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Jim Ostvig | March 18, 2018 | Beyond Tree Care, Blog, Tree Care, Tree Disease and Pests
What Is Emerald Ash Borer?
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a pest infestation that has become a major problem in the U.S. over the last 10 years. It is a native beetle of Asia.
Jim Ostvig | February 17, 2018 | Beyond Tree Care, Blog, Tree Care
Four Seasons: Tree Services Requirements
What are the best ways to care for trees during winter, summer, spring or fall?
Jim Ostvig | September 24, 2017 | Blog, Safety, Storm Damage
Complete Guide to Storm Damage
Living in Minnesota, we see our fair share of severe weather. Winds, heavy rain and snow all take a toll on our trees and property. As a property owner, it’s important to understand how to prepare and manage storm damage before it hits. That’s why we’ve created this complete…
Jim Ostvig | August 16, 2017 | Blog, Pruning and Trimming, Tree Care
Fall Tree Care
Our trees need care to prepare for colder months. “While your trees seem to be in a state of hibernation in the winter, exposure to the tough conditions can cause them major stress,” says Jim Skiera, Executive Director of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). “Minimize stress by helping your trees through the cold months, a…
Jim Ostvig | March 17, 2017 | Blog, Tree Disease and Pests
Plant Health Care
Plant Health Care has been defined as the selection, integration and implementation of pest control based on predicted economic, ecological and sociological consequences. Today, perhaps more than ever this approach is relevant to all landscape pest, nutritional management and care. Societal concerns about pesticide use, their value to the landscape and the method of application…
Jim Ostvig | November 16, 2016 | Blog, Tree Care, Tree Planting
Tree and Shrub Inventories
Fall and winter are perfect times for arborists to update and create tree and shrub inventories for client properties. Before the snow falls and temperatures drop below zero, it’s an ideal time to visit properties and examine tree structural issues. Without the leaves on deciduous trees, branch structure can be examined. Issues with branch growth…
Jim Ostvig | November 15, 2016 | Blog, Pruning and Trimming
The Best Seasons for Tree Pruning & Trimming
Why is tree pruning and trimming so important? Because of the impact this maintenance has on your tree’s health and well-being. This may tempt you to get to work on your trees right away, but your landscape needs different things done at different times. Light pruning and the removal of dead wood can be done…
Jim Ostvig | October 31, 2016 | Blog
Autumn Tree Care
The leaves are falling and many trees are bare, but, that doesn’t mean the trees are inactive. Most deciduous trees are devoting energy to root systems at this time. They are investing in roots for winter storage as well as in expanding the root network to exploit opportunities for nutrient and water uptake. Since the…
Jim Ostvig | October 17, 2016 | Beyond Tree Care, Blog, Tree Types
Fall Foliage
Leaf pigments are used by trees to capture photons from sunlight that drive the photosynthetic machinery that turns light energy into chemical energy. The key pigments used by trees are called chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B. While both pigments absorb photons from different wavelengths of light from throughout the spectrum, we see the light that…
Jim Ostvig | September 19, 2016 | Blog, Tree Care, Tree Disease and Pests
Bur Oak Blight (BOB)
This past week we were asked to inventory oak trees in a western suburb of Minneapolis. The charge was to identify and mark trees with oak wilt disease and to identify homes with trees showing symptoms of bur oak blight (BOB). Based on our observations, homeowners in the community with affected trees will be notified…