Robert L. Anderson/USDA Forest Service
Life is not easy for trees in an urban environment.
As arborists, we get to witness the challenges trees battle with on a daily basis. Poor soil structure, limited soil volume, flooding, drought, construction stress, pests, diseases and temperature extremes are a few reasons why the lifespan of an urban tree is only 25 years!
Choosing a species of tree to plant is a daunting task. There are a number of variables to consider.
If you haven’t done so already, please check out our blog entitled Tree Selection For Your Home. This will help in your quest of finding the right species of tree to plant at your specific site.
At Bluestone we recognize the importance of keeping valuable resources local. We are a 100% recycling tree company – nothing goes to waste.
1845 – that is approximately the year this oak tree began its life, in what is now Seminary Park.
It’s amazing to think about all the changes that have occurred since then. More than 100 years later, when the Seminary Memorial Plaza was built in the 1990s, the already huge white oak was showing sign of health issues. Root decay was becoming evident on the west side of the tree.
To protect against severe damage, a lightning arrester system was installed. Eventually a full risk analysis in 2014 gave it a high hazard rating, and the tree was scheduled for removal.
The Soil Food Web
One of the best ways we can have a healthy variety of plants in our landscapes is to use organic mulch to replicate the natural, nutrient cycling processes that takes place on our Midwestern forest floors. The plant communities in our Midwestern forests, in large part owe their long-term health to an abundance of soil organic matter that is created and maintained by an interconnected web of biological activity both on and below the soil surface. It follows the logic that increasing amounts of soil organic matter supports a healthy soil food web which in turn supports a diverse set of healthy plants. So, why not do our part to be good stewards of this process in our own landscapes?
We are in our critical year of the Emerald Ash Borer here in southern Indiana, the invasive beetle that is killing nearly all of the Ash trees. There still may be time to save some trees but it is unlikely.
Well, Jerad Oren or Tiffany Oren tree service just didn’t roll off the tongue. Three days into trying to come up with an appropriate name for the business, Bluestone stuck in my head. We became Bluestone Tree with the mission to do the best possible job from start to cleanup,