Editor · Beat: Tree & Shrub Health
Editor · sources every article from Cornell Cooperative Extension, NYS DEC, USDA Forest Service, and ISA guidance
Margaret Ellison is the editor of Rochester Tree & Shrub Care and writes the publication’s coverage of tree and shrub health across Rochester, Monroe County, and the Finger Lakes. Her columns work from published guidance by Cornell Cooperative Extension, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the USDA Forest Service, and the International Society of Arboriculture, translating it into what Upstate New York homeowners should look for and what to do about it. The publication is not a tree-care provider: for diagnosis or treatment on a specific tree, it points readers to a certified arborist.
Writes for Rochester Tree & Shrub Care, a local editorial publication on tree and shrub health in the Rochester, New York area. Monster Tree Service of Rochester is a paying sponsor of Rochester Tree & Shrub Care.
Tan mushroom clusters at your tree's base after a rainy Rochester fall? Armillaria root rot is often already advanced. How to confirm it and what to do.
September 10, 2026
Oak leaves browning at the margins with a yellow halo, worse every August? That reads as bacterial leaf scorch, not oak wilt. How to tell, and what works.
September 10, 2026
Purple-bordered leaf spots on a Rochester dogwood in late spring, then twig dieback? Here is how to confirm dogwood anthracnose and what it needs.
September 10, 2026
Hemlock needles yellow-spotted and thinning, but no white woolly tufts? That points to elongate hemlock scale, not adelgid. How to tell them apart.
September 10, 2026
New shoot tips browning on a Rochester juniper or arborvitae hedge? Phomopsis and Kabatina blight look alike but strike at different times of year.
September 10, 2026
Tiny oyster-shaped bumps crusting the bark of a Rochester lilac, ash or maple? That is oystershell scale, and the treatment window is narrow.
September 10, 2026
Sugar maples thinning from the top across Upstate New York? Decline is a slow stack of causes, not one disease. Learn the pattern and what can be reversed.
September 10, 2026
Norway maples across Rochester browned and dropped leaves weeks early in 2026. NYS DEC points to a wet spring and tar spot. What it means for your tree.
September 10, 2026
Certified arborist vs. tree service in Rochester, NY: what ISA certification and ANSI A300 mean, which jobs need each, and how to verify a credential.
July 22, 2026
Codominant stems with included bark form weak V-shaped unions that split in wind and ice. Learn how to spot it and when structural pruning or cabling helps.
July 22, 2026
What does emerald ash borer treatment cost per tree in Rochester? Pricing runs by trunk diameter on a repeating cycle, and when it beats removal.
July 22, 2026
Emerald Green or Green Giant arborvitae for a Rochester privacy screen? Compare growth rate, size, and deer pressure, plus how to keep either hedge healthy.
July 22, 2026