Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Clean Cuts

As I had previously discussed, I planned on adding pictures and may-be video to the blog, but the October Snow storm left me unable to do this at the time and I ran out of batteries for the camera. I think I have a couple of good pictures of Fall foliage, and will post them when I regroup. I had planned of posting pictures of the New England fall colors of different trees and plants but the storm left the region in tatters and most of the color has gone by.

Many trees suffered damage from the October Nor easter. On the campus of W.N.E. we lost 60 trees and we are not done yet. And it did not matter what specimen of plant or tree, everything took a hit. If you have large shade trees on your property and had limbs fall and are all cleaned up, it may be a good idea to hire a certified arborist to inspect the trees for further damage. There are many limbs and branch's that are cracked or splintered and are not visual from the ground. So just because you have cleaned up everything on the ground, that does not mean you are done. Large shade trees require a bit more maintenance to them. Especially after a storm like we just had. And losing a shade tree can end up costing way more money in energy down the road. Think about it, If you have a large white oak that shades part of your house and most of your property, if that tree is missing,how much more will you spend in cooling cost in future years. A large properly maintained shade tree can cool the atmosphere by 16 degrees. So think about it before you decide to remove that shade tree.

Smaller ornamental trees that are damaged can be repaired by yourself. Properly making a clean cut to the tree will insure good healing to the wounds, and spur new growth next growing season.If you have a limb or branch that is damaged, try and head it back,( cut it ) to a main leader or stem. Or back to undamaged wood. If you can not get it back to a main leader, cut it so you know you will have green growth behind your cut. I know this may be a little hard with no leafs on the trees, just try and remember what the plant had looked  like and then make the cut. Make sure the cut is clean, no ripping of the bark and try to be ahead of the bud node. Yes some specimens may be beyond repair. Just use the method that we use when pruning. Never remove more then one third of the plant. So if the plant or tree has more then one third of the damage, it may need to be removed.

Politics can be a very ugly sometimes. And I think we are seeing the very of the ugliest. The Super Committee's failure to find common ground is a very bad episode for the American public. I for one place blame on the Republicans. Their lack of partisanship surrounding tax's is a disgrace. And with out going into a long rant about it, all I will say is there methods are outdated and the times have changed. Lower tax's worked for Ronald Reagan, it did not work for George Bush. And 12 years now of the Bush tax cuts are still not working. Times have changed, if you give a person a tax cut now he will only save the money and not spend it. If you did that under Reagan, back in the day, the person would spend the money because they felt more comfortable with government. today not the same feeling persists, and technology has moved the country and world in a different social setting. The republicans rely on capitalism to create wealth with in turn as they say creates jobs brings in more revenue. Well that's just not happening in today's society. And the wealth they create has been used for government lobbing and power to get what they want. No I believe we should all chip in for the betterment of the country. And as J.F.K. said, " Ask not what you can do for yourself, ask what you can do for your country" I'll never vote for a Republican again.

Finally as the holiday season approaches, don't forget to cut your fresh Christmas tree at a local farm. Support the local economy and add the fresh scent of the season to your house. I'll start looking for my Norfolk pine to make my princess pine wreaths for the season. If anyone knows where a good patch is let me know.

Welcome back to the jungle Axil Rose

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