Freezing Rain in the Trees

Now, I realize that freezing rain is downright dangerous for driving… but it is SO GORGEOUS when it paints every needle and twig with icy crystals! Pictured here is a Pin Cherry (Prunus pennsylvatica), and an Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), two of my dearest Pennsylvania friends. [Again, remember you can always click pictures to enlarge for a better view].

Cold Sunrise at the Farm

The Moon is waning. Here in the Philadelphia area the coming New Moon in Sagittarius (December 9, 2007) heralds wind, cold, and (hopefully) snow. When I woke around 4am today the moon was still high with Venus, and by dawn it was eclipsed by passing wisps of cold, grey clouds.

(Note for star gazers: the Moon is nearly conjunct Venus; that means they're really close together in the sky from our perspective. Seriously, just make yourself get up early for five minutes, and soak in the beauty before sunrise.)

No one calls in the winter wind like the Eastern white pines along the western side of our cottage. Without their leaves, the oaks may groan and the walnuts may roar, but the Eastern white pines still kick up a clatter, their voice clearer in the winter without the deciduous trees to drown them out.

I encourage you to visit Cady May at Meanwhile, Back in the Holler and listen in on what the trees have to say in her neck of the woods. She's composed a timely video which is as much a documentary as it is a lovingly constructed work of art: Autumn in a Tennessee Holler.

Trees and Pumpkins

Here in Eastern Pennsylvania, the colors of autumn are in full swing. We are having a warm October, which means my garden is still ripening red tomatoes, and the pumpkins have their second wind: new flowers and fruits appear every day.

We’ve pulled about 30+ pumpkins off our plants this season. Early in September we began decorating around the farm with pumpkins: under trees, on doorsteps, atop and beneath fenceposts, and leaning against sheds. Our hope is that a handful of seeds survive the mid-winter raid by the squirrels, providing us with another year of pumpkins for next season.

These two are beneath the Eastern white pine next to the house – I’ll let you know next spring whether they manage to resprout!

Trees in Snow-dust

Last night, with respect for the new moon, I undressed the Christmas tree we had in the house. It’s rather unusual for us to have a cut tree in the house. Normally, we have a small live tree indoors for a week, which is typically planted by this time.

As you may have read, this year we planted a Blue spruce, and brought in a cut Fraser fir. So far, the Blue spruce has tolerated the transplant (but the first couple years are the real test).

The biggest surprise was the cut tree we placed in the house. It stopped taking water about two weeks ago, but apart from a little browning at the top of the tree, it still looks GREAT! I am seriously impressed by the longevity and vigor of this cut tree after standing in our home for almost two full months. Now that I've removed all the ornaments, I'll be cutting off the branches and chopping up the trunk to bring it full circle back to the earth.

Among the many trimmings to come off the indoor tree last night were a few strands of popcorn and cranberries. After the last attempt, I decided to hang these on the two planted Christmas trees this morning in order to increase my chances at spotting the snackers in action.

I also sprinkled bird seed on and around the Eastern white pine outside my window so that I can enjoy the colors and songs of all the overwintering birds. This morning we have a small dusting of snow to show for last night’s flurries. It’s a tease, but I’ll take it!

First Snow Fall

With the exception of the occasional flurry, this is our first snow of the winter season, which started just minutes ago! I can’t believe that during my first year away from Seattle, that I would miss all the outstanding rain, wind, snow, and storm that they’ve been seeing this season. Harumph!

The tree in the background of this image is one of the big Eastern white pines next to our home. C’mon snow! Let's see some accumulation!

Deck the trees with strings of berries!

After reading the article Decorate Your Tree with Wildlife Ornaments, I was inspired to have some fun with the two Christmas trees we’ve planted in the yard. I spent a quiet day in December stringing fresh cranberries with fresh-popped popcorn. I painted bagels and pinecones (from the Eastern white pines) with peanut butter, and sprinkled them with wild birdseed (black oil sunflower seeds and a wild birdseed mix).

Once I had a big box filled with goodies, I carefully decorated the Blue spruce and the Oriental spruce in the waning afternoon sun. As I took pictures of my crafts, I drooled at the thought of how cool it was going to be to take pictures the next morning of the birds having breakfast in the Christmas trees!

What I found the next morning was nothing short of hilarious. The trees had been completely stripped of their treasures, with a few dejected strings left hanging on the boughs. A lone pinecone, picked clean of seeds, still clung to a low branch. The hemp twine used to suspend the bagel halves were draped limply around the tree tops.

Alas, no birds were merrily dining on a gourmet breakfast. My guess is that somewhere, a raccoon family was sleeping off a very good night!

***

EDIT, FOR THE BIRDS: Trailhead asked about feeding peanut butter to birds in the comments, and I realized that others might be curious too. So here’s a little more information on feeding peanut butter to birds:

Trailhead, I too was uncertain about the peanut butter. I struggled with the “everybody does it” theory. (I also meant to note that after putting out all the treats, I added a large, clean dog food dish filled to the brim with fresh water beneath the tree closest to the thicket).

With regards to the peanut butter, perhaps this will help:

Source: 101 Ways to Help Birds by Laura Erickson
© 2006 Stackpole Books

Chapter 12: Bird Food Recommendations, page. 148

“No. 47: Offer peanut butter and nuts

Peanut butter is nutritious and has a high energy content, so it is often a component of bluebird mixes. The easiest way to offer it is smeared into the crevices of tree bark or stuffed into the holes of hanging log feeders. […] In his book A Complete Guide to Bird Feeding, John V. Dennis reports cases of birds choking on peanut butter. Because of its sticky texture, it can gum up their mouths, so mix peanut butter with a generous amount of cornmeal to make it grittier.”

There are lots more ideas available in Erickson’s 101 Ways to Help Birds - I highly recommend it! I first learned about her book through a review at Bootstrap Analysis: book review: 101 ways to help birds.

For all you birdlovers who want more, more, MORE, Laura Erickson also keeps a blog called the Birder Blog.

Festival of the Trees 7 is now online at The Voltage Gate

Happy New Year everyone! Jeremy of The Voltage Gate is kicking our new year off right with the Festival of the Trees 7. Stop in to enjoy blog posts and pictures about trees and forests, including discussions on Christmas, Environment, News, Science, Humor, and of course – Photos!

Did you miss this month’s festival? Not to worry! The Festival of the Trees runs on the first of every month. Next month’s Festival of the Trees 8 will be hosted by Gingko Dreams. Submissions can be sent to kelly [at] gingkodreams [dot] com. Deadline for submissions is January 29th.

If you would like to host the Festival of the Trees, be sure to check out the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog to learn more. It’s fun, easy, and a great way to get first pick of some of the greatest tree and forest posts around the blogging world.

Oh yes - and I’ve been meaning to point out a new link in the Arboreality sidebar… For those blog carnival fanatics out there (who also enjoy reading and/or blogging about ecology), there’s a new carnival on the block called Oekologie. Check out the coordinating blog for more details.

Planting Live Christmas Trees for Winter Solstice

Each year we plant an evergreen in our yard to celebrate Christmas and the Winter Solstice. Last year, we squeaked into our new home in Pennsylvania on December 23^rd, which gave us enough time to find a nice, live Oriental spruce on sale for half-off at a garden shop to celebrate in our empty but cozy new home. You can see its amazing progress in the third image above.

This year, we decided to go hog wild! After searching for local farms, we visited Linvilla Orchards and all their many farm pleasures – complete with chickens, goats, a wall full of preserves, and hayrides.

While we opted out of the hayride, we were positively smitten by the Christmas tree selection. We purchased a large, cut Fraser fir to bring in the house and decorate, and a lovely Blue spruce to plant in the yard. Live trees can only stay in the house a few days in order to stay healthy, and we wanted to have a tree indoors all month long for once.

We planted our Blue spruce on December 2nd when the moon was almost full in earthy Taurus. You can see it above in the top two images. It's about 20 feet away from last year's Christmas tree, giving both ample room for lots of healthy growth.

There are many websites out there offering tips for proper care of a live Christmas tree. Below are a few of the better ones (feel free to recommend others):

--Care Tips for a Living Tree

--How To Pick (and take care of) A Live Christmas Tree

--Live Christmas Trees

--9 Things You Should Know About Trees

And you don't want to miss this totally cool article with tons of ideas for combining Yuletide decorations with wildlife good will:

Decorate Your Tree with Wildlife Ornaments!

I thought that in addition to those resources, I might offer you a few of my own personal tips on caring for and planting a live Christmas tree:

1) Select a tree you love

If you’re going to plant this tree in your yard, plan for the long-haul. We usually like to just pick the tree that sings to us, but we also have lived in places with lots of growing room. This tree is going to be with you a long time, so if there are concerns about placement, hardiness, etc., take a little time to learn about the tree you’re bringing home, and make sure it’s one you’re going to like to look at for a good, long time.

2) Remember it’s alive… in the dormant season

Evergreens are strong trees. In the winter of the Northern Hemisphere, these trees are going to be quietly preparing for next spring’s growth. That means that all those little nubbins you see on the tips of each branch are the promises of the tree’s future. All the growth to come depends on the health of those seemingly innocuous little buds.

Apart from taking care to be gentle with your tree, you want to ensure that your tree doesn’t think it’s suddenly taken a winter vacation in the tropics when it enters your home. We all like to stay warm in winter, but common sensible things like tree placement and moderate thermostat settings can make all the difference in the health of your tree.

Your tree needs to be watered. Help to keep your tree cool by watering with ice cubes. The ice will melt slowly on the top of the soil/root ball, helping reduce the tree’s overall temperature.

3) THIS END UP ^ ^ ^

Trees are heavy creatures, and when you bring home a live one, it’s going to come with a healthy root ball with some earth, either potted or wrapped (usually in burlap). Not only do you need to be careful with moving your tree, but you need to use common sense again when it comes to lifting. A handtruck/dolly or wheelbarrow can lend a helping hand if you don’t have a second person to help you move your tree in and out of the house.

Placement leaves you with several options, like a decorative pot, but most important is a solid, sturdy plastic tray beneath the tree’s pot. Like any potted plant, you want your Christmas tree to have good drainage so that it doesn’t just sit in water and rot. A sturdy, WIDE tray beneath your tree will help protect the floors, and also allow you to add additional ice around the base of the tree if desired to further assist in keeping it cool.

4) Planting time!

The longer you keep your happy little tree indoors, the greater the chances that you’re going to confuse it into budburst. You want your tree to remain dormant, because this is just the start of winter! Don't keep your live tree indoors for more than 7-10 days maximum.

In Washington State, I rarely had to worry about the ground being frozen in December. But here in Pennsylvania, I was lucky to squeak in by December 2^nd, since the ground froze a week later. If your ground is frozen when it comes time to plant, you still need to get the tree outside.

Place your tree somewhere that it’s protected from the wind. While cold is a consideration, it’s actually the winds that really kill plants in the winter. Choose a naturally-sheltered area like the side of the house away from the prevailing winds. Wrap the pot/burlap/root ball with additional protection – hay, mulch, tarps, even old blankets. The rest of the tree needs to be exposed so it can breathe and take in the light. As soon as the ground thaws, you want to plant! Be sure to check the root ball periodically to make sure it doesn’t dry out.

Now, when it comes time to plant, I’ve got a few other notes from personal experience. Most people and sources will tell you NOT to unwrap the burlap, NOT to remove the old earth, and to plop it in the ground as is (after proper soil preparation). I’m here to tell you that I disagree completely.

Not all trees make it, so don’t let one year without success deter you from trying again. The second Christmas tree we planted did not survive after almost a year of apparent health. When I pulled out the dead tree, I found that it was completely bogged and choked in the burlap.

I now always remove the burlap from my trees, and I always GENTLY loosen the earth around the roots. It’s likely that this is not recommended because too much damage to the delicate, fine roots can mean death for the tree. Make sure that your root ball is nice and wet, and take your time. Remove the big solid chunks where possible, but do not pull away the small, thin roots. Leave on any chunks that don’t come off easily. Gently spread apart the bigger roots to get them out of the pot/ball shape, and encourage them to spread.

Finally, don’t plant too low! The earth is going to settle once the tree is in the ground, and you don’t want your tree swallowed up. Try to mound the earth so that the tree sits a little high at planting. As it settles a few inches, it will come flush with the ground level. And in case I haven't said it before - just say NO to the mulch volcano!

5) Long live the trees

Depending on where you live, your tree may be satisfied with winter rains for water. However, once the ground thaws and the days get warm, you need to water your tree regularly, especially during the first year as it establishes itself in its new home. Consistent, deep, weekly watering is helpful to encourage strong taproots and healthy growth.

Your tree has been sculpted to match the Christmas tree shape, but once those buds burst, that’s all over. Your tree will become the quintessential ungainly teenager as it tries to grow out of its cultivated shape to blossom into its true identity. Have patience the first few years as your tree slowly comes into its own with new growth. Don’t be alarmed if there are a few lost twigs, a few dead buds, or a loss of the leading branch. Other top buds will eagerly compete to become the new tree top, and the tree’s inherent nature will take care of the rest.

If you have any questions about live tree care and planting, please feel welcome to ask in the comments, and I will do my best to answer with what knowledge I have.

Happy planting!

Norway Spruce, and Other Evergreen Trees

We don’t see nearly enough evergreens here at Arboreality since I left Washington State. Today, I thought I’d share one of the more prominent evergreens here at the farm: the Norway spruce (Picea abies).

You might remember me sharing the Norway spruces with you last winter, when I fell in love with their beautiful cones! We have a few enormous Norway spruces growing around here, which, along with the Eastern white pines, are some of the primary evergreens at the farm.

With all the deciduous trees losing leaves, the conifers get to take their turn in the spotlight. There are other evergreens around here which I have yet to identify... I'll have to make that a winter project!

And then, of course, there’s our up-and-coming Christmas tree from last year, the Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis). I can’t wait to find out what we’re going to plant this year. I have my heart set on an Eastern hemlock, but we’re mostly limited by what live, healthy evergreens we can find at the garden shop at Christmas time.

What are your favorite evergreens? Ooooh… it’s so hard to pick just one!

Maples, Moon, Mulberries, and Mysteries

Good morning! Here are some of the dawn’s catch, including our waning moon framed by a silver maple (we’ll investigate the silver maple more closely in a separate post).

The second image is what I believe to be another variety of mulberry (so far I believe that there are at least two if not three or more types of mulberry trees growing around here). Based on the leaves, I believe this to be a white mulberry.

The third image is of the type of mulberry growing next to the cottage. This might ALSO be called a white mulberry, or possibly a red mulberry. I’m going to have to do some research to help learn the difference between them.

I’m still planning to show you more about the really great mulberries growing by the cottage. We’re also still working on the unidentified-possible-mulberry-possible-something-else tree (which might even be a quaking aspen) from a couple weeks ago. Zut alors! So many trees, so little time!

Also, remember the mystery tree from January that turned out to be an Eastern white pine? Not to be out done, the evergreens are in blossom as well which you can tell of the Eastern white pine seen in image four, and the oriental spruce Christmas tree I planted in January seen in image five.

Finally, we’re still working on the identity of the mystery tree seen in the final image. I wanted to share another update on its progress – it’s really filling out nicely!

Hmmm… so much for focusing more on my work and less on my tree blog!

Arbor Day Tree Blogging

Around the world, people celebrate Arbor Day at different times, but the purpose is always the same: to celebrate the trees.

In my new home state of Pennsylvania, Arbor Day is celebrated on the last day of every April. If you are interested in learning more about Arbor Day, it’s history, and the many dates upon which different countries and states celebrate this special day, you can visit The National Arbor Day Foundation online.

What better excuse than Arbor Day to share a large selection from the plethora of trees that I have gathered for you at Arboreality?

I offer you these tree images in celebration of Arbor Day, and wish you all a wonderful, leafy-green, Happy Tree and Forest Day!

Brachiation

The other day, UltimateWriter commented on the prospect of climbing these trees… I continue to look up wistfully into the branches, but have yet to venture into the above.

In these images you can see some ideal seating in the lower branches, and have a better view of what I’ve been talking about with the divergence from the primary trunk into several stout, parallel branch/trunks.

The bottom image shows one of the largest branches to be cast off in the last big windstorm. This behavior has influenced my theory that this tree is somehow naturally inclined to grow in such a non-uniform manner. There is evidence of previous similar breaks along the tree, as well as places where limbs were sawed off to prevent them from encroaching on the cottage.

Around the area I’ve investigated several other trees of apparently the same species and roughly the same age. While they all show evidence of this same type of divergence in their structure, few show as many different branch/trunks as this one!

Of needles and cones

We’re still investigating our first mystery tree in Pennsylvania, which is a species of evergreen growing just outside my cottage. Unlike other evergreens I've known, this one has some unique growth habits which we will revisit in a day or two.

By my best educated guess, what we have here is an Eastern White Pine. However, until that is confirmed, we’ll just keep looking and hypothesizing.

In these images we see the needles and cones of our specimen. I’ve placed them in front of my hand so that you can see them better with the contrast from the background, and so that you have a sense of size.

I’ve also included an image of the leaf litter… there are so many beautiful things to see on the ground, and in this image we have the benefit of golden sunset light!

Feeling lyrical...

Oh mystery tree,
big evergreen
what do you think
when you look at me?

I hear you singing
all night long;
wonder at your
whispering song.

Upon your branches
birds alight,
they emerge from rain
to dance for their food,

while you, sweet mystery
stand on with pride
extending your fingers
long and green.

Outside my window,
the squirrels nitter
looking in at me
with deep perplexion;

they ask, ‘why do you
hide in there,
with a great loving tree
so cozy out here?’

© 2006 JLB

Mystery Evergreen Tree Trunk

In this image you can see the divergence from the primary trunk near its base. It’s really quite amazing… I’m considering unscrewing the screens from the upstairs windows so I can take a few pictures from that perspective and show you just how awesome this tree looks out the window while I work.

One of the great benefits of having these trees by the house is their marvelous attractiveness for birds. The best is on rainy days, when suddenly a short rain break hits… out rush all sorts of birds, and many of them gravitate to these trees, giving me a close-up view of their marvelous colors and markings!

I'm still inclined to think that this is some type of White pine... but that's still an educated guess. The DCNR describes the Eastern White Pine with some of my trees' characteristics, but does not discuss their over-all growth habit. Clearly more research is in order.

Mystery Evergreen Tree

Good morning and happy Monday everyone!

As promised, this week we’ll be looking at an as-yet-unknown evergreen tree. There are actually a few of them around me, but we’ll investigate a couple in particular which you can see alongside my cottage in the Friday, January 27, 2006 entry. These evergreens, while appearing to me to be some type of pine (based on needles and cones), are unique in their overall growth pattern from other evergreens I know.

What I know
In my experience, most evergreens grow in some sort of conical, tapering pattern. There is typically a single trunk (unless there was a split somewhere in the tree’s history, which sometimes results in two main trunks). From this single trunk one usually sees branches of progressively younger generations as one heads towards the crown, resulting in the standard conical shape. Deviations from this shape often include bent tops, disproportionate sides, or the die-back of lower branches leaving most of the greenery near the top of the tree. Western red cedars also appear to have multiple trunks on occasion.

What I see
The evergreen trees beside my cottage are completely different. There appears to be one primary trunk at the ground level which diverges around 1.5 meters from the ground. At that point it becomes several branching trunks, all of which curve up vertically to parallel what appears to be the original trunk. The branches do not follow the standard pattern with which I am familiar, but rather appear to break off and resprout much like you might see in a Big-leaf maple tree.

At first, I thought this was the result of some strange pruning… but after this last windstorm, I’m rather convinced that it is the natural growth habit for this species. Why? Because during the storm, the tree cast numerous branches, some of them large, to the ground. I can clearly see where new branches are likely to resprout, continuing the somewhat random growth pattern seen in this image. I can also see that what originally appeared to be a major hack job on behalf of the gardener is in fact more likely to be the natural loss of branches in previous years.

As seen in last Friday’s entry, the over-all outer shape of the tree is indeed semi-conical and somewhat tapering… but when you look up their skirts, there is an entirely different story in these trees.

Are these trees simply some type of White pine with a rather unique history, or are they an entirely different species? Conjecture is welcome, as are questions.

Happy New Moon, Happy New Year!

Here you can glimpse a bit of the shadow I mentioned of the mystery tree, and one of its branches in the foreground. Beyond it you can see the Christmas tree, and a corner of our cottage.

Next week we’ll be exploring the large evergreens you can see next to my home. They grow in a way unlike any other evergreen I’ve encountered before, as you too will see when we visit them from many different angles.

This Sunday January 29th we’ll experience the first new moon of 2006 in Aquarius, which also marks the new year for many cultures. Best wishes and fresh starts to you all!

O Tanenbaum

We celebrated the Winter Solstice on the road, but squeaked home just before Christmas Eve. This allowed us time to get some much-needed food (no…more…fast…food…!!!), and to get ourselves a lovely Christmas tree!

Here you see our “oriental spruce” happily planted in our new front yard. We got lucky, and had a few warm days which thawed the earth right about the time I wanted to plant. I do my best to follow lunar cycles for planting/gardening, and put this one in the ground during the Pisces phase of the New Moon. Seen behind it are some of the older trees around our home that we’ll be exploring in the coming months.

One of my favorite parts of planting our Christmas tree each year is watching it grow out of its pruned-Christmas tree shape, and into its own natural form. Now that I’ve seen how great it looks in the ground, it’s sooo incredibly difficult not to want to plant the heck out of the whole surrounding area. However, I do believe that I will have to wait for the Spring!

By the way, did you catch a glimpse of our first full moon of the year this past weekend? Woweeee! What a beauty! Even if you couldn’t see it, you certainly must have felt it!