Top com•pa•nies \`täp `kәmp-nē\ (noun).

Etymology: The area’s prestigious award program.

Sometimes we are amazed how “us being us” in our community allows us to receive cheers from the public we don’t ask for, we don’t expect, and sometimes don’t even deserve.  I was reading the latest issue of Kansas City Home Design recently, and was amazed that Bob Moreno, Publisher of KCHD, mentioned myself and Highland Outdoor that we can “make your outdoor dreams come true.”  –  Thanks Bob for your kind words…  Little did I know that our casual lunches and conversations over the last year would get us an honorable mention in the magazine.  Thanks for your confidence!

Two bad trends conspire to kill off area pine trees

By CHAD DAY and KAREN DILLON
The Kansas City StarThe 22 pines stood dry and brown alongside a ball field in Kansas City’s Pleasant Valley Park.

Until Thursday, when park employees started cutting them all down.

“It’s not a good year for pine trees,” said Forest Decker, manager of forestry and conservation with the city of Kansas City.

Not on Kansas City public land, where hundreds of the more than 6,000 pines already have died, and not in backyards.

If you’ve noticed dead and dying pines as you drive around the area, you’re witnessing the victims of two problems that are hitting local pines especially hard this year after four or five bad years.

Pine wilt, caused by microscopic worms, kills trees in two months or less. That’s what hit the Pleasant Valley Park trees.

“This year is probably the worst year we’ve seen as far as pine wilt,” Decker said. “It’s just a couple weeks, and they are done.”

The other problem: Tip blight, a fungus that can be treated if caught in time.

“I’m anticipating a real heavy year on tip blight,” said Dennis Patton with Johnson County K-State Extension.

Why this year?

The stress of an ill-suited climate on trees that don’t really belong here, and perhaps climate change that makes the weather’s mood swings more dramatic.

“A stressed tree is not a healthy tree,” Patton said. “Just like a human body, a stressed human body is more open to attack.”

Pine wilt

Pine wilt is caused by the pinewood nematode — a microscopic worm — that clogs the tree’s vascular system, depriving it of water. The nematodes are carried by pine sawyer beetles from tree to tree, quickly killing pines in their paths.

The trees at Pleasant Valley Park in Clay County were pocked with pea-size holes left by the sawyer beetles. The interior of the worst trees showed purple or bluish-black stains, signs that bark beetles flocked to the trees once they began to die from pine wilt. The needles were brown, some beginning to gray.

The nematodes’ main targets are non-native pines, such as the Austrian and Scotch pines at the park, said Bryon Sosnowski, an urban forester with the Kansas City parks department. The trees have to be removed as soon as possible to keep the pests from spreading.

Once they infiltrate a tree, there’s no saving it.

The worsening problem could be caused by the impact that climate change may be having on the sawyer beetle population, said David Tippets, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Research Station, a research and development center for the U.S. Forest Service.

Because of warmer temperatures, insects that only reproduced, for example, once every two years, are now reproducing every year or even twice a year, Tippets said.

Marc Linit, who studied pine wilt and sawyer beetles for more than 20 years at the University of Missouri, said he’s observed a correlation between hot, dry summers and an increase in pine wilt the following spring.

“At the most basic level, native pines have evolved with the nematode,” Linit said. “They have evolved an effective defense mechanism.”

Non-native trees haven’t. And when planted in a climate such as Kansas City’s, the problem is compounded.

The pinewood nematode also has been particularly destructive in Nebraska, said Don Janssen, educator for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County.

“It is kind of a tenacious little critter,” Janssen said.

It’s not nematodes but mountain pine and bark beetles that have chewed through 2½ million acres of Colorado and Wyoming pine trees.

Climate change is helping the mountain pine beetles flourish, experts say. The beetles used to be killed off during cold winter months, but because of milder temperatures in winter, that no longer happens.

The mountain pine beetles have become so plentiful that swarms of them have been picked up on Doppler radar, said Mary Ann Chambers, public relations officer for the U.S. Forest Service Bark Beetle Incident Management Team.

Most of the non-native pines in the Kansas City region were planted as windbreaks or for ornamental purposes in the ’50s and ’60s. The problems with pine wilt started hitting those trees as they reached maturity.

Preventing pine wilt is difficult and costly, say Wes Ory, owner of Heritage Lawns and Irrigation in Olathe, and Mark Young, a board certified master arborist.

They purchased the equipment to inject pine trees with chemicals to prevent pine wilt, but have yet to use it. They attribute that to the cost — upward of $300 — which is a lot for customers to shell out.

Tip blight

Experts expect pines to be hit hard by tip blight this year because of the cool, wet spring.

And while pine wilt kills trees faster, tip blight has affected more pines in the Kansas City area.

The airborne fungus gets worse in wetter springs because it’s easier for spores to cling to the branches, Patton said.

Tip blight can be treated with pruning and fungicides, but if left unattended it will kill a tree.

On an affected tree, a few limbs will begin browning back from the tip and worsen during the summer.

Sosnowski saw signs of tip blight on the pines at Pleasant Valley Park.

Routinely spraying the trees with fungicides would help prevent tip blight, Sosnowski said, but the city has too many trees and too few employees to do it.

It makes sense for a homeowner with a few trees, he said.

As for Christmas trees this year, don’t worry, farmers say. They’ve seen fewer problems, perhaps because they’re cut down before they’re old enough to develop them, said Debbie Barnett of Tom’s Christmas Tree Farm in Kansas City.

•Don’t plant Scotch or Austrian pines. They aren’t suited to areas with a mean summer temperature that exceeds 68 degrees — such as Kansas City.

•White pines are a better bet. They’re a hardier tree whose natural habitat is nearer to this area. Cedars are also stronger. Native evergreens such as junipers or bald cypress also are good replacements.

To see the electronic story at KansasCity.com, click here.

Recently, I was at home on a weekend and I saw a commercial for Belgard on the Golf Channel - I asked them to send it to me, and they sent me an awesome 3:30 second “lifestyle video” to share with our clients.  As you might or might not know, Highland Outdoor is one of the largest Belgard Authorized Contractors in Kansas City, with the largest indoor/outdoor display area.  Check out the photo below (which links to the video)…

To our online friends - this letter was sent out today via email to our clients, our potential clients, as well as through our social networking areas:  Our Blog, Our Highland Outdoor Twitter account and Facebook page…    Please add us on Twitter and Facebook for up to the minute information…

June 1st, 2009

Dear Client,

Over the last 23 years, Highland Outdoor has been creating some of Kansas City’s most incredible backyards – everything from installation of boutique patio areas to full design/build projects including all aspects of outdoor design – swimming pools, pergolas, water features, architectural lighting, landscaping, outdoor living areas, kitchens, fireplaces, patios, retaining walls and many other elements.

In recent times, as our country has navigated through these unique economic environments, clients have asked us how we differ from our competitors.  In addition to the “Highland Outdoor Difference” (see below for link to this document) which we launched in 2006, our management team has created the “2009 Stimulus Package” – items of unique distinction we are confident differentiate us from everyone in the marketplace.

Our hope and desire is that a combination of these offerings allow you to see our commitment not only to our clients and our projects, but also to our landscape development firm to be a market leader now, but also in the future.

With that, I am pleased to introduce you to our Highland Outdoor 2009 Stimulus Package:

• Lifetime Warranty – All projects, regardless of size, will have Lifetime Warranty.  You can buy with confidence that your patios, walkways, retaining walls, lighting, landscaping and other elements will have a FULL, LIFETIME, NO-HASSLE warranty for as long as you own your home.  See link below for warranty document for details.
• No-Cost Shade Trees – For every project sold, we will install two (2) shade trees at your home, or the home of a relative, co-worker or friend – your choice.  These specimen shade trees, grown at a tree farm we have an interest in, are 2-2.5” caliper in size, and are 12-14’ tall.  Installation must be in the Greater Kansas City area – you could even give them as a gift!  $800 value.
• No-Cost Landscape Maintenance - For the remainder of 2009, we will send a crew to your home to maintain our landscape installation – pulling weeds, deadheading perennials, trimming shrubs and pruning small trees – once a month – at no cost to you.  This guarantees your landscape will look its best, maintained by our professionals, through the rest of this year, so you can spend your time in other, more productive ways.  Value up to $1,200 depending on landscape size.
• Payment Term Savings – Our payment terms depend on the type and size of project, but for those clients wanting to save additional monies by alternative savings plans, this opportunity is for you.  If you prepay your entire design/build contract (regardless of size), you will save an automatic 5% off the contract price.  Value up to $15,000, based on project size.

Our team is committed to you, your property, and your project.  With us partnering on delivering an incredible project and design to you and your family, along with some significant value added cost savings, we are confident that Highland Outdoor will continue to be your partner for all things green and for all things related to outdoor living.

For more information on the Highland Outdoor 2009 Stimulus Package, please do not hesitate to contact the office at 913.782.3700, or reach me directly anytime via email at jason@highland-outdoor.com or at the office.

Here is to an incredible partnership focused 2009…  A partnership between our clients and us…  I’m confident that by working together to weather this unique economic storm, our families and businesses will be stronger as a result.

Lastly, please join me to promote this great program – please advise your friends, neighbors, co-workers and families.  A reminder that our referral program sends you $100-$300 for any referral that results in a signed contract!

Cheers to a summer of great design/build projects,

Jason K. Cupp, CLP
Certified Landscape Professional
Chief Executive Officer

PS – I’ve enclosed an Internet copy (link below) of the June 2009 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine article that featured Highland Outdoor client and friends Jeff and Melissa Anthony.  Thanks Jeff and Melissa for your business and for telling your story with Highland Outdoor to a national audience!

LINKS

The Highland Outdoor Difference
Lifetime Warranty Document
June 2009 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine Article

We are excited about these new programs (available for projects between 6/1/09 and 12/31/09) - if you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us at the office at 913-782-3700 or me directly via email here.

A few months ago, Kiplinger Magazine called our office to interview Highland Outdoor CEO Jason Cupp on our Customer Service Plan, and how we help deliver value to the exterior of our clients homes.  At the conclusion of the interview, they wanted some references from clients, so Jason gave them a few names and phone numbers - in short, they called Jeff and Melissa Anthony - of Prairie Village - and included them in the article as well.  Thanks, Jeff and Melissa!  We appreciate your business, your referrals, and how you allowed us to transform your property!

To view the PDF, click here.  To view the link on kiplinger.com, click here.

I’m in a recertification class in Phoenix and I got a message from a friend of mine (and Highland Outdoor) that we were featured on MSN.com - on the home page.  Of course, I jumped on the computer to see if it was true.  It was!  Here is a screen shot of the story - which is running on the main page, and scrolls between several stories:

When you click on the link, you’ll see a before and after photo of a project that Highland completed near Mission Hills, KS:

And the after photo:

I’m completely humbled!  Check it out on your own (who knows how long it will be up) at www.msn.com.

Dear PLANET Friends,

This is likely my “last official email” as PLANET’s President.

It has truly been an honor and privilege to serve you, our members, and the green industry these last fourteen months.  I’m so thankful for each and every one of you, and countless others, for their partnership, dedication and passion for the work at hand.   We’ve accomplished so much together.

I spoke with two Past Presidents yesterday via telephone, and expressed how bittersweet it is to be leaving this association leadership position.  On one hand, I’m excited to be back in my business, family, community and friends - yet on another hand, the last year has been one of the most fulfilling and engaging.

As Bill Hildebolt and I have had numerous transition conversations over the last few weeks, I’m excited to pass the baton to our next President.  I know that Bill is ramped up to the issues and opportunities that we face in our industry and association, and he’s excited and enthusiastic to jump into the seat.  Bill, it’s now yours! 

In all seriousness, thank you once again for your trust and confidence.  Each and every one of you has made the last year a significant part of my life story - to which I will be eternally grateful.

-Jason

Just a few hours after the PLANET Day of Service project started, a video reporter from KansasCity.com (The online version of the Kansas City Star) showed up and took some B-Roll and did an interview with me about our project at Liberty Memorial.  The result was perfect for our service project!  As of tonight, our video was the 7th most popular video on the site.

Here is a screen capture…

Watch the entire video here.  Thanks Chris for an awesome portrayal of our day serving our community!

We will be writing about our PLANET Day of Service project over the next week or so…  Natasha Gabbert was featured on page 2 of the Kansas City Star today….