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From the October 2023 Issue

From mulchers to chainsaws, this assortment of tree care products will help your team provide the tree services your clients need.

Fecon FMX28 Bull Hog

Fecon’s new FMX28 Bull Hog® compact excavator mulcher attachment can mulch overgrowth, underbrush, and small trees, offering a versatile solution for clearing property lines, ditches, and more. The FMX28 features a purpose-built design optimized for standard-flow excavators that are 3.5- to 5-tons and can operate with as little as 12 gpm. With an overall width of 40″ and a working width of 28″, the attachment mounts on excavators up to 8 tons, allowing a narrow mulching cut for precision vegetation removal. A variable displacement hydraulic motor optimizes rotor speed and torque for maximum production with small or larger materials.

Husqvarna T540 XP Mark III

Husqvarna is launching the T540 XP Mark III. The new top-handle 40cc chainsaw was redesigned following consumer feedback, resulting in a lightweight, balanced, and agile saw for climbing and cutting. With a high cutting capacity, the T540 XP Mark III was redeveloped to ensure maximum reliability and trusted performance over hours of use. Its lightweight ergonomic design aids operator comfort, and its AutoTune™ 3.0 technology enables simple start technology. The engine power of the T540 XP Mark III is enhanced with Husqvarna’s SP21G X-CUT chain. Husqvarna’s X-Torq engine design delivers impressive power, and LowVib technology reduces handle vibration.

ECHO CS-2511

Echo is introducing the CS-2511TN and CS-2511PN, designed to be the two lightest gas-powered chainsaws in North America. These saws feature the new SpeedCut Nano 80TXL cutting system, a smaller chain chassis optimized for saws in the 1- to 3-HP range. This system features a .325″ low-profile chain combined with a .043″ gauge bar, as well as a system-specific sprocket to deliver increased cutting speed and a smoother cut.

Turf Pride Ultra Mulch

A new concept in rotary blades, Turf Pride has developed Ultra Mulch precision cut replaceable tip blades. Ultra Mulch blades are made in the U.S. using the highest quality of steel for longer life, durability, and sharper edges. Turf Pride off ers blades in a wide range of sizes to fit most makes and models of rotary mowers.

Mazio Tilt-Rotator

Mazio’s new Tilt-Rotator for excavators works with excavator tools such as grapples, buckets, or shears to provide more versatility and precision. They not only rotate 360°, but they also tilt side-to-side by up to 55°. This ability reduces the need for the operator to move the excavator while performing tasks and allows access to narrow spaces and urban projects. Featuring a hydraulic quick coupler, the Mazio Tilt-Rotator allows the operator to remain in the cab while changing tools. Operators can also enjoy maintenance-free operation, with no grease points and no cylinders.

STIHL MSA 220 TC-O

The new STIHL MSA 220 TC-O is the most powerful top-handle chain saw in the STIHL battery lineup. With a high chain speed, a magnesium motor housing, and a brushless motor, it can hold up to a heavy workload. The STIHL Quickstop® chain brake system is designed to reduce the risk of injury in certain kickback situations. A side-access chain tensioner makes it convenient for the user to adjust the saw chain with a bar wrench. An onboard fleece air filter offers improved airflow, helps keep the motor cool, and is easy to clean. Advanced STIHL Lithium-Ion battery technology offers users an option to reduce environmental impact by eliminating exhaust emissions and lowering noise.

By Marie Ambusk
From the October 2023 Issue

 

As everyone knows, planting trees is an important means of combatting climate change and urban heat islands, as well as simply enhancing the aesthetics of a landscape. But unfortunately, tree planting—particularly in urban areas where they are most needed— has a high failure rate.

Simply google “tree planting failure” and you’ll find a plethora of studies devoted to the issue. Here are just a few:

Preliminary test setup in Ambusk’s garage lab – using 2700 MHz GPR, 1 cm scan slices at each rotation of the tree container. Ideally, the GPR would spin around the tree! (Photo: TreesROI/Ambusk)

A 1990 study by David J. Nowak of the U.S. Forest Service reported that 34% of trees planted along a major boulevard extending from Berkeley to Oakland, CA were either dead or removed after two years.
Data from 2021 puts the estimated probability of an urban tree surviving 35 years to be about 35% (± 8.6%); survival of a rural tree is about 44% (± 4.5%), according to Smith, Dearborn, and Hutyra.
According to American Forests, the U.S. is currently losing one tree for every two trees “established” (established means planted or naturally regenerated). The loss is mainly due to extreme weather events, insects and diseases; trees being removed for buildings; and improper planting practices.

While there’s much of the above that we can’t control, we can improve our planting practices by selecting trees with the best chances of survival. Trees grow slowly. The time lost when they fail — be it 10 years or 20 years — can never be recovered.

Root Of The Issue

As founder, CEO, and principal investigator of TreesROI™, I am in the business of helping “Grow Better Trees” through my small Vermont tech startup. (TreesROI is focused on fixing the problem at the “Root Of It” and improving the “Return On Investment,” a meaningful double entendre.) The story of what inspired my 20-year adventure as the leader of this research project is filled with learning, failing, curiosity, and the belief that any good problem can be solved with science, technology, persistence, a lot of work, and a little luck.

You could also say that I am “the pissed-off customer whose young trees mysteriously died.” Around 2003, many young street trees in my neighborhood died from root collar disorder — a term that was new to me at the time. When I asked how to avoid that problem with the replacement trees, I was told, “Lady, you get what you get.”

Over the years, I studied how trees grow, why they die, and how we could possibly influence their ability to thrive and live to maturity in the urban landscape. Among other things, I’ve determined that it is a noble gesture to consider that we could grow commercial trees in a nursery with roots like Nature intended.

Think about it: the only thing connecting the largest plants on Earth to the Earth are the roots. So, unless we plant bare-root stock, every tree delivered from a grower is in a container of some kind. While this problem is an unintended consequence, when trees are planted with serious root system defects, many will die before they grow large enough to realize their intended benefits. There is simply not enough room in a container to allow tree roots to grow properly for very long. It’s a timing game.

The stem of a 20-year-old linden tree has grown in girth to become girdled by dozens of circling roots that imprinted the container during production. The tree is now strangled by its own roots.
Several container-grown trees are ready for testing. (Photos: TreesROI/Ambusk)

It’s true there are many causes for young urban trees to die, and tree roots are not perfect. We are not promoting the idea that tree root systems can or should be perfect. But, they do need to be free of serious defects that could (and do) result in early mortality.

Gaining Clarity

It’s hard to fix what you can’t see. Years ago, I would think, “If only I had a crystal ball to see the trees’ roots and determine if there is a problem that could be corrected.” I wondered:

Ambusk scanning a small tree container with the 2700 MHz GPR. (Photo: TreesROI/Ambusk)

What if we could produce a 3D image of the tree root systems – like an X-ray CT scan?
What if we could isolate root complexities and identify problems throughout the root ball?
What if we could predict outcomes if planted as-is, or if corrected before planting?

With these goals in mind, we created an ongoing collaboration with the scientists at Geophysical Survey Systems Inc. (GSSI) who have non-destructive testing (NDT) ground penetrating radar (GPR) devices.

There is still a lot of work ahead but we hope to soon introduce a 3D GPR Tree-CT system empowered by AI/ML software that not only assesses the quality of nursery stock trees but informs users of results in terms that they can easily understand.

Ideally, the system will inspect and assess the quality of tree root systems above ground, before planting, in a way that is easy-to-use, meaningful, and cost effective. For nurseries, quality metric measurements can be performed in production that result in higher quality tree stock. Essentially, the system could serve a predictive model to increase the life span of nursery stock trees and help them reach their potential.

With this tool (called INSIGHT™) and our root quality grading metric, root problems deep inside the root ball will be located and identified, with suggestions for corrective action when possible. The brain of the system is our Root-Analysis Software. Based on the GPR data and driven by root system variables established in our “Tree Root Quality Classification Model,” INSIGHT translates the data into meaningful information for tree buyers.

Here are some of our strategic goals for the Nursery Tree Industry:

A bare-rooted container-grown tree root structure. Notice how the roots continued to grow from when they imprinted the walls of smaller containers. (Photo: TreesROI/Ambusk)

Growers can use this tool throughout the production process to help them maximize resources, train staff, improve product quality, and comply with order requirements.
With our free app, a QR-coded tree tag reader will provide anyone with root quality information and suggest actions to correct serious root system problems, if correctable.
Buyers’ order specifications can include root-quality grading with compliance verified by the QR-coded tree tag.
Grounded in science and data, our peer-reviewed model will support compliance with order specifications and may inspire improved industry standards for tree root quality.
To foster ongoing education, we will establish a foundation with a percentage of our profits to inspire others to continue our work. While our starting point is to inspect trees above ground, our learning will soon be adapted (v2.0) to trees in situ to offer risk assessment, diagnostics, and prediction – always with an action plan.

The underpinning objective of our research and the mission at TreesROI™ is straightforward yet far-reaching: increase the quality, value, benefits, and lifespan of nursery stock trees, for them to grow to maturity in the urban landscape. Because urban trees should never be strangled by their own roots.

Ambusk has been a leader in urban tree stewardship since 2006 through her volunteerism in Vermont. Upon retirement from GE Healthcare in 2011 and a 40-year career in Finance/Controllership IT, she was inspired to solve a global problem that causes early and unnecessary tree mortality. Ambusk started TreesROI in 2012, and hopes to soon introduce INSIGHT™, the product outcome of the company’s research and development. She presented her research this year at the 2023 Trees + Tech Summit hosted by PlanIT Geo and The Landscape Below Ground V conference, held at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL.

Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or send an e-mail to the Editor at cmenapace@groupc.com.

By Janet Waibel
From the October 2023 Issue

 

Planting trees is a process that seems simple enough. You dig a hole and pop in a tree, right? The answer is yes but…. When a tree is purchased, it’s being taken from an environment where it received daily care to a new location where it’s to grow and thrive with much less attention. In order to ensure the best outcome, it’s a good idea to plan for the surrounding conditions within which a tree will be planted and take certain steps before and during planting. One of these steps often includes staking—but only if done correctly and with consideration for the particular site and tree.

Benefits Of Staking

(Image provided by Waibel)

Newly planted trees will often benefit from having tree stakes installed. These benefits include:

Stabilization. Staking stabilizes the tree until the roots have had time to extend from backfill material into surrounding soil, which then anchors the tree.
Straight growth. Correct staking and ties help to keep the tree straight while the trunk increases in caliper and strength, creating a stronger structure.
Storm resilience. Stakes help to hold up small trees which may have a heavier canopy weight that is not fully supported by the trunk. For such top-heavy trees, staking is particularly helpful in keeping trees upright during wind and storm conditions. (Of note: In severe storm conditions, it may be better to remove stakes. During Hurricane Ian in Florida, wind forces were so strong that staked trees snapped. Those that weren’t staked were uprooted instead—making replanting possible in some cases.)
Flexible strength. Trees develop stronger trunk wood as they move in windy conditions. Proper staking and installation allows the tree to move within the hose ties in such conditions.

Selection Tips

There are some simple steps to take before actually installing tree stakes. The best staking job can’t overcome poor tree quality, planting practices, or site conditions. The first step is to carefully examine the tree at the point of purchase for the following key features:

This olive tree trunk is larger than the stakes. Additionally, the ties are being absorbed by the tree cambium. These stakes have been in too long. (Photo provided by Waibel.)

Condition of tree in general. Look for a balanced canopy, straight (if a single trunk tree) and unblemished trunk, with few if any broken branches.

Visibility of root flare. At the bottom of the trunk there should be a slight flare outward which indicates a change in cell type from above ground structure to below ground root system.

Condition of root ball. This is a critical element to examine, as it has a direct relationship to the function of tree staking. A good root ball has a healthy, light-colored mesh of finely sized roots creating a network which fully and equally surrounds the soil mass. A root bound plant is one with roots that are encircling at the base of the soil/rootball which continue to grow in a spiraling direction and out of the container’s drain holes. (For more on emerging technology to combat root collar disorder, see “The Root Of The Issue.”)

Preparing For Tree Staking

Once a tree is purchased and onsite, it is important that planting locations be properly prepared. Do a quick evaluation of the surrounding conditions to determine if there are any utility conflicts, irrigation is available and appropriate, soil conditions are conducive to tree growth, and there are no deleterious materials in the soil that could impact tree health (concrete, rocks, caliche). It’s easier to make corrective changes before planting compared with later.

(Chart provided by Waibel)

 

As to staking, different regions may have variations in materials (see Materials Chart above), but the basics include: backfill, stakes (8′ lodge poles or PVC pipe), rubber hose, plastic coated wire, tape measure, rubber mallet or hammer, and tools for digging, cutting and turning wire, and removing planting containers.

It is extremely important that the planting pit be prepared to match the depth of the actual rootball, so measuring is recommended. A big reason trees fail is they are planted too deep. If the hole is accidentally dug too deep, backfill and compact the material until it is at the proper depth.

After placing the plant, backfill 1/3 of the pit and install stakes firmly into the sub-grade below the depth of the pit. Continue backfilling and tamping until pit is filled and then water. After backfill settles from watering, add more backfill to fully fill pit.

Attach wires to the stakes using a heavy-duty stapler and rubber hose, cut to surround wire at trunk to prevent damage to the cambium. (See detail below.)

Above: Staking with lodge poles outside rootball. Right: Plastic coated wire inside hose surrounded with enough space to allow tree movement and not interfere with cambium. (Photos provided by Waibel)

When To Pull Up Stakes

While staking can greatly enhance establishment of young trees, leaving them in place too long will be detrimental. Take the following steps during the first one to two years:

Periodically check the stability of the tree by gently pushing trunk to see if there is minimal movement of the rootball. This indicates the roots are expanding into surrounding soil.
Remove stakes when caliper of the tree is 3/4 the size of tree stake (if lodge poles are used). In general, stakes should not remain after two growing seasons.
Check hose ties to be sure they are not intruding into the tree’s cambium layer. Loosen wires to lessen friction created by the hose.

For those who do not want to remove stakes and ties in the future, there is an alternative staking method from Ginger Tree Innovations that uses a saddle and three stabilizer bars placed over and alongside the rootball. All are completely below grade with no need to remove them. (To view how it works, see the images at right.)

A few minutes to properly stake young trees assures greater success for them to mature into valuable assets in our spaces. The anticipated vision of having shade and the beauty provided by trees is definitely worth it!

(Photos/image courtesy of Ginger Tree Innovations)

Waibel is the owner of Waibel & Associates Landscape Architecture, LLC in Tempe, AZ. As a registered landscape architect in Arizona, with experience in the landscape design, planning and horticultural professions, Waibel has participated in landscape and construction processes from planning, conceptual design and layout stages, through preparation of construction documents and project implementation. She is the author of Sustainable Landscape Management – A Guide to Care in the Desert Southwest, and Sustainable Landscape Management – Colorado.

Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or send an e-mail to the Editor at cmenapace@groupc.com.