Wedgel Pine Kit

[TreeTopKid]

I just got mine the other day. Anyone used one yet? I was just wondering how hard you would slide the hammer? It looks like it would be easy to break needles or knock them too far and get them stuck.

Any tips would be gratefully recieved.

 

[Urban Forester]

I use it, the amount of force required is not much (medium?) considering how soft Scots pines are. Place the portal at a location that has good bark thickness, this helps get the portal to the right depth, don't place them in valley's or between bark plates as they will go too deep. I take it your area has pine wilt too... it amazes me how fast it can kill a tree. The little buggers multiply faster than rabbits...

 

[TreeTopKid]

I use it, the amount of force required is not much (medium?) considering how soft Scots pines are. Place the portal at a location that has good bark thickness, this helps get the portal to the right depth, don't place them in valley's or between bark plates as they will go too deep. I take it your area has pine wilt too... it amazes me how fast it can kill a tree. The little buggers multiply faster than rabbits...

Thanks U.F that's exactly the advice I needed. I have a tendency toward heavy handedness.

Since I've been here the problems I have stumbled across (I've only been here three years) are Ambrosia beetles ( I watched them defoliate a huge chunk out of a stand by where I live and no one did anything to prevent it. It was such a shame. I've also dealt with a few cases of Pitch canker (which I actually thought was rare but evidently not), and Rusts including one that affected the cone (Southern Cone Rust) the cone was actually a similar color to the sap that's affected by Pitch canker.

Thanks again, & have a great weekend.

 

[Urban Forester]

We have bark beetle issues here too. I found (if you have spray equip.) that onyx applied during adult flight works real well at keeping the population below threshold levels. Sawyer beetle is the vector for pine wilt, but ambrosia, ips and dendroctonus can still carry blue stain fungus, which is also vascular blocking and can knock out pines.