5 Top Tips To Keep Your Trees Healthy
People should prioritise tree health as it is essential for our planet, your home value and the local wildlife. Today, you don't need to be an eco-warrior to understand that trees absorb the carbon dioxide that causes problems through photosynthesis. Healthy trees will result in a healthy-looking front or back garden for your neighbours to envy. Anyway, before we get started with the tips..... let’s cover some basic tree information.
Mature trees and new trees
Mature trees can be like your portal to the past because unless you’re older than a hundred years the chances are they were planted before you were born. They somehow build a connection between you and the past. Look after your mature tree as you would like a newly planted tree.
Growing new trees and taking good care of older ones are both ways of looking ahead and leaving something beautiful for the future. It's just amazing that there are many trees alive for 500 years, even in Glasgow!
Tree care and maintenance
For trees to flourish, even if you are planting trees or maintaining older trees they all need to be loved and pampered with appreciation, and physical care.
Trees and the environment
To understand trees properly, first consider them part of the surrounding environment. Trees need a lot of care to survive and grow in domestic gardens, so that they become majestic mature trees for future generations to enjoy. You have to consider how close they are to buildings, other trees and the amount of available space for growth, plus it’s important especially when planting trees to consider the quality and type of soil for the tree roots.
Now for the tips
5 practical tree care tips for the garden
Here are five tips you can try out when taking care of your garden!
Tree care tip #1 - Watering a young tree when there is a drought
Whether it is a pear tree, apple tree, lemon tree, fruit tree, oak tree or even a citrus plant, a tree needs to be watered manually twice during its lifetime - when it is young and during droughts (even in Glasgow). Tree health is critically important for the first two seasons following planting. During the dry season, a capacity of five watering cans will be sufficient to water the rootsystem to the depths it needs. Still, be mindful of your soil type as it affects the way water is retained.
It's typically not necessary to water a well-established tree unless there is an extended dry period, then you should do so. It is worth mentioning, good soil moisture will help a tree's roots no end, keep an eye on that also.
Tree care tip #2 - Mulching
You can benefit your tree in three ways through a mulch of old wood chips, leaf mould, bark, or well-rotted manure.
● Reduce weed growth that competes for water and nutrients
● Keep soil moist by reducing the evaporation of water from its surface
● Implement a slow-release fertilizer
We can always leave the wood chips once they have been processed via our wood chippers.
Tree care tip #3 - Weeding young trees
Weeds, grasses and nearby plants may compete for the soil nutrients, soil moisture and available light. Therefore, keep as much space as possible, recommendable at least 3 ft diameter, around your tree trunk free of turf or other plants.
As weeds get a growth spurt in the Spring, hoeing, hand pulling, or hand weeding can be an excellent way to help and keep your trees healthy.
As an alternative to physical weeding, you can opt for weed suppressant groundcover or landscaping fabric. It would also eliminate established weeds and prevent them from growing.
Tree care tip #4 - Protecting young trees
Planting new trees in your garden does not end your responsibility; you must also start protecting them. Protect them from:
● Lawn equipment. Because of lawnmowers and strimmers, damaged layers of the trunk can hinder water take-up and allow pests and disease development.
● Chemical damage. Growing tissues are prone to damage if herbicides or pesticides are present, as they are unsuitable for certain garden parts.
● Wind damage. While wind may not appear harmful, strong winds are. They can cause young trees great stress and bend them from the roots.
Physical protection barriers such as tree boards and protectors are helpful. Trees can avoid chemical damage with careful application, and wind stress can be minimised using tree stakes and ties.
Tree care tip #5 - Pruning
You might need some professional help for the pruning process, as it also concerns tree safety.
Giving your tree a prune involves removing dead branches to improve the quality of the flowers, fruits, and the tree's overall health. Pruning allows you to control the tree's size with your garden space and reduces disease. Pruning entails three main procedures:
● Crown thin. To allow more light into the tree, thinning is necessary.
● Crown lift or crown raising. Allowing better access under the tree by removing some lower branches.
● Crown reduction. Cutting down the top portion of the tree to fit better allows more light in and reduces the stresses produced by the weight of such a large tree.
About The Glasgow Tree Surgeon - Arborist Glasgow
The Glasgow Tree Surgeon is an arboricultural company with over 12 years of experience in the professional tree care industry. We pride ourselves on high quality, professional services from a friendly team of experienced staff focused on efficiency, good tree care standards and health & safety. Our goal is to get your job done with the use of safe, efficient and affordable tree care.
We are an innovative company using a network of experienced and accredited tree surgeons to ensure we deliver expert service no matter how big or small the project.
At The Glasgow Tree Surgeon, we provide a full consultancy service available from contact to completion, providing various options to meet the specific needs of our clients. We offer comprehensive method statements, site-specific risk assessment, complying with relevant legislation and regulations specific to our industry.
Fully Insured
We are fully insured, up to £5 Million for public liability. All insurance and training certificates can be provided if required. If you are looking for quotes from a range of tree surgeons, we would strongly advise that you ensure they are fully insured. Using uninsured arborists can result in huge costs should something go wrong. Don't take the risk, ensure that you only work with fully insured tree surgeons, such as The Glasgow Tree Surgeon.
We only use well-equipped vehicles and modern plant equipment for safety and efficiency in every job meeting current PUWER and LOLER regulations.
We look forward to hearing from you and discussing your requirements, at The Glasgow Tree Surgeon we offer a range of affordable options to ensure that you get the best value on the market and always work within your budget.