Questions?
E-Mail
Forestry Division
If
possible, take a couple of digital photos of your tree or shrub
and include them with your questions. One photo should be a close
up of the problem area. The second photo should be of the entire
tree if possible.
Drop Off Sites for Leaves, Yard Waste, and
Branches:
- The Satellite drop-off location at the Waste Transfer Station,
at 220 North College Drive, is likely to be the most convenient
location for people who wish to drop off their leaves during
the week. This facility is open Monday through Friday 7:00 A.M.
to 4:30 P.M. and Saturday 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. These hours
remain the same all year round. There are two piles established
in the parking lot for dropping wastes. One is for tree limbs,
and the other for leaves and grass. All materials collected
at this location are transported to the Compost Facility for
recycling. There is no cost to private citizens for use of this
drop-location.
- The Compost Facility, on Windmill Road across from Prairie
View Golf Course maintains the most convenient hours on the
weekends. Leaves are to be put in the same pile as the grass
clippings. The Compost Facility hours are displayed on the
City of
Cheyenne Website. Materials accepted includes: all garden
and yard waste, including, but NOT limited to: pumpkins, gourds,
corn stocks, leaves, garden cuttings, grass, limbs, etc.
For information concerning the Compost Facility please call
(307) 637-6440.
- DO NOT rake leaves, yard and garden waste into the street
or along the curb. Yard debris can clog storm sewers causing
severe storm drainage problems.
Protecting
Young Tree Trunks from Winter Sunscald Damage
The winter sun is lower in the southern sky. The lower angle
of the sun can directly heat the south and southwest side of a
tree trunk during a sunny winter day. Subsequent nighttime temperatures,
often well below freezing, can cause cell damage on the south
and southwest side of young thin barked trees or trees that have
damaged bark on the sunny side of the trunk. Cell damage can cause
cracks in the bark extending inward to the interior wood of the
tree. This damaged area can be a portal for insect and disease
attack. Research on the use of the paper trunk wrap does not conclusively
show that it protects against the "sunscald", "frost
cracks" or "southwest disease", all referring to
the damaged cells on the sunny side of the tree trunk, but the
paper wrap is better than nothing. Put the paper wrap on the tree
in mid-October and remove it in mid-May every year for several
years until the bark is mature enough to endure the intense southern
sunlight in winter. In the past, and currently in some areas of
the country, people use white wash or white latex paint to coat
the tree trunk, which reflects the sunlight, reducing cell damage
on the sunny side of the tree trunk. The white paint can be unsightly
since it will remain on the tree trunk in increasing stages of
aesthetic degradation for years.
During the dormant season, when leaves are not on the trees, nearly
all small deciduous trees, except aspen, may require some type
of shade on the south and southwest side of their trunks every
year for a few years. One way would be to put in 2 or 3 stakes
(e.g. rebar, t-posts, or small diameter wood), the height of the
trunk and two to three feet from the trunk. A material such as
wood lathe or a fine mesh fabric could be put between the posts.
The screen material would need to be able to survive the sun and
the wind exposure. This south and southwest side screen should
be installed soon after the leaves are off of the tree, mid-October,
and removed after leaves have emerged in the spring, late-May.
If the screen would not interfere with tree growth and movement
or cause an obstruction in the yard, you could leave it up for
three to five years, or even longer. If you have a tree that
already has damage from sunscald, put up the shade screen for a
few years to reduce the chance of further damage. If the tree is
healthy, and the bark damage is minimal (possibly less than 30%
of the circumference) the tree may be able to form a callus like
growth each year around the wound and eventually close off the
wood exposure.
Winter
Watering
- Plan carefully
 
The combination of saturated soils, high
winds, and root damage were the demise of this spruce. Note the
new sod in the photo on the right.
Winter Watering should startup after October 31st. Give your plants
a hearty drink and then again at least once a month during the
winter. Water once or twice during November, December, January,
February, and March if the soil is not covered with snow. Watering
should be done when air temperatures are above freezing to allow
the water to soak into the soil before freezing, and early enough
in the day to allow water to soak into the ground by nightfall.
It is a good idea to mulch plants with 3-4 inches of mulch to
reduce soil temperature fluctuation and to keep soil moisture
from drying out by the winter winds. Avoid saturating the soil.
Water when no wind or low wind speeds are expected.
Basic watering information.
Helping Trees Survive the Chills
of Winter
Unlike
people, trees can't step inside to avoid the harsh winter and
enjoy a hot cocoa by the fire. However, home owners can help their
trees survive the brutality of the cold months by taking a few
simple but necessary precautions. "Trees often are left to fend for themselves during the winter
because people think they hibernate," said Kim D. Coder, President
of the International Society of Arboriculture, a not-for-profit
organization that provides tree care information.
Trees protect food reserves and carefully conserve energy until
spring beckons renewal. Most of a tree's growth areas are shielded
inside jackets called buds. Any creature needing a meal chews and
nibbles on the resting buds and twigs, leaving trees in grave danger.
Tree Care Tips According to Dr. Coder, people
can help their valuable trees stave off animals and the inclement
weather. "You have
to think of tree care as an investment," he says. "A
healthy tree increases in value with age - paying big dividends
by beautifying surroundings, purifying air, and increasing property
value."
Dr. Coder offers six crucial ways to protect trees
during winter.
- Add compost - Add a thin layer of composted
organic mulch that blankets the soil surface. Mulch protects
and conserves tree resources and recycles valuable materials.
- Wrap trees - Properly wrap new trees that have not developed
a corky bark and could easily be damaged. This practice will
help keep animals from damaging a tree.
- Remove deadwood - Remove
or correct clearly visible structural faults and deadwood.
Try to make small pruning cuts that minimize the exposure of
a branch's central heartwood core.
- Lightly prune - Perform limited greenwood
pruning of declining and poorly placed branches. Pruning
should conserve as many living branches as possible, with only
a few selective cuts.
- Fertilize - Fertilize in small quantities. Adding
essential elements over a mulch layer helps provide a healthy
soil environment for root growth.
- Strategically water - Water
where soils and trees are cool but not frozen and where there
has been little precipitation. Winter droughts call for water
treatment the same as summer droughts. However, it is easy to
overwater in winter, so be careful.
For Additional Information:
The International Society of Arboriculture offers a complete
set of brochures covering many of the basic principles of proper
tree care. To order consumer education brochures or to locate
a professional arborist in your area, contact ISA
at P.O. Box 3126, Champaign, IL 61826-3129.
Squirrel Damage to
Trees
The fox-tail squirrels common in Cheyenne frequently
strip the bark off of many kinds of trees. The Siberian elm tree
below in Lions Park is a yearly target of squirrel feeding/damage.
The squirrels are apparently eating the stored sugars made by
the tree leaves during the summer and now stored in the cambium
and other cells beneath the tender bark.
The light tan colored portion of the limb
shows the bark stripped down to the bare wood of the limb. Frequently,
if damage is severe enough around the limb, the limb will die.
Occasionally, squirrels will repeatedly
attack one tree year after year, leaving other trees of the same
species nearby completely alone. Arrow indicates tan wood where
squirrels have been feeding. This Siberian elm has extensive squirrel
damage throughout the tree.
Winter Wind Damage
- November 27-28, 2005 Stories
of Wood Decay in Photos and Text
High winds common in Cheyenne, typically late fall through
early spring, cause failure in trees with areas of weakness. Dead
limbs, dead trees, decaying root systems, and densely leafed evergreens
are the most common victims of wind caused failure. Decay in wood
progresses from attacking a strong solid wood structure and ends
up with wood dust. As decay progresses, the strength of the wood
rapidly diminishes. The strong wood, in branches, trunks, and
roots, is what holds the structure of the tree in place. Decay
weakens the wood. Decay can be rapid or progress slowly. A tree
with decay may survive this wind storm only to fail during the
next wind storm.
The cottonwood tree shown above had been dead for several years.
The process of decay begins soon after the tree, roots, or branches
die. In this case, decay was prevalent and in advanced stages
in the root system. It is important to remove dead branches, or
trees, soon after they have died. Otherwise the cost, in the way
of injury or property damage, is much higher when they fail, as
shown below.
What
could have been simply a tree removal is now an unsafe tree removal
and extensive roof repair.
This large cottonwood failed because of root rot. The light tan
areas above are where the large roots have broken apart. The large
roots had advanced stages of decay. Smaller roots, the rope like
structures shown above, could not support the mass of the tree.
Decay in the root system is rarely visible. Mushrooms
growing from the ground at the base of the trunk, or near the
trunk, are usually the only visible indication of decay. Mushrooms
are not always present in every decay situation.
This large spruce blew over near the Botanic Gardens. The trunk
is on the left. Visible in the lower part of the upheaved root
system is a large root. There was a similar large root on the
opposite side of root area. Unfortunately no large roots were
on the windward side of the tree which is the top of root soil
area above. Notice the shallow depth of the root system. Most
roots are within one foot below the ground surface. Spruce trees
are especially susceptible to being blown over because of the
dense leaf crown and shallow rooting.
This cemetery spruce failed because of a decay pocket in the trunk.
The decay entered the trunk through a bark wound at the base of
the trunk, seen in this photo at the base of the tree just to
the right of center on the trunk. The trunk decay is indicated
by the dark brown wood seen in the broken area. Avoiding damage
to the bark in anyway, primarily by lawn care equipment, reduces
the chance of decay getting into the trunk. Decay in tree trunks
reduces the amount of strong supporting wood. What should be a
solid wood trunk is now essentially a hollow tree.
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