Bought a house this year and previous owners were spraying copper or sulfur on their apple tree in spring (they said it was a honeycrisp) to prevent brown spots. Unsure what is causing the brown spots but seemed to be a sort of borrowing worm that likes to dig to the core. We had many such spots on the apples this year despite whatever efforts may have been made by the previous owners (we got the house in early August).

I read recently that having grass growing under apple trees is not a great idea. I am thinking of covering the area under the tree drip line with cardboard, then covering with compost to basically kill the grass (sheet mulch). The in the spring, I'm considering what sort of thing I might plant under the apple tree instead, and chives seemed like a good possibility as they are said to deter apple scab. It seems like from my reading that some other herbs might be beneficial as well.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is there anything I might not be considering?

I’m looking for recommendations for headsets to go on helmets or included to helmets, instead of yelling from the tree top.

Hi! So, Please let me know if I'm posting this to the wrong subreddit, but I was wondering if anyone could help me out with a few questions I have.

For General background context, I have an interest in permaculture, sustainability, homesteading, botany...the list goes on. Anyways. my parents have a house in New England with a small, shady front yard and a (still decently small) back yard overlooking a nearby man made lake. The back yard has a large septic tank installed underneath, but that's not relevant until later. (I'm fantastic at digressing, please bare with me!)

The house has 2 decently tall magnolia trees that have been there since my parents moved in when I was young. If you draw a straight line through the house from one to the other, I'd say they're about 40-50 feet apart? Somewhere around 5 years ago my dad bought a couple of apple trees and planted them in the front yard, about 15 feet adjacent from each magnolia tree. (I'm guest-imating here and doing my best, but I'm aware I'm doing a terrible job of painting a picture.) The trees have had little success in baring apples large enough to actually eat, but seem to be doing decently enough.

Long story short, I've been looking into companion plants for apple trees and found a long list of flowers and herbs and vegetables etc.

Whereas everything I find on companion plants for magnolia trees has nothing to do with benefits or drawbacks to other plants/environment/soil etc. (Excluding constant findings of: Magnolia Tree =Flowers! Flowers=Pollinators!)

SO! I'm looking for everything I can on magnolia trees, from their affect on the soil that they grow in to the vitamins and minerals they deplete/contribute back into the soil.

If anyone knows anything, I would love to hear their thoughts, opinions, strange facts (whether you feel they're related to this or not), or ideas. And I would greatly appreciate anyone who can tag someone they know who might have some type of relevant idea or opinion! (Thank you all in advance!)

I started working as a Groundsman a little under 2 years ago, it is my first job and I love it, I find it very interesting, I take interest in all the different subspecies of trees, I really enjoy learning about specific characteristics of different trees such as which of them have weaknesses such as feeble unions and specific diseases which may affect them, I’m turning 19 soon and I am currently trying to take the steps towards becoming a professional climber, I think that this type of information may help me to become a better climber and help me progress and I was wondering if there was any websites or books which may help me with this. Any help would be appreciated.

We recently moved into a new home and the backyard had this old oak stump with regrowth. I was planning on letting it grow, but we hired a landscaper for some general cleanup around the property and he got cut it all down. What, if anything can I do to help it recover?

Is it possible to tame this Japanese maple, or best to replace it?

I was walking & saw this gorgeous little tree but my plant identification apps were no help. I want to plant a tree about this size and color in my front yard and wondered if some varieties of maples can be this size when mature.

Why do tree surgeons make such little money in Sweden. I thought maybe it would be seen as more as a hard and risky profession that pays good but really it just pays the same as the UK. If anyone works in this industry in Sweden then can yous please let me know how to make more money because it’s now to late in my life to change profesión.