Trees Please | SDHS Newsletter

Trees, Please

Jul 1, 2021

TREES, PLEASE! The Silk Oak

By Tim Clancy. One of my favorite trees these days is the silk oak, Grevillea robusta. I was fascinated by its flowers when I first saw...

May 31, 2021

TREES, PLEASE! Tree Watch – Minding Your Elders

By Robin Y Rivet. Is your neighborhood lined with large, mature street trees? The odds are against it. · Older communities once revered...

Apr 30, 2021

TREES, PLEASE! Aesop And His Tree Fables

By Tim Clancy. I am sure most of you are familiar with the great storyteller Aesop and his fables. The most famous one being the The Hare...

Apr 1, 2021

TREES, PLEASE! What Tree is This?

By Robin Y Rivet. I’m ‘fessing up. I get too many calls to identify commonly cultivated tree species, but the task is daunting due to the...

Mar 1, 2021

TREES, PLEASE! One Person’s Trash Is Another’s Treasure.

Not long ago I received a call from an HOA resident who was distressed that the HOA board had decided to remove some trees. Well, they reall

Feb 1, 2021

TREES, PLEASE! Viruses, Variegation & Genetic Mutation

The coronavirus is on everyone’s mind. COVID-19 has caused extreme loss of life - but few people understand what a virus is - and what it is

Dec 1, 2020

TREES, PLEASE! Join: Kate Sessions Commitment

Imagine a natural, low-water garden blooming with the beautiful and unique flora of California native plants, attracting a large diversity

Nov 1, 2020

TREES, PLEASE: The Gall of Some Trees!

One of the best things about working with and studying trees is the availability of subjects. If you’re a doctor you wait for patients to

Sep 30, 2020

TREES, PLEASE! Persimmons – Pretty & Plump

Bite down carefully. If it’s meltingly soft and syrupy, or spicy-sweet and crunchy, both textures might be ripe persimmons. The Oriental per

Aug 31, 2020

TREES, PLEASE: Don’t try this at Home!

A good friend of mine owns a nursery in San Diego named South Coast Wholesale. One of his business ventures involves moving big trees. Somet

Jul 31, 2020

TREES, PLEASE! How Do Trees Become “Native”?

A global pandemic is forcing humans to consider their collective vulnerability, while humbled individuals are expected to hover in place - r

Jun 30, 2020

TREES, PLEASE! A Little Slice of "hisTree"

And now for something completely different. So, for whatever reason you can't venture out and admire trees. Yet you need to get your tree fi

May 31, 2020

TREES, PLEASE! FREE Trees, Please!

The virus pandemic is creating tight budgets, but more time to garden. Planting new trees should not be costly.

Apr 1, 2020

TREES, PLEASE: Are Your Trees Drinking Enough? Calculate…

Although April showers may offer some respite, most yard trees will soon rely solely on you for a drink. Unfortunately, that dependence ofte

Mar 1, 2020

TREES, PLEASE! Dead as a Doornail

In the world of Urban Forestry one of the concepts we consider is the safe useful life expectancy (SULE) of a tree. There are many component

Feb 1, 2020

TREES, PLEASE: “Silky” Trees

Valentine’s Day is nigh. Do you wish for romantic gifts of silken fabric, sweet fruit or gorgeous flowers? A genuine “silk” tree could be a

Jan 1, 2020

TREES, PLEASE: My Tree, iTree.

Trees add to our enjoyment of our daily living. Providing habitat for local fauna, screening from annoying situations, they are harvested fo

Dec 1, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Do You Pine - Fir a Cedar?

Evergreens you might choose, but no larches, spruce or yews… Araucarias: Eye-catching as a towering species, the Norfolk Island pine is ope

Oct 1, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Have You Examined Tree Roots Lately?

October is prime tree planting season in San Diego County. The weather is cooling and our rainy season is due. If you are expecting to plant

Sep 1, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Tree Ordinances. Love them or leave them?

By Tim Clancy. Sometimes government agencies get it right. In other cases, government regulations seem arbitrary, over-reaching and...

Jul 31, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Hot-Hued Trees for Sizzling Summer Daze

By Robin Rivet. Summers in San Diego increasingly remind me of places I used to live; but I’m no snowbird. I fled the east coast loathing...

Jun 30, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Pruning Perils: Trees Have a Mind of Their Own

By Tim Clancy. Sometimes it almost seems as if trees have a mind of their own. This is especially true when it comes to pruning and...

May 31, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Think Trees Are Making You Sneeze?

By Robin Rivet. Allergies are on the rise. Although grassy plants and food sensitivities account for much of this ascent, there is...

May 1, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Consult the Manual!

By Tim Clancy. In the time before the internet, when you needed information, often you would begin by consulting your collection of...

Mar 31, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Stopping the Topping – “It’s the Law”

By Robin Rivet. Tree topping is brutal. Although the term “butchered” is frequently used, butchers are highly skilled meat cutters. Tree...

Mar 1, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Should I park under that tree?

By Tim Clancy. The disease triangle is often used to illustrate the elements necessary for a pathogen to be successful. The three...

Feb 1, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Lemons and Tangors and Bearss– Oh My!

By Robin Rivet. Don’t groan about my pun. The “Wizard of Oz” was one of my favorite films, even if the famous “lions and tigers and...

Jan 1, 2019

TREES, PLEASE: Trees and Dogs: A Personal History

Sometimes people want to know how I got into trees. Here is my story. By Tim Clancy. My interest in trees began as a young boy in Fabius,...

Dec 1, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: A Tale of Firs—From Farms, Not Factories

By Robin Rivet. In the winter of 1953, an inner-city husband arrived home on Christmas Eve. He carried a three-foot balsam fir tree into...

Oct 31, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: Chaotic Trees Set Sail

By Tim Clancy. I have worked for a few tree "care" companies. One thing I noticed is that as fall and winter approach, the business of...

Sep 30, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: X, Y, Z: Distinctive Trees With Odd Names

By Robin Rivet. Does your surname fall at the end of the alphabet? Were you often called last at school? It seems that even with plants,...

Aug 31, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: Space Invaders: Keep an Eye Out for Tree Tobacco

By Tim Clancy. Not all trees are created equal, and not all trees are benign. All over the country, there are trees that are classified...

Jul 31, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: When it's Hot, Go Nuts!

By Robin Rivet. Imagine a hot summer day... This year, you don’t need too much imagination. As average summer temperatures continue to...

Jun 30, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: Arboreal Caveat Emptor

By Tim Clancy. Pot-Bellied Pig Syndrome 'Right tree, right place,' is an often-repeated mantra when it comes to choosing and siting trees...

Jun 1, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: Do Birds Need Your Trees?

By Robin Rivet. Have you completed “spring cleaning” your trees? Best practice timing for mature tree pruning is vague, and our bird...

Apr 30, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: Examining the Root of the Problem

By Tim Clancy. Tree root damage to buildings, walkways, roadways, and other infrastructure components is a common concern for all. Damage...

Mar 31, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: Trees of Life and Faux (Nitrogen) Fixes

By Robin Rivet. Nitrogen is an essential component of the nucleic acids found in the DNA of all living organisms. Despite the fact that...

Mar 1, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: The Million-Pollard Question

By Tim Clancy. What has a dense head and was once used for animal fodder or for sustainably harvesting wood? A pollarded tree, or course!...

Feb 1, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: Tree Terror: Are Your Trees on a Hit List?

By Robin Rivet. Today we face a force to rival Darth Vadar, and it ain’t pretty. The arrival and potential conquest by the Kuroshio and...

Jan 1, 2018

TREES, PLEASE: This One's for the Birds

By Tim Clancy. One of the great pleasures of working with trees is the opportunity to observe the relationships of creatures with trees....

Dec 1, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Does Money Really Grow on Trees?

By Robin Rivet. t was there, and then it was gone—my favorite tree in all of San Diego. I went into shock. Then anger. Although most...

Oct 31, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Tree Pruning: Who’s Watching the Hen House?

By Tim Clancy. There is a cognitive bias known as the law of the hammer. The concept is that if the only tool you have is a hammer then...

Oct 1, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Bristlecones Older Than Methuselah (So How Old Are Your Trees?)

By Robin Rivet. Have you ever pondered what it would be like to live for 1000 years? What about 4000, or even 5000 years? There are such...

Aug 31, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Tree Pruning Standards

By Tim Clancy. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the keeper of standards for all sorts of products and services. These...

Jul 31, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Pomegranates—More Than Wonderful!

By Robin Rivet. Revered for their sweet-tart taste, healthful anti-oxidants, and characteristic crimson juice, the allure of a...

Jul 1, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Wilt, Anyone?

By Tim Clancy. My first arboricultural encounter with lethal disease killing a tree from the inside was about 25 years ago. The tree, a...

Jun 1, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Jacarandas: Lovely Lavender or Purple Panic?

By Robin Rivet. Final exams and Southern California’s rainy season are over, but in June the jacaranda tree (Jacaranda mimosifolia) is...

May 1, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Queen Palms, Part II: Pests and Diseases

A mystery affliction causes queen palms’ otherwise healthy fronds to collapse. By Tim Clancy. In a recent article, we discussed the...

Apr 1, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: A Shady Business: Citizens Need to Speak Up

By Robin Rivet. Do you avoid parking under a tree because you’re concerned that bird or insect feces might ruin your car wash? Although...

Mar 1, 2017

TREES, PLEASE: Queen Palms, Part1: Growth Habit, Fertilizer, and Pruning

By Tim Clancy. Queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffianum) are popular ornamental “trees.” They are planted so frequently that some in the...