Armillaria root rot is a fungal disease that can attack trees and shrubs. While oaks are commonly attacked, many tree and shrub species can be colonized by Armillaria fungi. These include most of the trees inhabiting our New England woodlands including maples, beech and hemlocks. As the name implies, the fungal organisms responsible for this […]
Emerald ash borer (EAB), an insect that causes decline and death of ash trees, has now been found in western Massachusetts. This is an introduced, non-native, insect pest that was first identified as causing death of ash trees in the US in 2002. It is thought to have been intoduced from Asia. Since being discovered […]
Providing a correctly constructed mulch ring around your trees is one of the most important things that should be done to protect trees. Newly planted trees will grow and establish faster due to increased moisture availability and lessened turf and/or weed competion for water and nutrients. The material used can be bark mulch, aged wood […]
Hemock woolly adelgid has captured much of the press in recent years regarding our eastern hemlocks. There has, however, been a noticeable increase in the presence of another insect pest of hemlocks in the last few years. Elongate hemlock scale, an armored or hard scale, is being found more frequently here in parts of the […]
Two-lined chestnut borer adults are now active. The adult stage of this insect is a beetle that prefers to attack stressed or declining oaks and beech trees. The insect gets its name from the fact it was a primary pest of the American chestnut tree and has 2 thin lines on its back. The […]
The month of May is when two of our more common ambrosia beetles here in the Northeast start to become noticeable in landscapes. Ambrosia beetles are a group of small beetles that attack trees by boring into tree wood producing tunnels (galleries) that are used for rearing of young. Adult beetles carry a fungus that […]
The up and down temperatures this spring affected winter moth development and feeding. Abnormally warm temperatures early in the season brought on premature winter moth egg hatch. Many of the trees that the insect feeds on had yet to have buds swollen enough to allow entry into them for feeding. This was followed by colder […]
This spring weather has resulted in some abnormal activity in landscapes. We are currently about 2-3 weeks ahead of where things normally are phenologically. Typically the second week of May is peak bloom time here in the Boston area. We are on pace for that to occur the 3rd or 4thweek of April. What are the […]
Winter moth caterpillars feeding on Norway maple leaf
As spring approaches we once again need to be aware of significant tree-feeding damage potential due to winter moth caterpillars. This non-native insect pest first began causing tree damage in coastal MA and has continued its advancement further inland. It continues to move deeper into […]
In part 2 of our Tree Identification blog we talked about how to distinguish between some of the more common groups of coniferous trees here in the Northeast. We will expand upon that in today’s blog and will discuss how to distinguish between some of the more common pine trees here in the Northeast.
Location of […]