One of the most visible signs of our local “Southern Ecology” is Spanish Moss. It has been eulogized in poetry, novels and song for centuries. It is closely associated with our mental images of the traditional “Southern Culture” from the days of the great plantations to the present. One of the most common questions asked…Read more
As the summer heat settles in and roads to the beach become congested, one of the last things on anyone’s mind is deer season. Even so, many hunt clubs and land managers are actively assessing the effectiveness of their efforts for attracting, nourishing and retaining whitetail deer. A wide variety of annual crops have been…Read more
Too many serious injuries and deaths annually are caused by inexperienced persons trying to do their own tree pruning. In most cases, the individual was trying to work off the ground on a ladder or was climbing into a large mature tree. The other injuries were usually due to the improper use of tools and…Read more
Homeowners are generally unaware of many of the various circumstances that can make their trees hazardous. If time is taken to look, most people can see obvious structural problems as major decay in the main trunk of a tree. Still, the vast majority of problems leading to structural failure are not easily recognizable to the…Read more
News sometimes feels like it is rarely good news. Politics, the economy, the national debt and the list goes on. To add potential injury to all the cheerless information, the storm prognosticators are forecasting an above average number and intensity of hurricanes for 2025… the bad news never ends! Anyone who has lived in panhandle…Read more
The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season will begin in two weeks. If you own a home with large mature trees, it would be wise to give some thought to the health of your trees and whether they present any threat to persons or property. That risk may result in liability to you. This not only includes…Read more
Spring is here and the weather is amenable to spending time enjoying the home landscape. The time outside gives the homeowner the opportunity to recognize any apparent tree problems. In a large percentage of cases involving residential settings, the problem can be traced directly back to improper planting and establishment issues. Had proper techniques been…Read more
One thing about winter storms is they blow off almost any leaves remaining on deciduous trees. Every time a cold front arrives from the northwest, the winds pick up and the yard must be raked again. To conserve labor the homeowner could wait until all the leaves are down before raking, but procrastination can cause…Read more
It will soon be the night before Christmas, and many a creature will be stirring in the house. Fortunately, it is not likely to be a mouse. The stockings are hung… somewhere in the abode with the hopes that Saint and Mrs. Nicholas got all their shopping done. The tree, either real or synthetic, represents…Read more
Given the right environmental conditions all trees present some level of risk. The level a particular tree presents should be determined, and a decision should be made as to whether that level of potential risk is acceptable or not. When the solution is too costly, or if it is too destructive to implement and still…Read more
