More leaves??

If your trees got taller, makes sense

Dick Coers

I have less, a soft maple is dying. I'll have to take out my biggest honey locust soon, late September storm started a split down the main crotch. Transplanted a couple of volunteer trees yesterday. One redbud, and one that is either a pecan or hickory. A squirrel must have started that one.

Re: If your trees got taller, makes sense

William Duffield

You're lucky it's only hickories! My squirrels only plant walnuts, everywhere. This year we had a bumper crop, and we couldn't even give them away. Most of them (thousands) fell onto the dog track, where they are a serious trip hazard for my greyhounds.

Re: If your trees got taller, makes sense

Dick Coers

Yup, could definitely be worse. Here's a picture of the converted rail to trail route I ride on. Hedge apples the size of softballs!

Re: More leaves??

Bruce, a MN Galoot

Don’t know where you live, Tom, but we have had the same experience. I can only conclude that our record-setting rainfall produced a record crop of tree leaves. We have had snow twice, and our leaves still haven’t finished dropping.

Re: More leaves??

Tom Norton

Bruce, I live in NE Ohio.

More water=more leaves

Tom Dunlap

the leaves are the food factories. If there is better growing conditions...early, warm, wet spring followed by warm, not hot or too wet, there will be more food factories built. Opposite is true too.

Split

Tom Dunlap

Dick,

A split doesn't automatically mean the tree needs to be removed.

A good arborist can prune, brace and cable trees and give them a long life.

If you think that the tree is worth saving get hold of me I might be able to put you in touch with a good arbo.

Bracing and cabling is much more than just putting in the materials.

Tom

Re: If your trees got taller, makes sense

William Duffield

Yup, that's worse, and they hang around a lot longer than the walnuts, too. Some people around here use the "apples" as Christmas decorations, but I don't understand why.

Re: More leaves??

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

I haven't noticed more leaves on the West side of Cleveland but it seems the trees are full of leaves longer this Fall. My massive red oak tree in the backyard and big maple in the front yard are still full of leaves. I've raked twice so far.

Re: More leaves??

David Yoho

I live in the Richmond, VA area in an outlying county. I can't say I've seen the same as you this year. The rear of our back yard joins a wooded area that belongs to the 6-acre property behind ours. Our back yard has a beech tree, a maple, a poplar, and two sycamores. Of those five, the beech begins dropping leaves first and continues until spring. The poplar comes next and has already dropped all its leaves. The maple and the sycamores start about midway of the poplar. The sycamores are usually last to lose all their leaves with the exception of the beech. Then there's a beech at the edge of the woods that hasn't even started dropping leaves yet. Must be something about its location - I don't know.

Those trees follow the same "schedule" every year with the exception of a few years back when we had a very dry summer and all the trees dumped their leaves quickly. I've learned it's easier if I blow them more frequently than letting them build up. My backpack blower will handle them either way but I find it takes less time if I stay on top of things. To me it seems like the volume of leaves is about the same as previous years.

Re: A Strange Fall

Hank Knight

We have several hardwoods in our yard, three hickories and four maples. One of the maples in the front yard, a sugar maple, is always the last to turn its Fall color by several weeks. Not this year. It's already bright yellow while the rest of the hickories and maples are just barely showing any color at all.

Re: A Strange Fall

Michael Farinella

Just curious Jim, what do you do with all those leaves?

Re: A Strange Fall

Larry Barrett

I've been reading that mulching leaves and leaving them in place is not only good for critters but good for the lawn, so that is what I have been doing. Just got on the old John Deere yesterday, the last warm day for awhile. Mulching seems to work very well for oak leaves since they tend to not mat down like the maples do.

Re: If your trees got taller, makes sense

Larry verhff

If you don`t know and if they are osage orange , people around here use them in basements to get rid of spiders. Larry

Re: If your trees got taller, makes sense

William Duffield

If it really works, I'll need a couple bushels of those hedge apples for my shop. Do you think they would drive away the wrens, too?

Re: If your trees got taller, makes sense

Larry verhff

I wish I had something to drive squarills away.Larry

Re: If your trees got taller, makes sense

JohnV

squirrels and deer love to eat hedge apples. Maybe you can lure them away from your house with them.