April 20, 2013, Whack and Chat

Spring has sprung, the trees have awaken and repotting is in full swing (and for some of us it is a 24 hour race against the clock) and our trees are about to again demand our undivided attention.  Oh for those short, slow, "I still have time to plan" days of winter.  Also, by now, your trees which did not get repotted yet or have been repotted for at least 4 weeks should be getting their first fertilizing with a balanced liquid fertilizer (something like 10-10-10) applied at half the manufactures recommended strength.

Our March program on Pest, Diseases and Bugs was well attended and Lyle provided an excellent presentation on how to identify, treat and address the most common threats to our trees.  This is the season, with the early flush of spring growth when our trees are most at risk of invasion or infection or infestation.  Armed with the knowledge that Lyle was able to provide and the recommendations he was able to suggest, spring care and development should be a breeze.

Our next 2 sessions (April and May) will be Whack and Chat sessions aimed at helping participants with their questions on development, design, care, wiring, pruning and shaping for their own specific tree.  We hope by having to back to back session this way, it will allow for more focused efforts on one or two trees at a time and allow participants to get a little more help with more of their trees.  The April Whack and Chat will be on Saturday April 20, 2013 at St. Phillip Neri Church from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m...  The May Whack and Chat will be on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at St. Phillip Neri Church from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. . . .

And for those of you who want to plan out a little further on your calendar, we will present our annual fertilizer making program (POOP BALLS as they are affectionately know) with Scott Tice on Saturday, June 15, 2013 from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. . . .  This opportunity will require a small fee to cover the costs of materials for the class.   The location will be announced at a later date.

The June class will be our last meeting before the summer break, and we will resume the Mentorship program in September, 2013 with a highly requested program on making your own TURN TABLE.  The opportunity will require a small fee for materials for the class.  Stay tuned to the Tree Line for further details.  

I hope you will be able to join us for one of our sessions which addresses your area of interest or concern.

Until next month, may your trees grow strong.

March 16, 2013 - Bugs, Pests & Diseases

It is that time of the season when the trees are waking up, garages and work areas have that smell of musty, damp  soil, finger nails are dirty and shoulders are sore as we race Mother Nature to get all of our trees repotted, trimmed and spruced up from the winter dormant period and ready for a new growing season.  If you did not get your pots scrubbed off  in the fall,  all of the debris off of the soil and a good spraying for overwintering bugs and diseases then our March Mentorship program is the one for you. It will not be long before those white, grey and black hairy molds and fungi start to sprout and  little green, white, black or red sucking insects begin to show up to feast on that delicate (and tasty) new foliage your trees are pushing out and you are contemplating what to do. The right application of pesticides, fungicides and/or insecticides at just the right time can save you a lot of frustration (and damage to your trees) later in the season.

Our March Mentorship Program will address all of these concerns and get you and your trees off to a safe and healthy start. Our Presenter will be BSOP member Lyle Feilmeier.  With our typically long, very wet springs and our cool, very short summers, if you are like me, you probably experience plant disease and pest problems you had not experienced before. Things like black spot, leaf rust, powdery mildew, wooly scale, brown scale and more. In past years, we have covered this topic in the fall as part of the Winter Preparation program for our trees. 

This year, in consultation with Lyle, we determined to present the program in the Spring, expecting that control and prevention now, would be more beneficial. Lyle is the man to help us identify the problems and apply the right solutions. We will be discussing techniques of application from surface and contact sprays, to soil drenches (for a systemic approach) and all things in between as well as how to identify specific pests or problems. I hope you will be able to join us. If you have a particular disease or pest problem you would like identified, bring a sample of material with you and we will do our best to identify it. Be sure to put your sample in a sealed Zip Loc baggie so we do not pass the problem around on our hands, clothing or other plants.

Our program is scheduled for Saturday, March 16, 2013 at St. Phillip Neri Church from 2:00pm until 5:00pm.