Tips & Tricks

Benefits of Trees in Burbank – Part 6: November 2017

We love trees. We love taking care of all trees. This includes the trees and other greenery on your property. We can and will prove that we’re the best choice for tree maintenance in Burbank.

Making Proper Pruning Cuts
Pruning cuts should be made just outside the branch collar. The branch collar contains trunk or parent branch tissue and should not be damaged or removed. If a large limb is to be removed, its weight should first be reduced to avoid the possibility of tearing the bark. Make an undercut about 11 to 17 inches from the limb’s point of attachment. Make a second cut from the top, directly above or a few inches farther out on the limb, leaving the 11 to 17 inch stub. Remove the stub by cutting back to the branch collar.

Pruning Types
Specific types of pruning may help maintain a mature tree in a healthy, safe, and attractive condition. Cleaning is the removal of dead, dying, diseased, weakly attached, and low-vigor branches from the crown of a tree. Thinning is selective branch removal to improve structure and to increase light penetration and air movement through the crown. Proper thinning opens the foliage of a tree, reduces weight on heavy limbs, and helps retain the tree’s natural shape.

Raising removes the lower branches from a tree to provide clearance for buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, and vistas.

Reduction reduces the size of a tree, often for utility line clearance. Reducing a tree’s height or spread is best accomplished by pruning back the leaders and branches to secondary branches large enough to assume the terminal roles (at least one-third the diameter of the cut stem). Reduction helps maintain the form and structural integrity of the tree, and is a healthy alternative to topping.

How Much Should Be Pruned?
The amount of live tissue that should be removed depends on the tree’s size, species, and age, as well as the pruning objectives. Younger trees tolerate the removal of a higher percentage of living tissue better than mature trees do. Generally, no more than 25% of the crown should be removed at once, and less for mature trees.

Removing even a single, large-diameter limb can result in significant canopy loss and can create a wound that the tree may not be able to close. Care should be taken to achieve pruning objectives while minimizing live branch loss and wound size.

Wound Dressings
Research has shown that dressings do not reduce decay or speed wound closure, and rarely prevent insect or disease infestations. Most experts recommend that wound dressings not be used unless you are pruning an oak in an area where oak wilt is present.

Hiring an Arborist
Pruning large trees can be dangerous. If pruning involves working above the ground or using power equipment, it is best to hire a professional arborist. An arborist can determine the type of pruning necessary to improve the health, appearance, and safety of your trees. A professional arborist can also provide the services of a trained crew with the required safety equipment and liability insurance.

Moving Forward With Your Tree Care
We look forward to helping you with all of your tree care and tree trimming needs. When, and if, you have any questions about your trees, shrubs, or any other greenery on your property, we can help. We look forward to hearing from you soon because we are your Burbank tree care specialists.

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Creating The Right Soil For Your Tree – April 2016

How to Improve Your Tree’s Soil
A vital and often overlooked factor affecting the health of your trees and shrubs is soil. In fact, improving your tree’s soil is very often the best possible thing you can do to help it thrive.

What Can I Do to Improve My Soil?
Luckily, there are steps you can take to ensure your trees and shrubs have the soil they need. The first step is timely fertilization. The second step is the addition of mycorrhizal fungi.

Mycorrhizae is a mutually beneficial relationship between fungi and plants. In exchange for sugars and simple carbohydrates, the fungi absorbs and passes on minerals and water required for the plant’s growth.

Many have developed this relationship to enable them to survive conditions of drought, extreme temperatures, and periods of low soil fertility. Because mycorrhizal fungi live in and around a plant’s living root system, they effectively extend the root system deeper into the soil, allowing a plant to take in more nutrients. These organisms are a vital link in a plant’s nutrient cycle.

In nature, mycorrhizal fungi are found on about 99% of plant species, but in urban environments, the poor, compacted soils often lack this essential fungi.

Almost all trees in urban settings will benefit from the addition of mycorrhizal fungi to the soil, but different types of trees require different fungi.

Give Your Tree The Soil It Needs
As a homeowner, the best contribution you can make to your tree’s health is the addition of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi to the soil.

When You Need Help
We want to be your “go to” resource for taking care of your trees. Whether it’s giving the best tree maintenance advice possible to take care of them or if you need the best company in Pasco for tree removal, we are here for you. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

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Picking The Right Tree Fertilizer – April 2016 Part 2

How to Fertilize a Tree
The main reason to fertilize trees and shrubs is to bolster their health so they are better prepared to fight off pests, disease, and environmental stresses. While fertilizer can’t solve all of a tree’s problems, it will go a long way to give it a fighting chance.

Does My Tree Need Fertilizer?
Trees growing in their natural habitat should have access to all of the minerals they need to survive and grow. Anything you can do to mimic that habitat can reduce the need for fertilizer. This may include letting leaves remain on the ground in the fall instead of raking them up. Chances are, though, that despite your best efforts, the need for fertilizer will not be entirely eliminated.

If you have questions about various types of fertilizers to use, please contact us. We would enjoy the chance to talk shop and discuss any trees you have on your property. Let our trained arborists give you all the guidance we can to ensure your trees grow to be healthy and tall.

When You Need Help
We want to be your “go to” resource for taking care of your trees. Whether it’s giving the best tree maintenance advice possible to take care of them or if you need the best company in Richland for tree removal, we are here for you. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

Picking The Right Tree Fertilizer – April 2016 Part 2 Read More »

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