The Seasonal Information page has gotten rather large now runs for approximately six months at a time. If you want to go back to earlier Seasonal pages, go here. These topics will change from month to month as we encounter things we find interesting. Hopefully, what interest us will interest you. We update this page at least every three weeks or as needed. Not all the subjects listed below are updated every time we post.
If you are local and want to get in touch with us by phone here is our number. 704-332-4628
March 28, 2003 We see a little break take a look at our spring newsletter. Newsletter Spring 2003
February 15, 2003 Mucho ice storm work.
January 15, 2003 Still busy from ice storm
December 23, 2002
It has been a busy two weeks. The ice storm hit on Wednesday night, December 4, 2002. My wife and I were in New York goofing off and had the flight delayed so did not get home until Friday evening. Our office phone and electricity were out until Monday, and then the phone really started ringing. It is now almost twenty days later and the phone is still ringing.
We have been preaching tree care for many years especially in our older oaks. Looking for signs of stress, decay, forked branches, and other signs of weakness is something that anyone can do. A trained eye might well see something a layman would not, but much is just common sense.
This storm will make many people here more aware of their trees, and the danger they can pose if left totally neglected.
The damage was in certain types of trees. Some willow oaks still had leaf on them and the extra leaf surface allowed for more ice buildup. From what I have seen most of the damage was in willow oaks. Some pines suffered as well as birch, crape myrtle, Bradford pears and magnolias. I would have thought that wax myrtles would have suffered more damage as well as pecans. The pecans are one of the last trees to shed it's leaves.
People have asked me how long we will be busy from the storm and I would say that a month or so will take care of the immediate needs. In the long run, I believe that we will have calls for a year or two based on the fact that a lot of trees were damaged and now people are more concerned and can see the need for tree care. In this area it is not uncommon for a 1/2 acre residential property to have up to ten willow oaks 24 inches in diameter and pushing 100 feet tall.
I have used this old sailing expression a number of times. "It is an ill wind that does not blow somebody some good."
October 19,2002
We have had some rain and in mid September the mushrooms really came out at the base of shade trees. Technically, they are called basidiocarps and are the reproductive bodies of the fungi. Since these late summer and early fall basidiocarps have appeared an abundance this year I have devoted a separate page to them. Click on Rootrot..
September 27, 2002
I try to edit this site about every three weeks. Sometimes I do not get into each of the areas (links) listed in yellow above. I almost always enter things in the Ponds section just because this is a special interest and hobby of mine. I like to grow things.
About trees these last few months. They are really suffering from the drought. Both understory trees such as dogwoods and mature shade trees are suffering. We are seeing deterioration of shade trees much faster than I have ever seen before. A large white oak that had some construction close to it three years ago looked a little thin in the top last year. The owner has done no fertilizing and we donated a fertilizing treatment to it in early 2001. This summer it started to die in the tips and now is about 3/4 dead.
I have seen many large limbs drop from street trees and are lying on the planting strip or the medians. With no natural rainfall, the soil is really drying out.
What can one do. Keep those trees watered. Add soil conditioners and mulch. There are a number of products that are supposed to create a better root growing environment. These products affect the mycorrhizal root growth. Soil that has plenty of oxygen which means it is porous and good drainage is necessary for root growth. If you are growing lots of earthworms in your soil, the soil is healthy, if not your soil needs help.
May 29, 2002
Drought has really come to our attention in a big way. The entire country is being affected and some areas are in much more advanced stage which has been going on for three years or so. As far as trees are concerned, if you see problems in the foliage, especially in the crown it could easily be drought stress. By the time that it is visible to the average person, considerable damage is already done to the root system.
Small feeder roots will be the first to go, and if the situations ignored, death can result. generally in this area, Piedmont NC, we have had pretty good rainfall and certainly our water supply for Charlotte itself is one of the best in the country. The problems occur with the delivery system which keeps getting taxed and overused. Some years ago a 54 inch water main was brought through the center of town to help the outlying areas get water.
The City fathers and the Water Department Gurus have seen fit to raise water rates to discourage people from wasting water. I have no problems with this because generally people who have home irrigation systems waste a lot of water because they do not understand how to run their irrigation systems well. Commercially, there is poor design and the fact that most people who make the decisions to water are not the ones paying the water bill.
This water situation is so important and our water rates have gone up so dramatically, that we now have a section devoted to water usage and conservation. There are explanations of the local water rates and how you can look at your water bill and understand what it means.
There are also tips about programming your irrigation controller and specifically how to save water and money.
go to Water Rates and Other Issues.
May 17, 2002
This spring has been very unusual, in early April it was exceptionally warm, and then we have had some cold snaps. The spring bloom was not killed back by frost which is usually the rule. In a normal year it seems the deciduous magnolias come out with their profuse bloom, and then about two days later, a cold snap blast in and the flowers turn a nasty brown.
Cankerworm attacks were spotty so see the cankerworm link above for more detailed information.
April 1, 2002
Spring is really here. Usually the tenth of April is the peak, but today is really beautiful. Some years ago, I kept a log of when things first appeared in bloom or leaf. I mainly did this to see when the boxwood leaf miner would emerge. It varied from the last day of March to April 15th. Of course some plants are affected by degree days, others by cold, others by sunlight, so each plant has its different method to determine when it should leaf out or flower.
Here is for a good year and hope the world becomes a safer place to live.
February 17, 2002
No ice storms yet, in fact it has been a very mild winter. We had one good snow in the early winter about 6 inches deep and it was gone in a few days as is normal around here. Of course winter is not done yet, but spring is not far away.
If you have large old trees like we do in the inter-city neighborhoods, inspect your trees for decayed places that are in the main trunk, large limbs and so forth. If you suspect that there is decay and that breaking limbs or trunks are likely, contact someone knowledgable as soon as you can for advice. Mushrooms on the trunk or at the base of the tree are a sign of trouble also.
As our trees get older, they behave like a house. Maybe for ten years there are not many problems, but as the years go by roofs leak, plumbing breaks, and things just happen. Trees are much like that and as they get old, they are subject to problems.
January 16, 2002
It's at new year and as usual, business is a little slow from Thanksgiving until after Christmas. But typically, the phone starts to ring a little after the first of the year and this year is no exception.
We have been advising tree owners that our large trees need to be studied. There are many wounds and weak forks that need attention. As trees get older and larger, more damage can be done if something breaks and the cost of removal is also greater if that is the end result.
One solution is to have a qualified arborist examine your trees. If you live in our area, contact us or if your home is somewhere else, check for a consulting arborist. Consulting arborist are members of The American Society of Consulting Arborists. http://www.asca-consultants.org/
December 17, 2001
As we have suggested, older trees here are having their problems. We had a mild wind storm recently and a street tree on Ardsley Road broke and fell in the yard of a homeowner. What was different about this tree was that the tree right next to it had been marked by the city for removal. Both trees are approximately 40 inches in diameter, and the tree which fell collapsed on itself. It did not break up above and have the top drop out, or uproot but just fell on itself.
I have never seen anything like this before, and what was really strange was that I was preparing for a talk about old trees. I was in my car on the way home for lunch and was rehearsing my little speech when all of a sudden I came upon this downed tree. It was about noon and it appeared that no one had even looked at the tree. I thought that was coincidental.
December 16, 2001
Looks like I missed a month for an entry. I try to put some new information up here about every three weeks. This has been a busy fall. Since September 11, we have been adjusting to the way things will be. From a business standpoint, trees keep living, growing and dying. We still have wind and ice so there probably will always be some tree work.
It has been so very warm, we usually have a hard freeze shortly after Thanksgiving (Nov 25th) and the cankerworms begin their migration. So far we still have some flowers blooming in the garden. In this area we are having a bad three-year drought and trees and shrubs that do not have irrigation, some are in a bad way.
October 20, 2001
Fall is here and the leaves are starting to drop. We have seen quite a few problems this spring and summer with older trees. Many of our older neighborhoods had trees planted back about 1917. These trees had some age when they were planted. The street trees in Myers Park were planted off the back of a cart drawn by mules, and it appears from photographs that the size was about 5 inches in diameter. These trees could easily have been ten years old, so we are seeing tree lined streets of the older neighborhoods with trees that are almost 100 years old. We have often said that about 120 years is about the maximum age for a willow oak.
The books say that street trees normally live for about 60 years. So you see the problem .... we have a generation of trees that are getting well past their prime.
If you have older trees, someone knowledgeable should look at them with you to see about their condition.
August 26, 2001
Mid summer always brings a lot of tree removals for the tree crew. The drought that has been going on for a number of years takes its toll, as do pine beetles, as does lightning. We recently saw a large willow oak that was struck by lightning where the lightning blew off most of the bark on the trunk. For 50 feet up you would see just the white of the wood against the dark background of the remaining bark.
If you are not aware, copper lightning protection in trees works.
July 16, 2001
We are seeing typical tree problems this time of year. Dutch Elm Disease, and sycamore anthracnose are two common ones. Both of these are caused by fungi and treatments do work. Injections into the trunks keep spray drift down so are environmentally are better than sprays. Also residual from injected treatments is longer than some of the treatments we have had in the past.
We have had a fairly moist summer and are seeing less of pine-beetle problems and cankers in Leland cypress trees.
June 9, 2001
This time of year we see a lot of limb breakage in large trees. From the homeowner's perspective there is often no reason for it and often they become anxious about the safety of the their trees. Needless to say if a large tree near ones house has a limb drop out for no reason you might become alarmed.
Recently, I have observed one cause for this falling limb problem. Large trees because of their age have seen many storms. In our case here Hurricane Hugo came through eleven years ago, and many less severe storms have occurred since. If for some reason a lateral branch over four inches has been removed in the past then this could be part of the problem.
I will give you an example. I observed one of our new climbers pruning a large limb that was about 10 inches in diameter at the trunk. The limb had a two inch branch near the end of the 10 inch limb that was dead and he was trying to remove it. The overall limb was pretty weak so from the ground we made the decision to cut the entire limb off.
When the stub was lowered to the ground the upper part of the limb showed evidence of a previous cut which had not healed (calloused) over. Out from this wound, decay had started and was visible for about two feet on the upper side of the limb. It would have been just a matter of time before the limb would have broken. Interesting, just three days later, I went to a clients home who had a very large limb drop out of a tree for exactly the same reason. The limbs foliage was vigorous and dark green, and from the ground the limb would have looked healthy. But remember, that in the spring the leaves are new, succulent, and at their heaviest. We also are subject to thunderstorms which can have heavy winds, so we see this situation pretty often in the spring and summer.
The way to minimize this problem would be to keep the trees healthy so that pruning cuts do heal quickly. Avoid making large cuts in trees, and become observant to possible defects in your trees.
May 12, 2001
Like many people in the south, I get hay fever. It is usually worse in may and I am not bothered by aster in the fall like many people. But, the other day, I think I discovered what is a big problem for me. I was at a residence were they had some cotton wood trees. It is not uncommon but as the city has grown, not many remain in town. I saw the seed fluff floating everywhere. This fluff comes from the catkins of the female tree ripen and split open in late spring.
April 24, 2001
We learn something new most every day, so I will pass this along. In our shrub treatment program we have had a difficult time controlling lace bugs in azaleas over the last three or four years. It turns out that we are not alone in that lace bugs seems to be more evident and harder to control. From past experience we have observed that azaleas in the sun have a greater problem than azaleas in the shade. Also, it is probable that our dry weather of the last couple of years has increased our awareness of lace bugs.
If you do not know what a lace bug is, it's a small winged insect that feeds on the back or underside of the azalea leaf. They suck the juices from the leaves and the leaf will be a yellow brown rather than a healthy green. On the underside of the leaf you will see a great deal of frass and also some adults. The insect has a wing that is transparent.
Treatment for Lace Bugs
We understand that Merit (Bayer Company imidacloprid is the material of choice. We are using a Kioritz soil injector. If you use this piece of equipment, here is the way to mix the merit.
Mix 2 ounces of Merit in 30 ounces of water and fill the tank of the Kioritz injector. Use one ounce of mixture for every foot of shrub height. Set the Kioritz injector at 5 to inject 1/2 ounce per hole. So for a two foot shrub you would place 1/2 and ounce in four holes around the drip line of the shrub. To get 1/2 ounce you will need to strike the injector three times.
So once you get going, you will be quickly calculating the height of the plant..... 3 feet height, six holes 3 strikes on the plunger, delivered 3 ounces.
A four foot plant, 8 holes, 3 strikes per hole and you have delivered four ounces.
As the season progresses, we will let you know about the results.
March 23, 2001
Spring seems a little slow coming. One of the first things we now observe in the early spring is the flowering of trees. We have always noticed that the red maples and weeping willow come out pretty early. Willow oaks are starting to green up and it won't be long before their tassels create problems in Charlotte. In the older sections of town where there are lots of large willow oaks the pollen coats everything with a greenish/yellow dust. Then the tassels fall and clog the gutters.
What is a little new for us to observe is the flower of the sweetgum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua). For a number of years we have been treating the trees by spraying to keep the sweetgum balls from falling. Timing is critical in that the treatment should be when the flower is starting to droop over. Generally, treatment has been fairly effective but because of wind, size of trees, expense, and so forth we only have done a limited amount of treatment.
Now we have an injectable treatment that is supposed to work much better and keeps almost all of the sweetgum balls from forming. Environmentally it is good since it can be done when it is windy and usually in the early spring it can be quite windy. So if you live in the area, contact us or if you have any fruiting tree that is a nuisance contact your local arborists about injecting for fruit control. Companies that have individuals who are consulting arborists or certified arborist on their staffs are more likely to be familiar with and do this type of work.
February 23, 2001
The other day we were installing additional cables and inspecting existing cables in a large pecan tree we have worked with for about 30 years. One of the devices we used back then was a Tree Grip which works like a Chinese-finger-puzzle. The tighter one pulls on it the more it grips the cable. The cable was galvanized EHS which stands for extra high strength cable. This cable is stronger than the typical GIS or galvanized iron strand. The GIS has been used for years in the tree industry, and the installer wraps the ends around a thimble which makes a nice neat-strong installation.
Now with all that preamble I will tell you that this particular EHS tree grip had one of four strands broken behind the thimble. I suppose that means that it loses 25% of it's rated strength. We have seen a number of failures from these tree grips over the years. If you are interested in this subject and want more information from me, Send E-Mail to arbormaster
February 11, 2001
Winter has been mild lately but very cold early in the season. Probably our biggest problem is that it is exceptionally dry. This past week we have had a week of spring-like weather and it fools everyone. The phone rings which is good. There is a prediction for ice and rain this coming week.
As we look at the large willow oaks, we constantly observe V shaped forks that are prone to split. Cabling and bracing of these trees is best done before the trees leaf out due to the weight of the leaves. There is about another month before trees start leafing. If you have large older trees you might want to look at an article we have on cabling.
January 21, 2001
It is time to mention archive files. Every year this page gets pretty long, and at the end of the year I start over but include the previous December's information. I save the old file as an archive and you can go back and see all the old ones. Here is the archive page Archives of Seasonal Information. since 1996.
December 13, 2000
More on the absciss-layer
I mentioned my theory on why our leaves are staying on so much longer this year to Jim Monroe who is a horticulturist with the county. He said he used to work with cotton treatment and what they were trying to do was encourage the leaves to drop. This would create a cleaner cotton with less trash init. They found that if certain chemical were used, the leaves would turn black and just stay of the plants. He stated that the forming of the absciss-layer was a very slow process and could not be interrupted with cotton. Since I have observed many shade trees and under story trees also, it is obvious that different trees respond differently to the effects of a sudden cold snap.
November 7, 2002
Once again we have been awarded the tree banding contract for the City of Charlotte. This year the city will band approximately 1000 trees. The new bug barrier band will be used on some trees and the older method of using tar paper and Tangle foot will be used on others. The city is interested in making a comparison on the effectiveness of each method.
We have found that the Bug Barrier is much easier to use and take less than 10 minutes to install around a 24 inch tree. There is a certain amount of set up time and travel time, but we find that in most cases we can do the job for less money than in previous years.
We are also selling the Bug Barrier at our office on Monroe Road for those homeowners who want to do their own banding. We have it in stock and just call to make sure someone will be there who can help you. The telephone number is 704-332-4628.
More information will follow.
January 17, 2002
Cankerworms during 2001 were much less than previous years. We think the cycle is broken and that populations will continue to decrease. Now in early 2002 the actual count of cankerworms is down. We had a very warm fall and are also in the middle of a three-year drought.
I checked my test tree before Christmas and counted 35 female cankerworms. At that time we had not had a cold snap and I expected that there would be no movement until after a hard freeze. I was wrong. The next time I check which was a few days later, there were 85 additional cankerworms. Then for some reason the migration just stopped. That was a real mystery to me and I do not have the answer. I have noticed that the city banding has not captured many cankerworms.
A report on the status of cankerworm for the 2000season.
Cankerworms in 1998 ... reference 1998 Seasonal Information Page
January 26, 2003
We had a very bad ice storm on December 5th and then severe cold about the 15th of January. It got down to 7 degrees and that is the coldest it has been here in years. I have been keeping koi for about ten years and I have not encountered this much cold.
The ice on the main pond was not bad and I designed the filtering and waterfall so everything was ok and I kept things running. Well, not everything was ok, I do not drain my UV and this time it froze and broke the crystal sleeve inside. I guess I will not do that again. Next winter I will drain the UV.
I did have a second problem on the long pond. In that case I have a above ground filter and the outlet froze on it. The water level came up in the filter and overflowed, draining the entire pond. The cold was on a Saturday and I had taken Blackjack home. I came in on Sunday and there was about two inches of water in the pond. There is a slight slope toward one end and all the fish expect for two were in the end of the pond in about 2 inches of water. One larger koi was on its side under the ice which was about 3/4 of an inch thick. I have a pump in the main pond and immediately pumped pond water into the long pond.
(More later)
September
I had an interesting adventure the other day. I went to Lotus Land Koi Farm. Brady Brandwood who is the breeder is a friend of mine for as long as I have been keeping koi. From the beginning, I knew that Brady was very knowledgeable and I visited his home and koi pond and have listened to his programs at the Piedmont Koi and Water garden Society meetings. Others have discovered his talents both as a koi breeder and photographer, and you can read his articles in KOI USA where he is the Editor for the Eastern USA.
A number of years ago, Brady got very serious about raising koi and established his farm about 20 minutes from Monroe North Carolina. Monroe is about 45 minutes from where I live so, I have not ventured down until just the other day.
He has some great looking koi. I purchased three small kohaku two years ago and am amazed at how well they have turned out. I believe Brady's goal is to raise a Sanke that can be a Grand Champion.
Brady is proving that quality koi can be raised in the United States. Because he is local and does not have to pay brokers or ship overseas, his prices are very reasonable.
One reason I was interested in visiting Brady's farm is that a few years ago I had to get rid of a steel tank that was about 30 feet long, 8 feet wide and three feet deep. It was made by father-in-law who always made stuff to last about 800 years or more. He used it for plating metal, and Brady has put a EPDM liner in it for keeping some of his smaller fish. Brady and his son Travis met me one winter morning a few years ago to haul this thing away. It had rained the day before and the area was muddy from construction. I felt at the time he must have really wanted it because it was no small task to move it.
I was curious to see how he had set it up. Since, keeping koi can get messy at times I shed my traveling cloths and helped Brady seine this tank for fish. He has a bird net over it so we both sat on the bottom and made a few passes with the seine. Fortunately, I had on some pretty old cloths since they got "slimed" so well I am sure they will never come clean again.
I also purchased some nice small koi from Brady am looking forward to their growth.
Here is a link to his site. Lotus Land Koi Farm.
September 12, 2002
I have inserted a separate page on the things I learn about water lilies. Go to Discovering Water Lilies if you would like to follow along.
September 7, 2002
Well this summer has really gone. I have had lots going on in the ponds, both with koi and water lilies. I bred a orange and black butterfly koi with three males. The males were Sanke, kuhaku, and a sleek black butterfly.
I have lots of fry of all sorts and many butterfly which is what I was trying to get. The fish which range from four inches down to two are primarily in the long pond which is about a thousand gallons, 30 ft long, four feet wide and three feet deep. I have lots of plants in this pond and the fish are putting on some pretty good growth.
I will sell some before our koi show November 2nd and 3rd but plan to have the rest at the show where I shall have a booth for both butterfly koi and water lilies.
Water lilies
I have had fun learning things about water lilies these last few years. This year I have gotten interested in tropical water lilies and have tried my hand at hybridizing and raising tropicals from seed.
I have what turns out to be a pretty good setup for raising water lilies. All the ponds are containers or above ground. I can get quite close to all my lilies without wading through the water.
I have been amazed at the Texas Shell Pink that I have. This plant has produced dozens of blooms and lately three have burst forth with thousands of seeds. I will go into a little detail.
First here is a photo of the Texas Shell Pink. Click on it for the full size.
After the flower fades, the bloom drops under water on its crooked stem. In a number of weeks I first noticed a bunch of water lily seeds floating on the surface. I scooped them up with a net and probably got a few hundred. After sitting for two days the aril falls off and the heavier seed floats to the bottom of the pond or in this case to the bottom of a quart jar.
By stirring the water and decanting the junk on top in a few refills, I had a nice bunch of clean seeds. At first I wondered about what I should do with them. My choices were to save but I did not know exactly how to do that.
I could plant the seeds and try to keep them over the winter which would give the new plants a head start on next years season. Since you can not plant tropicals outside until the water temperature is 70 degrees, I had plans for reactivating my basement pond.
What I had done in the past was place one of the 100 gallon containers in the basement and hang fluorescent lights over them. I did this about four or five years ago to keep some plants and fish alive. I was trying to keep water hyacinths around and was able to do so. In 2001/2002 I kept the water hyacinths in a small greenhouse pond outside and they survived quite nicely.
So, I had by now delayed a few days and in fact had a 2nd batch of seeds float to the surface. After cleaning them I placed them in the same container with the original Texas Shell Pink seeds which were now about a week old.
To my surprise I could see little hair like threads appearing from some of the seeds. The seeds were germinating. So now I had seeds from two batches and decided that I could not delay. I planted them in some small cups and placed them in a sunny window sill. That is where they are now and I will report the results.
Meanwhile, I have another crop of seeds that I collected in a plastic bag placed over the maturing flower. I cleaned them and placed them on a coffee filter to dry out. I think as long as they are completely dry they will be good for at least 2003.
It would not surprise me if they lasted longer than that I will test them. What makes me say that is the fact that many of the vegetable seeds we buy, like tomatoes, will last for up to 8 years. So why buy new seed every year.
I will report on my attempts at hybridization later.
May 17, 2002
More later, lots has happened in the pond world and I have had a nasty virus that shut things down for a time.
Come back soon.
I like to grow things so, this year I have the ponds, water lilies, other aquatic plants, and heirloom tomatoes. I have added something different this year. We have a very heavy clay here in the area yet our soil drains very quickly. When we built our 6000 gallon pond, I was worried that a heavy rain would fill it up and we would be weeks before we could finish the job. As it turns out, it did rain and the open hole filled. Oddly enough, it was drained by the next day. After studying the soil a little, I realized that it was a type of clay but had a crumbly nature to it and realized that in my garden the soil always drained and never puddled.
I also have a friend who had a vineyard which is not very common in the hot, humid south. He got me five grape vines and I have planted them along the fence and next to this years crop of tomatoes. If I can make some wine next year that should turn out to be interesting.
Now as far as the pond goes, two years ago we started and built a 4 x 30 foot above ground pond with sides that are about 36 inches high. The idea was to be able to store the fish that I wanted to sell or otherwise get rid of. It is much too difficult to catch the smaller fish in the big pond. That idea worked out ok and this year I managed to get rid of all of my extra fish at a PKWGS auction just weeks before spawning. So this year I have mated my fish in the new pond rather than in the quarantine tank as I have done for several years.
The fish spawned on Saturday May forth after being placed in the pond on Friday. It was quite cold and rainy so I was surprised that they did not wait until Monday. When I introduced the female and 3 males to the pond I supplied a large mat of parrot feather. I have observed that they will spawn very quickly when the right attractive material is supplied.
Photograph to follow
April 1, 2002
I always seem to run out of time this season of the year. The pond needs work, the fish need attention, my dog needs a bath, my house needs repairs, etc.
So, the pond is crystal clear and I am getting ready to treat with potassium permanganate. If you want some more info on this chemical treatment read ppby Roddy Conrad .
It is important to clean up the debris the pond to not allow waste on the bottom or in the filters. Fish are most vulnerable in the early spring before the water temperature warms up.
It won't be long before spawning occurs so I have got to clean out the quarantine tank.
Check back later for some details.
February 21, 2002
The pond became more green. Why? I wondered when it did not clear by Monday. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the waterfall pipe from the skimmer was not sending out any water that means the intake at the pump in the skimmer was clogged with fine debris and was not letting any water pass. Upon reflection, I recall that the day I was cleaning the main filter, the flow was pretty low but not shut down. Well, two days later it was closed all the way by debris
I took the skimmer pump out and hosed off the intake and reinstalled it...... took about 15 minutes. So I noticed the 20th that the pond seemed a little cleaner. I will check it again and post it here.
February 17, 2002
Spring is rapidly approaching, The other day, I cleaned some of my filters and thought the water looked a little cloudy. I suspected that the filter was dirty and I certainly want the season to get off to a good start.
Two days later, the pond was starting to turn green. I have not fed my fish but we have had springlike weather and I am sure that the algae has started its bloom. So I turned on the UV on Friday. I will be curious to see if it has cleared by Monday the 18th and will post the results here.
I also will treat with salt soon.
January 17, 2002
This season I salted my pond in early November. I do this to rid the pond and fish of harmful organisms. The fish's immunity is at its best during the fall and early winter before the water cools down. In the spring, when their body fat is low and their metabolism is not working well, they are very vulnerable to disease problems.
Today as I look at the fish, they are pretty cold and barely moving around. It will not be long though, spring is just around the corner.
October 20, 2001
We have been getting ready for the fall Koi Show and have been preparing a program on water lilies. This has taken a lot of time, but I now have some interesting photos of some of the things we have been observing and learning.
I need to wait until a cold, rainy, generally nasty day to post and catch up on this aspect of pond keeping.
September 30, 2001
It feels like fall and has been unseasonably cool. I hope my waterlilies and tomatoes are not hurt by the cold. Usually, we can expect our first frost about the 23rd of October. At any rate, it is about time to salt the ponds and then depending on how I feel, use potassium permanganate to rid the pond of nasty organisms. I think keeping the filters clean for the winter will be a big help. So far this year I have been lucky and have no disease problem. During the early season, I dosed the PP a couple of times pretty early. My main pond never spawned which is remarkable in that there about 6 fully mature females in it. After mating a yellow butterfly with a nice male yamabuki when I put a fish from y quarantine tank back in the main pond. This fish was swollen and I had placed it in the quarantine tank for a month or so along with a lone large fantail. At one time I thought she would die but the swelling went down as the water warmed.
I suppose she had a spawn odor on her and when I put her in the main pond she was chased by some males. Since I thought she was weak, I was worried that the males would exhaust her but she never spawned ... nor did the other fish. Although I do not remember the exact timing, I believe that I dosed with PP about that time.
Meanwhile the mated yellow butterfly had a brood immediately. I now have lots of really pretty yellow butterfly babies that are about four inches or so in length. I am planning a sale about the last of October so if you are local, check my page butterfly koi for sale.
August 26, 2001
Besides our interest in koi, we raise a lot of waterlilies in small ponds with little or no water circulation. We also feed these plants regularly so have an algae problem upon occasion. The subject of what to do about algae comes up frequently. If you are interested in how much to use and the details about potassium permangante, click here dosecalc.htm
August 9, 2001
It has finally gotten hot and in the 90's here in Charlotte. Also I finally put a pump in the skimmer which feeds the UV. The pond was pea soup green and is now clear. If you want to read more details about the time it took to clear after putting in the pump, jump to this UV and Pea Soup.
Our baby koi are doing well this season. I have some nice yamabuki ogons and butterfly that are growing well. We also have lots of aquatic plants for sale too.
July 18, 2001
Our water lilies and lotus are in bloom and if you are local, we have some very nice plants in containers and in bloom for sale. Our stock is pretty limited so call for appointments. There are more details and photographs at Water Lilies and Lotus.
July16, 2001
I always learn a lot in the spring. I post these comments in the hopes that someone reading might not have to learn from experience.
After about five years, the pump burned out in my skimmer. I looked around and found a working but old "Little Giant" pump and hooked it up. It uses a lot more amps than I want, but for the time being, it seemed to be ok. That was until one day when I put my fingers in the water and got a mild shock... not a good sign..
It so happens that when I put small fish about two inches long in the main pond they always end up in the skimmer by choice. It therefore developed that I had about four very pretty young koi about 6 inches long living in the skimmer. I did not want them electrocuted so I took the pump out. I figured that it would get worse and I would hate to lose the entire pond because of a stupid mistake like being careless with an old pump. Electrocution, also is one more reason why I like my pumps out of the water, but that is not always easy to do.
Well it took about two weeks for the water to turn pea soup green since the skimmer pump goes through the UV also. I was getting tired of the green water and since had not gotten around to changing out the pump I decided to try another approach. I treated the pond with potassium permanganate. Doing so clears the pond of a lot of unhealthy organisms, but if the treatment is done wrong can kill fish. Dr. Eric Johnston clobbered his entire pond by overdose so from his experience one needs to be very careful. I used a gram scale and treated the pond at 2 parts per million and then a few hours later at 2 pars per million again. The therapeutic dose is 4 ppm but there is risk to the fish at that rate so I choose the former. If you want more and better details about potassium permanganate treatment see Dr. Roddy Conrad's article.
So anyway, I treated the pond and cleared it by putting two cups of hydrogen peroxide in it. This changes the brown manganese dioxide to some higher state of manganese which apparently has no color. Well the pond was still green, but the ugly brown was gone. I thought that maybe I had wasted my time but sure enough in a few days the water started to clear up. The dead algae were trapped in my filters which I cleaned. In about another week the pond was fairly clear, but unless I remove all the dead algae they will simply revert back to food for the algae, and in time I will have pea soup again. Of course feeding the koi goes on and the algae can get plenty of nourishment from the fish waste. My pond is overloaded and it would be impossible to keep it clear unless I had a super gigantic biofilter. UV lights are great for the purpose of killing suspended algae.
June 15, 2001
Professional koi breeders really pay attention to exactly the correct food for their baby koi. I know that my koi do not grow as fast as those that are fed a perfect diet. What I have observed is that with only a few dozen koi in a 200 gallon container, all fish seem to do ok but there will be a few runts. One of my tanks which is a 300 gallons above ground container stays cooler than the other and the koi are much smaller.
Since I am about as interested in growing plants as the koi, most of the containers have various plants in them. The natural plants, microscopic animals and so forth that breed in these small containers are food for the koi. Certainly it is wise to supplement with ground up fish food.
I have found that when a fish gets larger than the others, it is a genetic trait. Genetically this fish is aggressive for food, and will often eat the other smaller fry. If you do not rid it from your pond, you will only have a few fish at best at the end of the season.
I have also found that lots of air from an air stone will cause the fish to grow larger.
Lastly, I have found that if I put a dozen or so fry in the filters they grow very well with no feeding. There is lots of food from them to eat, and they do. These fish will be as big as the best fed professional fish. So an easy thing to do would be to mate your fish and raise the eggs in the filter. Try it, it's educational.
May 26, 2001
I have had success mating my koi in the quarantine tank and spreading the eggs around to other containers. I have found that if the containers are cleaned and fresh water is put in along with the plants I am raising the baby koi do pretty well. I like to clean the 200 and 300 gallon plant containers about a month of two before spawning. This way there is a lot of natural food for them to eat. Now I do supplement the natural food with ground-up koi pellets. I suppose the fish I raise are a little on the small size, but do they catch up later in their development if they are in a better environment? I am not exactly sure, but I also suspect that for the beginner koi keeper with a very small pond, a koi that is not going to grow into a jumbo might be a good thing. I have had a nice bunch of butterfly koi which I like and I find that people who visit our pond really like the butterfly..... and also the color yellow.
Last year I got two really pretty yamabuki ogons. The are now in their second
year and are covered with metallic scales. As the Hispanics say chispa
and brillante.
May 26, 2001
Found fish??? Well I had a strange one. If you read this column you know that I mess around with raising a few koi, and in the last year have selected some of my best show quality fish for mating. I still do it a natural way in that I let the fish find a lot of their own food that nature produces. This seems to work if you have lots of plants in the water. I suppose my young fish would be a little bigger if I forced food on the fry, but then again, I am not really in the business of raising but enjoy what I learn and what is produced. More on this later.
So to get to the point, two years ago I found about five koi volunteers in the third filter. When I discovered them it was mid summer, and they were nice and healthy baby koi about 4 inches long. The eggs made it through the bottom drain into the vortex, through the sequence pump into and past the filter brushes ( 80 of them ) into the springflo, and then into a 2nd springflo container. They were happily living there feeding on the debris that came into the filter.
So this spring, I really had a surprise when I found a beautiful yamabuki ogon in the first springflo filter. I empty that filter and clean it out about every two months. The bottom water is always very dirty and takes a time to drain out so I guess I have just missed him or her. This time I really gave the filter a good rinsing and was quite surprised to find a six inch koi there. It is a beauty and I have placed her in the main pond to see how she grows.
May 12, 2001
It's only seven days since I mated the koi mentioned below. Well it does not take a week for the eggs to hatch. I think it was Wednesday that I first saw baby fry. They were tiny _ no long than the preceding dash. I received a few plastic blocks in the mail last year. They are rigid, about 9 inches square, and I believe designed as a type of filter material. Each of the three had a different pore space. I found they float and thought they would make a good home for the very baby fry. They do and its funny to see the fish scamper in an out of the blocks like a small fish condominium.
I enjoy the fish this time of year. A cub scout troop visited several weeks ago and a neighbor brought her grandson over on Friday. The children and the adults too really enjoy looking at the fish, petting and feeding the larger ones. Seeing the fry and eggs is all quite an education for them.
May 6, 2001
Yesterday, a Saturday, I tried to get things ready for spawning. I had a nice koi in the quarantine tank with a large goldfish for company. The koi has languished on the bottom for 6 or 8 weeks. I thought it had pinecone disease and moved it to the quarantine tank as a safety measure. As the temperature has raised, the fish is swimming a lot and appears to be well. I treated the tank with two potassium permanganate treatments a few weeks ago just to clean up any stray junk in the water.
I had noticed a week ago that this aggressive goldfish was going after the koi which was about three times as long and 30 times heavier. I thought that curious. Anyway I put the koi back in the main pond and thought little about it.
Fifteen minutes later all the males in the main pond were starting after the female from the quarantine tank. I felt for her because she was certainly in a weakened condition when I put her back.
anyway along with the story ... last year and here is a quote from the page...
The fish mentioned below (April 27, 2000) spawned this morning. The water temperature is 60 degrees F. in both the big pond and the smaller 300 gallon tank. The outside temperature is about 55 degrees and it is warmer to the west of Charlotte. Optimum temperature should be 68 degrees F., but I did a couple of things that speeded things up I think.
So we are definitely behind 2000. Anyway, I placed a yellow butterfly and another koi in the quarantine tank along with some parrot feather and within fifteen minutes they were at it. The water temperature is greater, probably about 70 and the main pond was at 68 degrees. Was it the water temperature? I know that the parrot feather is natural and when females are ready to spawn, the see something like the parrot feather and see it as a nest. I believe it is the main emphasis to spawning assuming that other things are in order. Last year in the spawning tank, the temperature was 60 degrees.
Also in the past, I have placed a large clump about a bushel basket worth in the main tank and the fish have spawned very quickly.
After the spawning, I place a few clumps of parrot feather with eggs on it in the various containers I have around the yard and in a week I will have lots of babies.
This year they will be largely yellow butterfly koi.
April 27, 2001
The season has progressed very slowly this year. The water temp is rapidly warming since we have had a few days in the 80's. Last year by this time fish were spawning.
All of us who have ponds do some spring cleaning. I have brushes in one filter and it is really a little bit of a pain to clean them. They are the mechanical part of the filter system and actually if I were doing it over again I believe that I would use Springflo as the mechanical filter because it is so easy to clean. In case you have not seen the brushes, they are like bottle brushes but 4 inches in diameter. Each brush is 12 inches long, black, and made of a plastic bristle that traps debris. There is a loop in the upper end and I have 8 brushes on a stainless steel rod. I have ten rows of brushes in the top of the mechanical filter.
The koi eat all the string algae that thinks about forming in the main pond. So I got an idea since string algae gets in the brushes too. I took a row of brushes which is eight brushes plus rod. As a note, the difference of the dirty brushes as opposed to clean brushes will surprise you. In this case I decided to put a row of brushes, rod and all in the pond and see if the fish would clean them for me.
They did and the next day the brushes were cleaner than if I had washed them out. I did the same thing for a number of days, and except for the fact that I had cleaned about half the brushes in the filter already in would have put them all in the pond for cleaning.
March 23, 2001
Water in the main pond is crystal clear. I have fed the fish a few times but the water temperature is still pretty cool. We had one call come in about ulcers on koi, but so far ours are clean. I have not brought new fish in for about three years.
We will be having a fish sale in April to clear out room for new fish.
February 23, 2001
Algae Report: (see below on 20th) Fairly clear water, still a little milky looking which is the way it starts. The water does not turn green immediately but just seems to be murky and gradually gets worse. My guess is that it will take a week. The air temp was about 31 degrees this am and no feeding is going on. Water is fully salted for spring cleanup.
February 20, 2001
Two weeks ago it got very warm, almost 70 degrees F. I fed the fish some and had to go out of town the last part of last week. In other words, about a week after feeding the fish I left town. As I was leaving I noticed that the pond was a little cloudy. Well that was the start of algae bloom. When I got back after three days of being gone, the pond was a deep green color. The water temperature got up to about 59 degrees F. during that short period of warm weather.
So I figured it was time to start up the UV. I got it going on Sunday February 18th and today it is noticeably clearer. It is cold again and the feeding has stopped. Also I have salted the pond trying to get rid of the bad guy bacteria etc. a little early. I intend to report on how many days it takes to clear the pond.
February 11, 2001
Every year I predict that we will have a week of spring like weather in February. This past week has been it and there are predictions of snow and ice for the coming week. We are in the South and spring does start about the first of March. One year on the third of March it dropped to almost zero and we had opened a few irrigation systems on the first. We had ice castles, but that is another story.
It has been getting warmer each day with Friday being almost 70 and yesterday Saturday) was almost the same. The pond water temperature was 60 degrees which really surprised me how fast it has warmed. I salted the pond with about 1/3 of the total dosage which is 120 lbs. The bacteria and other bad guys get a big boost when the water warms rapidly and the fish are slow to adjust. The immune system is does not function well in the cooler water so there is a transition period when the fish are vulnerable to diseases and other problems. Dr. Erik Johnson has a good article that he posted last year that is worth reading about early spring pond care. Spring Cleanup by Doc Johnson
January 30 2001
The photo below is taken from last years spawn. This koi is now in the main pond and growing at a slow rate but she or he is certainly pretty.
I mated one large ginrin yamabuki ogon female with two almost perfect yamabuki males for these fry. I just showed this photo to my wife she suggested naming this fish Cinderella.
Helpful hint from 2000 archives.
I recently read an article about swimming pools that suggested putting a five-gallon bucket filled to the top ½inch in the pool on one of the step. Adopting the idea for ponds here is what to do.
Place a bucket on bricks, a milk crate or whatever so that the top of the bucket is just above the water level of the pond. Fill the bucket so that the initial water level is exactly the same level as the water in the pond. Mark the level of water in the bucket. Since both the bucket and the pond will receive the same outside temperature and exposure to the elements, they should evaporate evenly. If you have a leak then the pond water will drop more quickly. If you have a waterfall, fountain, or other outside condition then these factors would throw off your measurement. I suppose if you could leave the pump off for a day so there is no waterfall flow then you would have a truer picture of exactly how much water you are losing to evaporation or a leak. Obviously the mark inside the bucket gives a good point of reference.
February 21, 2002
I have had a saying for many years that we will always have a week in February when it looks like spring. Well here we are. The sun is out and I went to work in shirt sleeves this morning. I suspect that it will be about 70 degrees F. today. Now is the time to get on the schedule for pre-emergent and broad-leafed weed control.
Those of us in the business, get really busy once spring really does come, so if you want an inspection plant ahead.
January 17, 2002
There are both cool weather and hot weather spider mites. Fall spider mites have attacked hemlocks, and we saw many other problems with hemlocks. These trees are at the very lower edge of their growing area and do not tolerate our heat. I am sure that the drought has hurt them also. Plants out of their area usually will suffer from many disease and insect problems that will not affect plants that are growing in their more natural habitat. I read a brochure about hemlocks from Canada, and it seemed this was the best plant for them and extremely hardy and never suffered from any problems. That situation is not the case here although hemlocks grow very well in the mountains of North Carolina.
July 24, 2001
It is time to start thinking of fall lawn care. Many people have Bermuda grass in the lawn and wait until September to try to get rid of it. We have found that if Bermuda grass is a problem then you need to kill it, water the ground and let it sprout wherever it will. Then follow up spray which will penetrate the roots and hopefully will get back to the roots and kill the entire plant. The plant must be actively growing.
Secondly, many people make the mistake of using a too dilute solution of round-up. We have found that grasses show kill pretty quickly but at 1 1/2 % solution will do a pretty quick job. That is 2 oz per gallon of water.
If you are local and wish to have us help with lawn renovation, please call 704-332-4628. See lawn installation for more details.
February 11, 2001
Insect control and soil testing and diseases.
Above are subjects we will address. For now be aware that it was very cold in the early fall. Leaves were killed in many trees and stayed on the trees for months before dropping. Some trees have not dropped their leaves yet. Grass that was planted has failed to germinate yet and spot seeding will be necessary this spring in many places. Some lawn care companies put on fertilizer very early and the grass will green up earlier for those lawns. This will be a season to watch your lawn closely.
June 27, 2002
Our water rates have gone up again and are now $3.00 per ccf for homeowners who have good sized irrigation systems. We have addressed this along with some conservation measures at the following link. Water Rates and Other Issues.
February 11, 2001
Many backflow preventers were damaged by the early fall cold. Inspect your irrigation closely this year. We have observed backflows with no underground cut off to get the water out of the copper pipe. If your backflow is protected by a fiberglass box and if you are in the city where it is a little bit cooler then you might get by with out damage. If you lived out from town where it is a few degrees colder, then you might have a problem. We specialize in service work, so please call. 704-332-4628.
Below is a very handy reference about how to manage your residential irrigation controller. We are active in the Carolinas Irrigation Association and this publication was printed up by its members.
Consumers Guide to Efficient Irrigation (by CIA)
To be added
If you would like to examine some of the issues we have addressed in past years, they are contained in our Seasonal Information Archives.
Seasonal Information Archives since 1996
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McNeary's Arborists Inc. 3521 Monroe Road Charlotte NC 28205 Phone(704)332-4628 Fax (704)375-8433
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