THE ARBOR DOCTOR

It’s not just my hair brainded idea. Spring really does arrive on March 1! http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2003/s2143.htm

“Courage is the door that can only be opened from the inside.”
-Terry Neil

“It’s a funny thing about life: If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”
-Somerset Maugham

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
-Ronald E. Osborn

“Chance favors the prepared mind.”
-Louis Pasteur

“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”
-Don Wilder

“If a person has done their best, what else is there?”
-George S. Patton

I roll my eyes every time someone says that “chocolate is good for you.” What are the facts?  Read more here>>>

You will spend over 100,000 hours of your life working. This is more than anything else you’ll do except sleep. What is the meaning or purpose of our working? Do we work because we have to, or because it is a “High Calling”?  Read the article here>>>

As the investigation continues the extent of the infestation grows.  It is now thought that the infestation is 7 or 8 years old:

2,721 Number of ALB infested trees removed as of 2/4/12 (since removals starting on 11/14/11)

6,417 Number of ALB infested trees confirmed as of 2/4/12 (since detection on 6/17/11)

83,417 Number of trees surveyed as of 2/4/12 (since surveys began on 7/1/11)

56 Square‐miles under regulation; see “Regulated Area” map:

http://www.agri.ohio.gov/TopNews/asianbeetle/docs/ALB_quarantine_map.pdf

Warm periods during the winter are ideal for our late winter visits.  This includes soil injection for Emeral Ash Borer.  It is actually most benificial all the way around if warm periods in winter can be taken advantage of.  Proper timing can be difficult in spring, and is made more difficult if these early visits cannot be done.

A recent walk at Shawnee Lookout Hamilton County Park revealed a greening forest floor.  While no tree buds were yet openning, the unusually warm winter has kept things active.  As of this writing, the Ohio State phenology website indicates that silver maple and corneliancherry dogwood are getting ready to bud out.  If warm weather continues, spring may be almost here!  Early leafing out may increase the chances for plant freeze damage, but since we can’t do anything about it, we may as well enjoy it!

Interestingly, there is a meteorological spring which begins on March 1, about 3 weeks before calender spring.  This is because the month of March on average is warmer than December, so meteorologically winter begins December 1 and Spring on March 1.

The Ohio State University (OSU) Extension’s Joe Boggs gives an excellent educational video presentation about the Asian Longhorned Beetle to help citizens know what to look for, and what to do if they suspect they have an infected tree on their property.  http://www.clermontcountyohio.gov/videoosualb.aspx                                                              

The Asian Longhorn Beetle (ALB) was found in Ohio in 2011.  Unlike the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), it has multiple host trees.  Like EAB it will eventually kill its host trees.  ALB is a lazy, bad flier, so we have a much better chance of eradicating it, unlike EAB. 

Watch this 45 minute video to learn about ALB, where it came from, what species it eats, how to identify it, and the potential impacts it could have in Ohio.  Early detection is the key, so the more people that are aware of identifying this species, the more likely we are to catch them quickly and eradicate.  When you start thinking about timber production, foliage tours in the Northeastern U.S. and the potential impacts on the maple syrup industry if ALB were to spread – you’ll realize why it’s so important to have more people aware and looking for the early signs.

Butternut (Juglans cinera) has been confirmed by Oregon State University as an additional host for the walnut twig beetle and Thousand Cankers Disease.