Pix of blighted hemlock: any ideas on how save?
#1
Pix of blighted hemlock: any ideas on how save?
Hi:
Sorry to keep posting on same subject of my poor ailing hemlock but finally I've found a method for showing folks what the blighted foliage looks like... namely, please visit http://groups.msn.com/rlightbournepix/shoebox.msnw and look at the photograph named foliage.jpg by clicking on it to enlarge it.
Question: Anyone know how to treat this problem ?
I note that: (a1) over past month I irrigated the tree roots liberally with a surface drip and (a2) I used a 6 cycle timer to release six 12 minute spritzes over the day on the "mist" setting using my wonderful Aquazoom sprinkler that simulates rain very nicely on a tightly controlled area that does'nt waste much water (a2) I applied HollyTone fertilizer about 6 weeks back (b) subsequently applied MiracleGro both by pouring on ground and spraying on leaves (c) I sprayed ordinary kitchen detergent on foliage and also insecticidal soap (e) I visited the best-regarded local landscaping supply store whose owner looked at a foliage specimen and said he'd never seen anything like this before and referred me to Rutgers University Agricultural Extension that has yet to return my phone calls probably because it is underfunded because of tax cuts (f) I searched the web using the term "hemlock disease" and popped up the Cornell University website which said a lot about hemlock ailments but nothing exactly resembling my particular problem.
Well... maybe I better just light some candles and think about replacing the tree if it decides to die on me. Problem is it lives in an area shaded by 70 foot giants, so it receives maybe 3 hours sunlight per day. Also it lives right next to a viburnum bush that is the most aggressive plant I have ever seen, growing three or four feet per year when it is cut back to three feet above ground. You can see the hemlock leaning away from it... Also we had a droughtfilled summer last year and a very cold winter.... Also maybe the tree is getting old and dying of natural causes. I know it to be at least 30 years old, and it could be as old as 50.
Well.. sorry to go on at such length, but questions are meaningless without context....
Thanks for reading this far...
Regards
Bob L.
Sorry to keep posting on same subject of my poor ailing hemlock but finally I've found a method for showing folks what the blighted foliage looks like... namely, please visit http://groups.msn.com/rlightbournepix/shoebox.msnw and look at the photograph named foliage.jpg by clicking on it to enlarge it.
Question: Anyone know how to treat this problem ?
I note that: (a1) over past month I irrigated the tree roots liberally with a surface drip and (a2) I used a 6 cycle timer to release six 12 minute spritzes over the day on the "mist" setting using my wonderful Aquazoom sprinkler that simulates rain very nicely on a tightly controlled area that does'nt waste much water (a2) I applied HollyTone fertilizer about 6 weeks back (b) subsequently applied MiracleGro both by pouring on ground and spraying on leaves (c) I sprayed ordinary kitchen detergent on foliage and also insecticidal soap (e) I visited the best-regarded local landscaping supply store whose owner looked at a foliage specimen and said he'd never seen anything like this before and referred me to Rutgers University Agricultural Extension that has yet to return my phone calls probably because it is underfunded because of tax cuts (f) I searched the web using the term "hemlock disease" and popped up the Cornell University website which said a lot about hemlock ailments but nothing exactly resembling my particular problem.
Well... maybe I better just light some candles and think about replacing the tree if it decides to die on me. Problem is it lives in an area shaded by 70 foot giants, so it receives maybe 3 hours sunlight per day. Also it lives right next to a viburnum bush that is the most aggressive plant I have ever seen, growing three or four feet per year when it is cut back to three feet above ground. You can see the hemlock leaning away from it... Also we had a droughtfilled summer last year and a very cold winter.... Also maybe the tree is getting old and dying of natural causes. I know it to be at least 30 years old, and it could be as old as 50.
Well.. sorry to go on at such length, but questions are meaningless without context....
Thanks for reading this far...
Regards
Bob L.
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I must confess that I was surprised to learn the tree is thirty years old. Considering its size and sparse amount of sunlight it receives, I would imagine that it is not the strongest dog in the pack. It may be that its condition makes it usually susceptible to whatever ails it.
I haven't been able to learn any more to help you so far.
Perhaps the college will return your calls on Monday.
I haven't been able to learn any more to help you so far.
Perhaps the college will return your calls on Monday.