At almost every home where older trees stand covered with climbing ivy, tree death is imminent. The plant pours forth from its salacious root system over a period of years, it climbs voraciously, tendrils locked onto the bark of those poor trees. It even scars buildings badly. Just imagine what it's doing to those trees. In a few years, the bark is softened enough to rot and allow insect invaders. The real damage occurs around the base of the tree. Unusual moisture retention rots the roots right out of the tree, termites and earwigs proliferate and bingo, the top begins to die out of the tree. Branches die and fall. And a tree company is retained to convert it to firewood for the puzzled owners. Pachysandra or other ground cover islands around tree bases readily accomplish the same terrible thing. They hold moisture around the base, preventing air and sunlight from reaching the bark and keeping it healthy and free of insects and disease. Perhaps piles of mulch or fresh wood chips are placed around tree bases to give that manicured look; and actually, the tree is slowly suffocating and dying from all of the above actions. Just pull the mulch or chips away from the tree base and view the damage. Remedy? Get rid of the ivy, pachysandra or other ground covers around the tree base and never, never pile up soil, leaves or wood chips around any tree. Any tree planted too deep will die, it's the most common form of owner-caused death that a trained eye sees. Another common cause of tree death are hits from riding or push mowers or encounters with weed wackers. Hopefully, a 3-4' ring of quality Premium Dark Bark Mulch around the tree base at a depth of 1" will prevent such an occurrence. If the tree is large, extend the ring 1-2' beyond the lower branches so they aren't damaged by machinery or carelessness. Also, chemical sprays can injure or kill a tree if applied incorrectly or at the wrong time. Bagworms, red spider mites, aphids and other harmful pests require chemical treatments and great care should be exercised when applying chemicals to trees. Call us for the correct advice. Check your trees periodically. When something doesn't look quite right, call us. We do make house-calls and can prevent a potentially bad situation from occurring or getting worse. Quality, healthy living trees are a real investment in the equity of your property, and should be carefully protected. In addition to carrying only Premium Dark Bark Mulch, we feature over 900 varieties of perennials, 200 varieties of annuals and herbs, over 100 varieties of ornamental grasses and bamboos, and more than 1600 cultivars of nursery stock, ranging from the common to the very rare, unusual and hard-to-find. Our Collector's Rare Plant Nursery has been supplying gardening enthusiasts for over seven years, and is a must for connoisseurs and serious collectors. Our Nursery Division can supply any request from the common to very rare and unusual material. And if you need a tree or shrub moved, we feature a special team capable of easily moving anything from 1-inch to 10-inch diameter trees. Call us for a free consultation and estimate. Our Warranty: is unmatched by anyone, anywhere, and is one (1) year from date of purchase if you install the plant material; it is five (5) years if we install the material. Call, write or email us for a complete copy of The Warranty. It's also online right here. Drop by our Website on The InterNet for a tour of the Garden Center & Nursery. It's located at www.gdnctr.com for those digerati among you out there who are connected on-line.