Franklin-Cotterell Greens Arboretum in North Bend, NE

08/17/2026

Bergeson ash northeast of the stadium had to be removed. The ash borers are relentless on our ash trees and I can't even count how many we've lost over the years. Dan Kreinert does a great job of removal and cleanup after the fact but losing that baby will leave a hole in the sky!

07/30/2026

Proof that that water does spread! There is a tree inside the blue bucket, Sargent Oak, that's been getting the soaker bucket treatment weekly. The ring of green grass supports the fact that it is doing some good.

Too many trees get planted in the spring and supplemental watering is almost a necessity to make sure they survive the summer heat and lack of rainfall. Best to plant in the fall and let those roots grow underground during the winter so they're ready to go next year.

BTW, I had no choice with these guys. We got 17 trees from the Nebraska Forest Service back in May so they had to go in the ground.

07/25/2026

Yes, that one tree is dying, or at least it's being killed!

Oh my, why? Well, it's called "The Tree of Heaven" except it is anything but heavenly. Takes over an area, rampant seeding and spread by roots, and grows phenomenally fast; I had a seedling in my garden one year and it grew 10 feet that one year. I cut it and used it as a specimen in the classroom. At least it was good for something.

Former student and fellow environmental watchdog, Jason Hamata, spotted this thing hiding in plain sight during a visit to the arboretum! It was growing robustly in the staghorn sumac bed a tree with very similar leaves and growth patterns and he was astute enough to see it and let me know.

Removal is no normal process either because if you just cut it off it gets angry and sends up "revenge" sprouts from all of its roots and I was not looking forward to that so I basal sprayed it with an appropriate herbicide about three weeks ago. It entailed using diesel fuel to pe*****te the bark and the herbicide Crossbow that has a couple of whacks of chemical to get those tough trees and shrubs.

Jason, thank you for your vigilance in finding and identifying what could have become a major problem!

07/24/2026

Welp, here's some people thankful we planted those trees in 1991 and 1992. Football camp a week or so ago. They weren't the only team enjoying the shade!

07/07/2026

Another variety of oak that's being tested for viability in our bioregion. We received three oak species; Gambel, Sargent and Wavyleaf, some shellbark hickory and some pawpaw to test. I would tell you they are all alive as of this writing but I don't want to jinx them!

Buckets serve multiple purposes in protecting from rabbits, wind and herbicide. I remember being at a forestry workshop and hearing "grass may be the biggest competitor" so generally it is removed from the immediate area around the seedlings and then mulched with woodchips.

Weekly watering is the usual but with the close to inch rains the past couple of weekends we've not had to haul water.

07/07/2026

New trees get a slow soak hence the "S" on the bucket, soaker. I've mistaken non-soaker buckets for soaker buckets and vice versa so had to take to marking them so I don't make the same mistake again! Tote 5 gallons to the "S" buckets and let them go for about an hour. Point being the the water comes out slowly enough that it percolates into the soil instead of running off.

07/07/2026

One of our new oak trees. If you look closely you can see new growth of about 3 inches on the leader since it was planted. It's happy!

06/13/2026

Ever wondered what a persimmon looks like? I planted these on a berm somewhere around 30 years ago because we had some room to do so. They grew so slowly but the trunks are pretty and, now, so are the flowers! The flowers are very small and this is only the second time I've seen any on the trees. From what I've been reading we must have two female trees because we've never gotten any fruit.

06/03/2026

A bit late getting this posted but it's "story walk" week in the arboretum sponsored by the library!

05/29/2026

If you happen to be around the arboretum you will likely see some buckets. They are housing some new tree specimens: Sargent oak, shellbark hickory, pawpaw, wavyleaf oak and Gambel oak. They are 'experimental' in that they are out of their range but the Nebraska Forest Service wants to find out if they are adaptable to our biogeography.

Buckets are not very appealing but I think they'll keep the rabbits away. A neighbor gave me all twelve of his Arbor Day trees one year and I potted them all up. Came back two days later only to find them eaten down to soil level! We have to do what the budget will allow!

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