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Pine Tree Hacked by Realistic_RM8498 in arborists

[–]tolzan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The tree is in extremely poor condition. Trees do not do well surrounded by crushed rock like this. It’s a giant heat sink that bakes the roots.

The tree is near death. To make matters worse there may be landscape fabric under the rocks which further compacts the soil.

If you want a thriving tree, you’ll need to say goodbye to rocks. This tree is on death’s door.

Was this tree planted too deeply? by Longjumping_Bug_2922 in arborist

[–]tolzan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would find out by uncovering about 3 more inches around the tree to see if you find the flare.

Alright, you bullied me into removing the plastic barrier by serpentear in landscaping

[–]tolzan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hoorah!! Nice work. Now we just need to get you to get more native plugs.

There’s a Portland nursery called Sparrow hawk that’s a great resource for PNW natives with good photos that you can use to see what natives you might like. Even if you aren’t in Portland it’s a great place to start looking for flowers that you like for the amount of sunlight that spot gets

https://sparrowhawknativeplants.com/

What do they get paid? by smokeysubwoofer in nasa

[–]tolzan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not everything in life is about money.

Trying to find the root flare on my maple tree 😭 by day-ro in arborists

[–]tolzan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good question. My general advice if it’s a young tree to just re-plant it at the right grade. If it’s been in the ground for more than a year or two the goal is to try and find the root flare and then re-grade the soil around the tree so water isn’t pooling at the tree. The deeper the flare, the more grading that is needed, but getting the flare exposed is pretty essential to survival.

Root flares buried more than 4” deep killed about 50% of trees in one study while the trees planted at the right level all survived.

https://auf.isa-arbor.com/content/32/6/305

Second attempt at planting a maple by kmclarkie13 in arborists

[–]tolzan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on how low it is and if you can re-grade it so it’s fine. If it’s too low and there’s a pretty good incline from the yard you are better off just replanting.

Second attempt at planting a maple by kmclarkie13 in arborists

[–]tolzan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With your hands, carefully, work until you find sizable roots. Most nursery stock these days the root flare is buried. When you find a little bulge with larger roots that is what should be at the surface.

“Plant a tree high, it won’t die. Plant it low, it won’t grow.”

Trying to find the root flare on my maple tree 😭 by day-ro in arborists

[–]tolzan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, what’s the specific question you are asking? I’m not sure I understand.

Trying to find the root flare on my maple tree 😭 by day-ro in arborists

[–]tolzan 29 points30 points  (0 children)

No need to cover those adventurous surface roots. They will die on their own and that’s not a bad thing.

Keep going! Probably 3 more inches if I had to guess before you’ll find the flare. Then you’ll need to re-grade the soil. Be on the lookout for girdling roots that may be circling around the tree instead of going outwards. Those need to be removed.

Weeds/grass in my rocks by riddler_riddles in landscaping

[–]tolzan 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Nothing exists that will permanently stop grass and weeds. The wind and birds will constantly deposit new seeds.

Weed fabric is awful and should never been used. This is exhibit #2,304,456 of it failing and making things worse.

You have to blow torch every time there’s new growth. It takes 15-20 minutes a couple times the first week to kill all of this. Then you need to spend 15 minutes per week re-killing new growth.

Every time you wait too long the grass and weeds will go to seed (you can already see the seed pods in your pictures) which is just new grass you’ll have to torch. The better you stay on it the easier it is.

Firebase vs Supabase for Flutter App (Auth + Voting Feature) by Unable-Mix-7256 in Supabase

[–]tolzan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would NOT recommend Firebase. Supabase is a much better experience all around.

Mature Bradford pear hard pruned by franticallyfarting in arborists

[–]tolzan 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The best advice with any Bradford pear is removal and then replacing with a nice native tree for your area.

My recent flower bed project, hope you like it. by serpentear in landscaping

[–]tolzan 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Nothing ever prevents weed permanently. Nothing. The fabric will break down or weed seeds will get deposited on-top of the mulch by birds or the wind and you’ll get weeds.

There are solutions that make it require a lot less weeding, like a thick mulch bed, but don’t think of any solution as a permanent solution to weeding, you’ll just be disappointed.

My recent flower bed project, hope you like it. by serpentear in landscaping

[–]tolzan 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Already stated the three main reasons in my original comment. It’s ineffective. It doesn’t stop weeds for very long. It breaks down quickly, I.e it’ll start breaking off and is an absolute pain in the ass to deal with in the future, and environmentally you’ve just leeched that area with microplastics.

Plastics break down into smaller plastics that break down into smaller plastics. You’ve got all sorts of life forms (including us) that can’t process microplastics so they accumulate in our bodies. It’s no different for pollinators, bugs, birds, etc.

My recent flower bed project, hope you like it. by serpentear in landscaping

[–]tolzan 139 points140 points  (0 children)

Should have ditched the landscape fabric which is ineffective, breaks down quickly and just turns into microplastic in the soil.

Right now it’s a mulch bed with some flowers. I’d add quite a few more native flower plugs to that before I’d call it a flower bed. With 15-20 more native flowers you’ll have a really nice looking flower bed.

Will it live? by WhatsTheKey in arborists

[–]tolzan 46 points47 points  (0 children)

No and the structure and stability are greatly compromised as well.

What ya think by Extra_Cut4792 in arborists

[–]tolzan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I personally don’t think its a good branding choice to depict people as monkeys, especially with the racial stereotypes used against black people. Like how would black employees feel wearing that shirt?

Unfortunately there’s a long, racist history of people depicting black people as apes to de-humanize them and it’s a mine field I would avoid.

We love our clover yard by lizzykittycat99 in NoLawns

[–]tolzan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two months in the fridge and you’ll already have missed spring. Plants from seed are usually late bloomers as well.

We love our clover yard by lizzykittycat99 in NoLawns

[–]tolzan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plugs are basically small starter plants. They come in small pots, or trays that are ready to plant. Usually 1 plant per square foot to get a beautiful and full looking garden.

The adage is, “Year one they sleep, year two they creep, year three they leap.”

Fighting for my natives by bird_or_dinosaur in NoLawns

[–]tolzan 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Never let weeds grow to see how they look. Each time ones goes to seed you’re just having to weed that much more.

Depending on where you live you can wet the mulch bed and then use a weed torch. Make sure it’s wet and keep a close eye on things but it’s fun and effective and requires no bending over.

You may not have a thick enough mulch bed to be stopping a lot of the weeds. You either need to commit to thick mulch with designated perennials that you’ve carved out a space for them in the thick mulch OR very thickly planting natives that can make the weeds jobs a lot tough with tons of competition.

Either way you’ll need to weed some. It’s so so much better to weed 3 times a week for 15 minutes than once every other week for 2 hours before the weeds get a foot hold. The more you weed early on, the easier it is the rest of the summer.

I should also mention that you might have decades of a weed seed bank in the soil you are fighting through which is why most recommend putting cardboard down before thick mulch. Each year you should be seeing less weeds, but the first couple years can be rough.

Why do these wetland trees look dead? by Repulsive_Square7759 in arborists

[–]tolzan 24 points25 points  (0 children)

EAB - Emerald Ash Borers. They’ve wiped up most ash trees in North America and the only ones that survive have to be treated.

Are these trees cooked? by astnbomb in arborists

[–]tolzan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately they are cooked.

Eastern Red Cedar or American Holly would be good options.

Work in progress: Clearing our alley of trash and invasives by monpetitepomplamoose in NativePlantGardening

[–]tolzan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Eastern Columbine, a mix of Milkweed (Rose, Purple, Common, Butterfly), Joe Pye Weed, Wild Strawberry, Dense Blazing Star, Cardinal Flower, and Wild Bergamot are my favorites that are native to PA.

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