'Coffee with a Forester' set for Sept. 29 in Kimball

Nebraska Extension in Kimball-Banner Counties is hosting a “Coffee with a Forester” workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to address some questions about the status of trees this year, how to keep a tree healthy and also talk about proper tree pruning.

The workshop will be held at the Extension Office, 209 East Third Street in Kimball, with the program beginning promptly at 5:30 p.m. and lasting until 7:30 p.m. All residents are invited to come to hear about these topics and to ask questions about what is happening to the trees in their yards.

During the workshop, Rachel Allison, western forest health specialist will review:

• When trees are stressed by environmental factors this can lead to decline. Can the health of a tree be improved?

• Proper pruning is an important and key aspect for good tree health.

Call to register for the “Coffee with a Forester” workshop by contacting Erika Loy at the Extension Office, 308-235-3122, by Sept. 28.

The last few years have been particularly hard on trees, especially in the Panhandle of Nebraska. All summer trees across the Midwest and plains states have shown the affects in several different ways.

“We had years with drought, hard and early winter freezes, late spring freezes, high winds, hail, all of which contribute to stress in our trees,” said Allison, western forest health specialist with the Nebraska Forest Service.

This year trees that showed some of the problems were elm, honeylocust, willow, and several varieties of small ornamental trees; some trees didn’t even leaf out. Others which had been declining already in previous years include maple, ash and others, showing large branch dieback.

What is often confusing is that with all the spring rain, people expect trees to look a lot better, and some trees did benefit. But trees can be slow to respond to environmental changes. Allison explains that during drought years, roots gradually die back when there is no soil moisture and then buds that develop during good years do not have the moisture needed to fully leaf out because the root system has been damaged. Later, less food is stored for the following year and gradually over a few years the tree declines. This decline then causes the tree to take even longer to respond to an improved situation. The key to improving the health of the tree is to take the effort to apply proper tree care practices.

One of those proper tree care practices is pruning.

“Once a tree has been properly planted and growing well for a year or two, then it is time to begin looking at the structure of the tree.” said Allison. “Tree pruning is something that cannot be accomplished in one year; for a long lived tree, pruning and improving the structure of the tree can take a few years, pruning a branch or two a year.”

The goal in pruning is to develop a good terminal leader and scaffold branches. Pruning cuts should be made to leave the trunk wood on the tree while pruning off only the branch wood leaving a collar when pruned properly. Pruning handsaws and shears are best for these proper cuts. Proper pruning can greatly improve a tree’s appearance, its health and vigor, while poor pruning techniques or no pruning at all can lead to rot and early decline of the tree.

Come to the “Coffee with a Forester” workshop on Sept. 29 and learn how to help your trees so they can continue to provide shade, beauty and shelter for many years to come.