This edition for the last quarter of 2024 is a bit late as the holidays put a pause on our office’s activities in the same way that the whole community takes a well deserved break to spend some time with family and friends. We hope that everyone had a lovely holiday season.
Upcoming Fungamentals Series Workshops
We are happy to be moving forward this year in honing and expanding our Fungamentals workshop series. This spring we will be offering workshops 1, 2 and 3 once a month, starting in March. Titles include:
Fungamentals 1 – Mycology for Arboriculture and Urban Forestry
Fungamentals 2 – Small Tree Planting Pruning and Preservation
Fungamentals 3 – Practical Root Management and Air Excavation
Please get in touch to get on our waiting list for more information.
These workshops are designed with the green industry professional in mind, but we are working towards a full day Fungamentals workshop for laypeople – gardeners, naturalists, and other nature-enthusiasts. Please let us know if this is something that would interest you!
CBC Radio
Kyle has been dubbed the “Resident Tree Expert” on CBC Radio’s Fresh Air program. His appearances for tree health call-in segments have become so popular that he has been moved to a monthly segment.
If you missed his appearance on July 27th or October 5th, you can listen on the CBC website: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-193-fresh-air
Open for Bookings!
We are open for scheduling professional development workshops and seminars starting in the late spring, as well as events for the general public who are interested in trees, fungi and horticulture, including garden groups and naturalist’s clubs.
Please get in touch if you would like to explore options for your group or workplace.
Upcoming Professional Development Events
Wednesday, January 8 – Landscape Ontario Congress Conference – Seminar: Fungamentals of Mushroom Identification: Ecology & Basic Fungal ID Skills
Thursday, January 23 – Landscape Ontario Virtual IPM Seminar – Topic: “Understanding Oak Wilt and Vascular Pathogens in Trees”
February 19 – 21 – ISA Ontario Annual Conference and Trade Show – presenting workshops on “Fungamentals of Bracket and Conk ID”
March 14 and 17 – Landscape Ontario Pro Dev Seminars – Fungamentals 1, 2 and 3
Digital Nomad Alert
Angela, our Operations Manager, is making the Canadian dream a reality and escaping the winter cold and snow for warmer climates!
She will still be working while she is away, but please be advised that the best number to reach our office until early May will be at our main line: 905-906-3602.
All of our emails will still be monitored.
Safe travels Angela!
Keep an Eye Out
Just a reminder to everyone to keep an eye on your trees over the winter and get in touch if you notice any changes that seem drastic or puzzling.
We are happy to help address concerns and take a look if necessary. We still run crews in the winter!
IQQQ – Ironwood Quarterly’s Question of the Quarter
Question:
An Ironwood client sent some photos of her London plane tree in January as she was concerned about the changes she was seeing: a lot of shedding of bark and fruits, as well as some cracks.
Answer:
Rest assured, what you’re seeing is part of a natural process. The shedding of the bark is part of natural exfoliation which is a rare occurrence in our Carolinian forest. That is, with the exception of sycamore. They tend to exfoliate in the spring, it is uncommon for shedding in winter, however cold temperatures can lead to funny things.
As for the fluff, those look like sycamore fruits. The hanging fruit balls that we see on sycamores are actually ‘fruit aggregates’ and are very densely packed clusters of the fluffy seeds in your photo. In most cases they break down in spring weather however, I wouldn’t be surprised to see squirrels using them for insulation in these cold temperatures.
This cold weather can be tough on trees, and sometimes can leave them with frostbite symptoms that don’t show up for a while. Keep an eye out for cracking, or weeping sap once the weather warms up. If you notice, I’d be happy to stop by for a visit to take a closer look. Otherwise, I think you’re in the clear.