Tree & Shrub Care

By Laurie Meyerpeter, Master Gardeners of Placer County Q: Why did one of my trees turn color early this year?A: Trees turn color for a variety of reasons. As the days shorten, they go through a number of stages leading to an explosion of red, gold, and orange colors of fall. Cool nights and warm…

Pauline Kuklis, Master Gardeners of Placer County From The Curious Gardener, Fall 2010Are you looking for a showy California Native that will bring interest to your landscape all year round?If so, be sure to check out the beautiful Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis). Each year they are one…

By Laurie Meyerpeter, Master Gardeners of Placer County Q: I just bought a Japanese maple from a nursery. The nursery said it is a sun-tolerant variety but when I planted it in my yard last July, in an area where it receives full sun, it got severely burned. Why?A: Japanese maples are very…

By Trish Grenfell, Master Gardeners of Placer County Q: Our Blue Oak trees on the perimeter of our property are losing much of their leaves. I know they are deciduous trees but their leaves normally don’t drop until the fall. Do you know what could be the cause? I fear it is Sudden Oak Death.A:…

Article and photos by Nicole Harrison, Master Gardeners of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2022  How we prepare for fire can mean the difference between dead trees and trees that are resilient to fire. In an evaluation of a fire damaged tree, there are a few key things to consider…

From Forestland Steward, Winter 2007 newsletter, courtesy of California Forest Stewardship ProgramFrom The Curious Gardener, Summer 2007Trees die even in healthy forests; it’s part of the cycle of life. But if you notice large numbers of previously healthy trees with brown needles or other signs of disease…

Article and photos by Nicole Harrison, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Winter 2022  To a large degree trees are just biological organisms that progress through a predetermined life cycle, like us. They sprout and grow (infancy) and then enter a vigorous growth phase …

By Nicole Harrison, UC Master Gardener of Placer CountyFrom The Curious Gardener, Spring 2023  After the extreme weather of January, anyone with trees still standing probably felt lucky. The unfortunate truth is that many of the failures were likely predictable by a qualified consulting arborist…

Why are conifers dying?Across the state, but in the Sierra Nevada in particular, unprecedented numbers of trees have died on both public and private land. Many trees stressed from the four-year drought and overcrowding have succumbed to bark beetles. Aerial detection surveys done in 2016 showed that 102…