Properly taking care of your trees for the entire year is important. Even though your trees might be preparing for the long winter ahead, this doesn’t mean that you can’t do some fall tree maintenance to help them stay healthy. Our expert arborists at Five Star Tree Services would like to go over a few helpful tips on what you can do for fall tree care.
Water Your Trees
When fall comes around, it usually brings rain. Even so, there is the possibility of there being many warm to hot days. Throughout the fall season, it’s important to make sure your trees are getting lots of water. This means a good, deep watering in order for them to soak up as much water as possible to store for the winter. When watering your tree, get around the entire base and focus on getting all the roots.
Rake Away Leaves from Around Tree Bases
Everyone loves the beautiful, bright, vibrant colours of the leaves in the fall. But once these leaves fall to the ground, they begin to compost and decay. When this happens, it opens the door for attracting things like fungi and this can be an invitation for diseases. If the fallen leaves are left, once the spring thaw comes around, if there are any close to your trees, diseases can spread to healthy ones. The best thing to do in order to avoid this situation is to rake the leaves away from your trees in the fall.
Tree Examinations (Look for Cracks or Splits)
This is best done after all the leaves have fallen. It allows you to get a better look at your trees and spot ant damages. It’s important to pay close attention and look for things where branches split off from the trunk. These are the weakest points in a tree and are particularly susceptible to breaking. If any branches are cracked or look stressed, you should contact a licensed arborist to come and assess the situation- it’s possible that it might need to be removed.
Fertilize or Mulch Your Trees
Using fertilizer is perfect for providing your trees with a nutrient boost in preparation for their hibernation during the winter months. It’s more common for urban trees to suffer from a nutrient deficiency. This makes it important to help them along with some fertilizer. when applying it, spread it in a wide circle around the base of the tree. Topping up your mulch is also a good idea before winter hits. This is going to help protect your trees during the harsh winter months. When choosing your mulch, make sure they aren’t fresh wood chips. These have a high acidity level and aren’t good for your trees.
Plant New Trees
The cooler fall weather is the perfect environment to plant any new trees. This is because there is less chance of your tree drying out or being scorched by the sun. Not to mention that all deciduous trees are starting into their dormant state for the winter, allowing them to slowly adapt to being planted in the spring.
How Five Star Tree Services Can Help
Our team here at Five Star Tree Services is here to help you with any tree care services you need in Toronto and the GTA! Our professional arborists can offer you their expertise for all tree related needs you have. Whether it be the care of your trees, the removal of a tree, or pruning, we do it all! Give us a call today at (416) 990-3355!