Diagnostics: Who Knows Most About the Plants?

  On Vesey Street in downtown Manhattan, between the 9/11 memorials and the Irish Hunger Memorial along the Hudson River, is a row of Chinese elms in a streetscape. Recently, as I was walking there I noticed two of the elms with thinning foliage, and for that matter they were set apart by big-time protective railings and stakings and alone among the row, Treegators, extra factors that turned out to be mostly non-sequiturs, but did initially catch my eye.
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Jim Chatfield

Fall Forecast II

  Earlier this week Extensioneer Erik Draper featured poison ivy foliar coloration as a Harbinger of Autumn (http://bygl.osu.edu/node/567). As we approach September 22 and the Autumnal Equinox, here are a few more visuals of the changing of the guard.
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Jim Chatfield

Tree of the Week: Swamp White Oak

I was recently in New York City, 15 years after the 9/11 tragedy, and was reminded of that day. We were on our BYGL call back here in Ohio and Dave Dyke of OSUE, Hamilton County broke into a plant report with news that a plane, possibly a small plane had flown into the World Trade Center. We took it in and continued our reports.

 

  Minutes later he burst in that another plane had hit the other tower and that these were large passenger planes. Now we knew something was terribly wrong and yet, like many people, we tried to continue with our scheduled activities for a while....

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Jim Chatfield

Shrub of the Week: Comptonia (Sweetfern)

 This plant is not a fern. Rather, Sweetfern is a native woody shrub. According to E. Lucy Braun (The Woody Plants of Ohio), it is only found in a few counties in Ohio where it inhabits open oak forests, pastures, and roadsides. This plant fits into the category of small shrubs that many homeowners are looking for, maturing at a height of 2-4’.
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Jim Chatfield

There We Go...The Harbinger of Autumn Appears!

As I was driving along the roadways of Geauga County, I suddenly noticed the upright pillars of changing color wrapped around tree trunks.  Yes, I believe that it is most likely, that autumnal color is the ONLY redeeming quality of Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as Poison Ivy!  At this time of year, the fall colors of this rash inducing woody vine, are unparalleled for their stunning reds, oranges, yellows and every color mixture in-between.  It almost makes one want to go up to collect some leaves to put in a fall color collage between pieces of waxed paper to hang on the...

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Erik Draper

Tree of the Week: Kentucky Coffeetree

  Kentucky coffeetree is a native tree that is planted as a tough urban survivor in streetscapes, and is tolerant of limey soils and tree pits (Chicago urban foresters list it as one of their five toughest street trees). It has a starkly coarse yet beautiful appearance in the winter landscape, and its fairly early fall defoliation and late spring foliation make it perfect if long seasons of sun penetration are desired.
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Jim Chatfield

Trees and Lightning

Recent storms that have moved through northwest Ohio have brought some much needed rain.  Some of that rain has been accompanied by lightning, high winds and even tornados.  The large oak pictured with this article was strike by lightning resulting in the outward symptom a "lightning scar." 

 

As I was searching for additional information when writing this article, I came across a FactSheet from Purdue University, Trees and Lightning.   It is an excellent resource and describes the range of damage to the tree that can occur during and after a lightning strike.  The...

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Amy Stone