Trees enhance your landscape, provide shade and offer abundant environmental benefits. However, they can also pose a safety threat if not properly inspected and maintained. This is especially true during a storm, when high winds, lightning and snow/ice can transform a tranquil row of trees into an immediate danger to your home and family.
Preventing damage from storms and maintaining a safe environment around your property begins with routine inspections. Look for dead limbs, structural defects and areas where the roots are exposed.
Retaining a qualified arborist to perform routine maintenance such as pruning, soil health, pest and disease management and cabling/bracing helps to ensure your yard is protected. This will not only keep your trees healthy and well-maintained, but also help prevent costly repairs to property, people and pets.
Inspecting your property regularly helps you become familiar with the trees on your property and notice changes over time. This enables you to identify problems sooner, which can reduce the potential for damage and liability.
Regular pruning and trimming of overgrown limbs are critical to maintaining your trees’ health, beauty and utility. This is a basic part of professional tree care that should be performed on an annual basis. However, the type and amount of pruning needed varies with each species of tree and the season. Pruning during the dormant season is typically the most beneficial to the health and vitality of the tree as it limits energy flow and directs the sap to areas that need it.
It is a good practice to cover new, young or transplanted trees with burlap, sheets, or tarps during the winter months. This simple measure can significantly minimize frost damage to evergreens and other broadleaf plants by trapping the accumulated warmth from the ground under the canopy of the plant and reducing freezing temperatures.
A layer of mulch insulates the roots of a tree during cold weather and keeps them moist. Generally, a 2-3 inch depth is recommended and it should be kept away from the base of the trunk to avoid girdling injury. When using mulch, a wood chip or organic compost mix is preferred over an inorganic product like rock salt, which prevents the tree’s fine root system from absorbing essential nutrients and moisture.
A qualified arborist can monitor the health of your trees during construction activities on your property such as grading, trenching and changes to the existing soil grade. It is also a good idea to consult an arborist before installing underground utilities and other structures in the vicinity of your trees.
from TLC Trees and Co https://ift.tt/WwR3H72
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