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Having shade trees in your yard has many wonderful benefits. Underneath a large shade tree is the best place for a backyard BBQ or for children to enjoy some much-needed time outdoors. A shade tree will also keep your home cooler during warmer months of the year.

To get the full benefit of shade trees, you need to plant the right species and care for them correctly.

OR Tree Trimming has recommendations for the best trees to plant for shade, and some expert advice on caring for your shade trees so they grow strong and healthy.

Planting Trees for Shade

All trees can provide shade, but there are some types of trees that are built for maximum shade. These types of trees usually have a thick, wider canopy that extends out nearly as far as it does upward.

Below, we’ve provided examples of shade trees depending on whether they would be best suited for your front or back yard.

Back Yard Shade Trees

Shade trees in the back yard are typically for your own benefit. Next-door neighbors and passersby usually won’t be able to see these trees , so they can be purely for shade and enjoyment.

Besides just shade, these trees can create year-round color and some additional privacy from neighbors.

Here are popular options:

• Magnolia
• Sugar maple or silver maple
• Weeping willow
• Weeping cherry
• Red oak

If you have enough space, a live oak is a great choice. Live oaks are considered the fastest growing shade trees, and are able to get very big. A mature live oak is able to grow up to 80 feet tall and up to 100 feet wide.

Most of these back yard shade tree recommendations get extremely big, so you definitely want to do your research to find out if the tree is going to have enough space to grow to its full potential.

If there is not enough room, the tree’s root system can damage your fencing or home foundation. You will also have to prune the tree every year to keep it from being overgrown. A tree that is too large for its area will probably have to be removed, which is an inconvenient and sometimes expensive situation.

Front Yard Shade Trees

In the front yard of your home, you are planting trees for your enjoyment as well, but these trees will be much more beneficial for adding curb appeal and value to your home than the back yard trees.

Buy shade trees for the front yard that are somewhat smaller so they don’t overpower your home and landscaping. These trees should complement your landscaping in color and size, while still providing plenty of shade for front yard relaxation and play.

These are some of our favorites:

Red maple
River birch
Dogwood
White oak
Ginkgo tree

These types of trees are colorful throughout the year, and they’ll exude even more color in the fall months.
Another good choice for your front or side yard is the ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae. This tree looks like a hedge and can be planted in a row with others to create privacy as well as shade.

With this advice in mind, we encourage you to plant trees you like. In reality, any type of tree can be a “shade tree.” Assuming the trees you choose are suitable for the weather in Oregon, they will provide your yard and home with shade.

Benefits of Planting Shade Trees

The reasons to have shade for your home are numerous — there are some that you probably don’t typically think about.

Shade, Obviously – When temperatures soar, you don’t have to hide indoors if you have a nice, shady yard. Set up a chair or hammock below your biggest shade tree and enjoy time outside as long as you like.

Climate Control – Trees can control the temperature in your yard and inside your house. Not only will trees protect you from the glaring sun, but they can also make it feel 10-15 degrees cooler below their canopies. This results in less solar radiation on your home as well, which might result in lowering your energy costs!

Better Air Quality – Trees produce oxygen and expel pollutants from the air, so there is cleaner air around your house. Arbor Day Foundation research reports that one mature tree absorbs around 48 pounds of CO2 out of the air.

Shelter for Animals – If you’re into bird watching or think squirrels and chipmunks are cute, your shade trees can provide them all they need to build a home, find food and raise babies.

Fun – What child doesn’t love a backyard tire swing or tree house? If you have small children, shade trees will offer hours of fun and joyful memories.

How to Care for Shade Trees

Maintaining shade trees is very easy as long as you’ve chosen the type of trees for the weather in Oregon. Healthy trees are strong and hardy after a couple of years, needing little attention or maintenance.

Consult an arborist from OR Tree Trimming if you have any questions about how to care for your shade trees, or to help you determine the perfect tree for your yard.

Once you have decided on the perfect shade tree(s), follow this simple care guide until your shade tree is fully grown.

Planting Your Shade Tree

The east, west and south sides of your yard get the most sun, so plant your trees on one of these sides of your yard. This is two-fold: 1) the trees will create the most amount of shade and 2) they will also receive the maximum amount of sun for healthy growth.

Trimming Your Shade Tree

Prune during the first year or two after you first plant the tree to help to shape it and help it form a strong structure. To be safe, and for the best results, call OR Tree Trimming for tree trimming in Oregon. A certified arborist will arrive at your home and deliver professional care for the tree.

Watering Your Shade Tree

Watering a new tree is very important. This will help them form a deep root system and will give the tree stability over the course of its lifetime.

Fertilizing Your Shade Tree

Homeowners should fertilize a shade tree just like you would any other tree in order to promote growth. Fertilizer is not necessary, but it can assist in helping your tree to grow faster and blossom more leaves, which are the primary source of your shade.

We hope this blog post was helpful! Remember, when it is time to prune or trim a new shade tree, OR Tree Trimming can help! Call us and a certified arborist in Oregon will visit your home, examine the tree and formulate the proper maintenance plan for its long-term health and growth.

Tree trimming is best left to professionals. It’s dangerous work, climbing trees, wielding chainsaws and lowering heavy branches to the ground; and it can also be dangerous for the tree too. Trees that are improperly pruned can sustain a lifetime of damage.

Instead of putting yourself in harm’s way and the tree at risk, enlist an arborist who is knowledgeable and experienced to do the job for you.

This will lead to much stronger trees and a safer environment near your house for several reasons:

• Healthy trees are sturdier and not as likely to cause damage during storms
• Cared for trees don’t attract or spread parasites and diseases
• Trimmed trees grow more flowers or fruit
• Trimmed trees provide shade while still allowing air to flow throughout their canopies and your property

OR Tree Trimming highly encourages pruning trees that are near your home or those that are a focus of your landscape.

Is Tree Trimming Necessary?

It is not required. But it is important. Trees are very hardy and grow on their own across the world, in a variety of different climates and locations, without trimming.

However, there are several benefits of professional tree pruning, so it’s definitely recommended for any trees that you value. This can include sentimental trees, fruit trees and blossoming trees or trees that perform an important service for your house, such as shade or home to wildlife.

Tree Pruning Gone Wrong

Tree trimming is a complicated task. You need the right tools and a lot of information to guarantee the job is done right. The majority of homeowners don’t have any of these!

But that’s alright, because there are many professionals available who know exactly how to correctly prune trees for an affordable cost to you including all arborists throughout Oregon we work with!

Here are the 5 mistakes homeowners make when they attempt DIY tree pruning that can lead to many tree problems. These are things that an experienced arborist from OR Tree Trimming will know, and that’s exactly why their services are worth paying for!

Pruning Too Much

When done the right way, trimming is an ongoing process. Starting when your trees are just 2 or 3 years old, they should be trimmed by an expert if you value them and desire to keep them healthy.

A huge mistake homeowners make when pruning trees themselves is trimming too much of the tree all at once. This occurs because they let the tree’s growth get out of hand and try to fix it all immediately. Ideally, you should only cut off 5-20% of the tree’s crown at a once. It is much easier to do this during a time of year that the leaves are off, but an experienced arborist will be able to properly trim trees any time of year.

Removing Tree Bark

When you cut a tree limb and gravity starts pulling it down, it can rip bark from the trunk right along with it. This exposes the tree’s inner layers, leaving the tree in danger of attracting diseases and making it easier for insects to scurry their way in.

To stop this from occurring, an experienced arborist will make special cuts beneath big branches before making their final removal cut. Knowing how to place these initial cuts removes pressure from the branch collar and limits the stress at the exact point of the main cut so the tree limb doesn’t tear.

Cutting at the Wrong Place

A trained tree specialist knows where to cut each limb to prevent damage. This cut should be done just beyond the branch collar, the exact place where the branch connects to the trunk.

Cutting too close to the branch collar exposes the tree to insects, decay and mildew. Cutting too far away from it leaves an unsightly stump when the tree has recovered. Most DIY tree trimming results in an improper cut, leaving either aesthetic or structural damage.

Pruning Large Branches

Branches larger than 4 inches in diameter shouldn’t be trimmed unless it is necessary. Cutting off a branch this large can result in imbalance in the tree and expose it to pests and rodents and rot as the tree recovers from losing such a large branch.

Conservative pruning once each year ensures that your tree trimmer only has to cut off branches that are 2-3 inches in diameter, which leads to a more attractive shape for the tree and less risk of harming the tree or exposing it to decay and pests.

Topping the Tree

Tree topping is no longer a type of pruning, and for good reason! In this process, tree trimming companies would cut the top off of the tree to achieve the desired height. It was neither attractive nor was it beneficial for the tree, so the majority of tree care companies do not practice tree topping anymore.

As a DIY tree trimming, you might think this is a good way to lower the height of your tree with only a single cut, but once you have cut the top of a tree off, there’s virtually no chance that it will ever return to a natural shape.

The Solution? Call OR Tree Trimming

Your tree may never recover from poor pruning.

Attempting this job yourself might seem like a good way to save money, but you might end up with way more expenses trying to revive damaged trees, so it’s much safer (and more economical in the long run) to hire a certified arborist in Oregon from OR Tree Trimming.

Limbs don’t grow back. The tree will grow more, but not in the same places, which leads to strange shapes that could require years to fix. The tree might look bad for the rest of its life, all because of a single pruning mistake.

Incorrect pruning could also lead to death of the tree. Cutting off too many branches (and, therefore, leaves) can affect the tree’s photosynthesis process, which means it won’t get enough water or enough sunlight and carbon dioxide to continue growing.

Cutting too many branches can also send the tree into a state of shock. Shock isn’t always permanent, but it takes a lot of care and patience. Even with the right maintenance, a tree experiencing shock may still die.

Avoid all of these tree trimming mistakes and call OR Tree Trimming to speak with a tree care specialist in Oregon able to come up with a plan to ensure your tree continues to blossom and look beautiful for years to come!

Trees are living organisms, so that means that they can become “sick” just like humans and animals. A disease or other tree problem might take a while to show itself because of the overall size of the tree, and once you identify a symptom, it could be too late to revive the tree.

A certified arborist from OR Tree Trimming can help you diagnose and treat tree issues so that you have a much greater chance of saving the tree. Learn about our service here. Not only can an arborist stop a tree from dying, but they can also help trees get more healthy growth and more flowers or fruit.

Have you noticed a tree on your lawn that has always seemed OK but all of the sudden seems like something is wrong? In the next blog post, we’ll explain some of the most common tree problems and diseases and what these symptoms mean for a tree.

If you see any of these things, act fast to have the best chance of saving the tree and the ones around it.

Tree Diseases & Common Problems

These 7 things are the most frequent issues encountered by experienced arborists in Oregon. The moment you think one of these things is wrong with your tree, contact someone with the training and tools to help!

Tree Diseases

Leaf Rust – Leaf rust is actually a fungus that is very common in both plants and trees. The name originates from the yellow and brown spots this disease creates on the leaves.

Leaf rust is a problem because it inhibits the leaves’ photosynthesis, the process by which it breathes. Leaf rust can be treated with fungicides and selective trimming of the affected leaves. It may be recommended to remove whole branches with leaf rust.

Witches’ Broom – This disease creates a large mass of twigs, dead leaves and branches that look like a broom shape. It is caused by pests, unusually rainy weather or fungus. The formation of a clump of twigs and leaves is the tree’s reaction to infection or danger.

Some instances of Witches’ Broom are fatal for the tree, while others are simply considered a growth malformation. A tree care specialist can tell you for sure.

Mildew – Mildew is a fungus that grows on almost anything in moist conditions, but even when the wet conditions are over with, mildew can remain and thrive. Mildew appears as a powdery substance, typically white, and it usually appears on the leaves of the tree first.

The the best method for treating mildew is to apply a fungicide that contains sulfur. This will eliminate the existing mildew and stop future mildew growth on the tree. You may also need to prune the tree to remove limbs, fruit, flowers and any leaves that have been affected by the mildew

Gall – Gall is a tree condition that appears when pests or rodents build small nests on the leaves or branches of a tree to leave their eggs in. Most galls are not harmful to the tree, but they are not attractive.

Gall appears as as bumps on the tree, in varying sizes. They are often white, brown, gray or some shade in between.

It is not necessary to treat the tree for galls, but they can inhibit the growth of young trees. Treat galls by killing the insects. You should also clean out from under the tree when the leaves fall off, since this is where the pests live during winter.

Other Tree Problems

Poor Trimming – There’s a discipline to tree trimming, as well as many types, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could harm the tree past the point of recovery. Consider the type of tree, season and other factors. Under-pruning (or a lack of pruning at all) is just as big of a problem. Only a trained arborist should be trusted to prune trees to keep them healthy.

Lack of Water – New trees can be severely affected by drought. If you want to plant new trees, you will need to supplement the amount of water they get from rainfall. A tree that is not getting enough water can have its growth stunted. The first symptom you are likely to see is scorched or dry leaves. Find more tips for new trees here.

Too Much Sun – Do some initial planning before planting trees in a sunny area of your property. Most species of trees can handle it just fine, but too much sun can happen to any tree if the sun is too hot for an extended period of time and rainfall is light. A tree that is getting excessive sun needs extra water to fight against wilting, drooping leaves.

Certified Arborist Services in Oregon

A certified arborist from OR Tree Trimming will be able to quickly identify what’s going on with your sick tree and come up with a plan to rescue it.

Here is what an arborist is trained to do:

• Inspect trees from the ground and from the limbs of the tree if possible. Getting into the canopy is often necessary to see exactly what is causing the symptoms.
• Treat your tree through additives and fertilizers in the soil or products applied to the leaves. The arborist will have expert knowledge about the disease affecting your tree and the best treatments for it.
• Prune tree limbs to get rid of dead or diseased branches and to help healthy growth. Even if heavy trimming is necessary, they will know how to cut off branches so that the tree can survive both the disease and the trimming.
• Remove the tree from your property if nothing can be done to save it. The worst case scenario is that the tree is too far gone, and removing it is the only way to protect your home and surrounding landscape.

Arborists can also inform you about the trees that you have om your property and how to best care for them so you don’t return to the same situation again.

Many tree issues look similar to one another, requiring an expert eye to accurately diagnose and correct the problem. If your trees are looking dry, unhealthy or disfigured, call a professional arborist from OR Tree Trimming for an inspection before it’s too late.

When it comes to the question, “What time of year is best for tree trimming?” The answer will likely be indirect.

Tree type dictates when many species can be pruned, along with pest population and activity, local tree and plant diseases and other species of plants and trees in the yard.

With the guidance of a certified arborist in Oregon, you will be able to figure out which season is ideal for trimming your trees to prepare them for success next season and beyond.

Best Season to Prune Trees

Without any other context, OR Tree Trimming recommends pruning trees during the winter. This would be sometime from November to March in most areas. This season is best because trees are usually dormant, so trimming will lead to the least amount of damage, if any.

There are a lot of benefits to pruning trees during the winter:

Less risk of insect damage and disease – Pests and plant diseases are mostly inactive in the winter in Oregon. During the remainder of the year, everything from insects to fungus can affect a newly pruned tree because the tree is most susceptible and these issues are more common in warmer weather.

Easier to see the shape of the tree when there are no leaves – Leaves stop your arborist from seeing the overall shape of your tree. When branches are bare, it is much easier to see diseased or dead branches and branches that are touching versus those that are just too close to each other.

Trees can heal before spring – By performing major pruning in the winter, your trees have many months to build up callus tissue on the ends of the remaining branch collar. By spring season, you’ll hardly be able to identify where the branches were removed, and the tree will be able to devote its energy to produce new, healthier leaves, fruit or flowers instead of healing new cuts.

Less chance of harming surrounding landscaping – Most of the surrounding trees and greenery will also be dormant during this time, so there is less risk of them. Most of the time, a tree is surrounded by annual plants in the spring and summer, but there are no plants to be disturbed in the winter months since these annuals already died out.

Do All Trees Need Pruning?

Yes, all trees benefit from routine trimming. Tree trimming every winter is good for trees, but it is also a precaution for the safety of your property and your family. Let us explain:

Trimming Makes the Tree Stronger

Dead and diseased limbs are removed, as are branch stubs that are prone to pests and disease. Limbs that can rub against each other are also trimmed so they don’t weaken one another or create an open wound on the tree.

Pruning trees each year is a great way to get expert eyes on the health of your trees so that early warning signs of decay, disease and insect problems can be spotted and responded to immediately.

A Well-Maintained Tree Serves Its Purpose Better

When a tree becomes overgrown, it starts to be hard for water and nutrients to reach every branch. This can leave the tree looking weak and sick and definitely not doing what it’s intended to do.

Pruned trees, on the other hand, produce more fruit, healthier leaves and provide better shade. They are fuller and healthier and less likely to create landscaping issues. So regardless of why you decided to plant a new tree, routine trimming will maximize the results you desire from it.

Trees are More Beautiful After Pruning

If the view of your yard or landscaping is important to you, tree trimming is important! Trimming trees creates an attractive, uniform size and shape. This is very important if you have a lot of identical trees on your property.

Eliminating lower branches and upper branches that grow at improper angles enhances the overall look of the tree while also strengthening tree health.

Less Risk of Dropping Branches

Tree pruning – done the right way – encourages the remaining branches to grow healthier and stronger. Therefore, storms and other inclement weather in Oregon won’t damage your trees the way they would an unkempt tree. Your home and family will be much safer living under and around trimmed trees.

Another safety concern for large trees is that they impede the view of traffic lights, road signs and driveways. Tree pruning, crown raising and other professional tree care services will keep the tree at a manageable size and prevent it from blocking various views.

Call OR Tree Trimming for Tree Trimming

Hiring a professional arborist in Oregon gives you access to their expert knowledge on the subject of tree pruning. We recommend relying on their years of experience if you have trees on that you’d like to keep healthy for a long time.

An arborist won’t only consider the immediate situation. Instead, an arborist will take time to inspect your trees and study their unique scenario (including their location and other factors that could put them at risk). After collecting all of the information, an arborist will create a long-term plan based on the trees’ needs and stick to that plan until your goals for your trees are achieved.

This plan could take years to implement, but rest assured, it will lead to healthy trees that you and your family can enjoy for generations.

This type of ongoing care will result in healthy tree growth, help your entire property resist plant diseases and increase fruit or flower production from the trees. It will also strengthen your trees so there is less risk of falling trees or limbs.

Being proactive about tree care will save you a lot of money over time as well. Preventative maintenance is far more affordable than the cost of emergency tree services, storm damage cleanup or curing an ill tree of a disease that has spread out of control (and one that was easily preventable).

If you care about the health of your trees and the curb appeal of your property, trust a certified arborist for tree trimming and maintenance from OR Tree Trimming. Find our service area here. We work with arborists across the entire state of Oregon. Call now!

Tree pruning in Oregon is an important landscaping service that can beautify and reinforce trees so they are able to withstand pests, diseases and severe weather – and look wonderful doing it!

Pruning needs to be completed if you want a healthy tree, but it has to be done correctly by someone who has experience in what they’re doing. Like a certified arborist from OR Tree Trimming. You may be able to prune trees safely while they are small and developing, but you also may do irreparable damage to the tree in the process.

To safely prune trees, you must know all of the following:

• When is the best time to prune your types of trees
• How much of the tree should be pruned at a time
• Where to cut the branches so you do not harm the tree

Taking too much from a tree might kill it or lead to structural damage, but minimal pruning done each year benefits trees in several ways. Professional pruning improves the appearance of trees, makes them healthier, eliminates dying or diseased portions and assists in fruit or flower production.

Ideally, pruning needs to be done annually, but as trees get older, you may be able to go two years between pruning services. Regardless of how often you have your trees pruned, be sure your arborist is qualified to perform the type of tree pruning your trees need. This won’t be an issue if you call OR Tree Trimming in Oregon!

Types of Tree Pruning Methods

There are 7 ways to properly prune a tree so that it grows stronger and healthier every year.

Depending on the size, type and health problems of your trees, one method may be more effective than another, but each technique has various benefits.

Crown Thinning Your Trees

Crown thinning is popular for larger, overgrown trees in Oregon. This process eliminates weak branches within the crown to allow more light and air flow within the crown. Air flow is especially important to help prevent disease.

This pruning method also removes branches and limbs that are touching so they no longer rub against one another and break or create weaker areas that can be an access point for pests. Branches that grow at odd angles are typically removed during crown thinning.

Crown Raising Your Trees

This tree pruning technique only removes branches and limbs at the lowest part of the crown so limbs start higher up on the trunk of the tree. Allowing low branches to get too large makes them hard to remove, and they can draw nutrients away from the top of the tree, which leads to less fruit and a weaker tree.

There are several reasons you might decide to raise the crown of a tree. Often, it is done to clear the line of sight for cars and pedestrians, but it can also be done to make space for landscaping beneath the tree.

It is a common technique for large trees that are close to homes and buildings.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction lowers the overall size of the crown from its exterior edge. It shortens limbs horizontally and vertically to keep the tree at a certain size. By reducing the size of the crown, you can eliminate the need to cut the tree down because it won’t come into contact with traffic lights, power lines or street lights.

Even when the tree isn’t near structures like these, crown reduction will help the tree look much better because it removes irregular growth. This is a great idea for trees that are various ages but you want to look uniform.

Crown Cleaning

Sometimes referred to as deadwood pruning, crown cleaning is a minimally invasive type of tree pruning method that gets rid of dead, snapped or diseased limbs so that the rest of the tree may grow normally. These branches can only cause issues over time.

Crown cleaning makes the tree look much better, and it prevents branches from rubbing together. It is also a safety practice that reduces the risk of branches falling, since healthy branches do not fall very often.

Crown Restoration

Crown restoration is an intense trimming process used on trees that were severely damaged (either by pests or weather). It should only be done by an experienced arborist who knows where the tree is going to grow in the future and just how long it’s restoration is going to take.

Unlike most other tree pruning services, crown restoration happens during a longer time period with conservative pruning that reshapes the tree. Your arborist will have a definitive plan to restore the tree, but also be flexible as the tree begins to grow and reshape on its own, working with the tree’s new growth.

Vista Pruning

If you want trees to add to curb appeal, you are most likely interested in vista pruning. The purpose of vista pruning is to make the tree more visually pleasing from a particular vantage point.

It consists of many tree trimming techniques including crown thinning, crown cleaning and crown reduction – any technique that helps the trees look prettier. Remember, though, that a professional will never sacrifice the health of a tree, so the primary focus of vista pruning is still to maintain strong, healthy trees.

Espalier Pruning

Espaliered trees are pruned heavily to grow flat up against a wall or a trellis. It is a different style of tree trimming that will attract a lot of attention to your yard. Espalier pruning must be started when the tree is very young and then done routinely during the tree’s life span.

Benefits of espalier pruning include allowing maximum sunlight to get to the trees, as well as making it exceptionally easier to produce fruit.

Professional Tree Pruning in Oregon

Tree pruning can be harmful to a tree, your landscaping, and, of course, for you! OR Tree Trimming highly encourages professional tree pruning over attempting DIY.

Besides the many dangers of tree trimming, you can do a lot of damage to a tree if you don’t know how to trim it correctly. Over-pruning is one of the most common mistakes made by homeowners caring for their own trees.

Trees in Oregon that get annual care from a professional are usually much better off, and hiring an experienced arborist from OR Tree Trimming to trim the trees on your property is a choice you won’t regret. Locate your city in our service area. We work with arborists across the entire state of Oregon!

Planting a tree on your land has many benefits. Trees give summer shade, create privacy, filter contaminated air and increase curb appeal and property value. Everyone should plant trees.

Once full-grown, most trees are simple to maintain: another benefit! They are hardy and tend to grow despite minimal care. However, if you want to see your trees achieve their full potential, they need a little more effort.

Lack of care for young trees can cause rotting, disease, under watering or pest problems.

The good news is that caring for trees isn’t too difficult, but you do need some tips to do it correctly. Educate yourself with the new trees you plant to know what they need. Then properly care for them and watch them bloom.

Below, we’ll list the five best tips for planting a new tree and seeing it thrive. You likely are aware of the basics, so we’ll dive a little deeper and lay out how to perform each step.

Tree Care Tips for New Trees

These five tips will not only help keep your trees alive, they’ll help them grow much faster, withstand extreme winds, fight off diseases and pests and produce more leaves, buds or fruit.

Water Your Tree

New trees need a lot more water than older ones. The trees you plant are no exception.

The root ball of the tree and the soil around it should be kept moist, but don’t let it get too wet, as this can cause the roots to rot.

The best practice is 4-10 gallons of water each week. This includes rain water, and although it’s difficult to get an exact reading, a rain gauge can help get you close enough to add the rest. Your new trees will need this much water for the first 2-3 growing seasons.

Mulch Around Your Trees

Mulch is much more than an attractive lawn care material. It actually helps protect new trees, especially the roots underground. But laying mulch the wrong way can cause rotting and decay – so much so, in fact, that the new tree will not survive.

Place mulch exactly 3 inches away from the trunk of the tree and spread it out to completely cover the ground underneath the longest branch. For brand new trees, this won’t be very far, but as the tree continues to grow, your mulch area will continue to grow as well.

Keep the mulch no less than 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas around the tree. Be vigilant in keeping it spread out consistently and away from the trunk of the tree so it does not limit air flow around the trunk.

Fertilize Around Your Tree

Fertilizer provides nutrients your land’s soil might not naturally have. Most new trees benefit from fertilizing, but you need to use the right products and doing it at the right time in order for fertilizer to be most beneficial.

The best season to fertilize is early spring. Sometimes early summer provides the right conditions (comfortable temperatures and moist soil), but don’t count on it.

If you are unsure about which fertilizer to use, speak to a tree care professional for advice. Slow-release fertilizers are typically a good idea because they feed your trees over time rather than all at once.

Follow through with these things in the initial growing seasons after planting a new tree, and then review your watering, mulching and fertilizing as the tree grows larger. As seasons go on, there will be additional tree care projects that are more important for your new trees.

Trim Your Tree

Tree trimming is very important – yet very challenging – in the initial years after planting a tree. As the tree grows bigger, you will start to see a lot of little branches take off, trying to become the tree’s trunk. You may think this shows that the tree is healthy and that it is growing well, it can actually result in a weak tree as time goes on.

Early pruning shapes the tree into what it will look like when it gets much larger. As tiny limbs emerge from the lower trunk, they need to be cut off so they don’t pull water and nutrients away from the branches at the top of the tree.

So long as there are trees growing somewhere on your property, they need to be pruned periodically. When the trees get too large for you to prune them safely, you can rely on OR Tree Trimming to do the job for you.

Monitor Your Tree

Young trees are at the most risk for damage, disease and pest issues. But you’re never 100% safe from these issues. As your tree gets older, watch it closely for signs of disease or bad nutrition, including the following:

• Leaf color changing out of season, especially leaves turning brown or yellow
• Early leaf falling, despite whether leaves look healthy or diseased
• Wilting, despite adequate watering
• Individual branches or limbs dying
• Peeling bark

These signs indicate a health problem. It is likely going to need professional care if your plan is to keep the tree alive. An arborist can often diagnose the problem by just looking at the tree, although they will perform testing whenever necessary.

If you identify the issue early enough, you will likely be able to save the tree from dying. Being proactive is the best course of action to protect growing trees.

The tips above are basic yet effective. Don’t underestimate the value of the basics! When new trees have proper care, combined with sunshine and barring any severe, damaging weather, the chances are probable that the tree will survive and look wonderful!

Of course, you could already have a full schedule and don’t want to be responsible for these additional lawn care projects. In many cases, property owners don’t have the ability or the tools to give their new trees the appropriate maintenance.

Whatever the situation, it’s a good idea to seek the help of a tree company for caring for new trees. A professional arborist in Oregon can consult with you about the best course of maintenance for each tree species you plant on your land. Arborists enjoy sharing their knowledge and skills with people planting brand new trees, and can make the difference between trees that struggle and trees thriving.

Call OR Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree maintenance in Oregon – including tree trimming – for new trees and old trees. A local tree service can determine the best plan for your trees! Locate your city in our service area here.