Arborway Tree Care Suggestions for various Coho trees

August 6, 2015

Steve Burns from Arborway Tree Care came to tour the property with Jesse, Susan, Ileana, myself, and, towards the end, Bob Co. Steve has worked on our trees over the years, and was generous with his time and information.

Please note that when a tree is on land that is designated “exclusive use,” the owners will decide on, and pay for, any work to be done. E.g. the Japanese maple shared by Keren and Michael and Joe and Susan. When a tree is on coho common property, then coho is responsible, for instance the Norway maple at the east end of the glade that lost branches in a recent thunderstorm.

We started at the East End driveway. Here are my notes:

• • The spruce trees at the entrance to the east end drive have a serious case of mites and should go. Steve will give an estimate for taking the trees down now, and returning after the first frost to take out the stumps (first frost means that the surrounding plants will not be damaged by the stump removal).

There is some confusion at present as to whether that little piece of land at the entrance to the EE driveway is part of Keren and Michael’s unit or not. If it is part of their unit, they will pay for the removal of the trees and whatever is planted in their place. If not, Coho will pay. Keren and Michael are looking for their documents to double-check. The previous owner had opted not to have the new coho fence continue around the corner to shield their back yard, because the spruces were doing such a great job. Keren and Michael can think about whether they want fencing.

• • In pruning lilacs, many people leave the old wood and take out the suckers. Steve’s advice is to reverse this!

  • The andromeda along the east and driveway is infested with lace bugs. They eat from the bottom of the leaf, and the remedy is to spray them from the bottom with horticultural oil.

  • The ailing Japanese maple outside between Joe and Susan's and Karen and Michael's in the east end, has no fungus, which is good. But it cannot sustain the size of tree it has become. Steve will give them an estimate for a major trim of that tree back to a size that the roots can sustain. Watering: the roots of this tree should get the equivalent of 5 gallons of water twice a week. A gator would be good for this tree, or dripping from a lower branch, as Susan has been doing. Also the kousa dogwood on Joe and Susan’s property will get a trim.

  • Steve says that both the smaller Japanese maple on Keren and Michael's strip, and the one mentioned above, were buried too deeply in the earth. The earth should not rise up beyond the “root flare” – where the roots start to flare out. If a tree is buried too deeply in the ground, new little rootlets start growing below the ground surface, down to the place where the major roots flare out, in a “girdling” effect that gradually suffocates the tree.

  • Steve demonstrated drop-crotch pruning on the holly in front of the entrance to 135. The peaches, Steve said, are healthier then most peaches he’s seen. They look good. He would not take them down. He suggests pruning them back quite radically (especially the one nearer the street, which seems not to have been pruned as much as the other), which could result in their bearing fewer peaches but holding on to them better.

  • The new red maple has been planted too deeply, so that the root flare starts below ground. New little rootlets have already started to form, and would eventually form a girdle that would strangle the tree. He suggests that we dig a bigger concave bowl around the trunk, all the way down to where the tree flares. Every tree’s flare needs to be above the dirt line.

  • The large catalpa growing outside Madeline and Scott’s is a weed tree that can grow to be enormous and should come out.

  • The Norway maple along the path at the east end of the glade lost a couple of branches in the recent hailstorm and isn't looking so good. Steve remembered pruning the tree about 10 years ago. He will give us an estimate on pruning out the deadwood.

  • The river birches in the Glade very much need to be watered.

  • The small stewartia tree to the left just as you come out of the spine and head towards the west end, needs a concave bowl dug around it so that the flare of the tree is above ground. In the process, try to get rid of the rootlets that have been girdling below.

  • There is a weed tree (ailanthus) growing up within in the feathery Japanese maple to the right as you stand there. It should come out.

  • The several boxed trees in the WE, starting with the one closest to the main patio:

First one: leaf scorch from drought. Water this!

Second and third ones (and maybe another, I forget how many): two or three of the boxed crabapple trees have canker disease, are dead or dying, and should be replaced. He suggests dwarf river birch. Do not replant with anything in the “pomme” family like apple, pear or hawthorn, because the soil will now carry the canker disease.

The boxed Juniper by the entrance to the west end stack flats is not in great shape. It has a common fungus disease. It should be watered from the bottom only, and not at night.

The boxed Japanese maple in front of Bob and Kim's unit is looking very good.

The tree in the box in front of Roberta's unit should be cut back (Bob and Jesse will do this). Dig to reveal root flare, and attend to the girdling rootlets as well.

• • It is best not to plant bulbs around a boxed tree, because to plant a bulb you cut into the roots of the tree and cutting opens the root to a standard fungus that is there all the time, ready, waiting to jump in.

  • Steve consulted with Jesse about replacing three dying trees in his garden that had formed a screen from the WE driveway, and suggested yews as replacements.

  • All our trees should be getting 5 gallons of water twice a week!

  • The emerald green arborvitae outside Art and Gwen’s unit is probably suffering from the salt used in the winter time. The dead section towards the top will not regenerate.

  • The kousa dogwood in the front garden was also planted too deep, so that the root flare is below ground. Steve found he could move the tree just by pushing it, not a good thing. He suggests we trim the branches way back, by three or 4 feet (Bob and Jesse can do this), and then dig out a bowl so the trunk enters the soil below where the root flare starts. If there is a girdle of rootlets, remove the ones that are not so large that it would hurt the tree to remove them.

  • There is a standard American red maple by the entrance to Coho, which is not doing great. Steve says the root flare was buried too deep, and suggests a similar digging-out-of-concave-bowl-and-cutting-of-root-girdle that he suggested for other trees. This is a city tree, and the city would need to do the work.

  • Finally, Steve eyeballed Maddie and Jim's Japanese maple through the fence, said it is very healthy. He recommended that the trees in that yard get pruned back from the wall of the building.