Delaware County
Master Gardener Association

Dr. Kayla Perry, an entomology professor at OSU, spoke on Heterogeneity in Forest Landscapes. Heterogeneity is the state of consisting of dissimilar or diverse elements - such as the layers of a forest.

Habitat heterogeneity is the number of different habitats within an environment or ecosystem.   Forests have both horizontal and vertical habitats.  From top to bottom is the canopy, the understory, shrubs, herbs, and then the ground itself.  A stream can add a second habitat.  The more habitats there are, the more niches are available for different species.

A few of the many interesting facts Dr Perry shared were that the forested land cover in Ohio has increased over the last century, that nothing feeds on multiflora rose, and that leaf-litter and soil layer provide the highest non-plant diversity and support plants and animal diversity in all other layers of the forest through decomposition.

Our final speaker was Paul Snyder from Secrest Arboretum.  Paul spoke on Tree ID and brought a multitude of tree and shrub limbs and leaves for us to see the different identifiers, such as alternate, opposite, sub-opposite, or whorled branching; the different leaf margins; and the variety of venation.  His presentation was concluded by a walk in the Arboretum discussing the traits seen in several of their trees.

Upon return to the classroom, we played a Tree bingo game that Nancy Reynolds had.  She challenged our class to develop a bingo game of the trees that are native to Ohio. Her black walnut cookie was a family recipe that she recalls eating every holiday.

The book giveaway, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast, by Michael Wojtech and Tom Wessels, was won by Charlotte Niceswanger.

We concluded the class with close to 40 classmates reporting on their class project.  It was

amazing that there didn't seem to be a duplicated project in the bunch!  Our respective counties are really going to benefit from the knowledge we are gaining in this class!

Our next speaker was Chris Ahlum, president of Ahlum and Arbor Tree Preservation Company.  Chris spoke to the why, when and how of tree pruning.  It's Important to prune to ensure the tree is structurally sound, aesthetically pleasing, healthy,  does not create an unsafe environment, and to improve flower or fruit production.   With trees that flower on current season wood, prune during the dormant season or just before growth will occur In the spring.  For trees that flower on last season's wood, prune just after the bloom.  Only prune oaks between October and March to prevent oak wilt.  

Pruning should only occur next to the collar, as the callus tissue that heals the wound comes from collar.  Use a three-cut method but first cutting under the branch one to two feet from the trunk (this will prevent the bark from peeling), then cut from the top just slightly beyond the first cut, and finally cut at the collar.

For conifers, the best pruning technique is to pinch off the candles (new growth).  

Our final speaker of the day was Laura Deeter of Chadwick Arboretum, who spoke on identifying trees and basic care.  Laura began by reminding us why it is important to know the botanical name:  the common name for a plant can and will change from one area to another and, regardless of what language you speak, the botanical name remains the same.  

Laura also shared  that an 80 year old oak is the equivalent of a 13 year-old child; In the 1800s In Austria, they excavated tree roots and found them to be up to 30 feet beyond the drip line; you can water a tree a night If you water from the ground; and that dyed mulches are often from pallets and you have no idea what had been stored on that pallet.

Laura then led us on a trek around the Secrest's rear parking lots to identify numerous trees and answer questions.      

Nancy Reynolds baked Mulberry muffins as our tree taste-treat for the day.  And Chris Ahlum brought a number of copies of his book, The Guide to Ohio Trees:  Forty Trees, Forty Years, and generously donated four copies that were won by  Marlene Dorko of Madison County, Karen Jensen of Franklin County, Karen Lewis of Franklin County, and Christy Pearl of Madison County.   Emma Barth-Elias of Summit County won the Sibley Field ID book and flashcards. 

Our next speaker was Heather Sheets with ODNR's Project Learning Tree program.  This environmental educational curriculum  can be used by teachers, educators, parents, and community leaders who want to work with pre-school to grade 12 youths.  There's something here for everyone who wants to work with kids.   We concluded this section of class with some tree yoga (check out the photos!).

Dr Gary Gao was our final speaker and entertained us with his stories and quips, not to mention his vast information on fruit trees.   One would think that growing apple trees would be easy - but not so!  You need to address pruning, fungicides, Insecticides, timing of application, coverage (hence why most commercial growers select dwarf trees), rain Issues, fertilization (which requires soil testing), fruit thinning (too many fruits  and flowers are a bad thing - who knew!) to ensure consistency in size.  Many grower will seal the apple In a brown paper bag as an insect control.

He recommends the  Midwest Home and Fruit Production Guide, which is available through the OSU Extension website.

Dr Gao also gave insights Into growing grapes and stone fruits.  He concluded with Information on pathogens and diseases.

Today's tasty treat from Nancy Reynolds was redbud jelly on biscuits.  The recipe was pretty simple (redbud flowers, sugar, pectin, and water) but gathering the flowers was a quite a chore!  Not to be outdone, Dr Chatfield reminded all of Secrest's Arbor-eatum that will be held in the fall (watch our Calendar for the date).  

The book Bark:  A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast by Michael Wojtech and Tom Wessels was won by Sue Cline of Madison County.