The client has 3 cherry trees in his front yard, and he wondered why they were not growing at the same rate. He also noticed wounds on the trees that were not closing. The wounds turned out to be nectria cankers (a fungus disease). The trees varied a lot in size, even though the same age. All three trees had soil piled against the trunk and no visible trunk flare. I couldn’t pull the soil away because ornamental grass was planted in it. There were no other obvious health

I needed to show a client some examples of how an old and fragile tree can be supported by props. So I used that as an excuse to take Jodie and go on a little excursion to Longwood Gardens. (Note to the IRS: that’s why the company paid for our trip.) Longwood has 2 nice examples of this kind of support system. One is this big cedar that has a threatening lean. The other is this old decrepit mulberry. It looks like it should be cut down, doesn’t it? But Longwood keeps it