Twin Cities Tree Talk

Hello this is Green Goddess owner Matt Filla. As a general rule of thumb, late winter is the best season for pruning trees and shrubs. Main reasons for optimal pruning timing often occurring in February and early March are:

1. Extremely low to zero chance for plant pathogens to spread. Diseases prevented with winter pruning include Oak Wilt, Locust Cankers, and Apple Fireblight.

2. Tree surgeries waste less energy during winter dormant season. Less energy is distributed in the limbs plus there is no wasted foliage with deciduous tree limb removal. Spring trimming is usually the most stressful timing as trees with lower energy reserves after winter have pushed limited energy resources into the first flush of foliage.

3. Although early winter can be solid pruning timing, late winter is usually better as open limb cut wounds are less frequently damaged from winter cold snaps. This is because late winter is close to…

Hello this is the owner Matt Filla. Lyme Disease has a very personal connection…I take pride in helping reduce the spread of this debilitating disease. Avoiding tick habitat is the most effective prevention measure, although it is often impractical for those of us looking to enjoy the outdoors. Outside of avoiding long grass habitat try these strategies below:

First and foremost: Apply permethrin to yourr pant legs all the way to your knees in a ring around your whole calf section of the pant leg. Permethrin is an incredibly low toxicity product that will kill the vast majority of ticks as they travel up your pants. Permethrin is a synthetic version of pyrethrum…a natural insecticide derived from the chrysanthemum. Second: Call Green Goddess to apply for a tick tube program. Tick tubes are strategically placed where mice will enter the tubes to grab permethrin treated cotton for nesting material. Th…

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