Dr. Dirr’s Tree Spotlight: Liriodendron tulipifera (Tuliptree)
From the arborists’ point of view, the tuliptree has more than its share of liabilities including excessively fast growth, limb breakage, drought-induced premature leaf abscission,
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Dr. Dirr’s Tree Spotlight: Acer triflorum – Three-flower Maple
A beautiful maple, resoundingly/photogenically magnificent in shades of orange and red in autumn. Colors long persistent, from initiation to the crescendo, easily 3 to 4
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Dr. Dirr Tree Spotlight: Thuja occidentalis-Eastern Arborvitae
Dr. Dirr’s thoughts on the Eastern Arborvitae: Not quite sure why I never fully respected this soft-textured needle evergreen but an epiphany occurred during a
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Styrax japonicus-Japanese snowbell
Beyond redbuds, Cercis, dogwoods, Cornus, flowering crabapples, Malus, and magnolias, Magnolia, there are precious few genera which offer significant cultivar diversity. Within eastern redbud, ~35
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Dr. Dirr Tree Spotlight: Catalpa speciosa, northern or western catalpa, down but not out
Catalpa speciosa has never been commonly utilized in cultivated landscapes, yet somehow occurs in off-the-grid locations from Maine to Florida to the west coast. The
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Trees and College Campuses: A Mutual Symbiosis
A December, 2017 visit to Amherst, MA to enjoy a Georgia-University of Massachusetts (UMass) basketball game brought back fond memories of my graduate student days
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Dr. Dirr’s Tree Spotlight: Quercus shumardii – Shumard Oak
Shumard oak is one of the most widely distributed species of the red oak group ranging from Ontario (4 counties) to Florida, west to Kansas,
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Dr. Dirr’s Tree Spotlight: Gymnocladus dioicus-Kentucky coffeetree
An email arrives from a master wood craftsman in Limerick, Maine. It reads… “have access to a giant log of Kentucky coffeetree but am broke.
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Dr. Dirr Spotlight: Pyrus calleryana- Callery pear and invasiveness
Touted as the biological savior for stressful environments since the introduction of ‘Bradford’ in January, 1960. Profuse white flowers in spring, shining dark green summer
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Dr. Dirr’s Tree Spotlight: Quercus bicolor
The North American deciduous forest is rich with oak diversity such as Quercus bicolor. Oaks are categorized as belonging to the White or Red /Black
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About Dr. Michael Dirr
