It is satisfying when your plants first start to fill in, but all too soon they take over and your little trees and bushes become luscious giants. Before you start rethinking your entire landscape display and start all over, consider the following 5 ways to keep your unruly trees and bushes manageable and look better immediately, with little effort. These ideas will not make the routine maintenance on your trees go away, but they will help them maintain their health and vigor throughout the summer months.
Know your trees’ needs. Pay attention to your trees, identify them, and take notes on the needs of your specific tree. How much water does the tree need? What type of soil does it prefer? Is the tree drought tolerant? What is the tree sensitive to? There are a few questions to research and find the answers to.
1.) Protect the trees’ roots. Healthy roots are a vital part of a growing tree. The roots provide stability as the tree grows to a massive size. That also means healthy soil is also critical. Oxygen is necessary for nutrient absorption by tree roots, which is why health soil has air space. Compacted soil impedes water infiltration and oxygen into the root zones, so avoid anything that will suffocate the soil and root zone.
2.) Protect the bark. A tree’s bark is like skin is to humans, it protects the trees insides from damage, insects, disease. Damaging the bark makes it easy for insects, disease, bacteria, or fungal infections to enter the tree and wreak havoc. The main sources of damage to bark include:
- Sprinkler heads – or at least the ones that hit the trees trunk in the same place and at close range. Redirect the spray head so it doesn’t force water onto the truck
- Rubbing branches – Branches that have snapped and are hung up in the tree, these are not only harmful to the bark but very dangerous to anything below. Contact a professional, like the ones at Cartwright Tree Care to have the hanger removed from your tree and mend any wounds to the bark.
- Lawn equipment – Has your tree been hit by a weed whacker? What about your lawn care company’s mower? Make sure you have a conversation with your lawn care company to steer the mower and all lawn equipment away from the trunks of the trees.
- Vehicles – Trees near driveways and roads can sometimes suffer hits from tall delivery trucks or other vehicles. You can lift the branches in these areas to prevent breakage and damage to the tree from the vehicles.
3.) Water effectively – Well-established trees will likely thrive in existing soil. However, an extended drought can still skill them. In the heat of the summer or during drought conditions your trees need to be irrigated. Deep watering is the preferred schedule for trees. You want to give them a good soak occasionally, instead of a frequent misting.
4.) Professional Pruning – The dormant winter season is the perfect time to have your trees pruning, before they push out any new growth in the spring. Here are some basic tree pruning guidelines the professionals like the ones at Cartwright Tree Care will use while pruning your trees.
- Crossing branches – Remove any hangers, crossing or rubbing branches to prevent wounds in the bark.
- Dead or broken branches – Remove all broken branches with clean cuts so the tree will self-heal. Leaving dead or broken branches on the tree can create rough breaks where moisture and organisms will more in and degrade the tree.
- Low hanging branches – You can typically “limb up” your trees yourself as necessary. Removing low branches is a way to allow for more sunlight to the base of the tree.
- Mulch around trees using purchased mulch or fallen leaves from your yard (which is the best idea because they contain all the nature nutrients the soil needs).
- Plant ground covers and grasses that allow for dead plant material to decay in the soil.
Stand back and enjoy. Few things on your property will give you as much beauty and pleasure for so little labor as your mature unruly trees!
