A mistaken belief common among homeowners is that trees do not require any extra assistance in surviving harsh winter weather. Unfortunately, this attitude often leads to damaged, diseased, or dying trees. If you would like to prevent the hassle and expense of dealing with such trees, read on. This article will arm you with some vital knowledge about basic techniques used to help your trees make it through the winter.
Use Selective Pruning
Many homeowners—even those who are good about maintaining their trees—scrupulously avoid winter pruning. They do this out of the belief that pruning a tree during the cold months puts it under an unacceptable amount of stress. This simply is not true. In fact, cold months are a great time to prune a tree. Without leaves, it is must easier to see dead, sick, or diseased branches. It is also easier to see the tree's overall shape, which allows you to make better aesthetic decisions about your pruning.
There is another good reason to prune during the winter months: your tree will be in a state of dormancy. This fact helps to prevent the tree against unnecessary stress. During the growing season, a pruned tree will soon begin to put out new growth. Those who prune in fall or spring expose such growth to potential damage as the result of frost, disease, or insects. Pruning in winter helps to protect your tree against such unwanted dieback.
Get Proper Mulching
It is true that mature trees are fairly well equipped to withstand brutal wintertime temperatures. Yet the same is hardly true of saplings and smaller trees. Such trees frequently lose limbs or even die outright as the result of prolonged subzero weather. For that reason, it is vital that you protect younger trees with an insulating layer of mulch.
The benefits of mulch are many. For one thing, as discussed above, it helps to insulate the ground, thus keeping the soil around the tree's roots at a slightly higher temperature. This temperature difference, while seemingly slight, can have a huge effect on the tree. Not only that, but as the mulch breaks down, it releases nutrients into the soil. This helps to ensure that your tree remains healthy.
There are many different kinds of mulch you can purchase. Large bags of commercial mulch—usually a proprietary mixture of different substances—can be purchased at most home improvement or garden stores. Alternately, you may use such substances as pine needles, wood chips, and shredded bark. Straw also makes an especially valued mulch, since its hollow nature adds an additional boost of insulation.
To learn more or receive additional assistance, contact services like TimberMen Tree Service.
Share1 February 2017
After we moved into our house, we knew that something had to be done about our trees. The branches looked off-kilter, and we could tell that someone had pruned them incorrectly at one time or another. Unfortunately, we weren't really sure how to repair the damage. A family friend talked with us about hiring a professional tree trimmer, and so we called them the next day. The difference that they made was astounding. They removed dead branches, trimmed up the shape, and let more sunlight through. My blog is all about improving the look of your trees by hiring a professional.