Coffee with a Forester

Like many places, central Nebraska has experienced its share of extraordinary weather conditions the last few years. Between freezes, droughts, hail, high winds, tornados, you name it and it’s probably blown through your town. This year has been no exception, the winter and spring were hard on trees and several species did not leaf out this year or if they did, often the leaves were small and not very green.  Elm, honeylocust, willow and small ornamental trees were among those that were hard hit.

After an early November freeze and late spring freezes, many areas had several inches of rain. This complicated the situation leading to yellowing and browning of leaves among trees that often would not have shown this problem, such as bur oak. Nebraska Forest Service’s western forest health specialist Rachel Allison noted that this year with over two inches of rain or more at a time, the continual wet spring led to very moist soil that displaced the oxygen trees need for good root and tree health.  Throughout the summer, area residents may have detected the signs of discolored leaves or needles, leaves falling earlier than usual, dead & dying leaves and branches and even entirely dead trees.
 
What often can help in situations like this is to be able to understand when it is important to pay attention to changes in the trees, especially early in the growing season to see wilting or thin foliage, brown, yellowing or curled leaves. Come find out if anything can be done about trees in different situations. A forester can help explain these changes and provide information about caring for trees.
 
Some key tips that people may pick up include:

• Proper planting, watering and mulching – why these key aspects are important for good tree health
• General problems associated with trees in lawns – chlorosis, tree damage, dieback because of improper watering and mulching, and the use of fertilizer and/or pesticides.