Tree News

Once again the experts got it wrong. Fall color doom sayers were fueling the fire of arboreal panic earlier this year, looking into their silvicultural crystal balls and predicting a disappointing season for leaf viewing aficionados. The drought, the regional 'experts' said, would cause trees to shorten their color display and bring fall senescence much earlier than usual. Of course, that hasn't happened. The fall color around town is actually rather good. In fact, this fall seems to be unusually long. In previous years, even those with adequate rainfall, leaves have tended to fall much quicker. For example, by the end of November in zones 7 and 8, Tulip poplar Liriodendron tulipifera has all but completely dropped its leaves. But that just isn't the case in 2007. Zelkova trees have been showing great uniform color in parking lot islands. Red maple trees have been more colorful, on average, than recent years. Sweetgums are holding on to their leaves and ar...

Coweta County is the newest municipality in Georgia to adopt a tree ordinance. The ordinance, which passed earlier this Spring, made way for a new position in Coweta government: County Arborist. Just a little over a month ago, Roy Matthews took the helm. Roy has a strong background in both arboriculture and urban forestry. As graduate of Bowling Green State University, he began his municipal career as a City Forester for Sandusky, Ohio , a tree maintenance supervisor for Savannah, GA , a Superintendent of Parks and Grounds for the City of Beaufort, SC , Grounds Supervisor for the City of College Park , and Superintendent of Grounds at Fort_McPherson /Fort Gillem. I spoke to Roy Matthews over the phone, and asked him what he thought the main impetus was for the county to adopt a tree ordinance. "The primary concern was the rapid development of County," Roy commented, "There is no slowing of growth here, and there needed to be something to help conserve urban forest r...

This is an amazing year for Persimmon fruit! The best place to find them is along roadsides, especially near the south facing suburban and rural wooded edges. Go ahead and try one, it will be delicious right about now.

A citizen group, patterned after the highly successful and popular Trees Atlanta , has emerged in the City of Sandy Springs. Trees Sandy Springs appears to have launched in late August. The group is spearheaded by Sandy Springs resident Nina Cramer. The group is currently involved with volunteer work projects to water and mulch young community trees in the Main Street district and at schools. Trees Sandy Springs will have a volunteer recruitment drive at the Sandy Springs Festival on September 15 and 16.

Even though Georgia suffered a late freeze and a record drought in 2007, the state's Pecan trees are set to produce one of the best crops of nuts in recent history. The UGA Cooperative extension service estimates that our beloved Carya illinoensis will provide 90 million to 95 million pounds of pecans this season. Earlier this year, many Pecans in the central and eastern part of the state sustained damage from the frost, but apparently most trees recovered and have set a bumper crop of nuts. Growers estimate that the 2007 crop will be double that of last year's pitiful crop, which was one of the state's lowest in pecan production. The current drought conditions are damaging; but have had an unexpected consequence: the drought has kept insects and diseases from ruining the Pecan nuts. Aphids , mites , and scab are common pests of Pecan trees. In addition, farmers have had the rare option of spraying less chemical controls such as insecticides and fungicides. In some ...

Park Pride is accepting applications for its Community Micro-Grants Program. The program provides City of Atlanta communities matching grants of up to $500 for public greenspace improvement projects. Since the program’s inception last fall, Park Pride has awarded 45 grants ranging from $150-$500 to community groups in neighborhoods throughout Atlanta. Examples of worthwhile projects: building a new playground, creation of a nature trail, park beautification, and the addition of amenities such as picnic tables and flower beds. Neighborhood groups need to submit proposals to their Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU). The NPU then reviews proposals and recommends the award of a Park Pride micro-grant. Each of the City’s 24 NPUs may recommend grants totaling $500 for projects within their jurisdiction. The Park Pride Micro-Grant application deadline is September 30th. Awards will be announced October 15th. For questions call Allison Barnett at (404) 817-6760.

Rosalind Bentley , writing for the Atlanta Journal Constitution , has gone public with a little-known tree mystery. Her August 10 article revealed the location of a desparate Prunus persica growing near the intersection of Peachtree Hills Avenue and Peachtree Street. Peach trees, keeping with the trend of confusing street names, are altogether rare along Peachtree Street. This tree appears by all counts a naturalized specimen, possibly sprouted years ago from a peach pit! And I thought Atlanta was only populated with transplants. Read the entire article at the AJC.