Common Questions and Solutions

Can you come examine/maintain/remove my tree? The University of Minnesota does not perform tree care services. We recommend contacting a Certified Arborist if you need trees pruned or removed.
What should I do with a wooded area on my property? Please contact your regional Minnesota Department of Natural Resources forester for help managing your woodland.
Can you test my trees for disease? We can't, but the Plant Disease Clinic in the Department of Plant Pathology can help.
Can you analyze my soil? We can't, but the Soil Testing Laboratory in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate can help.
Where do I start? Along with what you'll find on this page, the Urban Forestry Outreach and Research (UFOR) website and the UFOR YouTube channel have lots of information that many tree stewards and landowners find useful to answer their questions.

Tree Topics

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Selection, Planting, & Maintenance

Tree Troubles

Abiotic

Frost Cracks and Cankers (PDF)

Stem Girdling Roots

Storm Damage to Landscape Trees

Biotic

Bronze Birch Borer and Twolined Chestnut Borer

Bur Oak Blight (PDF)

Cytospora Canker (PDF)

Diplodia Tip Blight (PDF)

Dothistroma Needle Blight (PDF)

Dutch Elm Disease

Dutch Elm Disease (PDF)

Eastern Larch Beetle (PDF)

Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald Ash Borer (PDF)

Forest Pests and Diseases

Oak Wilt vs. Twolined Chestnut Borer Damage

Plant Diseases

Powdery Mildew (PDF)

Rhizosphaera Needle Cast (PDF)

Spongy Moth

Spongy Moth (PDF)

Stigmina Needle Cast (PDF)

Twolined Chestnut Borer (PDF)

"Weeds" & Invasive Plants

EDDMapS

Identify Invasive and Non-Native Species

Is This Plant a Weed?

MDA Weed of the Month Series

Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center (MITPCC)

MNDNR Minnesota Noxious Weed List

MNDOT Minnesota Noxious Weeds

Other

What's Wrong with My Plant?

UFOR YouTube Channel

The new and improved UFOR YouTube channel features a variety of videos dedicated to all things urban and community forestry. Here you can learn how to plant, care for, and prune trees, as well as some fun facts about trees and some deep dives into more complex topics.

UFOR Guides and Manuals

The following articles, manuals, & videos are products of outreach programs from the UFOR lab and its faculty, staff, and students.

A Guide to the Construction and Management of Community Gravel Beds. Gary Johnson. University of Minnesota, Department of Forest Resources. 2021
All you need to know about community gravel beds. Jacob Buisahn, Sean Peterson. University of Minnesota, Department of Forest Resources. 2013
Pruning Young Elms: Guiding American, Asian, and Hybrid Elms to Stately Maturity. Chad P. Giblin and Jeffery H. Gillman. The Urban Forestry & Horticulture Research Institute. 96p. Out of Print
Stem Girdling Roots: The underground epidemic killing our trees. Gary Johnson and Dennis Fallon.
Urban Tree Risk Management: A Community Guide to Program Design and Implementation. Jill Pokorny, Joseph O'Brien, Richard Hauer, Gary Johnson, Jana Albers, Peter Bedker, Manfred Mielke. Technical Bulletin. NA-TP-03 St. Paul, MN: UDSA Forest Service
The road to a thoughtful street tree master plan. A practical guide to systematic planning and design. Ken Simons and Gary R. Johnson
Planting trees and shrubs for long-term health. Rebecca Hargrave, Gary R. Johnson, and Mike Zins. University of Minnesota Extension Service. MI-07681-S
A practitioner’s guide to stem girdling roots of trees: Impacts on trees, symptomology, and prevention. Gary R. Johnson and Richard J. Hauer. University of Minnesota, Extension Service. BU-7501-S
Minimizing de-icing salt injury to trees. Gary R. Johnson and Ed Sucoff. University of Minnesota, Minnesota Extension Service, FO-1413

Emerald Ash Borer First Detector Program: A Volunteer Early Detection Program. Mark Abrahamson, Valerie Cervenka; Angela Gupta, Jeffery D. Hahn, Dean Herzfeld, Ken Holman, Gary R. Johnson, Michael R. Reichenbach, Gary Wyatt. St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service
Planting and Transplanting Trees and Shrubs. Jeffery H. Gillman and Gary R. Johnson. St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service. FO-3825-D
Protecting trees from construction damage: a homeowner’s guide. Gary R. Johnson. University of Minnesota Extension Service. FO-6135-S.

UFOR Research Publications

The following articles are products of the research and outreach programs from the UFOR lab and its faculty, staff, and students.

2021
- Vulnerability of Street Trees in Upper Midwest Cities to Climate Change. Leslie Brandt, Gary Johnson, Eric North, Jack Faje, Annmarie Rutledge. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
- Relationship of structural root depth on the formation of stem encircling roots and stem girdling roots: Implications on tree condition. Richard J. Hauer, Gary R. Johnson. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 60, 127031
- Understanding why young urban trees die can improve future success. Daniel J. Wattenhofer, Gary R. Johnson. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 64, 127247
- Suitability of a single imagery multispectral sensor for tree health analysis - Michael M. Bahe, Ryan L. Murphy, Matthew B. Russell, Joseph F. Knight, Gary R. Johnson. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 63, 127187

More UFOR Publications

Industry Publications (specific)

An Urban Forester in Botswana: Recruiting the Next Generation - Eric North. Arborist News. 29(2):34-37
The tree cover and temperature disparity in US urbanized areas: Quantifying the association with income across 5,723 communities. - Robert I. McDonald, et. al. PLOS.
Total Infrastructure Planning: Mind the Four Rs for Successful Street Landscapes. Gary Johnson, Eric North. Arborist News. 25(3):69
Trees and sidewalks: A complicated relationship. Gary Johnson, Eric North. Arborist News. 25(4):52-53
Trees as Witnesses. Eric North. 26(3):44-46
Urban forest diversity: Our past is prologue and our future is now - Eric North. Arborist News. 27(6):52-54

Industry Publications (websites)

Forest Ecology (Nature.org)

Tree Care Resources

Tree Topics

+ Selection, Planting, & Maintenance

Guides

Selection

Planting

Maintenance

+ Tree Troubles

Abiotic

Biotic

"Weeds" & Invasive Plants

Other

+ Additional Resources

+ Contacts & Organizations

+ News, Newsletter, & External Publication Resources

+ Climate-centric

+ Expanded Ecological Connections

UFOR YouTube Channel

Connect With Us

Selection, Planting, & Maintenance

Tree Troubles

Additional Resources

Contacts & Organizations

News, Newsletter, & External Publication Resources

Climate-centric

Expanded Ecological Connections