Ailanthus altissima, commonly known as the Tree-of-Heaven, was introduced in the late-18th Century as an ornamental street tree. Well, that was a mistake. It spread aggressively- a fast growing, root suckering, partial-root-piece propagating nightmare.

A view back from our phragmites invasion. Note the pulverized and mulched stalks- this from a combination of knocking down stalks with the loader, and then pulverizing them with the bush hog. We see it everywhere in Lasalle. It's beside Turkey Creek, River Canard, and most any creekside properties. It is on farms, along ditches, and even climbing the heights of Malden Park. Phragmites australis, or Phrag, is an invasive reed that has choked off streams and creeks, destroy

As the winter cold snap breaks, we’re heading into the orchard to tackle the essential task of late-winter pruning. This post covers the "why" and "how" of maintaining fruit trees—from opening the canopy for better airflow to the strategic cuts that encourage a heavy harvest. Using our mulberries and plums as a guide, we share a step-by-step process for shaping trees while they are dormant. We also touch on the cleanup process, including repurposing mulberry chips and managin

Well, Winter has come and frankly it's been hitting us here in Windsor and Lasalle for the better part of 3 months now. I remember working in snow in early November- just around the time we got back from climbing in the Gorge. We were doing a big maple removal in Colchester, and the wind and ice pellets and snow... We're at the half-way point with this years firewood. We're dealing with a small bit of cottonwood, before diving into some awesome mulberry and oak. Next yea

I was working just on the edge of Lasalle this week. It was cold- really cold. There was a fence at the back of the yard, and a not-too-high Jack Pine that was in decline, that also had to be removed. It was a climbing job- the tree was over some nice landscaping and a pergola, so up I went. This looks like the Alberta Muskeg in the Winter but it's not. It's right here, in good old Lasalle, Ontario. Boy, is it cold! When I got past level of the fence height, the wind hit m

This Maple had a fair amount of dead limbs, and a declining top. It was prudent to have a backup to the main tie-in-point in case of failure. Note the Figure 8 device attached to the rigging- good for self rigging light pieces when the groundman was busy. There, I've said it (well, wrote it) 3 times. Redundancy is key in many industries, and is absolutely key in safety-critical industries like tree work and forestry. There are different facets to redundancy- for example, t

Tree preservation is the use of different techniques for reducing the chance of any time of tree or branch failure. It may include installing bolts where there are widening cracks, steel cable higher up in the canopy where otherwise failure is imminent, or Cobra-Style synthetic cabling where the tree is still structurally sound (but not perfect) but there is a lean or union concern that, though unlikely, the homeowner wants to protect their property.

Embace difficult things, and do something that scares you every day. While we weren’t exactly scared to remove a large, declining black...

Phragmites stand along River Canard Phragmites is everywhere in Essex County. You see it along the rivers, in parks, and even one the...

Layering up for arborist work- a systems approach.

Tree maintenance doesn’t stop at the end of the summer, and in fact there are a number of reasons where it can be beneficial to prune...

Climbing over power lines is scary stuff. But, we can do it.

Cats stuck in trees can seem quite funny, but at the same time dangerous for both the cat and potential rescuer. The problem with cats is...