Tree Injections

Tree Injections

People have been injecting substances into trees for hundreds of years, with varied success.

The great Leonardo DaVinci is credited with drilling holes into apple trees and adding arsenic

to poison the fruit and the thieves who were stealing his apples. (No historical notes on the success/failure of his project)

Trees are amazing organisms. They have a vascular system, which makes it possible to inject chemicals directly into the xylem, the water-conduction portion of wood. This ties into the natural movement of water, sugars and starches throughout the roots, stem and canopy. Chemicals are spread efficiently throughout the tree by utilizing  this natural process.

The downside of any injection is we are drilling holes and wounding the tree to get chemical into it.

The question for me has always been: Is the cure causing long term problems for the tree?

When I first started down the path of Arboriculture, I was extremely reluctant to inject/injure trees.

In my original capacity as a City Forester, I witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of Dutch Elm disease and Oak Wilt. When I realized there were a select few chemicals that could control these diseases, I changed my mind. The risk is worth the reward. Trees injected preventatively, at the proper time with the correct dose of chemical can resist these diseases and will not become infected.
(Dutch Elm disease and Oak Wilt are vascular diseases that kill trees quickly).

As I began injecting trees for disease control, I documented some of  my experiences-
Pine trees are almost possible to inject-pitch in the wood quickly clogs injector tips/tees.
Even under increased pressure, they are still difficult and because the wood is diffuse porous, I question
the efficiency of transport and distribution. (We are typically spraying Pines with fungicide for control and
injecting fertilizers into soil and root zones).

Oaks and Elms transport water/chemical very efficiently. Wood is ring porous and will
transport larger volume efficiently.
*Using a macro-injection process, I had an Elm tree uptake 48 gallons of water and chemical in
38 minutes-this sounds crazy, but it pulled it that fast.

I also  found that the vast majority of injection holes closed within1 year,

when done correctly-drilled to the proper depth, using a clean, sharp bit.

The use of high-helix drill bits is also helpful.

There are several reasons for injecting trees, first and foremost is disease control.

Please keep in mind that chemical injections are not always necessary. Some disease problems and many insect problems can be controlled by spraying alone. Some of these issues are cyclical/cosmetic and do not cause serious or long-lasting problems for trees.

You have to be careful, chemical companies market every conceivable type of chemical and injection process . There are always  people that want to sell you things, not because you really need it

or it is important for a trees' survival. There are also some fairly unscrupulous people posing as Arborists

that want to sell you a chemical "program" or just want to sell you a lot of crap you really don't need.

Methods of injection-(Processes)

Macro-injection uses a higher volume of water mixed with chemical and in my opinion, is the most

successful, long-lasting treatment process.

This is the process we use to treat trees preventatively for Dutch Elm disease, Oak Wilt and to treat trees

for Iron Chlorosis.
Pictured below is an American Elm I injected several years ago. Our company is still treating this tree.

It is alive and well, after Dutch Elm disease killed many of the trees on adjacent properties.

This picture illustrates the use of tees, hose and spacing of injection sites using the macro-injection system.

Pictured below is company owner Greg VanBooven using the Medi-ject system to treat an Oak for Iron Chlorosis. This is very common on Pin Oaks and other trees in the Kansas City metro.
 Iron Chlorosis causes leaves to yellow and growth is stunted, mainly a soil PH issue and inability of trees to assimilate Iron and Manganese because of soil PH.
Another example of a macro-injection system, using a high volume of water and chemical.

Micro-injection- I am not a big fan of micro-injection. Small, pressurized capsules are used to get chemical into tree. While it has it's uses on small trees or trees with limited root access, I question the efficiency

and have seen limitations firsthand. I have no pictures of this process, we typically do not use it.

I have used it in dire circumstances to treat for Oak Wilt and it did work, also to inject fertilizer into trees

surrounded by asphalt and concrete, to keep them alive/buy time. I was not a big fan of this methodology/philosophy, but had a client that was insistent.

He wanted to keep trees alive until he could get other trees planted and growing.

*Emerald Ash Borer and preventative Ash injections-

This is just starting in our area. As beetle populations build, it will be a major issue for all

varieties of Ash tree in the next 2-4 years.

There is a chemical and an injection process that will work extremely well to treat for Emerald
Ash Borer. 

The Arbor-Jet system is combination of micro/macro principles. 

Using the chemical Tree-Age, we can treat preventatively for 2 years of control.

When done properly at the correct rates, there is a 99.9% success rate.

Pictured below is the Arbor-Jet system we will be utilizing to inject Ash trees for EAB prevention

If you have questions about tree injections, contact me at brad@vanbooventree.com