I... ummm.... I know how to spell the word "tree." Does that count
for anything? You'll have to forgive me. I majored in econ in
college and am in law school right now. The rhizosphere article and
the chemistry article were both a little over my head. I also could
not afford such a device as a shigometer. Is there some cheap
alternative to using such an expensive device to test my soil? I live
in Michigan, and don't think you want to drive all the way from PA.
Thanks for all the info though

On Sun, 1 Apr 2007 15:13:23 -0400, "symplastless"
wrote:

of the maples and oaks on my street are getting buds, but
the walnut appears to still be dormant (or dead, I really don't know
how to tell).
Buds would have been formed last year and not now.

Do those take later in the season to start growing, and
if so, should I expect it to grow more this year?

If I was in your area I would look at the tree for you. I would use a
SHIGOMETER to determine the trees vitality.

A
good article on rhizosphere is he
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/RHIZO.html

Pruning he
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/tree_pruning/

Planting he
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/sub1.html

More on chemistry and fert. he
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/CHEM.html

Maybe more information then you want?

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.