Creating a Beautiful Outdoor Space

4 Steps For Taking Care Of Your Trees This Spring

1 February 2017 by Delores Chavez

With spring right around the corner, you need to make sure that you have a plan for taking care of your trees. Here are four steps that you can take this spring to ensure that your trees get the best start possible this year.

#1 Clean Up Around Your Trees

The first thing you need to do is clean up around your trees. If you put holiday lights in your trees, you are going to want to remove them from the branches and from around the trunk of the tree. Although it may feel convenient to leave them in place, doing so could inhibit the growth and health of your tree.

Next, if you put a winter wrap around your tree to protect it, take it down once the weather consistently warms up. Wait for the weather to reach a point where it is nice for multiple days in a row before completing this step.

Finally, you are going to want to get out your rake and use it to remove any debris that has fallen around the bae of the tree since last fall. This is a great way to get rid of leaves that fell late, twigs that fell off in winter storms and fallen fruit. Removing debris from the base of your tree will also help protect it against disease.

#2 Add A Layer Of Mulch

Second, you are going to want to add a layer of mulch around the base of all of your trees. You are going to want to put down a layer of mulch that is a couple of inches thick and extends as far out as the root base of your tree. For younger trees, this will not be as far out as it is for older trees.

When you lay down the mulch, make sure that you leave a few inches of breathing room between the mulch and the trunk of the tree. Putting the mulch too close to the trunk of the tree will actually create ideal conditions for many tree diseases to thrive, so make sure that you leave a couple of inches between the start of your mulch circle and the trunk of the tree.

#3 Water Your Tree

Once all the freezing weather passes, and your soil is not frozen solid anymore, you'll want to water your trees. You are going to want to deeply water all of your trees; to deeply water your trees means to water at a consistent rate for long enough for the water to penetrate a couple of inches into the soil. For any trees that may have been exposed to salt or other deicing products, deep water is essential for removing these materials away from the tree, which will protect the long-term health of your trees.

#4 Prune Damages Branches

Next, you'll want to prune any branches that were damaged during the winter or that appear dead. You should only lightly prune in the spring; deep pruning is ideally for the winter time when your tree is dormant.

Finally, inspect your trees and make sure that you don't see any signs that disease may be taking over your trees. If you think that any of your trees may be diseased, contact a licensed arborist, like one from Able Scape, Inc, to inspect your trees and assist you with their care. 

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