I wrote an article that ran in Saturday's (May 3) Great Falls Tribune Lifestyle section on why the trees, particularly the spruce, are dying all over Great Falls. It was ironic because when I walked into the nursery/office last week I noticed our neighbor's trees looked awful. I checked my email, and my editor at the Trib asked me to write a story on just this type of situation. It's not that I hadn't noticed a decline in the tree's health; there was a drastic change due to extreme damage.
On April 21 we experienced a record smashing low temperature of -8. Yes, that's below zero. It was too cold, too late. Subsequently, trees are suffering. At the moment, the spruce and arborvitae are showing the majority of the damage, but local experts speculate we're going to see a considerable amount in the deciduous trees, as well. Time will tell. But for now, the best we can do is water and hope.
