Entries by Ruben Green

Five Deer-Resistant Trees for Southern California Properties

Deer are certainly lovely animals, and most people enjoy getting a glimpse of these beautiful creatures sauntering through their yard. Unless that is, the deer are destroying the plants and trees you’ve gone to the trouble and expense of installing on your property. In such cases, deer can represent quite a problem. Short of building […]

Summer Tree Care: Four Tips for Protecting Your Trees

Tree-care is a year-round responsibility, but it is important to note that your trees need different things during different times of the year. And while one could argue that trees growing in southern California experience summer-like conditions on a more-or-less constant basis, there are a few special things you’ll want to do to prepare for […]

Bark Beetles

The world is home to about 6,000 bark beetle species – known to biologists as the subfamily Scolytinae. One of the most famous examples is the elm bark beetle (Scolytus schevyrewi), which transmits the fungi responsible for causing Dutch elm disease. However, the most important bark beetles for North American trees (particularly conifers) are undoubtedly […]

Pawpaw Tree

A couple of different species in the genus Asimina go by the name pawpaw, but the common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is far and away the most commonly encountered species. Whereas the common pawpaw is found throughout much of the eastern United States, all other members of the genus are restricted to Florida, Alabama and Georgia. […]

Poisonwood Trees

Poisonwood trees (Metopium spp.) are small to medium sized trees, native to Florida, Mexico, Central America and several Caribbean islands. As their common name indicates, they contain harmful chemicals, which limits their commercial value.

Pistachio and Terebinth Trees

About 16 trees native to parts of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas comprise the genus Pistacia. They vary widely in growth habit – some are small and shrub-like, while others mature into 50-foot-tall trees.

Yuccas

Yuccas (Yucca) are iconic perennials, found across a wide geographic area, stretching from Canada to South America. The fifty-odd species that comprise the genus inhabit a variety of different climate zones across this range, but most are native to arid habitats.

Smoketrees

Smoketrees (Cotinus spp.) derive their common name from their wispy, filamentous flowers, which appear like puffs of smoke when viewed from a distance. Because they are very easy to grow and add unique beauty to suburban landscapes, smoketrees are very popular ornamentals, often planted as borders or hedges.