Talking Trees with Davey Tree

Matt Fredmonsky, manager of corporate content at Davey, talks about Growth Rings, a new book about Davey's history and growth from 1962 to 2020. Matt, also author of Growth Rings , talks about what it was like to write the book and why it's important to Davey.  In this episode we cover:   What is Growth Rings (0:45) The writing process (2:24) Why Growth Rings was written (3:15) How Davey...

Miles Stephens from Davey's South Pittsburgh office shares advice on how to maintain a healthy landscape as a dog owner. In this episode we cover:   Having a designated area for your dog (1:13) Maintaining your turf lawn with a dog (2:27) Plants harmful to dogs (3:22) Pet-friendly grass (6:21) Hardscaping your garden (7:03) Ways to provide shade for your dogs (8:43) Being a responsible dog ow...

Emily Mumford from Davey's South St Paul office shares tips on how to best care for trees in the summer. In this episode we cover:   What's the first thing an arborist looks for during a summer property check? (0:36) Tree pruning assessment  (0:54) How often should you have an arborist visit your property? (1:30) Summer mulching (2:03) Specific types of mulch (3:09) St Paul's winter...

Brad McBride from Davey's West Cleveland office shares some input on what this "new" disease is, where it started, how to spot it and what can be done about it.  In this episode we cover:   What is beech leaf disease (BLD)? (0:41) When and where was it discovered? (1:25) Signs of BLD and other diseases it may look like (2:27) Is BLD always fatal? (7:05) Future of BLD (9:01) #1 thing...

Lou Meyer, business developer for Davey’s mid-Atlantic region, talks about wood borers, woodpeckers and when to be concerned about both.   In this episode we cover:   Lou’s thoughts on woodpeckers (1:00)  What you can do to protect your trees from woodpeckers (3:50)  Sapsucker season and should you wrap your trees? (4:40)  Pileated woodpeckers and why they peck (5:31)   The different types of wood...

Joe Gregory, regional operations manager for the Davey Resource Group (DRG), shares some in-depth information on what carbon credits are, how businesses use them and Davey's pilot project getting familiar with them.  In this episode we cover:   What are carbon credits and how do they work? (0:45)  How trees relate to carbon credits (5:40)  Ways that big companies try to be carbon neutral (9:1...

Sandee Reid, Davey’s vice president of corporate communications and strategic planning, and Danielle Crumrine, executive director of Tree Pittsburgh, talk about Davey’s partnership with Tree Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Arbor Day and the importance of consulting with a certified arborist.   In this episode we cover:   How Davey and Tree Pittsburgh became partners (1:00)   What is Davey’...

Zane Raudenbush, turf and herbicide specialist within the Davey Institute, answers a listener's question and talks about fertilization, soil testing, weeds and grass cutting tips.   In this episode we cover:   What Zane would do for a yard struggling to grow grass (0:50)  Fertilization – All about fertilizing your lawn (4:20)  When is the best time for seeding? (11:03)  Tips for cutting grass...

Zane Raudenbush, turf and herbicide specialist within the Davey Institute, talks about invasive lawn grasses, the importance of soil testing and pH with grasses.   In this episode we cover:   The first questions Zane gets from clients at this point in the season & different invasive lawn grass species (1:05)  What to do about invasive lawn grass species (5:30)  The importance of soil testing (...

Jay Judd from Davey’s East Denver office talks about spring planting, the challenges in the Denver region and his favorite parts of the job.   In this episode we cover:   What Jay has to do differently in the Denver region (0:35)  How Jay deals with the clay soil of the region (2:20)  The importance of mulch and watering your trees (3:15)  Deciding what size tree to plant (5:35)  Jay’s favorite tr...

Rob Kruljac from Davey’s north Pittsburgh office talks rescuing cats from trees, installing eagle cams and educating his clients.   In this episode we cover:   Rob’s cat rescuing (1:08)  Climbing for cat rescue vs. climbing for work (3:08)  How Rob gets cats out of tree (3:45)   Setting up eagle cams (6:05)  How Rob started installing eagle cams (7:55)  The challenges of climbing for eagle cams (8...

David Horvath from Davey’s Lake Bluff, IL, office talks about spring pruning, the importance of a certified arborist and how he got started with Davey.   In this episode we cover:   How being on the lake influences David’s work (1:27)  What is being pruned now and why (2:28)  Patterns and differences in pruning different trees (3:05)  The technical aspects of pruning (3:40)  When you can prune it...

Natascha Batchelor of Hartney Greymont, a Davey company, talks about spring pest prevention, volcano mulch and unique trees.  In this episode we cover:   The first thing Natascha thinks about when looking at trees in spring (0:52)  How Natascha decides when to use horticultural oil (1:32)  Dealing with scale (2:49)  Fertilization for pest prevention (3:51)  What the soil is like in Cape Cod (4:46)...

Michael Sundberg from Davey's Southeast Denver office shares his favorite unique trees from the western half of the U.S., including some of his favorites in Hawaii!  In this episode we cover:   Natives in Colorado (0:51) Aspen (1:29) Hawaiian trees (3:14) (16:07) Winter in Colorado (4:55) Sequoias and redwoods (6:09) Dawn redwood in Colorado (7:04) Bristlecone pine (7:27) Planting conifers vs...

Jonathan McNeil from Arborguard Tree Specialists, a Davey company, in Atlanta talks about some unique trees he's seen planted in his area, as well as how he got his start in arboriculture and why he loves it!  In this episode we cover:   Unique trees in Atlanta (0:49) Conditions for live oaks (1:36) Elms in the south (3:16) Other unique trees (4:07) Red bud varieties (4:50) Ginkgo (5:14) Othe...

Three students from the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) training program talk about the benefits of this annual four-week program, what they are learning and why they feel appreciative of the opportunity to attend D.I.T.S. Andy Grassia from Davey's Richmond office, Samuel Torres from Davey's North Philadelphia office and Santiago Valencia from Davey's utility Gulf region...

Chris Ellwood, district manager from Davey’s West Columbus office, talks about knowing when to break up with your tree and the importance of having a certified arborist check your property.   In this episode we cover:   How to know when it’s time to break up with your tree (0:48)  Catalpa trees (4:29) Doug’s experience with breaking up with trees and having a certified arborist catch issues (6:26)...

Rob Kraker from Davey's Southeast Nashville office shares tips on how to get your landscape ready for spring to set your trees up for a healthy growing season!  In this episode we cover:   Tips to get trees ready for the growing season (0:31) (2:09) (9:10) Magnolias in Nashville (1:02) When does fertilization start? (2:50)  What happens when a tree blooms too early? (3:55) Deep root fertiliza...

Chris Fields-Johnson, technical advisor at the Davey Institute, talks about the importance of healthy soil and his Davey career.  In this episode we cover:   What is healthy soil? (0:50)   What the soil is like where Chris is (1:26)  The importance of PH when planting trees (2:30)  Acidic soil plants (4:40)  Can you and should you change your PH? (5:33)  The importance of a soil test (7:15)  Luxur...

Kevin Sproule from Davey's Edmonton, Alberta, office shares advice on how to protect your trees and plants from rock salt damage, as well as how to determine if your tree has experienced salt damage. In this episode we cover:   How to keep plants safe from salt (0:45) Keeping salt away from the base of trees (1:41) Watering (2:38) Determining if a tree has salt damage (3:15) When to call an a...

Lou Meyer, business developer for Davey’s mid-Atlantic region, talks about the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS), green industry trends and his favorite parts of his job.   In this episode we cover:   What is MANTS? (1:05)  Green industry trends and home improvement (2:16)  Where Lou sources his trees from (3:14)  How Lou and Davey decide what trees to order (4:15)  Other green industry tren...

Josh Rongish, district manager from Davey’s Omaha, Nebraska, office, talks about protecting trees from winter weather, his favorite trees and his Davey career.   In this episode we cover:   Safety in winter weather (0:40)  Should you knock ice/snow off your tree? (1:20)  What can you do for trees in low temperatures? (2:38)  What is wrapping bark and how to do it? (3:30)  Will trees recover from f...

Eric Countryman from Davey's East Pittsburgh office shares some trees that can act as a windbreak for your properties and houses, and why they are beneficial.  In this episode we cover:   Working outside (0:58) Why windbreaks are helpful (1:53) Choosing a tree based on zone (3:11) Holiday winter storm in 2022 (4:34) Green giant (6:03) Deer resistance (6:46) Availability (7:42) Where to plant?...

Marcus Parker from Davey’s Southeast Chicago office talks about the best resolutions for your trees, his favorite trees and his Davey career.   In this episode we cover:   Marcus and Doug’s New Year’s resolutions (0:35)   Resolution: Watering (1:50)  Marcus’ favorite trees (3:30)   Resolution: Mulching (6:08)   Resolution: Fertilizing (8:22)   How Marcus started in arboriculture (13:15)   What Mar...

Dan Herms, vice president of research and development at the Davey Institute, talks about what trees should be planted for changing hardiness zones, his climate change research and why you should be optimistic but realistic about mitigating climate change.   In this episode we cover:   The research Dan has done on climate change (0:50)  How climate change will impact trees (2:22)   Changing hardin...