Have you prepared your winter tree service checklist?
There’s plenty of time before the first snow hit, you say to yourself. While much of the country is sipping on pumpkin spice lattes and preparing for Thanksgiving, this is the perfect time to prepare your winter tree service checklist. Before you know it, it’s holiday season and your schedule will be overflowing.
Knock these winter tree service must-do’s off your list to make sure your trees will survive the cold weather and stay healthy until spring.
Tree Service Tips: Getting Ready for the Winter
- A Little Cleanup Can Go a Long Way
Remember when you were a kid and you had to clean your room before you could do anything. Tree care works on the same principle. You have to clean your garden first before you can start to prepare your trees for winter. Remove dead or fallen tree branches, pine cones, twigs, fallen leaves, and other debris.
- Too Much Mulch Can Kill Your Trees
Winter is an important part of a tree’s life. Although the trees look lifeless, the cold weather helps them replenish on essential resources for the following year’s growth. A little mulch can help the tree maintain its energy resources. A thin layer will protect the soil and roots much like a blanket protects you when you sleep. But, if you cover your trees in too much mulch, you risk suffocating them or creating a favorable nest for rodents and pests.
- You Still Need to Water Your Trees During Winter
Another important winter tree service checklist is to make sure you water your garden regularly. Most people associate winter with snow and ice, but the cold months can be just as dry as summer. So, make sure to give your trees enough water to drink during winter, especially during periods of drought (yes, drought can happen during winter as well.)
Make Sure to Trim and Prune Your Trees
Trimming and pruning a tree refers to the process of removing dead or dying branches to strengthen the overall health of a tree. This should be one of the most important items on your winter tree care checklist since it can help sustain the life of your trees throughout the cold months.
Tree trimming and pruning are essential to a tree’s health, but they are not as easy as they look. Improper pruning can injure the trunk of the tree or rip the bark. If the task seems too complicated for you, it’s better to hire a tree service company.
Inspect Your Trees before the First Ice
Most people tend to shake the snow off tree branches to free them of the weight. But, by doing so, you could damage the tree’s circulatory system or cause branches to break. So, unless the snow is light and fluffy, don’t force it off the trees.
Install a mesh fence to protect your trees from heavy snow or ice that can weigh down on evergreen branches. Remove snow from around the tree’s root immediately after a snowstorm.
Fertilize Your Trees
Between the torrid summer days and cold winter months, the soil around your trees is bound to lose a great part of its nutrients. That’s why autumn is the right time to fertilize your trees. Use a slow-release fertilizer to help your trees survive the cold weather and to protect them from disease and pests.
Remove Branches and Trees before They Damage Your Property
According to the National Center for Environmental Information, falling trees and branches property damages account for around $1 billion dollars every year. This figure is astonishing, considering that it’s so easy to prevent it.
Contact a tree service company and have them inspect your property and remove trees or branches that pose a risk.
A specialized company can probably clear most of the items on your winter tree service checklist in a few hours. That leaves you plenty of time to grab a pumpkin spice latte and enjoy the autumn colors.
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