In order to look their best, the trees in your yard need proper care and attention. In return, trees provide homeowners with many benefits such as improved curb appeal, helping with the environment by reducing pollution, improving the value of your home and cutting down on utility costs. An unhealthy tree, on the other hand, can cause problems that cost you money and cause your home to lose curb appeal. The following tree maintenance tips will help maintain the health of the trees on your property. Your landscaping expert can help you with this as well.

Keeping Up with Regular Tree Maintenance

Regular tree maintenance includes tree trimming and regular watering. Letting your landscaping pro take care of your trees can give the trees a longer and healthier life as well as reducing your own work burden.

Tree Trimming

In order to maintain a healthy appearance, trees need to be trimmed regularly. Your landscaping expert will know just how often is enough. He will also know that regular tree trimming is important as it removes dead branches and dead leaves, leaving space for new ones to grow. Tree trimming is also necessary if the tree is growing too close to the house or closing in on power lines. (Beware when trimming branches near a power line- this is probably a good time to call in your expert lawn maintenance team.) Be on top of those branches though as branches broken off during a storm can cause serious damage.

Soil Testing

Seedlings or trees that have been recently transplanted are especially sensitive to being in soil lacking in nutrients. Soil testing can be done if trees aren’t looking their best to determine the soil’s level of nutrition by checking the pH and mineral levels so you know what’s missing from your soil.

Mulching

Mulch isn’t just for decoration. It also provides many benefits for trees by retaining water and insulating the ground from changes in temperatures. Mulch is particularly helpful for new trees or trees that have been recently transplanted. The amount of mulch needed will depend on the tree’s size. Three to ten inches of mulch is the average to place around a tree. Ask your lawn maintenance expert how much mulch he would recommend.

Water Your Tree

Regular watering is extremely important for new or recently transplanted trees. The general rule of how much water a tree needs is ten gallons of water per inch of the trunk’s diameter. This will help it grow and not dry out. As the roots get deeper and the tree gets larger, the tree will be able to draw up water from all over. A large tree can obtain up to one hundred gallons of water in a day. While older and larger trees need less maintenance, newer or transplanted trees need more regular watering to stay healthy.

Watch out for Disease and Pests

Watch for pests and disease by monitoring trees for signs of abnormal change. Such signs include spots on leaves, changes in the plant structure or fungi. Get help as soon as you can from your lawn maintenance expertif you suspect any of these changes. Catching diseases or removing pests early can save your tree. If it’s too late, and the tree disease is untreatable, removing the tree is the best option as a rotted tree can become a safety hazard for your home and anyone walking nearby. Ask your lawn maintenance pro for advice on tree removal if need be.

Prepare Your Tree for Winter

Preparing trees for the winter before the first frost is best. Smaller trees, transplanted trees, and fruit trees need to be protected from extreme cold. Covering a tree with a sheet or with a tarp can protect it from the frost. Placing a layer of fertilizer on the ground around the tree will help make sure that over the winter, it doesn’t lose the nutrients it needs. Pruning branches one last time before the first frost will make sure that the tree will grow that much more once it is spring.

Taking care of your tree will give it an increased, healthy lifespan so that you and your family can enjoy being under its leafy umbrella for the long haul.