 2021 The biggest plants in our gardens often get the smallest share of our attention. And it’s not because trees don’t need or want attention — or because we intend to neglect them. Maybe it’s because they look so strong, holding most of their foliage overhead and not making their needs known near ground level, where we are busy paying attention to everyone else. Or maybe we just don’t have much tree-care confidence. At The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill., Julie Janoski and her Plant Clinic colleagues respond to gardeners’ and green-industry professionals’ […]
Continue readingWhat Trees Are Worth
Worth any money to whom, you may ask? Worth money to your family: WORTH MONEY TO YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR NEIGHBORS’ FAMILIES Your tree improves our air quality by Your tree helps keep your basement dry, and those of neighbors downhill, and helps decrease those huge pools at our intersections by Consider the Willow Oak in our yard, planted 17 years ago. Measured at4 1/2 feet from the ground, 53 1/2 inches around, diameter is 17 inches(C = π d, right?). The Tree Benefit Calculator says it saves us $137 this year, and as it […]
Continue readingDon’t Mulch That Tree! And Other Tips
Shade Trees Help Make Towson A Desirable Neighborhood Trees increase property values, clean air pollution, control water run-off, provide shade which cools the whole neighborhood, and help create a lovely, vibrant community. So why do people hurt trees? Sometimes people are trying to do the right thing but do not know they are actually causing disease, die-back, and early death of trees. Tree Health Damaged By Mulch Please stop mulching around trees. That is the advice of horticulturalists who are observing many young trees’ failure to thrive, with infections at the base of trees where […]
Continue readingHow to Start a Tree Planting Program
Becoming your neighborhood tree steward can be a very rewarding experience. Increasing or preserving the tree canopy improves the health and beauty of your community. If you live in an older community, many of the established trees are nearing the end of their lives. With a typical 40 years to maturity, now is the time to plant the mature canopy of the future. PLANTING TREES Blue Water Baltimore (BWB) has established a community tree planting program for street and yard trees in the following watersheds: Jones Falls, Gwynn Falls, Baltimore Harbor and Herring Run. They […]
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