Why Don’t Arborists Paint Cuts with Wound Dressing?

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Why Don’t Arborists Paint Cuts with Wound Dressing?

by: Board Certified Master Arborist, Gilbert A Smith
Backyard Wisdom - April/May 2020

Fifty years ago when I was a young “tree skinner” Yes, that’s what they called us and with good reason. I was taught to paint all of the cuts that I made with tree tar. That was the measure of a good job. My father would say, “I saw a lot of ‘white eyes’ in the trees you trimmed today.” What an insult! “White eyes” were the newly exposed round tree cuts that looked like eyes on the branches.

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Invasive Buckthorn Revisited

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Invasive Buckthorn Revisited

by: ISA Certified Arborist, Lesley Bruce Smith
Mother Nature’s Moment - April/May 2020

This last winter when attending the iLandscape conference we listened to a seminar entitled Healthy Hedges. It essentially was teaching how to eradicate weedy species from established hedges in the landscape. This is not a new subject to us so I was surprised at the insights I gained. I have never been accused of being a fan of European Buckthorn, ever. I have always said the only good Buckthorn is a dead Buckthorn.

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Into the Underworld of Trees - Part 2

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Into the Underworld of Trees - Part 2

by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist
Wisdom From the Trees - February/March 2020 - Backyard Wisdom

So why does all this dirty talk matter?

Everyone who loves the natural world is concerned with global warming and its unpredictable effect on our’s and our children's lives. But it often seems as if it is out of our hands as individuals. It turns out, however, that carbon is the currency of the underworld, even in our own backyard. Let me explain.

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Viruses, Sprouts, Immune Systems and Us

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Viruses, Sprouts, Immune Systems and Us

by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist, Cancer Survivor
Wisdom from the Trees - February/March 2020 - Mother Nature’s Moment

These are indeed strange times. We feel it is vitally important to keep on the “sunny side” if you will, as we face down uncertainty. With that top of mind we are reminded that our lives, our health and our safety depends in large measure on our continued care for ourselves and the planet we live on.

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Into the Underworld of Tree Roots - Part 1

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Into the Underworld of Tree Roots - Part 1

by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist
Backyard Wisdom - January 2020

How do roots grow through the soil? How do they know where the life essential water and minerals are located and how do they “eat and drink” them? In January 2019 I wrote in Wisdom from the TreesTM about the leaves’ long journey into the soil. Today, I want to take you further on that journey into the underground world of tree roots.

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Beings of Light and Other Interesting Winter Realities

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Beings of Light and Other Interesting Winter Realities

by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist
Mother Nature’s Moment - January 2020

In these colder, dark shorter days of winter I am reminded that we are indeed “beings of light”. This is a phrase that is tossed about somewhat lightly in our culture. As a horticulturist whose job it is to save trees, let me shed a little light on light (no pardon for all the redundancy).

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Why Don’t Evergreens Loose Their Needles?

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Why Don’t Evergreens Loose Their Needles?

Backyard Wisdom - November 2019
by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist

Everyone knows that deciduous trees go dormant and shed their leaves so that they don't freeze in the cold winter. So why don't evergreens shed their needles too? Actually, they do loose their older needles continuously throughout the year, as the older needles are shaded out by younger ones. This may happen most heavily in the fall, as is demonstrated every autumn, by our clients who begin to call, worrying about brown needles on their evergreens. The good news is, they never lose all of their needles, unless they’re dead. Evergreens are green throughout the year, but they don’t have the same needles forever!

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Why Didn’t the Leaves Fall Off My Trees?

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Why Didn’t the Leaves Fall Off My Trees?

Mother Nature’s Moment - November 2019
by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist

The vast majority of our tree friends in the northern hemisphere do a great job of preparing for their winter journey. They don’t leave home, so their journey through time demands careful preparation for the freezing cold and weighty snows they will encounter during the winter. This year, those freezing temperatures arrived faster than normal. However, the native Illinois trees, early snows or not, go through the same cell hardening as during a balmy autumn. Thanks to a plant pigment called phytochrome, the cells that need to “harden” take their cues from the always faithful shortening of days, not our uncertain temperatures.

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ISA True Professionals of Arboriculture

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ISA True Professionals of Arboriculture

Arborsmith, Ltd. is proud to announce that Gilbert and Lesley Smith have been awarded the True Professionals of Arboriculture 2019 Award by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Recipients are awarded for excellence in advancing the profession of arboriculture through education, communication, and public outreach.

Many many thanks to all of you who so graciously responded to our news regarding the ISA True Professionals Award. We so appreciated your words of encouragement and congratulations. We are sharing here the 90 second ISA video that was created for us when we received the award in Tennessee in August, so you could all share in this celebratory event with us. You are the ones who helped make this all happen, because we didn't do this alone.
Regards, Lesley and Gil

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“Lovingly” Preparing the Soil for Planting

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“Lovingly” Preparing the Soil for Planting

by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA BC Master Arborist
Backyard Wisdom September 2019

Years down the road from the time your landscape was originally planted, Arborsmith Ltd. is called in to diagnose tree problems. Why is my River Birch doing so poorly when my neighbor’s is healthy? It is hard to answer that question without going back to the original construction. Most of our tree problems begin and end with the soil. We can’t see under the ground. We can test the soil and sample the leaves but all we have to do is move 10 feet away and the soil conditions change. Let me tell you the story of a typical suburban soil and how it affects tree health.

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How to Choose an Arborist?

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How to Choose an Arborist?

by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist
Mother Natures Moment, September 2019

When choosing someone to trim your mature woody plants, a.k.a. trees and shrubs, it is important to have a few questions top of mind.

Should you pick the big franchise company, your landscaper or the guy or gal you saw down the street with the truck and chainsaw?

The very first thing you should insist on is hiring an ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified Arborist.

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Tree Gutter Garden

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Tree Gutter Garden

Backyard Wisdom July/August 2019
by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA BC Master Arborist

Every spring/summer I have to clean out my gutters after my River Birch drops its seeds and twigs. The funny thing is that you can see all of the germinated seeds, thousands of them but only in the gutter. Search the ground throughout my yard and you won’t find any young Birch seedlings. So what are these smart seeds teaching us?

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The Amazing Process of Evapotranspiration

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The Amazing Process of Evapotranspiration

Mother Nature’s Moment • July/August 2019
by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist

It is difficult for us to remember that less than four weeks ago the temperatures were consistently in the 60’s and rainy, and we were wearing coats and rain gear almost everyday. We are all happy for the more summer like weather, however, the trees view it a bit differently.

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Moss In My Landscape

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Moss In My Landscape

Backyard Wisdom - June 2019
by: Gilbert A Smith, Master Arborist

What can I spray to get rid of moss in my lawn, or on my tree trunks or my roof shingles and what is causing it to grow so much? Although you can find moss herbicides, I do not recommend it!

It’ s a mistake to think that moss is an alien invader which competes with and ruins trees, roofs, or grass. There is nothing further from the truth. Mosses have been around on our planet for 400 million years, in fact they are the oldest living plants on land, and they've learned to survive and adapt to conditions where other plants cannot grow.

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After Winter Woes

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After Winter Woes

Mother Nature’s Moment - June 2019
by: Lesley Bruce Smith

This year Boxwoods, Japanese Maples and honeybees all have something in common. They were all very badly affected by the vicious “polar vortex” freezing temperatures we experienced over the winter. Gilbert and I and our crews have seen more winter kill this spring than we have ever seen before, and for Gil that means in the last 50 years of trimming and caring for trees. It is a sad thing for us and for many of our clients who have lost favorite Redbuds or Japanese Maples or long time hedges of Boxwood. If it is any consolation just know that about 30-40% of the Japanese Maples in our practice were lost through this last winter.

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How Do Trees Heal?

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How Do Trees Heal?

Backyard Wisdom, April 2019
by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA Certified Master Arborist

They don’t, at least not the way we think of healing. Damaged tissue in our bodies is replaced by new healthy tissue. Once a tree is damaged, however, it remains damaged for the rest of its life. This is because trees don't grow like people. Maybe a better comparison would be that trees grow like coral, annually adding new living layers on top of old mostly dead structure. We can count these new layers or annual rings to tell us just how many years the tree has been alive. Because of this “layered” growth pattern, no matter how tall a tree grows, the height of each individual branch on the trunk never changes.

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How Do Trees Grow?

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How Do Trees Grow?

Mother Nature’s Moment, April 2019
by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist

This last quarter we have taught several workshops that focus on tree trimming. Whenever we have a chance to get in front of people to talk about trees, we don’t miss the opportunity to talk about tree physiology. Now before you click to the next thing with a big yawn, give me a moment to share with you just how exciting this subject can be. Understanding tree physiology helps those of us that live and work with trees to know how to help them live the longest and healthiest lives possible. As an arborist of almost 40 years I can tell you that some of the most damaging practices done to and around trees are done because of the many misconceptions we have about them. Understanding a bit about how trees live and grow helps us to be good tree friends.

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Tree Leaves and Their Long Journey Into the Soil

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Tree Leaves and Their Long Journey Into the Soil

Wisdom from the Trees, January 2019, Backyard Wisdom
by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA BC Master Arborist and Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist

I fondly remember the autumn smell of burning leaves when I was a kid in the 1950s. Our push mower wouldn't grind them up so my brothers and I had to rake all those leaves out to the street and burn them. In the 70’s the environmental movement stopped the burning and it became the responsibility of the villages and cities to haul the leaves away. This month I’ll tell you the story of leaves from the tree’s point of view. It may change the way you perceive this annual ritual of fall.

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Blue Spruce Blues

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Blue Spruce Blues

Mother Nature’s Moment August 2018
by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist

This year has been a tough one for the Blue Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Glauca’). More accurately, this year appears to have been a tough one for Blue Spruce because we have been called into a lot of situations to evaluate Blue Spruces that are in terrible shape. The problems that they are exhibiting now began at a minimum of 15-18 months ago.

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Riverbirch with Falling Leaves

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Riverbirch with Falling Leaves

Mother Nature’s Moment August 2018
by: Lesley Bruce Smith, ISA Certified Arborist

Over the last week or so we have received a number of calls and have noticed with our own Riverbirch that there are a lot of yellow leaves on the ground. This spring we had an unprecedented spring of cool temperatures and lots of rain, and then more rain. All that weather triggered the trees to produce an equally unprecedented number of leaves, or in tree language “food producing evapo-transpirators” which translated means that leaves not only produce food for the tree from the sun’s energy but they transpire water through the tiny holes they have called stomata.

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