Last week, our speaker was Scott Martin, ISA certified tree arborist and currently Division Manager of Lawn-Landscape-Tree-Irrigation for ABC Pest Control, who talked to us about tree care and what trees work best in the Austin environment. He gave us lists of native and non-native trees in Austin, and pointed us to www.texasinvasives.com as a good source of information. He recommended the following trees as being drought-tolerant -- for shade: monterrey oak, crepe mrytle, Mexican sycamore, bur oak, and shumard red oak; ornamental: crepe myrtle, desert willow, retama, anachaco orchid, and possumhaw holly. Scott's tips for caring for your trees: hire an ISA certified arborist, fertilize, water, aerate & compost, have your trees pruned regularly, avoid Feb-June for oak pruning, don't neglect watering in the winter, and look up! Scott also discussed oak wilt - more information at www.texasoakwilt.com. The most susceptible are Red Oaks and least susceptible or White Oaks. Oak wilt spreads through roots or the sap-feeding beetle. Scott also told the story about the Treaty Oak, which is estimated 500 years old, and had to recover from intentional poisoning. Thank you, Scott, for this information talk about how to care for our trees!