Hey Dennnis. In Iowa we have had a very mild winter, I believe 4th warmest on record (our records go back to the 1870s, I believe). I don't think it got below -10 F this winter. I am optimistic about this coming growing season, but realize that a late freeze could wipe us out. Our grass has not started to green up yet. I have a small yard with three peach trees. Last year I had a third year tree that produced about 100 fruit. That is the best I have ever done. Three winters earlier I lost all my young peach trees to temps below -30 F. In Iowa we have no commercial peach production due to the climate. Michigan is at our latitude and in many cases farther north, but winter temps along the west coast of Michigan are warmed by Lake Michigan, hence Michigan had significant peach orchards, and still has some commercial production. Where are you in Finland that your winter is mild enough to grow peaches? I envisioned polar bears, and reindeer as part of the landscape / snowscape there.

Drew, armchair theories may add color to this forum, but from a practical standpoint often seem like poor advice from my perspective. These are not theories in the scientific definition of the word and are not even backed by anecdote that you are sharing. I think the validity of your hypothesis depends on the disease being capable of establishing in the wood itself and then spreading throughout the tree through the vascular system. I really can't think of a single pest that once established on a site tends to become harder to control to the point where you want to keep trees protected throughout the growing season so they never suffer any infection from it. With brown rot, you do want to avoid having the fungus grow into the small wood if you can help it by removing infected fruit promptly but brown rot is universal so you can't keep it from establishing in your orchard- just in the small wood. Integrated pest management of plants involves using as little proactive spray as practical. Your fears of fighting pests by keeping compounds on the trees represents the old fashioned approach. Your comparison of lung cancer and smoking seems pretty pointless and is irrelevant to plant care, in my opinion. Aren't you really just talking about your experience with canker on your cherry trees? You may eventually find out the problem there had more to do with environmental problems than a failure of early enough treatment. Cherries in a humid climate need full sun, or at least full eastern exposure, good drainage and everything else required for vigorous growth. That isn't to say that there aren't sites where proactive protection of cherry trees from canker isn't necessary. I'm just guessing here because you provided no examples to illustrate your theory that actually involves fruit trees.

edit: well, it looks like that PDF access does not work, so here is the ref: "Impact of Mulches on Landscape Plants and the Environment --- A Review" - by Linda Chalker-Scott J. Environ. Hort. 25(4):239-249. December 2007 Mulch Problems --- Real and Perceived Acidification. Organic mulches such as wood chips and bark are thought by some to be soil acidifiers. No scientific research supports this, and in fact studies refute this perception. One study found neither pine bark nor pine needles had any affect on soil pH (51). A second report (60) found bare soil to be more acidic than soil covered by inorganic mulch, and that shredded bark and wood chips were least acidifying of all treatments. Similarly, a year-long study found that the soils under organic mulches were either more alkaline or not affected by mulch treatment (100). ItâÂÂs likely that in artificial conditions, such as nursery production, that woody materials do have an acidifying effect when they are used as part of a potting medium. Release of phenolic acids is one stage of the decomposition of woody material, and if this material comprises the bulk of medium then acidification is likely to occur. In a field situation, however, where the woody material is used as a mulch (and not worked into the soil), any acidification will be localized within the mulch layer and have little effect on the vast underlying soil environment below. Thus, soil acidification due to mulching with woody plant material is unlikely to occur under real world conditions. Greenly, K. and D. Rakow. 1995. The effects of mulch type and depth on weed and tree growth. J. Arboriculture 21:225-232. Iles, J.K. and M.S. Dosmann. 1999. Effect of organic and mineral mulches on soil properties and growth of âÂÂFairview Flame Râ red maple trees. J. Arboriculture 25:163-167. Pickering, J.S. and A. Shepherd. 2000. Evaluation of organic landscape mulches: composition and nutrient release characteristics. Arboricultural J. 23:175-187. Here is a link that might be useful: Impact of Mulches on Landscape Plants and the Environment This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Tue, Oct 22, 13 at 10:45

Resin: Interesting. I have seen lots and lots of Sitka spruce growing along the northwest Pacific coast here. It seems thay can withstand and grow in any kind of wind, including winds with salt. But they are often reduced to krumholtz in the most extremely exposed places. The reaction of Noble fir really surprizes me, because it doesn't usually, as far as I know, grow in areas exposed to much wind. the Noble fir I have seen has been in dense forest stands not that high up on mountains. More usually I see it in coves and valleys. Zephyr: I think having the poplars planted just 20 feet from the NS is too close. The partial shading of the spruce foliage on that side will cause it to be more thin. I hope this doesn't destroy your plans, but I would not plant the poplar closer than 40 feet, unless they are some very narrow fastigate form. If your poplars are that kind, then maybe 30 feet would be OK. All I can recommend for your white spruces would be mulch. We will just have to wait and see how they do this year. The high production of cones may not mean anything except, sometimes, stress induced trees tend to produce more cones. I have to admit I am not that familiar with white spruce. I have about an acre of it growing at my Maryland timberland, but I have not seen how it reacts to different environments and/or kinds of stress. Norway spruce is amazingly resiliant--I have seen them suffering from all kinds of stress, becoming very weak, and then in two or three years recover to full vigor. Many spruces react to various things very much alike. I would have hope that your white spruce, in another two or three years, will begin to look fine. But it may be that they just don't like as much wind as you have there. As for the NS seedling survival--these trees have good drought resistance, including little seedlings. When I planted seedlings at my place in the Maryland mountains, I normally did not have to water them at all. But where I planted them there was not much wind, and the climate was cool. Here in Northern Virginia, where it is very hot, and where we have extended dry spells virtually every year, watering is essential. Trees that grow in place naturally from seed usually don't need any watering. As the roots grow they are "blended" (I can't think of a better word right now) with the soil. Seedlings that are grown and then transplanted need a year or a bit more to have their roots "blended" naturally into the soil, so they are prone to drying out. Maybe the issue is as much the structure of the soil. When a tree is transplanted the soil is dug and broken up and mixed in a way that can affect the movement of moisture through it. But, if you have a wet year, and/or don't have any significant dry spells, you may not have to water at all. All soils are different, but here in the soils we have, if I can get the roots properly spread out and down about 15 inches deep, after a good rain with good starting soil moisture, it takes about 14 days without rain for me to be concerned about watering seedlings. If the roots don't go that deep, maybe 7 to 10 days. but, of course, all sites are different. I would plant the trees with great optimism that you will get some normal rain and may not have to water that much. --Spruce