The Milwaukee Post

By DAN MUCKELBAUER Post Editor Age. Disease. Insects. Drought. Water-logged roots. Leaf-clogged gutters or wrecked roofing or sid- ing, or other signs a tree is too close. Or a half-dozen other reasons. You have the wrong tree in the right spot or vice versa. If the damage to tree or property is bad enough, the time may have come to replace it. "It's all about finding the right tree for the right place," Bill Reichenbach of Wachtel Tree Service, of Merton, said. "Putting the right tree in the right spot is not as easy as it sounds." Research is key. "They should do a lot of research on their own or get professional help," such as from an arborist, he said of homeowners. "You need to know a plant's mature size," said Reichenbach, an arborist certified by the International Society of Aboriculture. "You need to give them the space from buildings, and utility lines and sewer and water lines, and sidewalks." He gave some words of caution on size. "Tree size can be misin- terpreted by the nurseries," Reichenbach said. "There's a lot of marketing of plants, and a lot of it is appropri- ate, but a lot of it is inap- propriate." Sometimes prejudices of property owners prevent the right tree from finding the right spot. These prefer- ences can find themselves being repeated by land- scape designers and grown by nurseries who are giving people what they want. "That sometimes gets them in trouble and they say, 'I want to put this tree in the right spot,'" Reichenbach said of prop- erty owners. What do people want? "They want a red color in the fall," Reichenbach said, for starters. They also like certain varieties, like maple and birch trees. While wonder- ful trees, there may be rea- sons for not putting a cer- tain variety a specific loca- tion. "They're looking for shade, they're looking for beauty and they want screening for privacy," Reichenbach said. Rare is the tree that can do it all. Conifers are great for screening and provide year- round greenery, but there's a big "but" with evergreens. "Very few conifers toler- ate shade and they put them there," Reichenbach said of proud new conifer owners. Understandably, people want trees to last, but just because something might not live 200 years, it might get a knock. "If you pick the right tree for the location, they should last. A birch tree is not as long-lived, but you should get 50-60 years," Reichenbach said. Flowering fruit trees might not last as long as some other trees, but there are varieties that outlive the people who plant them. "A crabapple, you can get 50 years, if it's in the right location," Reichenbach said. Insects, disease Then there are insects and disease. Even a lot with mature trees can suddenly find itself in need of replace- ments. Emerald ash borer, anyone? Jesse Ziemienski of American Tree Experts in New Berlin said the inva- sive emerald ash borer is an efficient killer of ash trees, attacking all kinds of ash. "This is a terrible, terri- ble problem," said Ziemienski, an arborist cer- tified by the International Society of Aboriculture. Nurseries don't even stock ash trees anymore. While other trees have their share of pests, they can often survive attack, he said. As an example, Japanese beetles can attack more than 200 plants, including lindens and birches, which will weaken the tree, Ziemienski said. Their tell- tale feeding around the veins leaves skeletonized leaves behind. Grub control treatments around the base of a birch can work into the tree and kill the Japanese beetles, which should be done if they are recurring, he said. The bronze birch borer can kill weakened birches, Ziemienski said. Linden borer affects about 10 per- cent of the lindens, so like the bronze birch borer on birch trees, the insect isn't a serious enough threat not to plant them, he said. And while there are many great choices for conifers, there are two that are real draws to a number of insects. "The Austrian pine and and Colorado spruce trees are probably the two worst trees to plant. The Colorado spruce can be attacked by like five insects," Zieminski said. But the beautiful blue spruce is immensely popu- lar with landowners. It's the landscapers and nurs- eries that arborists are try- ing to educate and caution about trees like these, and offer alternatives, he said. Pro's suggestions Two leafy trees Ziemienski often recom- mends are ginkgo and Kentucky coffeetree, given its name because its berries were used in frontier days to brew a hot drink some likened to coffee, which was scarce. "They're wonderful trees and are basically disease- free," Ziemienski said. Among other favorites he named are swamp white oak, bur (or burr) oak, Miyabe's maple, sugar maple, magnolias like the "Royal Star" magnolia, Japanese lilac and disease- resistant elms. Of the birch- es, two he cited are the water-loving river birch and the white birch, which doesn't tolerate moisture as much. Because damage to trees can show up in summer or when autumn arrives, homeowners' thoughts can turn to saving them or planting new ones, Reichenbach said. Not to mention the draw of the spectacular fall colors auto- matically makes one pon- der trees. "Fall is a great time to plant trees; it is cooler in fall, and typically we have good fall rains and soil moisture. The trees are heading into their dormant season, but roots are still active for re-establishment after transplanting," he said. Is there a best time to plant a tree? "The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. The sec- ond best time is today," Reichenbach said. 14 • Milwaukee County Post • October 27, 2017 HOME Photo courtesy of Bill Reichenbach Arborists offer advice for choosing a tree and the right site This photo shows proper spacing for these conifers. Know the full matu- rity size of trees when planting. It can save cutting down a mature tree, which can be costly. Photo courtesy of Bill Reichenbach The fall foliage of a ginkgo tree. Their resistance to insects is one reason arborists recommend the ginkgo, a tree that dates back 200 million years. The unique bark and foliage of these long-lasting trees also have appeal. Fall thoughts naturally turn to trees

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