Tips and Tricks for Winter Tree Care

The leaves are gone, the snow is here. It's time to start thinking about winter tree care. The trees that stand tall in your yard or line your streets provide many benefits: shade, beauty, and cleaner air. But they also need attention during this season of change. These tips will help you maintain healthy trees now and prevent problems later on.

Winter Tree Care Tips

To keep your trees healthy, here are some tips for necessary winter tree care:

Inspect

Inspect your trees for signs of damage or disease. Look for broken branches and limbs, growths on the trunk that could be damaged from a lawnmower or animal bites, and discoloration like blackening around leaf scars.

Protect

Protect your tree trunks from contact with the ground by using root barriers to keep them safe during harsh winters. Root barriers over protruding root growth can also protect pedestrians from tripping over exposed roots. 

If you have a young tree, add a layer of mulch around the base to help insulate it from the cold. Be sure not to pile the mulch up against the trunk.

Water

Water your trees if there is no snow on the ground and temperatures are above freezing. A good way to water them is by using a soaker hose that will saturate the ground slowly and deeply.

Monitor

Monitor your trees for early signs of springtime pests, like aphids and borers, and treat them if necessary.

Why You Should Hire a Pro

If you have any questions about winter tree care, don't hesitate to call a local arborist for help. Arborists will help keep your trees in the best condition, regardless of the season.

What is an Arborist?

Arborists are experts in the field of tree care and can provide valuable advice on how to keep your trees healthy during the winter. They can also help you if you notice any problems with your trees and recommend the best course of action to take.

What Do They Do?

Arborists work hard to keep current with the latest in tree care techniques. Accurate diagnosis of a problem in a tree requires some tricky problem-solving abilities. In fact, up to 90% of tree problems are caused by environmental stress - usually man-made, at that. That leaves 10% of problems directly due to insects and disease.

Most insects and disease problems are the result of a weak "immune system" of the tree. The weakness is a result of environmental stress. Insects and diseases are symptoms and not causes of tree decline. One can try to control a tree pest, but the causes of the tree's susceptibility to the pest should be addressed first. For example, one major problem in urban environments, such as in Atlanta, is soil compaction.

Arborists can diagnosis issues and their root source (there's a tree pun, for you!). With this information, they will be best equipped to care for your tree. 

The Value of Winter Tree Care

Trained arborists can greatly improve the health of your trees and shrubs by carrying out tree pruning services. Pruning is the process of selectively eliminating branches from a tree with the intent of improving the tree’s structure through directing new growth.

Tree pruning services are a smart investment because you will be contributing to the long-term health of your trees and shrubs while also improving the aesthetics and safety of your residential or business property.

In the winter, these services are especially valuable. If tree growth is out of control, winter storms can easily take down an entire tree! And even a large branch falling off a tree can cause damage to property and people.

Takeaways on Winter Tree Care

It's wintertime, and the trees are looking a little worse for wear. The leaves have all fallen off, and the branches may be drooping ever so slightly. You've seen this happen before - it's just a part of nature! But there is something you can do to help your tree get through the harshness of winter: provide some TLC.

If you are ready to beautify and secure your home’s landscape and exterior, winter tree care is the way to go. And when you use a TrustDALE certified professional, you're always protected by Dale's trademark $10,000 Make-It-Right Guarantee. So start looking for a trusted professional arborist in your area today!