Faithful readers of my gardening column in The Baltimore Sun will remember that my daughter's "birth tree," an October glory maple, died mysteriously after 22 years.

Because Jessie panicked and decided her own mortality was linked to the tree, I replaced it forthwith, with another maple.

I received a stern warning from Mike Dudderar, of Homestead Gardens, who removed the dead tree and planted the new, baby tree, that watering would be my most significant concern. Inadequate watering is the leading cause of death among new trees.

The tree would have to wear a "treegartor" for at least year,  and I would have to fill the green, cone-shaped bag every week.

Now I am reading that there is more to this than just a hose. I need to be watching for disease and insects underneath the bag and between the bag and the tree. In addition, I need to make sure the bag is draining properly.

I discovered this while reading a new blog called Garden Professors, brought to my attention by the fun bunch at Garden Rant.

It is written by horticulture professors from the University of Minnesota, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Washington State, so there is quite a climate zone range of expertise.

This, I think, is the perfect addition to garden blogdom. Certainly there are gardeners writing blogs who are knowledgeable and experienced. But these bloggers are, like, professional professors!

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer