Tag Archive for "nashville" - Quality Tree Surgery, Inc.

The Business of “Growing” Successfully

Quality Tree Surgery, Inc. · February 16, 2011 · 12:58 pm · Did You Know?, Employees, Misc., Tree care, employees, nashville, proper care, quality tree surgery, roots, ruel jones, spring, winter

The Business of “Growing” Successfully

Ruel Jones

While I always hoped I’d be in the international banking business, I found my niche in nature, though ironically there are similarities.
Understanding how a plant operates is the key component to providing proper year-round care, much the same as with operating a successful business.
A tree is like a company, which has employees both below ground (roots) and above ground (leaves), and both play vital roles. A tree stores money (energy) in its fibers and cells just like a company does with a savings or checking account. In the spring this living, breathing company uses last year’s stored savings to build new leaves, or what we might call next year’s “employees” for the growing season. All winter long this plant was spend-ing money on root development to support the group of employees that will soon be coming on. After the leaves are built, they are now ready to start making money for the company to use in a new growth development season, while at the same time, of course, refilling the savings account now low due to all the money the company spent developing the current roots and leaves.
That is basically how a plant works. The leaves support the roots and the roots sup-port the leaves in a symbiotic relationship. The margin or profit from these two groups of employees is what the company uses each year for new growth.
Improper pruning or care of your trees and plants can cause them to dig further down into their “savings account” and spend more money to create additional leaves to do necessary work. The plant knows that without the proper amount of leaves doing the job and making money, the company will soon be filling Chapter 7.
So in the end, though the company’s name is Quality Tree Surgery, some might con-sider us in the financial and banking business for trees!

Icky, sticky, gooey stuff…

Quality Tree Surgery, Inc. · August 18, 2010 · 11:14 pm · Lawn care, Misc., Pests, aphids, brown spots, cletis, hackberry, Lawn care, nashville, Pests, sugarberry, summer, tn, Tree care

Icky, sticky, gooey stuff...

Did you experience a clear sticky substance or black mold on your deck, lawn furniture or car last summer? If you did, you may be experienc-ing the symptoms of the Asian woolly hackberry aphid, Shivaphis celti. Middle Tennessee hackberry trees experienced severe infestations during the summers of 2003 through 2006. The aphids mysteriously vanished during the summers of 2006 and 2007 and reappeared again in 2008.

Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis and sugarberry, Celtis laevigata are the host plants for this aphid. The aphids are small, about 2—2.5 millimeters long and are conspicuous due to the large amount of bluish white wax secretion from their abdomen. See Photo. The adults are winged and give the appearance of small pieces of cotton on the undersides of leaves.

Overwintering eggs hatch into females that, without fertilization, give birth to living females. The ability of females to reproduce without mating is termed parthenogensis. This ability allows young to be brought forth throughout the summer, accounting for rapid increases in population. The largest populations usually occur in late July or early August in our area. In late fall, males and females are born. After mating, the female deposits overwintering eggs, and the cycle contin-ues the following year.

During severe infestation the aphids excrete large amounts of honeydew, which coats the lower leaves and drips onto objects below the tree. The honeydew attracts ants, bees and other insects and serves as a medium for the growth of sooty mold fungus. In most cases little injury occurs to the trees; however, staining of wood, painted surfaces or fabric may occur from prolonged exposure to sooty mold.

If you are experiencing staining of decks, lawn furniture or other valuable items, you may want to consider treatment for this pest.

Prevention can be obtained by soil treatment in April or May with a systemic insecticide, such as imidicloprid. Reduction of populations can be obtained by spraying small trees with a contact insecticide or microinjection of larger trees in July through September.

Get Outside!

Quality Tree Surgery, Inc. · December 2, 2009 · 8:05 pm · Lawn care, Misc., Tree care, canoeing, fall creek falls, harpeth river, nashville, parks, rock island, state parks, tennessee, tn

Been to any of our wonderful state parks recently? If not you are missing out on a great opportunity. Did you know that Tennessee recently won the “Best Parks in the Nation” award? Imagine that, the best and cleanest parks in the nation right here in your own backyards. With fall almost here, it is the perfect time to enjoy a day out in the wilderness.

There are currently 53 parks in this state, each with something different and unique to offer. This means that everyone young and old can enjoy a visit. Canoeing the Narrows of the Harpeth River is a great family

adventure that is close to residents in the Nashville area. Or, if breathtaking views and great hikes are your thing, then Fall Creek Falls state park is a great choice. It offers over 34 miles of hiking trails, two of which are long distance overnight trails. There is also a scenic route, which can be driven, showing many gorgeous mountaintop vistas. The most popular stop on the scenic route is Buzzard’s Roost, which also has a place for rock climbing and rappelling. It should be noted that to rock climb or rappel, a ranger must be notified.

Unfortunately, there is not enough room in this article to highlight all of Tennessee’s state parks, but you can research different parks and find out what they offer at www.tennessee.gov/parks. There you can

reserve cabins, campsites, and get directions to whatever park you choose.

Author’s note: Though not mentioned above, my personal favorite place to go is Rock Island State Park. Here is a picture; it is

about two hours southeast of Nashville.