Ask-an-Expert on Trees and Forests

Is there anything known about the “tipping point” or ways to predict native trees decline due to drought stress? In recent years we have had longer periods of no precipitation, high temperatures, big fire seasons, and have been seeing more symptoms of dro...

We have several Scotch Pine trees which are between 50 and 60 years of age, beautiful trees in our front yard. Last fall we noticed the last tree in the row was losing needles, and the tree branches were turning brown. Most alarmingly, the upper part of t...

I have some brown spots coming up on the leaves of two recently planted apple trees (a honey crisp and a braeburn). Do you know what the problem would be? Thank you for your help!

I planted 13 arborvitaes in early May. They were all doing really well up until a month ago. Now I think a couple of them have died or are really sick. They are watered twice a week right now for an hour at a time, due to the heat.

I have one white ash and 4 green ash trees in my yard. The green ash trees appear to have some bore holes in the bark on the trunk and the canopy is droopy and dying in places. Is there something I can do to help them out?

Are aspens good trees for a yard and should we consider replanting new aspen trees where the old one died? Or are we better off finding a more suitable tree? Any alternative suggestions for Midway?

There are root like structures coming out of the ground in my yard. Do you know if they are normal or if they need treatment? They are making the lawn look weird. There is a large aspen tree nearby.

I planted a cluster of Aspen trees last November. They are growing nicely, however the tallest one seems to have no center stem at the top. Rather than having one main stem growing up, it looks like that was broken or cut once upon a time.

A cut aspen tree, with the stump still in the ground, is sending out a huge amount of shoots. Can anything be done to kill the stump, outside of removing it? Can the shoots be killed with some product? Help!

I have an Austrian pine that is turning yellow throughout the whole tree green and yellow mixed needles. It is 25 years old. I lost one three years ago, acted same way, had no sap tunnels or burrowing sign or holes in bark.

I am emailing you in hopes you would be able to help me identify an anomaly that I am having with my 10 yr old Austrian Pine. This tree has been fantastic as far as growth goes.

Is the blue spruce on my property at risk for bark beetle infestation? I go every year to chop down beetle killed trees in the Uintas, (pond pine, white fir), I bring it home, and use it for firewood. I have a blue spruce that I'm concerned may become inf...

I have a blue spruce approximately 30 feet tall that is losing its color and drying at the top. What could be the problem?

I planted the Bur in March and have been excited to see it leaf out. I have noticed that a good number of the leaves aren't the typical dark green that I've seen, and am attributing this to stress. That being said, the leaves are a mixture of light green

I need to prune my Cassia Bakeriana tree but I am not able to find any videos on this specific tree. Are you able to look at the attached pictures and maybe circle or make an arrow on what branches you think I should prune?

What is this on my young Washington Hawthorn? It was covered in ants. I was able to get rid of the ants, but I think they caused a burl, possibly. At least I am hoping that's what it is.

I am interested in planting some chestnut trees in Twin Falls, Idaho. I know they need to be in a place with good drainage but I am wondering if there are particular varieties of edible chestnut that may fair better than others.

Last fall I planted about a dozen chokecherries in my yard and a few of them are dying. Is that something you could help me with? The stems get this dark, sappy mark and then eventually die.

I have a 30 year old cottonless Cottonwood that appears to be dying and I would like to know if someone could look at it and tell me if that is the case or if it could be saved.

How soon do dormant trees need to be watered? I define dormancy as growth and metabolic or biochemical functions stopping in a plant or a part of a plant even though environmental conditions might allow for it.

Would you happen to know of any contacts from areas that have had more experience working with populations of elm seed bug (Arocatus melanocephalus)?

I have an Elm tree that is dripping a clear liquid on my lawn. The areas of the lawn affected by the liquid have been killed. Do you have any suggestions on how to remedy this?

I read the article where you discussed the oldest English Walnut in Salt Lake. What else could you tell me about it? It is ‘Champion’ cultivar of English Walnut, correct? I’ll have to look at Salt Lake’s lowest winter temps of the last ten years.

I have a tree I need help identifying. I think it is a beech, but not sure what type and if it is a columnar. I am also wondering how wide it will get. I was wondering if you could help?

Should I be treating my white fir and columnar spruce for bark beetles? We have met with two tree care companies and they've each given us detailed information of what they would propose to be done in our yard and it's conflicting.

I just noticed some strange discoloration of the leaves on my Emperor One Japanese Maple. Wondering if I can send a picture and get some advice.

I live in SLC and have a 20 year honey locust that has been watered with the lawn so it has 5 large superficial roots. Is it possible to cut out those superficial roots and have the tree survive?

The picture shows that this specific tree is somewhat "droopy" and the closeup shows what appears to be a sort of small insect (beetle?) infestation whose tunnels are exposed where the bark has peeled off.

I have property near Torrey Utah with many juniper trees. I'm the last couple of years I have had three die starting from the bottom branches up. I've removed them and in all three cases they were smaller trees growing next to healthier larger trees.

I have a Kentucky Coffee tree in my landscape. It was healthy last year, but this spring just as the leaves were emerging, it was hit by a frost. A few weeks later new buds had formed but as the leaves emerged they are deformed, almost looking like epinas...

We have Sycamore trees in our parkway in Daybreak. They are dropping lots of leaves and bark. This has never happened before. I did notice some what it appears to be aphids on some leaves as well. Any suggestions as to what might be wrong?

I planted this tree 3 years ago. I live in Herriman, Utah and this tree has been growing well over the last 2 years. This year the new leaves are not looking good this year. See photos. It gets water from the sprinklers 3 times a week and I also water dee...

I have a couple different varieties of maples that are coming out of dormancy, and for the second year in a row, the tips of the branches have no leaves and appear black/brown.

A mature mesquite tree on property I recently purchased in Ivins, UT, was damaged by contractors as they drove equipment under low branches. The attached pictures show an overall view and closeups of the two branches (4" and 6" diameter) that were damaged...

In the north of Spain, in the Basque region, they make a walking stick from a wood Neflier (makhila is the generic name for the walking stick). Is there any equivalent of Neflier in the US?

I live in Syracuse and I planted a Norway Maple in my backyard 3 years ago shortly after we built our home. I'm wondering if I need to prune the tree? And if so, how do I do this, what is the best time to do so, etc.?

Today I had a tree trimming company come out and look at my Maple tree. I think he is an arborist by training and education. I told him that I had treated the tree with Bayer insect treatment this spring and a second treatment in late May.

I have some trees on my property that appear to be dying. Over the last year, we have had to cut a couple of them down, and others continue to show similar symptoms. I am hoping you may be able to come help us determine what is causing these trees to decl...

I have what I think is a type of olive tree. It is mature tree that appears to be dying. There are golf ball sized sappy bulbs all along the main trunks. Several of the main trunks no longer produce leaves or new growth and appear completely dead.

My business partner and I are looking at testing the growth of a variety of Paulownia for the Costa Rican climate. We were wondering if there was a resource that you knew of that would allow us to test Costa Rican growing conditions in Utah.

I just found that my recently transplanted peach tree (two years ago) is leaking sap badly in several spots. I've read about the borer pest but is that likely the cause this early in the year?

I have a mature long needled pine tree which is losing needles and appears less foliated than normal. It has large pustules of sappy material with what appears to be insect larvae in in several locations on the trunk and branch junctures.

I have a tannenbaum mugo pine tree planted in our front yard that is about three years old. The tree began to yellow/brown last summer and this spring the pine needles are covered in what appears to be pine scale.

We live in Bluffdale where our soil is very dense clay. We are having trouble with most of our different types of pine trees. We have had several die on us already and we are worried about the ones we still have.

There is a housing development to the south of Moab that is experiencing pinyon dieback. I suspect that the mortality is due to infestation from Ips confusus, but my guess is that drought stress is adding to this issue.

I have a tree in my yard that Rocky Mountain Power wants to top or cut limbs in a L shape away from the power line. This tree is over 50 years old and at least 30 feet high. It is a healthy tree, Cone shaped I believe it of the Juniper family.

Prairie Horizon Manchurian Alder is a very adaptable species. It is cold hardy to zone 3, so it can survive our coldest winters. This species is tolerant of everything from full sun to full shade, and both wet and dry conditions.

I have an ornamental weeping cherry, and I believe it was grafted. I would like to prune it so it can retain it's weeping form. What do you suggest?

We've got a redbud tree that's 1 to 2 years old and its leaves just started getting brown spots.

When surveying the stock yesterday we noticed many of the trees are severely rootbound in their pots. My employer asked if I would reach out to someone at extension and ask for some information regarding the process of resizing rootbound stock into larger...

There's a beautiful tree in my neighborhood in Taylorsville and I don't know what kind it is.

My home is located inside a yard area with Siberian elms on all 3 sides with seeds, leaves and trash. Is there any depredation for such a massive problem. One tree has slime flux. Is there any help?

Can you tell me what type of tree this is? It drops millions of seeds, which pile up in heaps everywhere, sprout like crazy and which I collect by garbage cans full?

We’ve had a few trees “die” and then leaf out again with new branches at the point where the main tree died. The new leaves are covered with sticky, but I don’t see aphids. They are planted in clay soil. Do you have any ideas about what the issue is and a...

I have some very sickly pine trees. A brief description is as of this year when I began to notice issues, first was the needle loss in a couple of the large trees, 80 to 90% has or is in the process of shedding.

I have a windbreak of some 40 mature blue spruce trees probably 50 feet tall. They are planted in 2 rows. The trees are fairly close together about 5 feet apart. If I run a drip hose down each side of the row of trees, will that be adequate?

The blue spruce is about 35' tall and the arborvitae is about 17' feet tall. The HOA says they need trimming. I don't want to have to remove them. Can either be shaped and maybe shortened successfully?

I’m a hiker and recently came across a pine tree that I can’t identify. It is located in Sterling Forest State Park, Tuxedo NY, and is one of its kind that I have found. It has a dark green, almost blue, glossy, thick, 5-6 inch needle, with three needles

Can you use Sycamore leaves and a compost pile? This is one of the first years I have been able to get my temperature up in my compost pile. I have heard both comments stating you can and cannot use the leaves because of fungi and mold diseases.

How do you tell if a snowball bush plant is in transplant shock? Just planted four days ago and it looks wilted. Dropping heads of flowers. What can we do for transplant shock?

I have three trees in my yard, a maple, a red bud and a honey locust. The trees appear healthy but the people who do my lawn care want to sell me a package of at least 4 treatments, nutrients, oils, etc. Do I need to purchase a preventative tree care plan...

This is a Kwanzan cherry. What is going on here and how can I help it? This tree is usually a prolific bloomer, but this year it barely bloomed at all and the leaves are sparse.

I have two large trees in my yard. They seem to have fungal infection starting last year. This year it got particularly worse. One of the trees barely has leaves. I have been using anti-fungi spray called ferti-lome Liquid Systemic Fungicide II.

When is the best time of year to plant trees? Of those types of trees, which is best? How large does the root ball need to be?

We have cut down a maple, sycamore and ash tree that were growing in our yard and roots had spread on the surface causing the grass to die. How far down do we need to remove the roots so grass can grow?

Is there a time of day that trees take up more water or is it continuous throughout?

I am a landscaper and have been for 6 years. I have planted plenty of trees in the grass area. I have never put supplemental water like drip or bubblers around trees that are in the grass.

The soil here in Delta UT is very alkaline and I am trying to come up with some sort of plan as to how I will be able to get some trees to grow. I've heard that green ash can do well in this environment but I'm having some difficulty in finding any good i...

Can a non-Asian tree species (e.g. an Oak) grow in Asia? Yes. It really comes down to the growing conditions a species requires. Every species has different growing requirements, and it is important to understand those prior to planting.

What tree is this? It is the Turkish hazel tree (Corylus colurna). Some trees take many years or even decades to reach sexual maturity, which includes flowering and bearing fruit.

We planted 52 new 4-6 ft. trees in March 2016. We have been watering them 3 times a week (about 10 gallons per watering). Now that it has cooled off and turning fall, how often do they need watered?

We live in Grantsville out past Tooele and we were wondering if it is too early to prune our Peach and apple trees. Could you help us on this?

I have a resident in Oakley that wants to put in some spruce as a windbreak. The location where he needs the break is very near the line from his concrete septic tank to the septic.

I found this in the Coral Pink Sand Dunes Area and wasn't sure what it was. It's about 3 inches long. We believe it's a type of fungus and people have suggested it's a magnolia. I'm not sure if magnolia's grow down there. If you can help identify it or di...

I have a problem with a mountain Ash tree, leaves curling with web like substance. I believe it is leaf curl ash aphids.

I’m wondering if you would know what’s going on with my Yukon Bell pyracantha shrubs I planted just this spring, I think it was in April. They have been doing really well for the most part but all of the sudden most of them are looking really bad.

We have three green vase zelkova trees in our backyard that we planted over 12 years ago. All of the trees have been doing well, but recently one tree has leaves that are changing color- they are no longer a nice green color but a light/pale yellow