Current Tree Grower’s Diary Letters
Post your letters about trees here and I’ll do my best to help you find an answer! Keep in mind that I do not reply via email. I post my responses HERE in the hopes of SHARING with people who might have similar questions.
Disclaimer: I am not a tree expert, just a novice who has been studying trees for quite some time now. If you require an expert opinion, I suggest the forums over at TreeHelp.com or the tree forum at GardenWeb.
If you leave a letter, please state in the letter where you’re writing from so that we have a general idea of your climate zone. THANKS for all your encouragement and support!
Don’t forget to let us know where you’re writing from! City, town, or even a climate zone number will help! Thanks!
Their innocence and simplicity really get... on 
My family calls me "the mamarazzi."
I just wanted to thank you, for posting an up close pic of the leaves on your Bradford Pear Tree. I finally solved the three year mystery on the smelly tree in my yard. I ordered a few trees on the internet, and of course two of them were the wrong trees. I just didn’t know until they grew. I don’t know if I live to far south (Miami), but this tree is always getting black spots and shriveling up the leaves and every bug known to man feeds on it. Any suggestions on how to maintain it, I constantly spray it with Volk oil, to keep it looking good.
Anyhow, Thanks
Berson
Being in the gift area myself I must say that I’ve enjoyed browsing your blog
, it has provided me some positive ideas for working my own business online!
Wonderful site! I too record everything, in my plant/tree diary and through pictures downloaded on my computer. I started my landscape in 2006 and have had to dig up, relocate and throw away. It is a labor of love.
My Emerald Green Arborvite were 12 inches tall when bought at Walmart in 2006, now they stand over my head.
My Carolina Blue Sapphires are far superior to leyland Cypress, grow just as fast, and are much healthier here in zone 7 of Maryland. Shame I discovered that after planting 25 of the Leylands!
I am now traing antique climbing roses up into my Crape Mrytle’s, the result is magic.
Once again, I love your website!!!
Maria
Do you have problems with bagworms in your Arborvitae? I just bought three 3-3′, I have never had these before and I want to use them for a screen. I bought them from Home Depot. Do you have any advise on how to maintain for bagworm free?
My name is also Heidi, and I, too received a redbud as a Mother’s Day gift. I have had mine for 6 years, and I would be happy to measure it’s progress for your page if you would like!
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I stumbled on your website from trying to make a decision about Emerald Beauty Arbovitae. I am from South Bend, Indiana. I wanted to use Thuja Emerald Green trees to act a s a privacy fence for an L shape in my backyard measuring in total 200ft. These trees are now 4-6ft right now. I calculated approximately the need for 66 trees. That is so expensive! There is a sale at Menards for Emerald Beauty Arbovite that might prove to be less expensive but I worry that my yard does not offer perhaps more than 4-5 hours full sun. I also notice that you said these trees die easily. I am going back and forth in my mind. Should I buy these trees that are on sale and have my backyard private again or should I wait until I can get the more expensive Thuja Emerald Green (nearly $90 for 5-6ft. ones)that seem to need less sun? I plan on moving in about 7 years and want to get the most privacy as I can now rather than waiting for 5-7 years time.
Dera Julie,
I have been haveing quite the problem for the past two years with my red maple tree, It seems that every year when it starts to bud for spring the birds start to eat the buds, this year it seems that they really did a number on my tree.
They left what looks like a hand full of buds to bloom what if any thing can I do and will new buds come out this year..
Thanks so very much for any and all your help.
I live in the North East of the united states in the state of PA, Carmine Dipippo
Hi Julie,
I’m new to your website, and from what I’ve been reading, love it, it is so informative. My daughter just brought a dogwood home from school to be planted for Arbor Day. I have never planted a tree before, and I do not know what to do with the dogwood. It is not a root ball, it looks like a long stem with a bunch of roots at the bottem. How do I plant this and will it have a shot a actually growing? Any information that you can give me will be greatly appreciated. We are just starting to landscape and beautify our home that we bought three years ago, so this would be a beautiful incorporation to the landscape.
Thank you, Nicole, Apollo, PA
Hi Jules, like your website, I need some help about a problem identifying my recently purchased 2 trees. I recently got two 6 caliper Red Maples which one is 18 ft tall and the other is 14 1/2 ft. tall-I had the intention of buying one October Glory and one Red Sunset, only trouble is the guy from the nursery I got them from not only says he doesn’t know the difference in the stage I bought them (in April), he says that the experts can’t tell the difference. Now I don’t know if I got one of each, or both of October Glory or both of Red Sunset. Only thing I know is the bark is smooth, gray in color, and has red flower-like things which appear to look like small seeds (“helicopters”). I still don’t know what I ended up with, is there any way to tell the difference? Thank you!
Attila
Thank you for your detailed and practical information about trees. Oh, love trees, yet I have an edgy relationship with Bradford Pear Trees and Eucalipto Trees. I just prunned (put a dramatically high accent on that prunning portion) 6 Bradford in my back yard (Liberty Twp OH 45011). And had to cut down one in the same back becuase the wind broke it split at the base of the trunk, lost that one. And had to cut down two of them in the front yard due to over growth and high risk to my home and the adjacent house. Oh, well, I prunned them avoiding the V shaped branches and to dogde loosing more trees to overgrowth or the strong dominant North East winds. I have seen in the area what others have done to prune these same species, the pear trees will be back in force soon, like small white air globes next Spring. One item you may want to consider mentioning on your site, is how much you can prune before killing the tree, I have seen prunning prety low, non the less they come back. These type of prunning seems to help because the trunk and the remaining low branches do engross and seem to make the trees more robust. Thus making a 15 year old tree on the verge of falling, a robust tree that may last another 15 years or so. My tress have about 20 years now, and hopefuly will last longer by virtue of prunning them where they most probably will fail. Also, seems the way nature makes them fail, is in fact an expansion mechanism. When the broken branch flattens and lets nothing grow under but another tree of the same kind. Same modus operandy with the leaves, they drop last in winter, all the other trees are bear, but the Bradfords, when they leaves get frozen the branches may fall as well, or the leaves fall and do not rotten due to the frozen winter soil. When you remove the leaves in early spring, guess whose living under….another small pear tree ready to invade. Bottom line, they are very nice tress in Spring, but they are agressive when expanding and they do need a lot of maintenance if you let them grow beyond what you could tolerate.
I had a 13′ october glory planted by a local nursery last July and it was fine all through autumn. It’s now April 5 and there are not buds at all. I’m located 70 miles north of New York City. Is this normal for the first spring after planting? We did have a very snowy winter and a cool spring so far. Could the growth just be delayed?
Hi! We just recently bought a house and I was trying to decide what trees to plant in the bare open yard. We live in Ocean Springs MS – zone 9 according to arbor day website – and I love love love the flowering trees. My goal was to have color year round in the yard. I LOVE your site and the details that I have found on only your site…especially about leaf shape and pest problems!! I thought I had made my mind up…in fact was going out to buy the trees tomorrow…until reading your site. I had decided on a yoshino cherry and a krauter vesuvius flowering plum for the front yard and a red maple and southern magnolia for the back yard along with some crape myrtles for summer color. I have small children that love to play in the yard too but there is absolutely no shade anywhere and it gets HOT HOT HOT here.
My goals are lots of color, some shade, low maintenance, and I am sooooooo not a fan of bugs and bees. Im worried I have chosen the wrong trees! What would you suggest?
Thanks! Jamie
Hi Julie
Thanks for sharing your lovely pictures with us all. I am considering planting an Eastern Redbud in my yard but can’t decide if I should go with the standard or the Forest Pansy. I live on the coast in Santa Monica so my climate is quite different from yours. I am looking for a tree with four season interest and four season transformation. Your suggestion?
Many Thanks
Alan
I have a friend who recently (Approx 6 months ago) purchased a forest pansy tree, and over the winter the bark has started to peel off! is this normal and if not what is the problem and solution. thank you cindy roundtree
Hi Jules – You have a great website with some amazing content on trees. I am a new home owner and am researching on which trees to plan, how etc. My primary reason to plant a tree was for privacy and came across this great article on fast growing trees:
http://www.homefellas.com/blog/fast-growing-trees-earthday.hf
Have you heard of these trees or tried planting them? If yes, please let me know your experience and if its really as good as they seem.
Thanks so much,
TreeLover