Wanted: Phabulous Photos for Shoot Out 2000

Yup, it’s that time of the year again when the Corporate Communications Dept. challenges Asplundh employees, their family members and our customers to take aim and enter their finest photos in our annual photo contest, Shoot Out 2000.

The categories to enter are once again: Work Related (including all specialty services and subsidiaries) and Nature. First, second and third place winners in each category will receive a cash prize of $150, $100 or $75 and the winning shots will be published in the Autumn 2000 issue of The Asplundh TREE. Entries received before May 31 will be considered for possible use in the 2001 Asplundh Wall Calendar.

You may submit color or black & white prints, or 35mm slides-no negatives, please. You may enter more than one category with as many photos as you like. As before, pictures which show any sort of safety violation will be disqualified. Please package your photos carefully and be sure to enclose your name, address, phone number and the category you wish to enter on a separate piece of paper. A brief description of each picture would be helpful. Entries will not be returned unless you specifically request it.

Fire off your phabulous photos to: Shoot Out 2000, Corporate Communications 708 Blair Mill Rd., Willow Grove, PA 19090

Technical Services Topic Know Your Trees-Willows

By General Foreman Kenneth S. Wahl,
ISA Certified Arborist/Utility Specialist, Florida

There is no tree perhaps as graceful and more elegant than a weeping willow, with its pendulous branchlets sweeping across a water's edge. The weeping willow is a member of a large, extremely diverse group of trees (and shrubs) belonging to the family Salicacae.

Willows (Salix) and poplars (Populus) are the two genera that comprise this family more commonly referred to as the willow family. These trees are indigenous to five of the seven continents of the world. The trees are deciduous and possess many unique characteristics that will distinguish them from other trees.

Leaves are simple, arranged alternately on the stem, are toothed, and will usually have a yellow fall color. The flowers are very small, yellow and green in color, and are arranged in catkins. However, male and female blossoms are found on separate plants or are said to be dioecious. The fruit is a capsule that contains tiny seeds attached to white feathery filaments. The bark is both aromatic and astringent, gray to brown in color, and as the trees mature the bark becomes deeply furrowed and ridged. The flowers, fruit, bark and twigs are a food source for a variety of mammals and birds.

This family of trees prefers moist soils, however, they will survive in almost any type of soil. Their massive and wide spreading root systems allow them to absorb and transpire vast quantities of water. An abundance of water may greatly impact the fact that these trees grow extremely fast, attain great size and are weak-wooded. They are short lived, easily damaged and are often uprooted in high winds and storms, making them an imminent danger to power lines and related facilities.

Willows and poplars are among the most easily propagated of all trees. Their ability to adapt to a variety of environments, along with a rapid growth rate, made them popular as street trees in many cities. They were also used in parks, cemeteries and estates as specimen trees. After fires and floods they are frequently the first trees to inhabit and regenerate the stricken areas. These trees will withstand heavy pruning and are often pollarded in Europe.

The genus willow (Salix) has made significant contributions from its earliest existence. The branchlets were (and are) used in baskets and wicker furniture, gun powder was made from willow charcoal, and its wood was harvested for pulp and packing crates. Bunches of willow branchlets were rooted in the banks of dykes and earthen dams to stop erosion. The most significant contribution was the extraction of salicin from the bark, which was used as a tonic for pain relief and other ailments. Salicin was the basic ingredient in the formation of what today is known as aspirin. However, aspirin is made synthetically today.

Willows have lance-shaped leaves, which are finely toothed and are a shiny, dark green in color. Their many varieties and hybrids make identification extremely difficult. Here are some willows you may encounter in your daily operations.

• Salix alba-White willow
• Salix babylonica-Weeping willow
• Salix amygdaloides-Peachtree willow
• Salix nigra-Black willow

The second genus Populus, or poplars, are large trees with an ovate to heart shaped leaf that is toothed with leaf petioles that are flattened, enabling the leaves to flutter with the slightest breeze. Planted as ornamentals, specimens and windbreaks, the wood has a variety of uses including fine magazine paper, furniture, and interior moldings. Some of the more prevalent trees you may encounter while trimming power lines are:

• Populus deltoides-Eastern cottonwood
• Populus grandidenta-Bigtooth aspen
• Populus tremuloides-Quaking aspen
• Populus trichocarpa-Western (or) Black cottonwood
• Populus fremonti-Fremont Cottonwood

When pruning this family for clearance, try to obtain the maximum clearance allowed by the utility (or entity) one is contracted by. It is also important to treat stumps and exposed root flares-if applicable in the work zone-as willows and poplars will sprout quite readily.

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