-
I have a couple maple saplings that are about 1.75"-2" diameter. I roughed out the bows to decrease drying time before I learned about decrowning. Should I decrown these? If so, does the entire back need to be flat or can I get away with about 50% of the back being flat? And should I do that now or wait until they are dry? Any resources on decrowning would be appreciated.
-
I also have a couple of cut serviceberry sapplings. Tim Baker considers them true bow woods. When I was peeling the bark, it spiraled the whole way down both staves, complete 360 degrees. Is that indicative of spiraled fibers in the wood and a sign that these are better off as walking sticks, or is that just how serviceberry bark grows?
We got a containerized autumn brilliance serviceberry tree earlier this week, and I thought it would be a good idea to have a landscaping company come plant it for us. It's pretty big, maybe 8 feet, so I could only imagine the tragic comedy if I tried to plant it myself.
But wow, I didn't realize how common it was for professional landscapers to plant improperly! I knew something was off as soon as I saw it, so started researching and found this great subreddit!
Here's the job they did. I asked them to plant it in the bare spot where we had a dead silver maple removed last year. And to use just a little bit of mulch and reseed the rest of the area. picture
The mulch is actually only a few inches high. From what I can gather, it seems like they dug a very small hole, put the tree in, then added a bunch of topsoil around it to get it to the height of the container soil. I also found a layer of fabric between the topsoil and mulch.
So, I started pulling away the mulch and soil from the trunk to get to the root flare. I didn't get very far yet, but here's where I am. I think I am starting to pull at the container soil now because I see small roots coming up. picture2
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention they left the nursery stake in too...
So my plan was to keep digging until I get to the root flare, remove the fabric, and remove the stake. Restake properly if necessary. However, should I be concerned if they dug a shallow hole and most of the topsoil around the root bulb was just added? I originally thought it was a good thing as I would be less likely to have the root flare be below grade, but now I'm wondering if it would be better to just remove all the new soil and dig the hole to the right depth.
Thank you all in advance for the help!
Hello, I am a first-timer making service-berry wine with foraged serviceberries (don't worry, campden tablets were used). I did a weeklong primary ferment and racked it into a carboy today but the ABV seems low for how much sugar I had in it and I'm worried I racked too early.
My initial OG was 1.082 and it just read at 1.054 (however this was the last of what was siphoned so maybe lower ABV at the bottom?). I have everything set up perfectly otherwise so trying not to screw it up by trying to measure what's in the carboy (can I just put the sanitized hydrometer directly into it?), but should I assume what's in secondary ferment now has a lower OG than what I just measured?
If the gravity is below a certain threshold, should I try to add more yeast or yeast nutrients? Does it need to be refrigerated?
Other info that might be relevant: I used Red Star Premier Rouge yeast as indicated, 12 lbs. of ripe serviceberries, frozen then boiled, and about 7 lbs. of sugar. I mostly followed this recipe except for different fruit.
Thank you in advance!
I like them for their white flowers and size. I live in Southern Ontario (specifically, in the GTA).
One con I've heard they can be messy and attract critters due to their fruit. Is this really true? I've heard it more for the crabapple than the service berry. But anyone have experience with them?
Crabapple trees are a bit denser, but both would provide the same amount of privacy -- which isn't a lot, but it's better than nothing in my suburban backyard with neighbours on all sides.
What else should I consider? I don't have a pool or anything in my backyard, just a paver patio and a gazebo. The trees will be next to my paver patio, planted about 2.5 feet away. Due to the small size of the trees I don't expect them to cause any lifting issues with the pavers. Fingers crossed. The water also drains away from the patio where the trees are so the roots shouldn't be growing towards the patio anyways. Again, fingers crossed.
Any sort of perspectives or reflections from owners or people familiar with these two trees would be excellent. Thank you!!!
