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Here are 5 tips to ensure the health of your trees for years to come
Trees are a crucial part of our ecosystem. They provide habitat and shelter for multiple organisms. Trees are the earth’s lungs as they absorb carbon dioxide and give us an unlimited supply of oxygen. They also add beauty and grace to a landscape and a house surrounded by well-groomed and healthy trees has a higher selling price. To keep your trees healthy and disease-free, follow these important tips.
Anchor An Immature Tree Using Two-Stake System
- Young trees usually lack the strength to stand on their own. They need extra support to grow in a straight and erect manner. Use a two-stake system for an immature tree and anchor the stakes to the ground using cables or flexible ties. This will give strength to the trunk and keep it erect.
Cables and braces can also be used for fastening loose branches that may sway during storms.
Protect Your Tree From Growing Grass
- Remove any strands of stray grass that grow up against your trees’ trunks. The reason being that this grass grows in the same place from where the tree derives its nutrients and water. The grass competes for air, water, and nutrients and causes a strain on the tree’s resources. Young trees, in particular, wilt away if long grass is allowed to grow against their trunks.
Don’t Construct in Nearby Areas
- Before you decide to construct a new driveway or a shed, take a look at the nearby trees. The roots of the trees usually cover quite a lot of area underground. Hence, there is a possibility that the heavy machinery used for compacting the soil can interfere and damage the roots of the tree. As a rule of thumb, remember that the roots usually expand twice or thrice more than the branches. Hence, for a mature tree, the roots may extend up to 60 feet from where the tree is planted.
If construction is inevitable, then carry out a reconnaissance of the area and mark a safe territory within which the heavy equipment should operate. Areas extending up to 10 feet from the dripline of the tree should be excluded from any type of machinery.
Regular Watering is a Must
- Trees derive water from underground but mostly it is not sufficient. Hence, they need to be watered from time to time. This is especially true for young trees whose roots don’t penetrate deeply into the soil. But even mature trees need to be watered when rainfall is low and groundwater levels have sunk as well. The root zone of mature plants should be watered deeply after every few days. The root zone is usually 2 – 3 feet below the surface and it should be watered to an extent that it becomes well-saturated with moisture.
Rewater when the soil becomes partially dry. For deep watering, use the drip irrigation method. Lawn sprinklers are not effective for deep saturation of the soil.
Prune Periodically
- Pruning is the process of cutting off branches, buds, and spent flowers selectively. It is done to improve the structure of the tree, adding strength to it and getting rid of diseased parts of the plants. The proper way to prune is to make thinning cuts and remove the branches right at their origin. Head cutting which involves cutting along the length of the branch can result in the formation of holes from where the pests can get in.
Pruning should be performed by a skilled arborist. Contact American Tree Experts to get your trees pruned properly. We are located in Mont Clair, New Jersey and we provide tree pruning, cabling, bracing, and pest management services. Call us at 973-744-6091 and get a free estimate of our services.