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    Mistletoe’s parasitic kiss - December 24, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Heres a word on mistletoe, for your holiday reading pleasure, from science humorist Alex Reshavov. This post was originally published in 2011. Enjoy!

    The quaint holiday decoration you invited into your home and hung over your doorways is a vicious parasite that leeches nutrients from innocent host trees. It is riddled with cytotoxins, and its seeds are dispersed via bird crap. Merry Christmas.

    Pretty parasite

    Makes for a far nicer centerpiece than a jar of tapeworms. Image Credit: Kenraiz.

    Not all parasites are creepy-crawly worms or protozoans. Some are cheerful-looking shrubs with dainty white berries. Viscum album is one species of mistletoe*, a group of parasitic flowering plants in the order Santalales. It is an obligate hemiparasite. This means that while it does not derive all of its sustenance from a host plant, it does need some interaction with the host to reach its mature state. As a hemiparasite, mistletoe need only steal from its host trees xylem, the transport tissue that handles water and water-soluble nutrients. It is gracious enough to eschew the hosts phloem, which transports sugars. This renders it less of a pathogen, as the host loses water but not food to the parasite.

    Gracious host

    Viscin has worked it magic. Image Credit: Christer Johansson.

    Mistletoe bears a fruit that some birds find delicious. The seeds of these berries are covered in a gluey substance called viscin. Birds eat the berries and then fly off to another tree where they eventually expel the digested remains of the fruit, its viscin coating still adhering to the seeds. The sticky seeds cling to the new branch and begin to grow. As it enlarges, the plant forms a peg that drills through the host branch and eventually reaches the xylem. Now the parasite develops its haustorium, a root-like appendage that allows it to siphon nutrients from the host.

    Coming to America

    Viscum album is native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is the original Christmas mistletoe, a leafy green shrub adorned with white berries. It has a wide host range, infecting over 450 tree species, including both hardwood and coniferous varieties. So, yes, hypothetically your Christmas mistletoe could attack your Christmas tree (were it still planted in the ground, of course).

    Read more here:
    Mistletoe’s parasitic kiss

    Bartlett Tree Experts: Tree Service and Shrub Care in Tucson, AZ - December 23, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Allow an arborist from our Tucson office to provide you with preventive tree care and landscape management services to the greater Tucson area, including Green Valley, Sahuarita, Vail, Marana, Oro Valley, Sun City, and Saddlebrooke. View more details on the areas served by our Tucson office.

    Arborists in our Tucson office are committed to helping local residents and businesses maintain beautiful, healthy trees and shrubs. Our arborists are experts in diagnosing and treating tree and shrub problems specific to the Tucson area. Plus, with access to Bartletts global resources and advanced scientific research facility, we can provide customers with benefits that just arent available from other Tucson tree services.

    Bartlett Tree Experts offers a variety of services to help our customers maintain beautiful, healthy trees and shrubs. No matter the size or scope of your tree service or shrub care needs, we want to work with you to protect your landscape investment. Access a complete list of the tree services we provide in the Tucson area.

    Cabling and Bracing Cables and brace rods can help reduce the risk of failure of weak branches and multiple stems.

    Insect and Disease Management Bartlett uses an integrated approach to suppress pests and manage tree diseases on your property.

    Pruning Pruning is periodically required to improve the health and appearance of woody landscape plants.

    Fertilization and Soil Management To thrive, trees and shrubs require a healthy blend of nutrients in the soil where they live.

    Plant Analysis and Diagnostics Contact an arborist to determine the cause of a plant health problem or to identify a pest infestation.

    Tree Removal Expert removals can be performed for a number of reasons ranging from dying trees to new construction.

    The TCIA Accreditation "seal of approval" helps consumers find tree care companies that have been inspected and accredited based on adherence to industry standards for quality and safety, maintenance of trained, professional staff, and dedication to ethics and quality in business practices. Through research, technology, and education, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) promotes the professional practice of arboriculture and fosters a greater worldwide awareness of the benefits of trees. The Board-Certified Master Arborist credential is designed for arborists who have reached the pinnacle of their profession.

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    Bartlett Tree Experts: Tree Service and Shrub Care in Tucson, AZ

    Gardening | Mistletoe has tradition, but it’s also a parasite - December 19, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Mistletoe is a parasite that attaches itself to trees.

    FRANK ANDERSON KRT

    Mistletoe comes to the holiday season with thousands of years of tradition behind it. It appears in Norse myths. The Druids thought it was magical and brought it into pagan rituals and it was used for its medicinal attributes.

    Kissing under the mistletoe, probably for reasons relating to fertility, grew out of 16th-century England.

    Some forms of these traditions are still active today. Mistletoe is used around the world for medicinal purposes. We incorporate it in our holiday decorations and have fun stealing an opportunistic kiss where it hangs.

    American mistletoe, Phoradendren leucarpum, with its leathery green leaves and white berries, is native throughout the Southeast, north to New York and Illinois and west to New Mexico. Others species grow in the western U.S., Europe, the tropics, Africa and Australia.

    The evergreen plant grows in shrub-like balls one to three feet in diameter suspended high up on the branches of hardwood trees. It is particularly visible in December when trees have dropped their leaves. The green ball-like growth is quite pretty as it decorates seasonally barren branches.

    That does not mean you necessarily want mistletoe growing in your backyard pecan or oak tree.

    Mistletoe produces tiny, inconspicuous yellow flowers in fall. Plants are either male or female. Male flowers produce pollen which insects and wind transport to female flowers.

    After pollination, small whitish berries develop in early to mid winter. Certain birds are fond of eating the berries, after which they excrete the sticky seeds. Some of the seeds affix to the bark on tree branches.

    See more here:
    Gardening | Mistletoe has tradition, but it’s also a parasite

    Bartlett Tree Experts: Tree Service and Shrub Care in Plymouth, MN - December 18, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Our Plymouth office provides professional tree care services to the entire Twin Cities metro area. We have offices in both Plymouth and Bloomington to cover all of the Minneapolis and St. Paul suburbs. View more details on the areas served by our Twin Cities office.

    Arborists in our Twin Cities office are committed to helping local residents and businesses maintain beautiful, healthy trees and shrubs. Our arborists are experts in diagnosing and treating tree and shrub problems specific to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Plus, with access to Bartletts global resources and advanced scientific research facility, we can provide customers with benefits that just arent available from other Minneapolis-St. Paul tree services.

    Bartlett Tree Experts offers a variety of services to help our customers maintain beautiful, healthy trees and shrubs. No matter the size or scope of your tree service or shrub care needs, we want to work with you to protect your landscape investment. Access a complete list of the tree services we provide in the Twin Cities area.

    Cabling and Bracing Cables and brace rods can help reduce the risk of failure of weak branches and multiple stems.

    Insect and Disease Management Bartlett uses an integrated approach to suppress pests and manage tree diseases on your property.

    Storm Damage Some basic procedures can help reduce the risk of damage to your trees from severe storms.

    Fertilization and Soil Management To thrive, trees and shrubs require a healthy blend of nutrients in the soil where they live.

    Pruning Pruning is periodically required to improve the health and appearance of woody landscape plants.

    Tree Removal Expert removals can be performed for a number of reasons ranging from dying trees to new construction.

    The TCIA Accreditation "seal of approval" helps consumers find tree care companies that have been inspected and accredited based on adherence to industry standards for quality and safety, maintenance of trained, professional staff, and dedication to ethics and quality in business practices. Through research, technology, and education, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) promotes the professional practice of arboriculture and fosters a greater worldwide awareness of the benefits of trees. The Board-Certified Master Arborist credential is designed for arborists who have reached the pinnacle of their profession.

    Link:
    Bartlett Tree Experts: Tree Service and Shrub Care in Plymouth, MN

    Protecting juniper from a berry uncertain future - December 12, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    6 hours ago Juniper berries.

    Forest Research scientists have collected berries from juniper bushes across Great Britain as part of the UK National Tree Seed Project overseen by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The berries are sent to the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew for conservation and further research. Juniper, one of three conifers native to Britain, is declining due to changes in land use, disease and a long and complicated reproductive cycle.

    Scientists from Forest Research, the Forestry Commission's research agency, and volunteers have been scrambling over challenging terrain in nineteen sites across Great Britain from Bulford, Wiltshire to Bitch Craig in the Scottish Borders to collect berries from juniper bushes in a bid to protect them from further decline.

    The collection is part of the UK National Tree Seed Project overseen by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The berries are sent to the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew for conservation and further research. The UK National Tree Seed Project and Millennium Seed Bank have been made possible by 100,000 in support from players of People's Postcode Lottery.

    Although there is a lot of juniper in the northern hemisphere, it is declining in Great Britain, particularly in southern England. Rabbits like to eat the seedlings and at some sites the bushes are smothered by brambles and bracken. When moors are burned for grouse shooting it also makes it harder for juniper to survive. The berries often contain large numbers of empty seeds, which may be due an inbalance between male and female bushes in local populations.

    Dr Shelagh McCartan of Forest Research who led the berry hunt explains the importance of preserving this native tree:

    "Although the juniper berries that flavour our gin traditionally do not come from the UK, and it is rather a rather scraggly, unprepossessing bush; it must be preserved as it is an important part of the Great British landscape. It is one of three native conifers and plays host to about forty fungi and insects, which are dependent on juniper for part or all of their life-cycles. Typically only 6 or so juniper seedlings out of 10,000 seeds survive the first year."

    In northern England and Scotland, some juniper populations are under threat from a fungus-like pathogen, Phytophthora austrocedrae.

    Frances Graham, Wildlife Conservation Officer of Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority says:

    "The UK National Tree Seed Project is an opportunity to safe-guard juniper populations against future threats."

    Read the original here:
    Protecting juniper from a berry uncertain future

    Bartlett Tree Experts: The Leader in Residential and … - December 11, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    You have taken very good care of our trees and shrubs. Thank you for your professional advice and care. Jessica B., Caldwell, NJ

    Excellent jobfriendly and professional. I was pleased with the total service. I would definitely use the company again and highly recommend it to my friends.Trish B., Stamford, CT

    We want to let you know how much we have appreciated your expertise and sound advice over the years. C. Lawless/K. Leach, Simsbury, CT

    I have nothing but admiration for this company and every worker who has been sent to our property. Anne P., Annapolis, MD

    The crew was polite, extremely skilled, hard working and diligent, even in difficult weather conditions. Elise O., Toronto, Ontario

    The Yoshino Cherry trees looked like a pink cloud outside our windows. Thanks for helping to keep my trees healthy and happy. Emilee H., Raleigh, NC

    The neighborswere so pleased with the service and work your crew performedthe work far exceeded their expectations. Susan B., Grand Rapids, MI

    My trees are the healthiest they have ever been and are the most beautiful additions to my yard! Thank you for everything! Priscilla H., Dallas, TX

    Your prices, bid process and all services were top notch. Dennis I., San Marcos, TX

    I am very satisfied with the service, and your suggestions are very useful. The staff are great and it is always a pleasure to deal with you. Jane B., Burnaby, BC

    Original post:
    Bartlett Tree Experts: The Leader in Residential and ...

    Trees – Better Homes and Gardens - December 6, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Trees are important in every landscape -- big or small, urban or rural, cottage or contemporary. But because trees live a lifetime or more (and often cost so much), they can be intimidating to choose and maintain. We have advice on selecting the best trees for your landscape and caring for them once they're planted. Nearly every yard has room for small trees, and they add character to the landscape. Choose from some of these varieties as a starting point. Other good garden choices include elegant, beautiful Japanese maples, which have become a hit with gardeners in the past few years; conifers; and flowering trees. Review the choices to find one that meets your landscape needs. The first year is often the most critical in a tree's life; learn essential steps to protect your new trees, particularly in winter. Once your trees are off to a good start, continue to promote their health: We have the advice you need. In addition to offering shade and structure, trees can do unique things. For example, a row of small espaliered trees can be trained into decorative patterns and serve as a living fence; we teach you how.

    Link:
    Trees - Better Homes and Gardens

    Tree & Shrub Pest & Disease Treatment – Barnes Inc. - December 3, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Trees and shrubs add value to your property when properly cared for. Barnes, Inc. has licensed, certified arborists on staff that can diagnose common tree and shrub problems. We provide free initial consultations and make necessary recommendations based on your particular landscape, and not a cookie-cutter program. We apply the latest university research and implement cutting-edge technologies in developing tree and shrub programs. Complete root care and fertilization techniques round out our comprehensive plant health care programs. We can also provide preventative measures to control Oak Wilt, Dutch Elm Disease and certain insect pests such as Japanese Beetles.

    Barnes, Inc. can also suggest cultural practices and various pruning methods that will ensure your plantings grow healthier and stronger for years to come. We are always on the lookout for new pests that may cause concerns for homeowners.

    We can also provide you with a comprehensive hazard assessment of old and large trees, preserve damaged trees from construction injury, and make recommendations on safety issues to people or property.

    Please refer to the following sites for additional information on tree and shrub care:

    Tree Care Industry Association

    Trees Are Good

    Original post:
    Tree & Shrub Pest & Disease Treatment - Barnes Inc.

    Tree Diseases | Disease Treatment for Trees and Shrubs | MA and RI - December 3, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Tree Disease management begins with a sound diagnosis of your landscape plants. Our certified arborists will inspect your trees and shrubs and recommend an effective, economical, and environmentally sound solution to treating your plants. Tree Tech's certified arborists are trained to provide options and treatments when needed and help you design a program of care that makes sense. Our technicians will apply necessary treatments in a conscientious manner. Tree Disease Treatment Having beautiful trees and shrubs is easy with the proper cultural practices along with necessary control services. Treatment can provide protection for plants by creating a barrier on leaves that prevents the germination and growth of spores that cause tree diseases. Tree Tech's certified arborists will recommend the most effective disease treatment based on the type of tree, the severity of the disease and the homeowners personal needs. Tree Tech provides disease treatments for trees, shrubs and ornamentals to enhance the beauty of your landscape and ensure the health and preservation of your plants. Common Tree Diseases and Recommended Treatments Professional tree disease treatments can protect your investment and enhance the beauty of your property and its value. Below are some of the most common diseases and their treatments: Dutch Elm Disease Dutch elm disease has affected certain varieties of elm trees across the northeastern region. A preventative treatment includes injecting the trunk of specimen elm trees in the spring/summer season with a treatment that prevents Dutch elm disease fungus for up to three years. Bleeding Canker Beech Tree Disease In recent years Beech Trees have been declining in numbers do to a fungus that attacks the vascular system, called "bleeding canker". Tree disease symptoms include die back in the upper canopy, browning of leaves and most notably cankers on the trunk that bleed a red liquid. Disease treatment of infected trees includes fungicide drenches on the main leaders, trunk and over the root area beneath the tree, along with other prescribed plant health practices that will minimize stress and reverse the decline caused by the tree disease. Dogwood Anthracnose Flowering dogwoods need to be continually protected against anthracnose disease. Anthracnose disease favors cool wet conditions most notably found in spring and fall weather, but trees are vulnerable throughout the season. Tree disease symptoms include tan spots that develop a purple trim. Disease treatment includes applications of fungicide will protect against leaf infections. You may also improve air circulation around trees to help dry foliage and reduce the risk of infection.

    Tree Tech can help prevent and treat these tree diseases and other common diseases. For more information on our disease management, treatment or insect control services, please request a site visit or contact our tree care experts. Tree Tech provides a full range of tree care services throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

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    Tree Diseases | Disease Treatment for Trees and Shrubs | MA and RI

    Care of Shrubs and Bushes - December 2, 2013 by Mr HomeBuilder

    You think immediately of pruning and overwintering when you hear talk about the care of shrubs. Indeed, I discuss these jobs in the articles here. But what you might not think of is the importance of selecting the right bushes, to begin with. By picking the right shrub for the right spot, you're reducing the need for "intensive care" right away!

    Shrub Problems Readers have emailed me about numerous types of shrub problems over the years. Some of the more common shrub problems I hear about concern flower buds (e.g., flower buds failing to open) and the presence of yellow leaves -- not as fall foliage, but in summer. Read this FAQ to view my solutions to common shrub problems.

    Caring for Garden Shrubs Learn about caring for garden shrubs, including how to prune them. The article begins by pointing you to resources helpful for selecting bushes.

    Pruning Shrubs If you are like many people, the aspect of the care of shrubs with which you are least enamored is pruning. Pruning is scary, because it is so final (once the limb is gone, it is gone, period). But the tips in this article will school you in the art of pruning. For example, learn what a "branch collar" is and why it matters.

    Wind Damage, Tree Wrap and Winter Lawn Care Care of bushes in winter poses a number of challenges. It is not just cold temperatures you have to worry about: do you know about "winterburn," what causes it and how to prevent it? I supply tips here on protecting plants from drying winds and snow and ice damage through the use of tree wrap, shelters, etc.

    Protecting Bushes in Winter Do you wish to cut to the chase when it comes to sheltering bushes in winter, rather than browsing through the resources in the prior entry? Then this tutorial may be for you. It will be especially helpful for those trying to care for shrubs on a budget, since I show you how to build a winterizing shelter basically for free.

    Transplanting Trees and Shrubs: Step-by-Step Guide To maximize your chances of transplanting a shrub successfully, you might want to go beyond just digging a hole in the ground and plopping it in. Read these tips on transplanting trees and shrubs to raise your game to a somewhat more sophisticated level. The (seemingly) smallest things can make all the difference in growing bushes.

    Pruning Shrubs Into Hedges Although hedges are not quite as popular with the "in crowd" in landscaping as they used to be, I still marvel at the concept of taking a bunch of bushes and turning them into a living wall (then again, I always tend to be something of an outsider in my attitudes). Hedges can make your landscape more private, more secure, more beautiful.

    Review: Electric Hedge Trimmers Now that you are reading all this information about the care of shrubs and hedges, maybe you're considering planting your first hedge. Care for a hedge entails, in part, shearing it, and for longer hedges, this task is typically accomplished with power equipment. While there are gas-powered hedge trimmers, many prefer electric types; I review one here.

    Review: Ratchet Pruners Make Care of Shrubs Easier Think pruners are pruners? Think again. How would you like to ratchet up your hand strength when pruning the thick branches of a bush? Well, ratchet pruners allow you to do exactly that. This fact makes them a preferred choice in pruners among those who have problems with their hands (or wish to obviate such problems).

    Original post:
    Care of Shrubs and Bushes

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