Trees add visual balance that increases the overall value of your home. They also help to reduce expensive cooling costs during the summer while protecting your soil from eroding. While the cleanup of fall leaves can be annoying, the overall benefits they provide us vastly outweigh any seasonal inconvenience. Although fall may seem like a good time of year to relax and stop worrying about landscape maintenance, it’s actually a good time of year to care for your trees.
While summer may be over, your trees are still in the process of recovering from the heat, pests, and growth they experienced over the summer. This can take a real toll on their health and overall well-being. With winter approaching, it’s important to care for your trees throughout the fall season to help reduce the risk of infection, disease or damage that can occur during the cold months ahead. That’s why the certified arborist at Westcoast Tree Care would like to provide you with the following tree care tips to keep your trees healthy this fall and winter.
Visual Inspections
It’s important to visually inspect your trees for evidence of pests, mold or other diseases. Signs to look out for include black or brown spots on the leaves or early leaf drop before they turn color. Pine beetles, the emerald ash borer, termites, mites or lace bugs are also things you’ll want to watch out for. Any sign of disease or pests should be addressed by a certified arborist as soon as possible to protect the health and integrity of your trees. If neglected these infestations or illnesses can quickly compromise the health and integrity of your tree causing it to fail. At Westcoast Tree Care, our certified arborists can help you evaluate the health of your tree and decide on a preventative tree care service to treat an affliction before it impacts the health of any nearby trees.
Tree Pruning
Having your tree professionally pruned during its dormant season will provide it with enough time to recover before the spring and summer months. A certified arborist will use the appropriate tools necessary to minimize any damage while using their extensive knowledge of tree biology to prevent insects, fungus, and bacteria from infecting any cuts. Most importantly, you should never attempt to prune or trim a tree on your own. DIY pruning can cause serious accidents involving injury or death. Instead, it’s best to hire a certified arborist who has extensive knowledge, training, and equipment to properly prune a tree.
Mulch
The area where the trunk reaches the ground is critical for tree health. By applying a thick layer of mulch before the cold weather sets in, you will help protect your tree from freezing, while conserving water within the soil and deterring the development of any weeds next spring. Mulch also helps prevent erosion and is important for young trees or trees that have been recently transplanted.
Water
Fall is the perfect time to water your trees, especially in drought prone areas. This will help your tree recover from the hot summer months. The extra weeks of watering (before leaf drop) will help your tree not only recover but help keep them healthy over the cold winter months.
Fertilize
It’s important to understand that the root system of a tree usually spreads as far as their leafy canopy and down into the earth. By applying a high-quality fertilizer during the fall, it will have enough time to sink down into the soil, reaching its roots. Doing so will help your tree absorb the necessary nutrients it needs before the weather turns cold and winter sets in.
Westcoast Tree Care
Don’t wait until it’s too late to care for your trees before winter. Fall is the perfect time to practice preventative tree care to ensure your trees have the best chance of surviving the cold months ahead and thriving next spring. If you would like more information, contact the certified arborist at Westcoast Tree Care. We would be more than happy to walk your property, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with a no-cost, no-obligation quote for any of our tree care services.
1.800.767.8733 (TREE)
