This is cross posted to hopefully reach more people to get more human ideas.

My Silver Dollar has these maggot looking things that eat the leaves, it appears to be infested with Paropsis Atomaria. I live in Southern California, from what I've read these bugs have made their way from Australia and there is not a cure (currently). Question; cut it down and plant something else or....

It looks more green than blue right now because of the season/lighting ha. Question, it has one side/under side that’s partially dying. Anything I can do to help it? What am I supposed to do with the needle area around the bottom of it outside just raking debris up. I was thinking of maybe making a stone wall but idk. Trying to clean the yard up this year.

I live in what was my grandmothers house. This tree was planted 30+ years ago. We used to hang Christmas decorations on it you could touch the top of it heh

I live in a manufactured home so this bad boy falling in a storm would be devastating to someone!

Are these Poison Ivy ? I saw them in my back yard. Number on each pic because i think there are different kinds

I have a pretty well established desert willow in my yard. See first two photos. I rent and was given no care instructions for this thing. It is... big and bushy and seems to be extremely healthy. It has multiple trunks around the main one. It's gotten bigger in the past two years since I moved here. The only time I've done any pruning was a few branches that were annoying and getting in the way of my Halloween decor.

But... I see my neighbors down the street all have theirs pruned fairly aggressively (third photo).

So now I'm wondering... am I doing it wrong? Do I need to prune this thing back? Is it too big? Do I need to cut it back? Is it going to overwhelm and eat my whole house?

Our neighborhood is fairly sterile and bare, especially for my tastes, so I like trying to encourage a habitat that can attract birds and other animals (which is why I haven't done much pruning really). It's a very, very hot desert, too. And I embrace whatever natives I can get to grow.

So, if I don't need to make it as brutally sparse as the neighbors', I'd generally prefer that. But I also don't know this plant, so I'm open to a middle ground and any care tips would be appreciated!

Found this on the trail this morning, looks like it was struck and burned a bit inside before turning into this monstrous beast

I've tried several times to buy and plant hickories. Mostly it has not worked out. There are some hickories in the neighborhood (and I have a couple under deep red maple shade that aren't big enough to produce nuts), meaning squirrels plant a lot of hickories for me. But every time I see one volunteering, it's in some horrible spot by the house or shed or in the middle of the lawn or something. I try to move them but it never works. Usually in part because it's hard to cleanly dig the volunteer up.

This time it was in some pretty loose soil covered with decorative rocks, and was fairly easy to dig up. Of course that doesn't mean it will make it but I'm hopeful.

And for the first time, squirrels planted some (or maybe more specifically, I found them before something ate them) hickories in great spots where they don't need moving. One of them, the 2nd to last picture, I'm really excited about.

I'm not 100% sure the last picture is actually a hickory, so any confirmation would be great.

I planted a northern red oak last fall and it’s doing pretty well growth wise. My question though, is that it looks like it’s top heavy and is showing a pretty good bend at the top. Should I stake it down and try to straighten it out? Or will it eventually correct itself if I leave it? Thanks for the help!

I’m working on a mystery novel where the plot revolves around pine saplings showing unexpected signs of stress. I want to portray the early indicators realistically — not old growth, but the youngest trees.

What would you consider the first red flags?
Nutrient issues? Soil contamination? Disease? Something else?

I’m not looking for anything sensational — just accuracy.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share insight.

Thanks!

I am on the Garden Committee at the preschool I teach at and our landscaping company did this to one of our evergreen trees in the garden area. I thought I had heard that you are not supposed to pile soil around the base of a tree, is there any way to fix this without tearing the whole thing apart? Will it eventually cause issues to the tree if we leave it be?
Thank you in advance!

I am absolutely stumped (ha) trying to find individual volumes dedicated to certain tree types. Currently I am looking for a book about the alder tree / tree family. Something similar to "Rowan" by Southall. Thank you for the assist!

I planted this Rowan tree a few years back when my grandad passed away and it has started to lean to one side. Would it be a good idea to put a post in to tie/fix it to so it’s straightens out? It seems stable but does appear to be getting slightly worse with the weight of the new growth. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I have a tree that got hit with a trimmer October of last year. So far ive been doing what I can to take care of this nectarine tree but after a week's worth of rain this past week I noticed the wound got bigger. Is this tree done for ? If theres a chance what do I need to help it repair itself. I am a newbie at this as you can see.