Late season pruning and the EAB threat.
Posted by Cary Gibson on Friday, September 17, 2010
Late season, fall and winter is the very best time to do work on your trees.
1) The trees are dormant
2) Zero chance of insect infestation or attacks from fungus
3) less clean up due to the leaves having dropped.
4) It allows the arborist to see the structure of the tree and to provide the best possible corrective pruning.
5) the frozen ground is more conducive to having loads possibly hit it and the lawn damage is minimal.
6) deadwood/rot is much easier to see and to remove without a dense canopy cover.
So, late fall and winter is the BEST time to prune your trees, but it is the ONLY time you should prune Oak or Elm to prevent insect attack.
EAB, or the "emerald ash borer", brought over in wooden packing crates from Asia in the late 90's, has made it's way to Leeds and Grenville through transporting of infected ash wood.
this is a very serious threat, once a tree is infected, the kill rate is 99.9% within 4-5 years of being infected.
There is no cure.
Sign to watch for are
1) D-shaped exit holes on the trunk and branches up to six feet off the ground
2) a sudden die- off of branches in the canopy
It kills by burrowing under the bark and feeding on the phloem and sapwood of the tree, this disrupts the flow of nutrients from the roots to the canopy, effectively killing the tree in a short time ( depending on degree of infestation).
Insecticide treatments could work, but are not guaranteed.
If you think your tree may be infected, please call us at Gibson Tree Care for an assessment.
Removing the tree if infected is easier before the tree becomes too brittle to climb, also if it is in a spot where if it falls, could do damage to property, call ASAP.
If you have doubts, I suggest doing a google search on EAB, and to call Geoff McVey at the United Counties of Leed and Grenville at 613 342 3840 ext. 2416
1) The trees are dormant
2) Zero chance of insect infestation or attacks from fungus
3) less clean up due to the leaves having dropped.
4) It allows the arborist to see the structure of the tree and to provide the best possible corrective pruning.
5) the frozen ground is more conducive to having loads possibly hit it and the lawn damage is minimal.
6) deadwood/rot is much easier to see and to remove without a dense canopy cover.
So, late fall and winter is the BEST time to prune your trees, but it is the ONLY time you should prune Oak or Elm to prevent insect attack.
EAB, or the "emerald ash borer", brought over in wooden packing crates from Asia in the late 90's, has made it's way to Leeds and Grenville through transporting of infected ash wood.
this is a very serious threat, once a tree is infected, the kill rate is 99.9% within 4-5 years of being infected.
There is no cure.
Sign to watch for are
1) D-shaped exit holes on the trunk and branches up to six feet off the ground
2) a sudden die- off of branches in the canopy
It kills by burrowing under the bark and feeding on the phloem and sapwood of the tree, this disrupts the flow of nutrients from the roots to the canopy, effectively killing the tree in a short time ( depending on degree of infestation).
Insecticide treatments could work, but are not guaranteed.
If you think your tree may be infected, please call us at Gibson Tree Care for an assessment.
Removing the tree if infected is easier before the tree becomes too brittle to climb, also if it is in a spot where if it falls, could do damage to property, call ASAP.
If you have doubts, I suggest doing a google search on EAB, and to call Geoff McVey at the United Counties of Leed and Grenville at 613 342 3840 ext. 2416
