Comments on: Column: Seeds & Stems

By: J H Mielke

J H Mielke — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 18:48:02 +0000

The picture (leaves of an ash tree) provided in the this article was was the only one of many web images that helped me id the many ash seedling in my yard in west central WI. Thank you. I will let them grow — our extension service is a few miles away.

This article was very helpful and instructive. Everyone in the area is calling these seedlngs box elder. With its yellow-gold fall color, I knew it couldn’t be box elder I HAVE a box elder. I wish that someone could find a wasp to take care of the area’s gypsy moth infestation.

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By: Susan Schechter

Susan Schechter — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:02:15 +0000

Emerald Ash Borer is just one of many exotic pests that have found their way to the US, generally on trade goods. Once in the country, forest pests are spread rapidly by people moving firewood. The Pest Tracker web site provides information about hundreds of exotic pests that have been introduced or are highly likely to be introduced to the US.

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By: Ken Harrison

Ken Harrison — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:29:14 +0000

Minor point. Trees are infected by diseases and infested by insects like the Emerald ash borer.

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By: Ronald Baker

Ronald Baker — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:35:18 +0000

By: fridgeman

fridgeman — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:20:46 +0000

This is the first I have heard about the Tree-age treatment. I have an ash tree which has survived the onslaught, and that I would consider treating.

Does anyone have any experience with this, including recommendations for arborists in Ann Arbor who use it?

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By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:11:00 +0000

Way cool! Congratulations to my neighbor Dave. And maybe my “tree guy” isn’t so crazy, telling me to let ash seedlings grow. After all, I still have a couple of American elms.

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By: Stephen Cain

Stephen Cain — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:26:38 +0000

Over time, predators and prey tend to arrive at an equilibrium (if the predator wipes out all its prey, it dies … an explosion of prey is a self-correcting boon for the predator population). Back in the 1950s, rubber plantations were losing a moderate percentage of their expected production to a bark borer. There response was DDT spraying, which resulted in an explosion of bark borer damage, more spraying, and denuded rubber tree plantations. Seems that there was a wasp that feasted on the bark borer and kept its population in check. The DDT got only the borers near their entrances through the bark. The wasps fed on them and died of DDT poisoning. The population of the better hidden borers, freed from a predator more efficiently deadly than the DDT, killed more trees than they were ever able to do prior to spraying.

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