Summer is here!  Don't forget about your trees

With kids home for the summer, vacations and family BBQ's, often times we put our trees on the back burner.

Most people send a lot of time (and money) in the spring planning on what to prune, plant and mulch.  The garden is tilled and and the flowers planted.  The grass is mowed, the irrigation system flushed and readied.  Most people look forward to this time outside after a Northwest winter.  Come fall, we repeat the process to prep our landscapes for the upcoming months.

During the summer a lot of people concentrate on the small things; flowers, grass and vegetables.  What about the bigger things like our trees?

There are many concerns over the summer that can effect your trees imediately or months down the road.  These include:

Water (drought stress)

Heat

Pests

Construction damage

Let's talk about watering first.  I've been dealing with trees for 25 years and not a week goes by when someone asks in mid July, "What's going on with my tree?"  I'll go through my diagnosing process, start digging around in the soil and find it bone dry.  "But I have the sprinkler on" or "We got 30 inches of rain this winter" are the normal responses I recieve when I tell a customer what's wrong.  The majority of irrigation systems are set for lawns, flowers and shrubs.  They run for a short time at a low volume.  These same plants compete for water against other trees and plants.  And, since these smaller plants have a shallower root system, they get most of the water.

A mature tree, in ideal conditions, can take up to 50-250 gallons of water a day, depending on the species of tree.

So, that 30 inches of rain we got over the winter, it's gone.

A simple way to check your tree, before you see it wilting and dropping leaves, is to carefully dig down 6-12 inches and look for cool, damp ground.  Better yet, invest in a soil probe and take a core sample which should not come out bone dry.

Now, we're not advocating running up your water bill pouring 50 gallons of water a day on it.  That would create over saturated ground and cause your roots to rot.  Trees take up moisture through the air as well as the soil, and what the extracted from the soil is sometimes hard to see or difficult to imagine.  Your best bet is to use a soaker hose, placed around the tree half way between the trunk and the outer canopy, and run it for 2 hours every other day on trees less than 12 inches in diameter, 4 hours for larger trees.  If we get a heat wave over 90 degrees you may want to do this every day.  There are even drip irrigation emitters specifically designed for trees, just ask your local nursery or dealer on which ones to use.  Also, if you do not have mulch or bark dust down, do it this fall or next spring.  This helps retain soil moisture and lessens ground compaction from winter rains.

If your tree is drought stressed give us a call for a free diagnosis.  We offer a deep root feeding solution to help them recover.

Heat and drought stress generally go hand in hand.  But, just like you and I, heat affects other things as well.  Sun scorch (burn) on leaves and sun scald (blistering) on the bark can not only occur on a poorly watered tree but one which is planted in the wrong location. 

For example, most people plant native dogwoods in the open so they can see the beautiful spring flowers. These trees are actually shade tollerant; they do well in the shade of other trees but not so well out in the open, direct light.  If the tree is not well taken care of the leaves can get sunburnt and drop off.

Watch shearing small trees and shrubs before a predicted heat wave.  Barberry is one such shrub that is often sheared this time of year.  Cutting back and opening up the "canopy", the top of any tree or shrub, now exposes protected foliage and bark which can burn or blister.  It's good to water a little bit more than normal before doing any kind of pruning activity.  It's best to call us to schedule and do your work during the appropraie time of year.

Again, if you have a stressed tree or shrub give us a call.  We can nurse them back to health wit our deep root feeding program.

Pests, insects and diseases that feed on your trees, should not be forgotton in the summer. 

Disease issues usually are not a huge factor with the exception of powdery mildew.  Once you have it you are stuck with it.  Over-the-counter fungicides work at supressing the spread but that's it.  It's best to be proactive and prevent this and other diseases in spring before it takes hold. Often times we are called to respond to disease issues too late.  When that happens we can't deal with the problem but we can improve the tree health through deep root feeding and develop a plan for the next season to treat with organic or environmentally friendly products to prevent disease problems.

Summer time is insect time.  Some are beneficial, some are not. Those that are not include aphids, root weevil, bronze birch borer, lace bug, spider mites, wooly aphid, leaf miners and catepillars.  Treating for insects should be based on 2 things: the tollerance level of the tree and the tollerance level of the owner of that tree. 

If a tree is being devestated and its health is in jepordy, then it needs treatment.

If its an aestheic thing then treatment is your call.  For example, aphids on a tulip tree can create a big mess on anything below.  An aphid feeds by sucking the sap out of the leaves.  As it feeds it exudes its excremete as a clear, sticky substance no as honey dew (its clear as the morning dew and sticky like honey).  Sometimes, the honey dew will turn black or gray after a while.  This is a mold know as sooty mold and can be rather unatractive.  Most people don't appreciate honey dew dripping on their cars, decks and patios, so they want a treatment.  Now it this tree is in the middle of the back yard and not hurting anything then you have the option of not to treat and hope the benificial insects, like lady beetles, do their job.

Whatever your problem or need, we have a safe solution for treatments.  We do not spray the entire tree but use newer technology to get the treatment into the bark or root system, and most of our treatments will last an entire season.  Call us and we will have a sales person stop by for a free diagnoses and explain our program.

And last of all, construction damage.  Whether you are adding on to your house, putting in an irrigation line, re-building the driveway or the city is doing road work, watch out for your trees, above and below ground.

Never pile soil around the base of your tree for any period of time.  Doing so suffocates the roots.  In fact, keep all heavy equipment and materials from being parked or stacked under the trees canopy. 

Watch cutting roots and avoid doing so if necessary.  Cutting too many roots or very large ones can cause tree damage.  Remember, the roots are a trees life line.

After your project is complete, monitor the tree for problems.  Look for wilting, leaves truning color before other ones, dying branches, etc.  Keep monitoring all the way through the fall.  Sometimes problems don't arise immediatley.  It can take years.

If you see issues call us immediately for a free diagnosis and solutions.  We offer mychorrizae treaments as well as benefical fungi and bacteria treaments to help trees recover from contruction work.

Healthy Roots = Healthy Trees