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Protect your leafy friends – Top techniques to keep your trees healthy and resilient
Healthy trees enhance the aesthetics of your property and also improve air quality, provide shade, and support local wildlife. However, regular maintenance and tree care are crucial to ensure they thrive all year round. This article highlights expert techniques for keeping your trees healthy and preventing nutrient deficiencies and diseases.
Prune Trees At The Right Time
- Pruning involves the careful removal of dead, diseased, or excessively grown branches from your trees, ensuring their continued health. This practice is particularly crucial in urban settings, where branches obstructing pathways or roads pose hazards to pedestrians and vehicles. Newly planted trees require more frequent trimming compared to mature ones.
It’s advisable to prune young, healthy trees every two to three years, reducing the frequency as they mature. For mature trees, trimming every three to five years is sufficient. Excessive pruning should be avoided. When in doubt, seek professional help to determine whether trimming is necessary. A tree care specialist can assess your trees on-site and provide guidance tailored to their specific needs.
Fertilize Adequately
- Similar to other plants, trees require adequate nourishment to thrive. Essential macronutrients such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, along with secondary nutrients like magnesium, calcium, and sulfur, are vital for their growth. However, it’s crucial to ensure the correct dosage, as nutrient deficiencies can cause yellowing, while excessive fertilization can lead to rapid growth without sufficient root development.
Trees should be fertilized in early spring, before the onset of warm weather, and when there is enough rainfall to facilitate nutrient absorption through the root system. Avoid fertilizing during the summer months, when trees are more vulnerable to heat and drought stress.
Prevent Pests and Diseases
- While insects are a natural part of ecosystems, the type and quantity of insects can significantly impact the health of your trees. Similarly, diseases can spread among trees and affect extensive areas at a time. Common issues include:
Leaf Rust
- These reddish-orange spots, resembling rust, result from a fungus that disrupts photosynthesis. While it looks unsightly, leaf rust does not cause substantial harm to trees.
Fire Blight
- Fire blight results from bacteria spread by insects, rain, or even pruning tools and causes the branches to look burned or dried.
Bagworms
- These pests are common on evergreen shrubs and can eat large sections of plants during the pupation stage.
Cankers
- Cankers are lesions on tree bark. They vary in size and can result from various causes, potentially proving fatal to young trees.
Emerald Ash Borers
- These metallic green beetles bore into ash tree bark, causing damage that attracts woodpeckers and other pests, exacerbating the harm.
While some pests and diseases are identifiable and treatable, others are challenging to detect and eradicate. Given their potential to endanger trees, seeking professional assistance for effective treatment is essential to protecting your trees.
Mulch Around Your Trees
Mulching is essential in maintaining tree health. By conserving soil moisture, especially during periods of high heat and low rainfall, mulch provides essential hydration to tree roots. Additionally, it acts as a filter for rainwater, minimizing impurities and slowing evaporation to aerate and fertilize the soil beneath.
During winter, mulch serves as a protective barrier, protecting roots from the harsh effects of snow and ice. Despite common misconceptions, mulch doesn’t require significant height. Just a few inches, ideally no more than four, are enough. Spreading the mulch over a broad area to cover as much of the tree’s root system as possible is crucial.
To correct any nutrient deficiencies or other tree issues, contact American Tree Experts Inc. We are a professional tree pruning and nutrient management company. Our experts will develop a customized plant healthcare program and look after your trees in the best way possible. Call us at 973-774-6091 today and get a free quote for all your tree-related needs.