Your trees are a key component in your outdoor space. Not only do they make your home more beautiful in terms of curb appeal— they also offer shade for your family, for your grass, and for shade-loving plants in your yard or garden. They protect your home from winter wind, filter rainwater, and improve air quality. Their root systems minimize soil erosion and aerate the lawn naturally.
Did you know that having large, healthy trees also increases your property value? With all these benefits, it's easy to see the important of tree maintenance for those towering beauties in your yard. Discover when to step back and when to intervene in a tree's life.
Let Them Live
Trees generally take care of themselves. Trees in the forest stand for decades or even centuries without any aid from human beings. For the most part, you can simply live and let live with your trees— until a problem arises.
Keep an Eye Out
To identify problems like rot or disease, you need to know your trees well. Take a walk around your property every so often and look carefully at your trees. Note the typical state of the bark and leaves, and the placement of foliage. Watch for mushroom growths, branches that lack leaves, or any decay or discoloration on trunks, boughs, or leaves. If you see any of those telltale signs, call on the experts for advice about how to help your tree.
Limit Nearby Digging
Tree root systems reach deep underground and can spread out surprisingly far as well. If you're doing construction in your outdoor space, such as inserting a pool, creating a patio, digging posts for a deck, or placing a new part of your driveway, avoid the area surrounding your tree. Remember that the root system may extend two or three times further than the crown of the tree.
If you're not sure how far is far enough, ask a landscape expert from Kurtz Bros. to come and take a look. During construction, mark off the area where construction equipment cannot go; you don't want the heavy machines compacting the soil and disrupting the life of your healthy tree.
Skip the Shady Parking
Avoid parking your car under a tree on your property. Not only does the practice ruin your grass, it also compacts the soil in that spot, which can gradually kill the tree. Instead, use your garage or carport.
Add Some Mulch
Mulching the base of your trees keeps away pests, minimizes weed growth, and preserves moisture in the soil. You can mulch standalone trees with shredded leaves, pine needles, bark, cocoa hulls, straw, or other types of mulch, available from Kurtz Bros., Inc. If you have a patch of forest on your land, you don't need to mulch those trees.
Prune with Care
You don't need to do much pruning for mature trees. However, you should remove any diseased, damaged, or dead branches. Keep an eye out for branches that are rubbing together and wearing on each other, or for suckers coming up at the tree's base. Those elements need to be trimmed in order to keep the tree healthy.
Are you curious about the types of trees you own and how to care for them? The experts at Kurtz Bros., Inc. can help you identify your trees and inform you about potential risks so you can take action early. You can also visit our website to find tools, mulch, soil, and other supplies necessary for tree maintenance.