A well-maintained yard with healthy and appealing trees can add a significant amount of value to your home. Preventative tree maintenance includes pruning, trimming, weeding, mulching, aerating, watering and fertilizing. However, this type of care is only effective if performed during the appropriate season. Seasonal tree maintenance helps control overgrowth, stimulates growth, improves appearance, and helps prevent pest infestation. It can also help limit damage caused by extreme weather and other environmental stresses.
During winter, your tree needs extra care to prepare for the spring. Winter tree maintenance involves removing any dead limbs and ensuring the roots are protected from excessive frost. Additionally, the soil should be inspected for nutrients and aerated to avoid compaction from runoff. Aerating the soil also allows oxygen to reach the root zone and promote nutrient uptake.
The best time to prune and thinning shrubs is in late winter. This gives them a chance to recover from the pruning before the growing season begins in the spring. Pruning should be done correctly for each type of shrub or tree. For example, yews and holly should be pruned in early spring while pines should not be pruned until after they finish blooming.
When summer arrives, your trees need to focus on surviving the hot temperatures and the intense sun. Aerating the soil and mulching can help, but water is just as essential. Aerating the soil allows the trees to absorb more moisture and minimizes erosion. Mulching also helps moderate temperature fluctuations and encourages root growth.
Watering is essential throughout the year, but especially in winter and summer. During the winter, trees lose nutrients to the ground through a process called leaching. This is particularly true of urban and suburban soils, which are not as rich in organic matter as the forest floor. In addition, dissolved salts from road runoff can affect the structure of the soil and restrict a tree’s access to vital nutrients.
In spring, your trees are beginning their annual growth cycle and are becoming more vulnerable to pests. Insects like Oak Processionary moths, which can cause severe rashes and asthma attacks in humans, are more active at this time of year. Preventative insect treatments, applied in the fall, can greatly increase a tree’s ability to resist pests in spring and summer.
The best way to protect your trees and shrubs is to hire an arborist to perform seasonal routine tree maintenance. The right professional will know when to prune, fertilize, aerate and irrigate each type of plant and tree species. They will also have the tools and expertise to inspect a landscape for potential problems and offer solutions before they become serious. A tree maintenance company in Jacksonville can also help you prevent pest infestations by performing seasonal inspections and applying the proper treatment at the correct time of year. Contact us for more information or to schedule a free estimate.