Andrew The Arborist

Andrew The Arborist I'm an urban forester who is passionate about trees, native plants, and the natural world.
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Through my content, I aim to educate and inspire people to reconnect with and learn about the natural world around them.

09/08/2026

Last week, it was announced that the museum at the Academy of Natural Sciences would close at the end of this month. This ~200 year old historic museum has inspired awe in our children, provided education to folks of all ages, and reminded Philadelphians and tourists how special life on this planet is.

You can help save the museum — there are certainly ways to make it happen, we just have to put the pressure on! Visit the link in my bio to be taken to save-the-academy.org and follow the items on the checklist. Follow savetheacademy and Sarah McAnulty for updates!

08/23/2026

These are some great native plant options for moist or wet soils in the northeastern US / southeastern Canada! Check out BONAP’s county range maps for more information on their native ranges.

08/18/2026

One effective way to control Ailanthus altissima (Tree-of-Heaven) is to use the Hack-and-Squirt method, where you make several gashes into the tree’s sapwood at a downward angle and fill the gash with an appropriate herbicide. The herbicide should then be taken in by the tree, translocated to the roots, and ideally leads to death within 1-3 months or so.

Tree-of-Heaven is unfortunately quite difficult to remove without using herbicide. Cutting one down before treating with herbicide will often result in many stems suckering from its extensive root system.

Our efforts to control this tree in this woodland is part of a larger effort to remove invasive species and restore native tree and shrub species that support more wildlife and ecosystem function.

More info here: https://extension.psu.edu/using-hack-and-squirt-herbicide-applications-to-control-unwanted-trees/

08/13/2026

Register Here: tinyurl.com/HNPAndrewConboy

Andrew Conboy Andrew The Arborist built a native plant movement in his own hometown, one tree, one neighbor, one project at a time.

Hear how you can do the same in our upcoming webinar, Lead the Change, August 20th at 12pm ET.

Can’t make it live? A recording will be available through September 20, 2026 for those who register for the event.

08/10/2026

Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum species) attract a wide range of unique pollinators to their wonderful, fragrant flowers, and in my opinion, are a must-have for our landscapes! While they don’t serve as a host plant for many butterfly and moth caterpillars, their flowers draw in all sorts of insects that you may not see any other time of year.

There are many native Mountain Mint species in eastern North America and one species in California. Some of them can be a bit aggressive in certain garden settings, while others tend to form smaller, non-spreading clumps. They’re great for helping to naturalize some areas, and are deer resistant!

08/05/2026

These native long horned bees (genus Melissodes) are specialists that feed on pollen of plants in the Asteraceae (sunflower and aster family)! These bees show up each year when the sunflowers start blooming.

07/28/2026

Last spring, we (Community Canopy Project) planted a large, bare-root Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis) at a local park through PHS Tree Tenders. It was mostly an experiment for us, knowing that hickories of this size typically don’t transplant very well at all since they build a strong tap root from a young age. To our surprise, and despite not leafing out until mid-July, the tree survived the transplant and is attempting to get itself established.

Hickory trees (Carya species) are very ecologically valuable species that support a wide variety of wildlife, but because they are typically difficult to grow in a nursery setting to any size larger than a first-year sapling, they can be quite difficult to find in the trade. This often leads to a notable absence of these amazing trees in our landscapes, parks, and other properties. I try to advocate for planting them where appropriate, and encourage patience for those willing to plant!

Hickory nuts can be collected and germinated rather easily and subsequently planted in an appropriate site at a very young age, but are typically a little slower to put on above-ground growth until their roots are established. Have you planted a native hickory tree before?

PA Horticultural Society

07/18/2026

Strong microburst storms took out many large trees in parts of Philadelphia this past week. Here is a bit of commentary about why some trees broke or fell, while others did not.

Strong storms are becoming more common, and damage to trees is expected during these events. However, there are a number of things you can do as a homeowner to ease your concerns about and to reduce failure risks for large trees on or near your property.

07/11/2026

Someone dumped this soil contaminated with the rhizomes of Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) plants. Plants resprouted from the rhizomes here in the dumped soil, but their roots hadn’t yet reached the forest soil. I pulled as much as I could, bagged it, and put it in the garbage. Don’t do this!

07/09/2026

Trees planted near sidewalks can sometimes cause uplifting, resulting in tripping hazards and making the sidewalk less accessible to some. Some cities require homeowners to pay for sidewalk repair if their tree is causing damage. Here, I briefly cover a few approaches to sidewalk repair near trees.

For minor uplifting, you can have the elevated parts of the sidewalk shaved down to match the grade of the adjacent panels / flags. For more serious lifting or cracking issues that require a bigger repair, the sidewalk can (in some cases) be rerouted further away from the trunk, root flare, and roots, leading to less conflict in the future and reducing root damage.

If large structural roots have to be cut close to the tree’s base to make repairs, a full removal may be necessary depending on the severity. An experienced ISA-certified arborist can help guide work in these situations.

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