Tree Care

What You need to Know About Oak Wilt, The Invasive Fungus Threatening Our Oak Trees

Beneath the cracked bark, the fruity-smelling, grey, white or black fungal mats can be found
Oak trees fulfill significant ecological and cultural roles in our urban forest but in 2023, our mighty oaks came face-to-face with a new threat: oak wilt. Check out our top questions and answers about oak wilt and learn what you can do to help prevent the spread of this invasive pest.

Girdling Roots: The Silent Tree Killer

Tree showing signs of a decline in health because of girdling roots.
A healthy root system is essential for sustaining a healthy tree. Tree roots provide many important life-supporting benefits to trees such as absorbing much-needed water and minerals from the soil for food, storing essential nutrients and anchoring the tree to the ground. But did you know that in some scenarios, tree roots can also be a detriment to tree health? Continue reading to learn about girdling roots and how you can prevent them from harming your favourite tree!

Are the Trees Alright? How to Conduct a Tree Health Assessment

A tree with a reduced crown, illustrated within the yellow circles
As a concerned tree lover, you might be curious about some ways you can assess the health of the trees in your neighbourhood. In this blog, we will be looking at some key indicators of tree health described in the Neighbourwoods Tree Inventory Protocol that we use when we assessed the health of the trees planted through LEAF’s Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) Planting and Stewardship Program. Read along and learn how you can observe the health of the trees in your own neighbourhood.

Transplant Shock - Helping Your Tree Recover

When a tree is uprooted from the ground at a nursery, potted up, transported and replanted in your backyard, it will undergo a period of stress called transplant shock. Trees communicate this stress through a range of physical cues, which may become severe in certain cases. Thankfully, there are some easy steps you can take before and after planting that will help reduce the transplant shock in your newly planted tree!
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