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DNR Offers Free Tree Seedlings To Wisconsin Fourth Graders Ahead Of Arbor Day 2024

Posted on by janness

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering free tree seedlings to every fourth-grade student in Wisconsin as part of the department’s annual Arbor Day tree planting program.

Wisconsin fourth grade principals, teachers and those who homeschool can now place seedling orders and coordinate delivery by completing the 2024 Arbor Day application by March 15, 2024.

Planting seedlings from state nurseries is a great way to celebrate Arbor Day (April 26, 2024) which is dedicated to increasing the number of trees across the country to help improve the environment. By ordering seedlings, you can help.

Through its fourth grade Arbor Day tree planting program, the DNR provides interactive education to Wisconsin students around the importance of trees within our environment. Annually, the DNR provides approximately 50,000 free tree seedlings to fourth-grade students throughout the state. Continue reading “DNR Offers Free Tree Seedlings To Wisconsin Fourth Graders Ahead Of Arbor Day 2024” →

Just Say ‘No’ To Knotweeds

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo showing a worker logging a large roadside infestation of knotweed.

Species in the knotweed complex grow very quickly, causing large infestations on roadsides like this one. / Photo Credit: Randy Westbrooks, Invasive Plant Control, Inc., Bugwood.org

By Erika Segerson-Mueller, DNR Invasive Plant Program Specialist, Oshkosh Service Center;
Erika.SegersonMueller@wisconsin.gov or 715-492-0391

As you work on your New Year’s resolutions this year, you might want to add “don’t plant invasive species” to your list. Too wide-ranging? Try narrowing the goal to a species-specific suggestion: “Just say ‘no’ to knotweeds.”

Sometimes referred to as “the knotweed complex,” Wisconsin has three regulated species of knotweed: Japanese knotweed, giant knotweed and a hybridization known as Bohemian knotweed. Each has been found in the state.

Continue reading “Just Say ‘No’ To Knotweeds” →

Green Light On For Oak Tree Work

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of fallen leaves from a red oak that show discoloration, an indication that the tree is infected with oak wilt.

Discolored fallen leaves from a red oak tree indicate that the tree is infected with oak wilt. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg Service Center;
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

With the weather taking its time to turn wintry, it’s a good time to remind landowners and work crews that now through the end of March is an ideal time to perform pruning, trimming and brush removal on and near oak trees.

This is a low-risk period for the trees to be infected with oak wilt, a fungal disease spread by beetles. When a red oak is infected with oak wilt, it will die that year. The disease also stresses white oaks, often proving fatal.

Continue reading “Green Light On For Oak Tree Work” →

Fight Invasives As Part Of A CISMA

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Erika Segerson-Mueller, DNR Invasive Plant Program Specialist, Oshkosh Service Center;
Erika.SegersonMueller@wisconsin.gov or 715-492-0391

Photo of a goat grazing during a demonstration held by the Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group

A field day in August 2023, hosted by Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group, featured a live goat grazing demonstration among presentations that included invasive plant identification tips, funding opportunities and management techniques. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

If you’ve been fighting invasive plants in your woodlands, you may have wondered if there were any groups in your area to support weed management. The short answer? Probably!

Wisconsin currently has 14 different Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas, or CISMAs. These regional county groups bring together community members to work on various invasive species-related projects ranging from fieldwork outings to controlling and monitoring invasive plant occurrences to education and outreach events so more local citizens can learn about and get involved with invasive plant management.

Continue reading “Fight Invasives As Part Of A CISMA” →

New-And-Improved USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Posted on by janness

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which perennial plants are most likely to thrive in a given location. The map is based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, displayed as 10-degree Fahrenheit zones and 5-degree Fahrenheit half zones.

WI USDA Plant Zone MapThirty years of data was reviewed by a group of horticultural, botanical and climatological experts for the latest USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map revision. This was determined to be the best balance between the fluctuations of year-to-year weather variation and the concept that, during their lifetimes, perennial plants mostly experience what is termed “weather” rather than “climate.”  A complex algorithm was used for this edition of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map to enable more accurate interpolation between weather reporting stations. This method accounts for factors such as elevation change and proximity to bodies of water, making mapping zones more accurate. Continue reading “New-And-Improved USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map” →

Keep Invasive Plants Out Of Spring Garden Plans

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of the invasive plant Japanese barberry

Originally planted as a garden ornamental, Japanese barberry can quickly escape cultivation and invade Wisconsin’s woodlands. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Erika Segerson-Mueller, DNR Invasive Plant Program Specialist, Oshkosh;
Erika.SegersonMueller@wisconsin.gov or 715-492-0391

While winter is just beginning to creep in on Wisconsin, many gardeners are already thinking ahead to the next spring planting season. While dreaming of spring blooms and designing your next garden or landscape layout, consider invasive plants that may try to weed their way into your plans.

Many invasive plants that are problematic for Wisconsin forests started as garden ornamentals. Although Wisconsin regulates 145 plants under the invasive species rule NR 40 prohibiting their sale, it’s essential to check your selections before purchasing and choose native plants when possible.

Continue reading “Keep Invasive Plants Out Of Spring Garden Plans” →

Video Reminds Public Of Impact Of Heterobasidion Root Disease

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo frame from a DNR-produced video on heterobasidion root disease

A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources video on Heterobasidion root disease shows ways to identify the disease and presents best management practices. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Communications/Outreach, Fitchburg;
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Now is an excellent time to look for symptoms of Heterobasidion root disease (HRD), a fungal disease that attacks and kills pine and spruce trees. The disease is present in 30 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has produced a video, a fact sheet and a booklet of silvicultural guidelines to manage the disease. The video and other links are on the DNR’s Forest Health webpage for HRD.

Continue reading “Video Reminds Public Of Impact Of Heterobasidion Root Disease” →

Don’t Let Tree Trouble Hitch A Ride On Firewood

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of spongy moth egg masses attached to a piece of firewood

A pair of spongy moth egg masses attached to a piece of firewood. Moving this firewood to another site could put trees at that site at risk in the spring. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach/Communications
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Are you generally hesitant to give hitchhikers a free ride?

October was National Firewood Awareness Month, and even though November has arrived, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) continues to urge residents and visitors to follow the same line of thinking when it comes to moving firewood.

That’s because tree-killing hitchhikers often lurk on or in firewood — including spongy moth, emerald ash borer, the fungus that causes oak wilt and other invasive insects and fungi. When untreated, infested firewood is transported away from where the tree died, those pests and fungi can later emerge to attack trees at the new site. This can happen whether that new location is in the next town or hundreds of miles away.

Continue reading “Don’t Let Tree Trouble Hitch A Ride On Firewood” →

Watch For Rare Fall Garlic Mustard Blooms

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of unusual garlic mustard plant flowering in the fall

Have you seen an unusual case of garlic mustard flowering twice in the same season? If so, please send a report to invasive.species@wisconsin.gov. / Photo Credit: Frederick Hengst, Wisconsin DNR

By Mary Bartkowiak, DNR Invasive Plant Program Coordinator, Rhinelander
Mary.Bartkowiak@wisconsin.gov or 715-493-0920

and Erika Segerson-Mueller, DNR Invasive Plant Program Specialist, Oshkosh
Erika.SegersonMueller@wisconsin.gov or 715-492-0391

Typically a biennial plant, garlic mustard blooms in the spring. So, it sounds crazy to find the plant blooming again in October.

Although garlic mustard might be taking advantage of an extended growing season, this second bloom also may be cause for concern — or, at least, careful monitoring.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Tax Law Forestry Specialist Frederick Hengst discovered this “mutant” specimen in early October while on a landowner visit near Wild Rose. The plant appears to have flowered and set seed several months earlier, but then re-flowered on the same stem.

Continue reading “Watch For Rare Fall Garlic Mustard Blooms” →

Article Sets Record Straight On Value Of EAB Management

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of an adult emerald ash borer beetle on a tree trunk

An adult emerald ash borer beetle on a tree trunk. The invasive insect is expected to eventually kill 99 percent of ash trees in Wisconsin. / Photo Credit: Bill McNee, Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach/Communications
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Entomology Today magazine has published an article debunking common misconceptions about management of emerald ash borer (EAB). The information in the article can be helpful to communities and landowners deciding whether to invest in treatment to preserve ash trees.

The article focuses on treatments for high-value trees, not those in woodlands. The advice in the summary is clear for communities, property managers of high-use recreational lands and homeowners with ash near residences:

“Allowing nature to take its course is a budget-busting option.”

Continue reading “Article Sets Record Straight On Value Of EAB Management” →