To move toward having healthy trees that are growing toward maturity, Community Canopy's emphasis is on planting trees correctly, providing adequate water, and protecting trees from damage by turf equipment, including mowers and weed whips.  Information about providing adequate water can be found in the "Q&A" section above about "New Trees and Water."  Also go to the "Planting and Parenting" section of this web page for more information on all of these subjects.

Through the assistance of a Tree Care Educator and the Extension Master Gardeners, information and educational opportunities are also offered to churches and homeowners associations.  To view the Late Winter 2010 Newsletter for Homeowners, click here.. To view the Late Winter 2010 Newsletter for Contractors, click here. To schedule time with the Tree Care Educator or Master Gardeners, contact Community Canopy at 208-415-0415 or 208-769-2266.

Community Canopy has developed new planting standards that can be adopted by all participating communities.  One of the benefits of having area-wide standards is that tree planting contractors will not have to learn and adhere to different standards as they move from city to city.  The standards will also be provided in an electronic format so that landscape architects can easily include them in project documents that include public trees. Public trees include those in parks, public cemeteries, the grounds of public buildings, and trees planted within public rights-of-way (street trees).

Click below for Tree Planting Details:

• Container
• Balled & Burlapped
• Bare Root

Click here to visit the Community Canopy website.

Celebrate Arbor Day! This tree planting holiday, is celebrated on different dates in different states, Idaho's Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, April 30th in 2010. Coeur d'Alene will be celebrating Arbor Day on Saturday, May 1st at The Landings Park starting at 9:00 a.m.  Click here for more details.

Arbor Day Button Art Contest Winners Announced

The winners of an art contest to design a button for Arbor Day celebrations have been announced by the local Arbor Day Committee.  Jacob Ohnemus, a student at Coeur d'Alene High School, designed the winning artwork.  The second place winner is Tiana Simmons of Coeur d'Alene High School, and third place is Matthew MacKinney of the Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy.  The annual contest is open to middle school and high school students who live within the Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, and Lakeland school districts.  The winning art will be featured on a button that will be distributed, along with tree seedlings, at Arbor Day events in late April.

This is the fifteenth year for the Arbor Day Button Art contest.  The winning art will be made into 2000 buttons that will be given to fourth graders and others who participate in Arbor Day celebrations in April. 

Lewis Ohnemus will receive $75, a t-shirt featuring the winning artwork, and a supply of the Arbor Day buttons to give to family and friends.  Tiana Simmons will be awarded $50, and $25 will be awarded to Matthew MacKinney.

The other artists who made it to the finals are Kadie Blank and Chelsea Averna of Lake City High School, Breanna Tripler of New Vision High School,, and Jordan Tomtem, Michael Camerino, and Amanda Russo from Coeur d'Alene High School.

Nominations have been received and the trees nominated have been measured with the assistance of Lake City High School biology students.  We are fund-raising to cover the printing costs.  We hope to have the publication printed by Summer 2010.  

The spruce gall adelgid causes a cone-like growth on spruce trees that is green during the summer, but darkens as fall approaches. These can be unsightly and a real nuisance. Spring is the best time to take care of this problem. Spray the hosts (Douglas-fir & spruce) when the new growth is about 1 - 2 inches long and still tender. The crawler stage of the adelgid is moving around to establish itself at this time and is vulnerable to treatment. If you wait until the galls start to form (on spruce) or the insect has developed a white woolly covering (on Douglas-fir), the insects are protected and treatment will do little if any good. Registered products that can be applied at the correct time include Dursban and Lorsban ( general action organophosphate pesticides with chlorpyrifos as the active ingredient); Endosulfan and Thiodan (general action organosulfur pesticides with endosulfan as the active ingredient); and Marathon and Merit ( systemic insecticides with imidaclorprid as the active ingredient).

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The Douglas-fir tussock moth has been doing a number on ornamental spruces all around town. Spring is the time to get them. The insect passes the winter in the egg stage.These hatch in the spring at the same time as the new foliage is starting to grow. The best time to treat is when the new growth on the ends of the branches is about 2 inches long. By that time the small caterpillars will have moved from the egg mass where they hatched to the new growth to begin feeding. That is the time when they are exposed and most vulnerable to sprays.  The spray would need to be applied to the entire tree, especially the tops as the caterpillars tend to congregate there. Possible pesticides include Bt worm killer (a biological pesticides containing a naturally occurring bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis,variety kurstaki - Bt for short) as the active ingredient. Registered chemical pesticides include Sevin (a general action carbamate pesticide containing  carbaryl as the active ingredient ; Talstar (a pyrethroid general action pesticide containing bifenthrin as the active ingredient); Dimilin, (an insect growth regulator pesticide containing diflubenzuron as the active ingredient), and Mimic, another insect growth regulator pesticide containing tebufenozide as the active ingredient.

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Several bark beetles that attack pines can be prevented from making their attacks through the use of preventive sprays. Generally this is only done when there are very high value trees that are being threatened. Trees under stress are more susceptible and when there are high populations of bark beetles in the area, preventive treatment may be warranted. The principal pesticide for these preventive treatments is Sevin, a general action carbamate pesticide containing carbaryl as the active ingredient. The spray needs to be applied to the bole (trunk) of the tree from ground level up to where the tree is only about 6 -8 inches in diameter. Since this is often 80 or more feet up the tree, it usually requires hiring a pest control operator who would have equipment of adequate force to get the pesticide that high. The treatment is generally done in the spring as this is the best time to assure that protection is provided against all beetles with the potential to attack pines. When done properly, this treatment provides two years of protection.

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Tree diseases that we often see in spring are needle casts on lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir. The red or brown spotting of leaves is caused by a fungus.  There is no control, but it might be comforting to know that the affected needles will fall off and the looks of your tree will improve. 

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