Top Tree LLC can help you manage any tree hazards you have on your property. We are some of the best arborists in the Tri-Cities and can either give you advice on how to manage your trees or perform any preventative maintenance you need.

Crapemyrtle is multi-stemmed tree that is quickly becoming more common in landscapes across the country. A true multiple season of interest plant, this genus is grown not only for its colorful, late blooming flowers but also for its showy bark and consistently beautiful fall color. The most common species is Lagerstroemia indica. Nurseries offer many cultivars and more are being developed all the time. There are sizes and shapes to fit any palette and flower colors from whites to reds, pink and purple and every shade in between.

Unfortunately, often little care is taken to select an appropriate cultivar for the site resulting in the wrong plant for the spot. A worthy smaller cultivar that is a favorite of mine is Lagerstroemia indica ‘Velma’s Royal Delight’. This cultivar is well suited to our shrinking urban landscape since its very compact; usually reaching only four to five feet high with an equal spread.

The foliage is a nice dark green with good mildew resistance and decent fall color. The flowers are a very nice magenta often covering the plant. Its bark is not as showy as some cultivars but still offers good winter interest. It also has excellent cold hardiness. Velma’s Royal Delight is a very good crapemyrtle to add to the urban tree list.

We look forward to helping you with all of your tree removal and tree trimming needs. When and if you have any questions about your trees, shrubs, or any other greenery on your property, we can help. We strive to be your only and best option for tree trimmers in Burbank.

Top Tree LLC can help you manage any tree hazards you have on your property. We are some of the best arborists in the Tri-Cities and can either give you advice on how to manage your trees or perform any preventative maintenance you need.

For arborists, the issues related to tree health and safety are the major concerns regarding ivy. Ivy can reduce tree stability and lead to failure for a number of reasons. Structural or flare roots are one of the most critical areas of a tree to inspect. If this area is obscured by ivy, no arborist can conduct a proper risk assessment of the tree, and critical information about tree stability cannot be determined. In addition, ivy adds considerable weight and wind resistance in a tree canopy.

Since ivy is evergreen, the added weight of rain, snow, or ice will accumulate on ivy-covered trees in winter. Mitigation: The best scenario for trees and the native environment is to eradicate ivy from the landscape. This can be achieved through hand removal, judicious use of herbicides, or ideally a combination of the two. If complete removal is not desired from an aesthetic or budget perspective, there are a few practices that can limit the negative impact of ivy on trees and the environment.

First, remove ivy from tree trunks, and pull ivy back at least 3 feet from the base of any tree. This will mitigate the weight, moisture, and wind resistance issues associated with ivy, and will leave the structural roots visible for inspection. In addition to tree trunks, whenever possible ivy should be prevented from climbing on any vertical surfaces such as walls or fences. Ivy only produces seed when it is growing vertically, so a well-maintained groundcover of ivy is far less likely to provide seed for an invasion of natural areas than ivy that is climbing up walls or trees.

Properly managed ivy may add aesthetic value to a landscape, however all too often this invasive weed is left to run amok, damaging ecosystems and leading to structural instability and unknown risk in large trees.

We look forward to helping you with all of your tree removal and tree trimming needs. When and if you have any questions about your trees, shrubs, or any other greenery on your property, we can help. We strive to be your only and best option for tree trimmers in West Richland.

Top Tree LLC can help you manage any tree hazards you have on your property. We are some of the best arborists in the Tri-Cities and can either give you advice on how to manage your trees or perform any preventative maintenance you need.

Diversity in the urban landscape concerns arborists everywhere. We learned from the near-extinction of the American elm due to Dutch elm disease that over planting a single species can have catastrophic results. In a homogenous culture, it only takes one pest or disease to devastate an entire tree population. It is now commonly suggested that no one species should represent more than five percent of planting. This increased diversity
is a challenge:

It will be hard to achieve the uniform look along streets that many find desirable
There’s no guarantee that a pest or disease with a broad host range will not do serious damage
A desirable variety of species might not be adequately available
Some species may not be as well adapted to a local urban environment as others
Our changing environment and/or global trade could introduce new and exotic pests.

More plant diversity doesn’t assure a problem-free urban forest future. However, it will also improve the biological diversity of insects and birds. And most important, more diversity will lead to the ultimate goal of urban forest sustainability.

Ivy on Trees
Although long used as a ground-cover and with a name synonymous with venerable old institutions; simply put, ivy is bad for trees. No ivy species is native to the United States. Many species are aggressively invasive and displace native species. In North America, the most common culprits are English ivy and Irish or Atlantic ivy.

Ivy is a problem in landscape settings because it competes with desirable plant species for water and nutrients, but most importantly, ivy leads to concern for tree structure and failure potential.

We look forward to helping you with all of your tree removal and tree trimming needs. When and if you have any questions about your trees, shrubs, or any other greenery on your property, we can help. We strive to be your only and best option for tree trimmers in Richland.