Susan Sims could talk about the birds, bees and most definitely about trees, but for the Palisades Garden Club, she’ll tackle bugs on Monday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. Sims, a board certified master arborist, specializes in diagnosing and curing tree diseases and operates the Sims Tree Learning Center on 6.5 acres in Riverside County. Equipped with degrees in agricultural biology and ornamental horticulture and plant pathology, Sims will lend her experience to the discussion of insects. “I guess I’ll be teaching entomology 101,” Sims told the Palisadian-Post. “I usually talk about the connection between the damage to the tree or plant and the suspected culprit. We need to determine whether it is an insect that is doing the damage, also whether or not the insects are under biological control.” Sims and her husband have been in the tree health care business since 1972, the part of the business that pays the bills, she says. Their consultation work takes them from Ventura to San Diego and is unusual because they are strictly health care specialists, not tree trimmers. “A job might be working with Caltrans or developers to determine if a tree is worth preserving and if so, how do go about it,” Sims said. Another interesting Sims assignment necessitated some detective work. “I got a call from an insurance company about a pine tree that had fallen on a neighbor’s car,” Sims said. “We told the owner that in order to pursue the cause of the accident they would have to go back to the developer who bought the trees, or to the landscape gardener who planted it. We discovered that the roots had been girdling the root ball and cutting off circulation to the tree, which eventually produced a weak spot. The tree could have been left in the original container too long, or the landscaper could have used an auger to dig the hole instead of digging a nice big hole.” The Sims’ other love is the Tree Learning Center, which is dedicated to preservation, education and research. The center maintains a small collection of old-time farming, gardening and transportation equipment and vehicles. In addition, the Simses have a palm collection of more than 100 varieties, and an iris collection. In the museum, visitors can see the mushroom collection, including mycorrihizae’beneficial fungi, which assist in assuring plant health and resistance to disease and insects. Sims says that visitors are welcome to the gardens the last Friday of the month, or may call to make an appointment: (951) 685-6662. The Garden Club meeting is open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
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