In this month’s winter newsletter, we will be discussing some tips for winter tree care, a quick video about pruning, and the upcoming spring planting season.
Tree Pruning
HOW you prune is more important than WHEN you prune your trees. Take a moment to watch this video about tree pruning from owner, Tim Crews.
Give us a call if you are interested in having a certified arborist look at your trees and give you a free quote for pruning.
Winter Tree Care Tips
Our trees are in the middle of dormancy, but still need care through the winter months. In this section, we will discuss some winter tree care tips your trees could benefit from this season.
Winter Pruning
As we mentioned above, how you prune is more important than when you prune. Winter can be a great time for tree trimming, especially species such as Oaks and Elms that we should avoid pruning during the growing season. Winter pruning can allow us to get a better look at the structure of the tree while leaves are gone.
Winter Water
To the surprise of many, trees still need water through the winter. Here are our watering guidelines for your trees.
If it hasn’t rained:
Good slow soaking (10-15 gallons per 5″ diameter)
80+ degree weather=every 3rd day.
65-70 degrees=every 5th day.
50-60 degrees=every 7 days.
35-45 degrees=every 14-15 days.
**Sprinklers are NOT sufficient for watering trees. We recommend a dripline or bringing a hose to the root zone of the tree for watering.**
To avoid over-watering: Do the finger test! Stick your finger as far down into the soil at the root zone. Is it still damp? If so, don’t water just yet.
Mulch
The ideal surrounding for a tree is more like what you will find in the forest than our urban landscapes. Turf looks great in our yards, but it is also competing with our trees for many resources including sunlight, water, space, and nutrients. Adding a natural wood mulch ring around your trees has many benefits including retaining soil moisture, adding fertility to the soil as it breaks down, reducing competition between grass and trees, and acting as a temperature buffer for your roots. Learn more about trees and mulch.
Inspect
Inspecting your trees is an important step in winter tree care. Inspect for frost damage on bark or broken limbs from excess weight of snow or ice. Frost can cause cracking in some thin-barked trees and cause winter burn on some evergreens. We’ve gotten a few calls lately about frost damaged trees after our cold spell in December, specifically Hollies and other evergreen species. Keeping your trees adequately watered through the winter is the best defense against winter damage.
Give your arborist a call with any questions you may have with winter tree care.
Spring Planting
Thinking about adding a new tree to your property? Spring is a great time to plant a tree!
Whether you are wanting a shade tree with vibrant fall color, an ornamental species with beautiful spring flowers, or an evergreen tree for year-round landscape interest, we can help guide you in the right direction for choosing the right tree for your space.
Here are three tree species we have on our recommended tree list:
‘October Glory’ Red Maple
Red Maples are a very popular tree species in our area. The October Glory cultivar has a vibrant orange to red color in the fall and grows to about 40-50’ tall. With a little care with structural pruning from a young age and inspecting for some pests, this tree can be a great addition to your property.
‘Cherokee Princess’ Dogwood
If you are interested in a smaller ornamental tree, the ‘Cherokee Princess’ Dogwood is a good choice in our area. Its distinct white bracts make this tree easily identifiable as the Missouri State Tree. The ‘Cherokee Princess’ cultivar is recommended for its generous foliage and early blooming. This flowering species will grow to 30’ tall and 25’ wide.
Norway Spruce
If you have enough space on your property for this large growing evergreen species, the Norway Spruce is a great choice for a privacy screen or year-round interest on your property. The Norway Spruce can grow very large-up to 60’ tall and 25’ wide.
When you choose Cherokee Tree Care for your planting project, you can rest assured that your tree will be planted by a certified Arborist to ANSI standards. Click here to read about our planting procedures and pricing. Give us a call if you have questions about our tree planting service.