My name is Georgia, and I love to write. As an avid gardener, I have spent hours writing about gardening, but in this space, I wanted to turn my attention to trees in particular. I recently added a number of fruit trees to my garden, and I have old oaks in front of my house which have suffered and survived through a range of mishaps. If you want to learn ideas for taking better care of your trees, you have stumbled onto the right blog. Welcome to this space, please explore and share this blog with your friends if they inspire you.
Trees add value and beauty to your property, and if you want to make the most of your trees, you need to know how to care for them. While pruning is important, it isn't all that you should do, and when buying tree care supplies, you need to invest in more than pruning shears. Here are four things that can help:
1. No Parking Sign
To safeguard the roots of your trees, you don't want to park your car on them. In most cases, the root system of the tree extends under and around the tree, mirroring the width and height of its branches. If a car is parked under the tree's branches, it compacts the soil which ultimately prevents the roots from getting enough water, air and room to grow.
If possible, don't park underneath your tree. If it is in a spot where people may be tempted to park underneath it, post a "no parking" sign on it.
2. Mulch
Instead of letting grass grow around your tree, cover the ground surrounding your tree trunk with mulch. Your circle of mulch doesn't need to cover the whole root system of the grown tree. Instead, it should be a relatively small circle.
The mulch helps to lock moisture in the ground, keeping the tree well hydrated. It also helps to prevent weeds growing near the tree and competing with the tree's root structure. Finally, when you have mulch around the tree rather than grass, you don't have to worry about a trimmer or lawn mower hitting your tree and knicking it. For mulch, use shredded wood chips, hay or other biodegradable materials -- just spread them in a thick layer over the ground near the tree trunk.
3. Aerator
To further help the flow of water and air in the ground around your tree, invest in an aerator. These tools are about the size of a shovel, and they feature two to four prongs. You simply push the prongs into the ground to aerate it.
4. Winter Sprays
During the winter, many trees go dormant. In most cases, that does not create an issue, but in some cases, brittle trees may become more prone to ice or frost damage, and many other trees may succumb to microorganisms.
However, a winter spray gives your tree an extra layer of protection through its dormant stage. After pruning the tree and before the first frost, spray the tree with a dormant spray containing lime or copper to kill microorganisms and protect the tree through the winter.
For more tips on protecting your trees, contact a tree specialist.
Share19 January 2016
