Talking Trees with Davey Tree

Rachel Broskey from Davey's Knoxville office shares advice on how to ID trees in your landscape, as well as some of her favorite trees from coast to coast and how she got into arboriculture and became a "nurse for trees." 

In this episode we cover:  

• How arborists are trained to ID trees (0:52)
• How foliage plays a role in ID (2:28)
• Dawn redwoods (3:42)
• Evergreens and their needles (6:34)
• Rachel's favorite trees (8...

Matt Morgan from Davey's Sacramento office shares what homeowners should expect during a Davey arborist visit and the specific signs arborists look for to help your trees and landscape. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Seasonal calls Davey offices receive(1:02)
• Matt's consult routine (1:58)
• Hackberry trees (3:57)
• Hackberry aphids (5:22)
• What Matt looks for during a property inspection (7:39)
• Winter in California (8:43)
• Yearly rai...

In part two of this two-part episode, Zane Raudenbush, turf and herbicide specialist within the Davey Institute, shares spring pests to look out for in lawns, as well as general spring lawn seeding practices. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Spring pests & diseases in the lawn (:40)
  • Weedy turf grass (:54)
  • Warm season pests (1:51)
  • Grubs (2:55)
  • Snow mold (4:00)
  • Red thread (5:30)
• How to combat spring pests & diseases (6:51)

In part one of this two-part episode, Zane Raudenbush, turf and herbicide specialist within the Davey Institute, shares his tips to set your lawn up for success this spring.

In this episode we cover:  

• Cool weather impacting spring lawn care (1:02)
• First thing to do in your lawn this spring (2:44)
• Garden weasels and biochar (4:08) (5:06)
• Soil temperatures (6:55)
• Dry, clay soil invigoration (8:24)
• Lawn fertilizers (11:37) (16:17)
• Bio st...

Mike Holleran from Davey's Wilmington, Delaware, office discusses how to make spring-flowering trees thrive, what diseases threaten them and some of his favorites. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Flowering tree diseases (:45) 
• Disease resilience (2:39)
• Treating flowering tree diseases (4:00)
• Fertilizing (5:20)
• Inspection from an arborist (8:27)
• Pruning (11:51)
• Mike's favorite spring-flowering plants (15:21)
  • Witch hazel (15:37...

Lou Meyer from Davey's mid-Atlantic region talks about all things white oak trees, including its acorn production, role in wildlife protection and significance to pop culture. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Knowing the difference between different oak trees (:53)
• Growing differences between white and red oaks (2:01)
• Oak decline (3:29)
• The white oak's significance to Lou (4:19)
• Oak acorn production (6:22)
• White oak fast facts (...

Chrissy Balk, technical advisor with the Davey Institute, talks about fungal issues trees can experience in the spring, such as wood decay fungus and leaf diseases. Learn how to spot them as well as when they pose a threat to the tree versus when they are helpful to the tree.

In this episode we cover:  

• How do you know if a mushroom is good or bad? (0:51)
• Locations where fungus can grow (2:05)
• What happens if you see fungus on your...

Izzy Christmann from Davey's Portland, Oregon, office talks about the western red cedar tree, including essential planting tips, the variety of sizes it can grow into and how it interacts with weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest.

In this episode we cover:  

• Western red cedar fast facts (:42-2:02)
• Current weather in Portland, OR (2:42)
• What to do with trees under stress (3:52) 
• Deep root watering best practices (4:41)
• Sea...

Aaron Hoot from Davey's Dallas office shares spring planting tips to help kick off the spring, including the best native species to plant in his region as well as fertilization and watering tips.

In this episode we cover:  

• How to become successful at spring tree planting (:44)
• Aaron's favorite native species to plant (1:25)
• Planting season in Dallas (3:47)
• Watering during droughts (5:44)
• Mistletoe on trees (6:55)
• Hackberry ...

Mike Cassidy from Davey's West Columbus office shares a list of tree appearances in pop culture, such as movies, comics, songs and more, which reminds us of the huge benefit trees play in our world. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Trees have a larger space in our mind (1:17)
• Trees as creatures (2:44)
  • Lord of the Rings (3:26)
  • Maleficent (3:47)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (4:50)
  • The Wizard of Oz (5:46)
  • The Trees by Rush (6:40)
• Tree...

Dan Hager from Hartney Greymont, a Davey company, in Concord, shares his top spring pruning tips as well as different pruning tools and common pruning mistakes homeowners make. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Pruning consultation and goals for plants (1:17)
• Not everything needs to be pruned (1:50)
• What a homeowner can prune vs what a professional should prune (3:00)
• Different pruning tools (3:56)
• The right saw to use for pruning (4:50)
• B...

Tyson Geldseth from Davey's Tacoma office shares information about bronze birch borer, including its fatal impact on trees and the steps you can take to minimize its effects on your landscape. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Bronze birch borer (:43)
• The severity of bronze birch borer (2:44)
• Is it too late to treat a tree infected by bronze birch borer? (4:12)
• Preventative measures for bronze birch borer (7:15)
• The size of birch tre...

Hear from three students attending the Davey Institute of Trees Sciences (D.I.T.S.) program, Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques. Brandon Ponciano from Davey's Dallas office, Carl Myers from Davey's Loganville, GA office and Georges Bois from Davey's Burnaby, British Columbia office share their experience in the four-week program, including t...

Lou Meyer from Davey's mid-Atlantic region shares information about green and Washington hawthorn trees, including what diseases they are susceptible to and how you can diversify your landscape by planting them. 

In this episode we cover:  

• What are hawthorn trees? (:43)
• Does Lou see fire blight on hawthorns, and can it be controlled? (4:49) (5:14)
• How hard is rust to control on hawthorns? (5:51)
• What are green hawth...

Emily Mumford from Davey's South St. Paul office shares the scoop on bare root, balled and burlapped (B&B) and container trees, including the pros and cons of each and how to plant them effectively. 

In this episode we cover:  

• What are bare root trees? (:53) 
• How to plant bare root trees (3:18) (4:42)
• What are container trees? (6:14)
• What to do if your container tree has girdling roots (7:21)
• Additional planting ...

Sean Zieche from Davey's Glen Ellyn office explains what you can do to preserve newly planted and young trees this winter to help them thrive in the spring. 

In this episode we cover:  

• What can you do if your tree is affected by winter weather? (1:05)
• Should you mulch young trees during cold temperatures? (2:15) 
• What to do before winter arrives (3:26)
• The difference between maintaining a newly planted small vs big ...

Jon Schmidt from Davey's safety team shares how he is emphasizing the importance of new, innovative safety measures throughout all of Davey's service lines. 

In this episode we cover:  

• What does Jon do in his role as program manager for human and organizational performance? (:36) (4:57)
• How did Jon's research influence safety practices at Davey? (2:30) (11:26) 
• Who does Jon work closely with in his role? ...

Nick Bates from Davey's Long Island office shares the importance of winter pruning and how to do so correctly and efficiently. 

In this episode we cover:  

• Why is it important to prune trees this time of year? (:41) (15:11)
• How does weather affect pruning? (2:07)
• Is there a correct way to explain pruning? (2:57)
• Why you should let professionals prune your trees (4:29)
• Using the right tools and preventing diseases (6:1...

Michael Spaulding from Davey's Portland, OR office talks about what post winter storm tree work looks like for arborists, including how Michael and his team handled Portland's January 2024 winter storm. 

In this episode we cover:  

• What post storm work looks like for an arborist (0:39)
• Setting up priority (3:11)
• Powerlines (4:49)
• Being a counselor to clients (6:11)
• Insurance (8:41)
• Task priority management (9:54)
• W...