Spring is on its way!!
Spring is on its way!
Spring is a time for cleaning your home both inside and out. But preparing your yard for spring could not be as simple as clearing away fallen leaves or winter debris.
This is an excellent time to clean up your trees and prepare them for the summer. Removal of broken or damaged branches from the effects of winter will improve the health of your tree. This will allow your tree(s) to focus its energy on new growth rather than expending energy on fixing and healing its wounds.
It is not just cities and parks that need to think about caring for trees. Properties in the Sea to Sky are unique, and have unique challenges regarding wind, slope, rain, view maintenance, and the speed of growth.
Hire an arborist. Arborists specialize and are trained in the proper caring and maintenance of trees and other woody plants. This includes pruning, restoring trees, tree removal and assessing trees for hazards. As our society gets more and more environmentally aware, tree care has become “greener” as well. The proper caring of trees allows them to stay alive longer producing more of the oxygen we breath. Poor pruning practices can drastically reduce the life span of a tree. The amount of oxygen produced by an acre of trees per year equals the amount consumed by 18 people annually. This same acre of trees removes up to 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide each year. Trees aslo improve water quality by slowing and filtering rain water, as well as protecting aquifers and watersheds.
Proper pruning techniques will promote good structure and health and minimize potential tree failure. The one thing home owners can do is hire an arborist to perform an assessment on their property so they know which trees need to be attended to. If there are small or young trees on your property, young tree training will promote a good structure minimizing future problems and future pruning or removal costs as the tree matures. Cutting out the dead, dying, diseased, and rubbing branches will promote a healthier growing environment for you tree.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS TREE OWNER?
Mulching can reduce environmental stress by providing trees with a root environment that is cooler and contains more moisture than the surrounding soil. Mulch can also prevent mechanical damage by keeping machines such as lawn mowers and string trimmers away from the tree’s base. Further, mulch reduces competition from surrounding weeds and turf and as it breaks down mulch adds nutrients to the soil.
Caring and properly maintaining your trees will add value to your property and are an investment into safety and preventative maintenance. A small initial investment could increase the value to your property by 5-20%. Having an arborist to assess your trees may save you the expense of repairs due to a tree failure. A healthy tree increases in value with age, increasing property values, beautifying our surroundings, purifying our air, and saving energy by providing cooling shade from summer’s heat and protection from winter’s wind. Many tree species can live as long as 200 to 300 years, including these practices when caring for your landscape is an investment that will enrich your lives for years to come.
