Helpful Tips to Keep Your Tree Healthy
When treated correctly, trees can be a beautiful addition to your yard and appreciated for years to come. But, how do you properly treat a tree after you plant it? Here are our top three tips to keep your tree healthy.
- Mulch Regularly
Mulching around the base of your tree is a key step in ensuring the tree’s safety. Applying a 1-4” layer of material such as wood chips, shredded bark or straw will help protect your tree from lawn equipment and fertilizers used in your yard, as well as suppress weeds and keep moisture in the soil. We suggest starting the mulch about an inch around the trunk of the tree and extending it outwards about 3 feet.
- Avoid Over-Fertilization
There are few cases in which fertilization of trees is beneficial. In those cases, it’s important to limit the amount of fertilizer used, and to ensure that you are using the correct NPK ratio. If over-fertilized, a tree will begin to exhibit signs such as wilting leaves that begin to fall prior to dormancy.
- Watch Where you Dig
Construction around trees can cause root damage, which is one of the leading reasons trees die. When trees become mature, their root system begins to extend underground. These long underground roots can extend 2-3 times farther than the tree’s branches. Keeping this in mind for whenever you’re thinking of laying a driveway or digging space for a pool can ensure that your tree will stick around generations to enjoy.
A little preventative maintenance and safety precautions are all your trees really need. For other tasks such as tree removal, trimming, and pruning, please refer to a professional tree care company. For more information on tree safety and service, contact Ivan’s Tree Service.