Try this website for info about snow-damaged trees

Care and Pruning of Damaged Trees - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

--Dianne Olsen

Plants send out for food

Scientists have found that when rice plants are growing in phosphorus-poor soil, their root hairs grow longer, in an attempt to find more phosphorus! Read the full article at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100217093938.htm
-Dianne Olsen

Hudson River Neighbors?

Get free Trees for Tributaries

Do you have a stream or wetland area on your property that is part of the Hudson River watershed? You may be eligible for free tree and shrub seedlings through the DEC and Hudson River Estuaries Program's "Trees for Tribs." Do you think your property qualifies? Check out this site: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/43668.html for general information about the program. And look here for a map of the Hudson River tributary system: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/hregpmap08.pdf

But hurry! Application deadline is March 1st:

Applications can be found at:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/hrewtftap.pdf

Bird calls online

Heard my first spring call this morning. Here's a fabulous website for bird calls! Just click and listen - this will help the Backyard Bird Count and all through the birding season.
http://www.enature.com/birding/audio.asp

See the insect - see the damage

This is one of the best websites around - look at the plant the insect feeds on, then you can click the link for a fact sheet and/or see the picture of the insect and its damage. Go Maine!

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/pritts/BerryDoc/strawberry/flowersandfruit/images/img0058.jpg&imgrefurl=http://pmo.umext.maine.edu/homeowner/homeownerIPM-host.htm&usg=__Uy10teJGjrWT7L6Xc9szl9POG0I=&h=469&w=714&sz=154&hl=en&start=43&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=hFyHQ3gGD4l1kM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtwo%2Bspotted%2Bspider%2Bmites%2Bcornell%26imgtbs%3Ds%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGIC_enUS309US309%26sa%3DN%26start%3D42%26um%3D1

--Dianne Olsen

Snow and winds? How to move snow off tender plants

If we have heavy, wet snow, the branches of evergreens may be bent and broken. Shake the branches gently to loosen the snow but don't shake them so hard they pop up. You can cut branches that are broken but don't do any pruning now.

Is it spring if I had my hands in the soil?

Yesterday I spent a happy hour or so taking cuttings of Pelargonium and Plectranthus that were in 4-packs and potting them up into 4-inch pots. The cuttings had rooted nicely and I'm hoping they are all happy in their new, bigger homes.
--Dianne Olsen