Practical advice on picking, planting, and caring for trees, backed by arborist knowledge and 20+ years of Northern California homeownership.
The best indoor trees ranked by light needs, care difficulty, and pet safety. Fiddle leaf fig, rubber plant, dracaena, money tree, parlor palm, and more with specific care instructions from university extension sources.
The fastest growing evergreen trees for privacy screens and windbreaks, ranked by actual growth rates from university extension data. Includes spacing guides, mixed-screen advice, and species-by-species profiles for every USDA zone.
Step-by-step tree planting guide covering container, balled-and-burlapped, and bare root trees. Hole dimensions, root flare positioning, backfill rules, watering schedules, staking, mulching, and the mistakes that kill most new trees.
A homeowner's guide to maple tree diseases, from harmless tar spot and anthracnose to the genuinely dangerous verticillium wilt. Symptoms, treatment costs, and when to call an arborist.
A practical guide to the oak tree diseases that actually threaten residential trees. Sudden Oak Death, oak wilt, Armillaria root rot, anthracnose, and the pests that mimic disease, with symptoms, treatment costs, and prevention.
A practical fruit tree pruning guide covering when to prune, the two cuts you need to know, training systems for apple, peach, cherry, pear, citrus, and fig trees, plus how to rescue a neglected tree.
The trees worth planting, based on real experience.
Avoid these trees. Trust me on this.
Get it right the first time.
When, how, and what not to cut.
11 reasons your yard needs them.
9 things to know before you dig.