Expert tree care by the preservation specialists
After months of hard desk work and organization, Woodpecker Tree Care has made the exciting transformation into Woodpecker Tree Care Ltd. We are officially an incorporated business, which is very exciting news at HQ. It has been a wonderful 20 years in the arboricultural business, and this next step is a big one for a small operation like ours.
A cracked and rotting spruce jam-packed between several structures (and other trees) at a property outside of Amherst, NS needed to come down as soon as possible. With two experienced climbers (Beck and Rory) on deck, it could be done in the afternoon if all went smoothly. What turned this lakeside spruce into an all-day adventure was its location: situated by a remote cabin only reachable by 2.5km of back-road terrain or by boat.
It’s not unusual to see laundry hanging from a line strung from a tree trunk. Your linens love it, and so does the environment, but how do trees feel about a laundry line? It depends on how it’s attached.
Insects are an important part of our ecosystem, but they aren’t always a tree’s best friend. When splitting this black locust log, Kevin noticed that a pest made a system of tunnels within the trunk. The culprit in this case is likely the locust borer (Megacyllene robiniae).
Woodpecker HQ is thrilled to encounter an elm log in the woodshed, but not everyone is as enthusiastic about burning elm. Elms hold moisture for a long time, and need to dry out in the right conditions before being thrown in the stove. It’s also more difficult to split with an axe, since its fibers interlock and resist being pulled apart. Thankfully, the Woodpeckers have access to a hydraulic log splitter that makes short work of a stubborn elm.
This log was about to go onto the fire when Kevin noticed some giveaway signs of one of the most common problems we see in urban trees.
Can you believe that spring is just around the corner? After shoveling ourselves out on a nearly weekly basis, it’s hard to imagine leaves on the trees again.
Woodpecker Tree Care is gearing up for the spring season, which begins on March 1st for us. It will be lovely to return to outdoor work among the branches in just a matter of weeks, and we are offering an “early bird” spring deal.
The Maritime Elm Protection Initiative (MEPI) is looking for sponsors to help cover the cost of inoculating valuable elms against Dutch Elm Disease. We inoculate elms with DutchTrig in the springtime, and hope to add this valuable tree to our list.
The woodshed is plentiful with specimens this week, and has given us another woodshed wonder. We found another poplar with an old pruning cut, but this story didn’t end as successfully for this tree.
A closer inspection tells us that after this tree was cut, decay set in before the tree could contain it.
Looking forward to spring? The Woodpeckers who run the Maritime Elm Protection Initiative (MEPI) are too. Spring is when we load up our injectors and inoculate valuable elms against Dutch Elm Disease. As we go into our third year, we are actively looking for sponsors to help cover the costs of this project. We want to give you a chance to meet elms in need, and invite you to consider sponsoring the treatment of valuable Maritime elms.
Towards the end of our working season, when the mornings get dark and nippy, the Woodpeckers can be found surrounding the wood stove (coffees in hand). Us tree nerds love to muse over each interesting log before we throw it on the fire. For the newer recruits, it becomes an impromptu lesson on tree biology based on the findings of “the Father of Modern Arboriculture” Alex Shigo. We thought it would be fun to share our “woodshed wonders” and unpack how they came to be, with the help of our friend Shigo.
Kevin Anderson, owner of Woodpecker Tree Care, was given one of his first lessons in Shigo’s teachings from instructor and researcher Tracey Mackenzie. Tracey is an assistant professor in the Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie, and encouraged Kevin to examine his woodshed for valuable lessons on the inner workings of trees.
Our first “Woodshed Wonder” comes from Kevin Anderson’s pile: a poplar with telltale signs of an old injury.
But how do we know that this poplar was injured? It’s with the help of our trusty guide, Alex Shigo.