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...

Don't get too comfortable in your Georgia back yard, because there are sometimes snakes afoot...or a-hand. A professional arborist in Atlanta was the victim of a venomous snake attack, apparently when the reptile became defensive as it was backed into corner at the base of a tree. The incident occurred in suburban Sandy Springs, a large city just north of Atlanta. It was on a mature residential half-acre lot. The back yard was covered in ivy and blackberry bushes, which make great cover for all sorts of fauna. The arborist was pulling thick ivy off the base of a large Tulip poplar when he was bitten. The snake sunk its teeth into the knuckle of his hand, and was able to dispense enough venom to make a nasty time of it. The arborist kept his wits about him, and was able to capture the snake and give him a complimentary ride to the hospital. The snake was initially believed to be a rattlesnake, but after recovery, the arborist positively identified it as a copperhead. Copperhe...