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To remove or not to removeBy David G. Hallauer Meadowlark District Extension agent; crops, soils and horticulture Kansas With at least a little natural snow removal having occurred in the last week, along with a little increase in temperatures over the weekend, you just may have gotten a little of the landscape improvement bug. Following the recent ice storm damage, over much of the area, it's not hard to see improvement that can be made. To aid in your decision making process, in the next few weeks we'll be outlining a few trees from a Kansas Forest Service publication (available in your District Extension Office) entitled "Preferred Trees for Northeast Kansas." We'll take two or three trees each week and tell just a little about them for you to consider. But first, a brief review of which trees you should consider replacing: middle-aged and younger trees that were healthy and vigorous before winter hit can lose up to one-third of their crown (including repair pruning) to ice and still make a surprisingly swift comeback. On the other hand, tree removal may be the only good option when half or more of the tree's canopy is gone or will be after surgical pruning; the bark is split, exposing the cambium--the layer between bark and wood that produces the tree's new cells; the main trunk is split--which typically brings tree death (though it may take time); placement or number of broken limbs has destroyed the overall form of the tree (trees with poor form will be much more vulnerable to future weather damage); all of the main branches were or will need to be pruned back, so that only stubs are left (the regrowth is usually not as firmly attached as before). This week's 'preferences' will come from the maple family. These popular trees tend to be pretty decent, just so long as you avoid the silver maple, at least in places where you don't want to have to pick up the pieces after a storm. The Japanese and Amur maples are small deciduous (less than 25 feet at maturity) that hold some possibility. Both exhibit some nice fall color and fair resistance to pests. The Amur maple cultivars ('Compactum' and 'Flame') are two that are more summer wind and heat resistant with good drought resistance as well. In the up to 40 feet at maturity range, consider Trident, Hedge, Paperback or Shantung maples. Be careful of some winter injury with Trident maple species. Shantung and particularly Hedge maple species have some excellent environmental tolerance, though maybe not the fall color we often desire. In the large/very large category, consider Freeman, Norway, Red, and Sugar maple species. A list of 'superior' cultivars is available, if desired. The Norway species are the only ones rated as good in the drought tolerant rating, though some Sugar maple cultivars aren't too bad. A couple of notes of awareness as you start looking at trees: --Trees with rapid growth tend to be a little more brittle than slower growers. While they provide shade and large specimen trees in a short time, they might be more trouble in the long run if every ice storm decimates them; --Your maintenance of a selected tree, whether 'preferred' or not, will make a lot of difference as to its ability to withstand a storm. Unhealthy or poorly maintained trees have week branch angles and sucker sprouts that may add to the trees foliage area, but do little else other than make the tree more susceptible to wind, snow, or ice damage. 2/11/08 Date: 2/7/08
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