Trees are often the most valuable asset in the entire landscape of your commercial or residential property. Not only do they add character and aesthetic value to your property, trees also protect the land and help build a stronger, healthier and more sustainable landscape and nurture the surrounding environment.
Trees that are well-planted and properly cared for improve the immediate and long-term image you want for your property. Whether you need tree trimming, limb removal, pruning, or full tree clearing services, summer is the best time to focus on tree maintenance and upkeep so that you have healthy trees and a safe landscape year-round.
At Simpson Landscape, all our tree care techniques are intended to improve the health or aesthetic beauty and safety of your property by either removing or carefully pruning your trees. Here are some summer tree-care tips and services Simpson Landscape offers:
Selection & Planting
Although trees can be planted in the summer, the hot and dry conditions are not as conducive to transplanted tree health as are the more moderate temperatures in fall or spring. There is an increased chance the transplanted tree will be damaged or die due to the heat, so try to avoid planting in summer if possible.
Watering
The effects of summer’s hot, dry days can take a negative toll on tree health. It’s important to watch trees carefully for wilting, and water before they show symptoms of leaf curling or leaf detachment due to a lack of moisture. Setting up an irrigation system can ensure the landscape gets enough water. The best way to water trees is slowly and steadily with a soaker hose or by drip irrigation. Watering should take place beneath the crown of the tree and extending a few feet beyond the drip line of the crown.
The best time to water is during the evening hours and at night. Trees have a chance to replenish their moisture during these hours when they are not as stressed by hot temperatures. Watering at night allows effective use of water and less evaporative loss.
Pruning
Many trees are more prone to diseases if pruned in late spring or summer, so focus more on ridding trees of unsafe, dead or damaged branches. This helps ensure the structure is strong and encourages healthy canopy growth. Removing deadwood or dying branches injured by disease, insect infestation, animals or storms is recommended to promote tree growth. Branches stubs and branches that cross should be selectively removed. While reducing the crown to lower the tree’s height is acceptable, beware of getting carried away and topping the tree. Tree topping is a poor pruning practice that leaves stubs and can cause health problems and destroy the tree’s natural shape. It can also promote suckering and increase weak branch structures.
Summer is the best time to focus on tree maintenance and properly caring for trees on your property so that your landscape will be safe and healthy all year long. Contact the professionally-trained arborists at Simpson Landscape for more information about our tree trimming and pruning services or to develop an appropriate pruning cycle for your specific trees.