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Summer Issue 2024 Vol. 11, No. 3
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Tree City USA
To celebrate Arbor Day, on April 26, the West Lafayette Tree Friends, the City of West Lafayette, Americorps, and 25 children from Berkshire Preschool planted 8 trees in Cumberland Park. The tree varieties included London Plane, Tulip tree, Frontier Elm, and Sterling Silver Linden, and were donated by Bennett’s Nursery. Arbor Day was founded by the Arbor Day Foundation to celebrate the benefits of trees in our lives and to encourage the planting of more trees.
The City of West Lafayette has been designated a Tree City USA for more than 30 years for its progress in promoting tree planting and care. Signs announcing this honor will soon be found throughout the city.
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You can now use your mobile phone or laptop to assess the health of your trees and other landscape plants. This free website called the Purdue Plant Doctor was developed by Purdue Professors, Cliff Sadof (Entomology) and Janna Beckerman (Plant Pathology) to diagnose and fix plant problems. This useful tool is for experienced professionals as well as those new to gardening. Purdue Plant Doctor, https://purdueplantdoctor.com, uses a simple 5 step approach to problem diagnosis: 1. Identify your plant so that you know what it should look like at the time of year you are viewing it. This will help you determine if something might be wrong. 2. Determine the part(s) of the plant that are having problems. Is there something wrong with the leaves or needles, branches or stems, flowers, fruit, trunk or crown? 3. Use images in the Plant Doctor to find images of your plant species with the problems and damage you are seeing. 4. Confirm your diagnosis by reviewing detailed information provided in the Plant Doctor. 5. Compare your diagnosis with “Look-A-Likes”, for plant features that are easily confused. A how-to guide to use Purdue Plant Doctor is available in English and in Spanish in a blog called Purdue Landscape Report. The blog, produced by Purdue Specialists in Horticulture, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, is published twice a month and available online or via a free subscription at https://www.purduelandscapereport.org.
In addition, Cliff Sadof developed a series of short 5-minute videos called Quick Guides to help people diagnose the most common groups of problems. Click on the Purdue Landscape Report to view Quick Guides in English or Spanish.
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What Makes it Happen? Donors!
To our donors: your commitment to the environment and the beautification of our community has not gone unnoticed. Your contributions have empowered us to plant new trees, maintain existing ones, and engage in educational initiatives that promote a sustainable and vibrant urban ecosystem. Together we are creating a legacy of greenery that will benefit generations to come. We hope you will join us for our Donor Reception in October to thank our donors. Be a Donor!
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What Makes it Happen? Volunteers!
West Lafayette Tree Friends can be identified “out and about” in the community by their bright yellow vests as they prune street trees, share information about trees, and fundraise at community events. Volunteers, along with donors, are the backbone of WL Tree Friends in their mission to purchase, plant, and maintain our urban canopy. Volunteers not only help care for our trees but also serve on the committees that support this important work. We send out a huge thank you to the volunteers who donate time and energy to make our community greener and healthier.
If you are interested in learning more about this important community group, upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, go to the website https://www.wltreefriends.org.
According to Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
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AmeriCorps brings people together to serve communities. WLTF are so fortunate to have AmeriCorps members again this year, to assist with spring pruning of WL street trees, and events such as Arbor Day and other urban forest projects throughout the year.
Their enthusiasm is a boost, and we appreciate so much their energy and desire to build and protect our City’s urban canopy.
Check out their website for more information about WL Park Allies AmeriCorps program.
THANK YOU! BRAVO! AmeriCorps!
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Trees need water to grow and to cool themselves. On hot days leaves of trees may start to wilt because they use more water than their roots can provide. If the soil is moist, trees can rehydrate and recover at night when temperatures are cooler. The abnormally hot and dry conditions this June made it difficult for many trees to get enough water to recover in the evenings. This is especially true for younger trees that have been recently transplanted. Older, larger trees that have had time to develop a root system are better equipped to extract the water they need from the soil. For this reason, it is important to give your trees some water to help them through the dry periods, when there is less than one inch of rainfall during the week. (Click here to see our YouTube video about deep watering.)
Watering Action Plan:
- Prioritize your watering efforts. Focus on young trees first, then larger trees if you have the time.
- Water deeply and slowly to allow the water to seep through the soil into the root zone within a 2-3 foot radius of the trunk. Consider using a slow- release watering device to conserve water and time. Soaker hoses left on overnight under the tree are probably the simplest way to accomplish this. You can also purchase slow-release watering bags or watering donuts (eg. TreeGator) that you can fill with 5-10 gallons of water and let drain overnight. These watering bags are best for small trees. The attached video shows how you can drill holes in the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket to make your own slow watering device.
- Follow the 5 + 5 rule to determine how much to water your tree each week during drought. Provide 5 gallons of water plus 5 gallons for every diameter-inch of tree trunk. Thus, give 10 gallons to a 1-inch diameter tree, 15 gallons to trees with a 2-inch diameter, and 20 gallons to trees with a 3-inch diameter, etc.
- Be mindful of mulch. Although mulch does conserve water by slowing evaporation from the soil, it also slows the rate at which water enters the soil from rainfall. Try to rough up the mulch a bit to break up any mats of fungus that may slow water penetration from rainfall or irrigation. You may even consider removing some of the mulch while watering and putting it back after you have finished. When mulching or remulching keep the trunk clear of mulch and do not make it more than 3 inches deep.
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Upcoming Events
General meetings of the West Lafayette Tree Friends
These meetings are open to everyone! We gather the second Tuesday of each month in the Bean Room at the West Lafayette City Hall. Meetings are listed on the City website and can be accessed virtually. Please join us!
Tuesday, August 13
Tuesday, September 10
Tuesday, October 8
WL Farmers Market: Cumberland Park Parking Lot (enter from Salisbury Street). WL Tree Friends will have a booth at the Market one more time this season – September 11, from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. Come visit us for activities for children and information about TREES!
Follow WLTF on Facebook and Instagram!
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