Whether you believe in climate change or not, there is no denying that modern urban developments are hotter places to live than more established leafy suburbs.

New urban areas and cities are comprised of hard surfaces, roads, paved areas and buildings. Hard surfaces absorb heat thus heating the surrounding air.

Studies have shown that parts of cities without cooling shade from trees can literally be “heat islands,” with temperatures as much as 8 degrees Celsius higher than surrounding areas.

Shade from trees reduces the need for air conditioning in summer.

Studies have shown that the net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.

Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20 – 50 percent in energy used for cooling.

The recent heat wave we have experienced on the Central Coast should have you re-considering your need to remove trees and instead make plans to retain the trees in your gardens or plant new ones.

Speak with a qualified Arborist for advice on where to plant or what species to plant, so that you can have summer shade and winter sun.

Why Hire an Arborist?

An arborist is a specialist in the care of individual trees. Arborists are knowledgeable about the needs of trees and are trained and equipped to provide proper care. Hiring an arborist is a decision that should not be taken lightly. Proper tree care is an investment that can lead to substantial returns. Well-cared-for trees are attractive and can add considerable value to your property. Poorly maintained trees can be a significant liability. Pruning or removing trees, especially large trees, can be dangerous work. Tree work should be done only by those trained and equipped to work safely in trees.

Services That Arborists Can Provide

Pruning

An arborist can determine the type of pruning necessary to maintain or improve the health, appearance, and safety of trees. These techniques include:

Eliminating branches that rub each other;
Removing limbs that interfere with wires, building facades, gutters, roofs, chimneys, or windows, or that obstruct streets or sidewalks;
Removing dead or weak limbs that pose a hazard or may lead to decay;
removing diseased or insect-infested limbs
Creating better structure to lessen wind resistance and reduce the potential for storm damage;
Training young trees;
Removing limbs damaged by adverse weather conditions;
Removing branches, or thinning, to increase light penetration;
Improving the shape or silhouette of the tree.

Tree Removal

Although tree removal is a last resort, there are circumstances when it is necessary. An arborist can help decide whether a tree should be removed. Arborists have the skills and equipment to safely and efficiently remove trees. Removal is recommended when the tree is:

Dead or dying;
Considered irreparably hazardous;
Causing an obstruction that is impossible to correct through pruning;
Crowding and causing harm to other trees;
To be replaced by a more suitable specimen;
Located in an area where new construction requires removal.

Emergency Tree Care

Storms may cause limbs or entire trees to fall, often landing on other trees, homes and other structures, or cars. The weight of storm-damaged trees is great, and they can be dangerous to remove or trim. An arborist can assist in performing the job in a safe manner, while reducing further risk of damage to property

We all know that mulch is beneficial for our plants and gardens, It improves soil structure as well as increasing the nutrient and water retaining capabilities of the soil thus opening the doors to a myriad of other advantages to the organic landscape.

But did you know that mulch can be BAD?

Though mulch benefits plants, “sour” mulch can quickly damage plant tissue and lower the soil pH causing injury or death. Bedding and low-growing woody plants are most easily damaged. Symptoms include yellowing of the leaf margins, scorching or dropping of leaves and occasionally entire plant death. Although it may be several days before symptoms appear, spreading sour mulch can damage plants immediately.

Sour or “acid” mulch is caused by poor handling or storing of mulch resulting in anaerobic (without air) conditions. Mulch piles need to “breathe” to prevent anaerobic conditions from occurring. In the absence of air, microbes in the mulch (mostly bacteria) produce toxic substances such as methanol, acetic acid, ammonia gas, and hydrogen sulfide gas.

Sour mulch smells like vinegar, ammonia, sulfur or silage. Good mulch smells like freshly cut wood or has the earthy smell of a good garden soil. Another way to determine if mulch is sour is to test its pH. Toxic mulch will have a pH of 1.8 to 2.5.

To prevent mulch from turning sour or to cure sour mulch, you need to turn your pile once or twice a month, more frequently if the pile is very wet. Do not let the pile get larger than 4 feet thick in any dimension if you are not turning the pile regularly. A good aeration will eliminate the toxic compounds in 24 hours, but to be safe allow three days. Ensure the mulch you buy from you local landscape supplier has been breaking down and turned regularly.

The Firewood Association of Australia (FAA) has banned the used of old railway sleepers for use as firewood.

1. Used railway sleepers may contain asbestos.  Even though asbestos train

brake linings were phased out in the early 1980’s, some old sleepers may

pre-date this time.  Fibres from the asbestos brake linings can become

trapped in cracks in the sleepers.  As long as they are not disturbed they

are safe, but they will be released when the sleepers are burnt.  The fibres

collect and concentrate in the ash in the bottom of a fireplace or heater,

and they can be deadly.  If anyone has burnt old sleepers in their fireplace

or heater they should use and wear protective equipment when cleaning

out the ash from the heater to avoid the chance of inhaling these deadly

fibres.  Of course not all sleepers will contain fibres, only those in

sections of railway track where the trains were using their brakes.

Random testing of used railway sleepers will not provide any certainty

that all railway sleepers in a given batch are free from asbestos.

2. Most used railway sleepers are contaminated with grease and oil from the trains and railway track points.  When used railway sleepers are burnt,

these substances are burnt with them releasing odours and potentially

harmful fumes.  If these fumes escape from the heater/fire into the room

they can cause respiratory health problems.  As grease and oil will

generally be located on the top surface of used sleepers, a high

concentration of fumes is released when this section of the sleeper is first

exposed to the fire.  These fumes can generally be smelt when wood is

first added to the fire, the smell dissipates as the grease and oil are burnt

off.  To avoid this problem, the top surface of each sleeper block could be

split off and disposed of in a contaminated waste disposal facility, but this

is not practical in most commercial operations.

3. Small stones from the track ballast can become stuck in used sleepers.

When heated in a fire these small stones can explode, creating a hazard in

an open fire or cracking the glass of a slow combustion heater.

Whilst all of these issues can be over come, the random nature of the

problems in used sleepers makes testing and quality control very difficult to monitor.  Testing one used sleeper and finding it free from asbestos, oil, grease or ballast stones does not necessarily mean the next sleeper is

likewise free from these contaminants.

For premium firewood that comes from approved sources endorsed by the FAA Contact Us at www.flaminhot.com.au

The plant disease Myrtle Rust has been detected in a cut flower growing facility on the NSW Central Coast.

It is the first time the disease has been found in Australia.

Rust diseases are highly transportable on clothes and shoes and are very hard to contain.

Myrtle rust has been found on Agonis flexuosa (willow myrtle), Syncarpia (turpentine) and Callistemon (bottlebrush) species.

Myrtle rust produces lesions on young, actively growing leaves and shoots as well as on fruits and sepals.

Leaves may become buckled or twisted as a result of infection.

On turpentine and callistemon, rust lesions are purple in colour, with masses of bright yellow or orange-yellow spores.

They typically attack young plants and new growth on established plants and can be controlled in commercial operations with the use of fungicides.

If you suspect myrtle rust is affecting your plant please Contact Us at Tree and Garden or call the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Agriculture.

Please note that if affected trees are pruned or removed , the tree material should be disposed of correctly. Wood chipping of the branches will spread the spores and they will be present in the mulch as well.

Contact Tree and Garden if you would like free advice on correct identification and disposal of affected trees.