Here, our team at Five Star Tree Services is going to continue talking about how you can prepare your trees for spring with watering and pruning.
Watering
All your trees require water as it is a crucial aspect of proper tree care. This becomes especially true for when the weather gets warmer, and rain becomes scarce making the soil moisture fluctuate. Making sure to water your trees properly will help make sure they have adequate hydration in order for new growth to form and be able to survive stressors from the environment. Here are some of the best tree watering practices.
Watering Needs of Your Trees
Soil Moisture
Before you bring out the hose, you should first assess the moisture levels of the soil surrounding your trees. You can do this with a soil moisture meter or by digging a small hole by the root zone and looking at how damp or dry the soil looks. You should have soil that is evenly moist around your tree, but you don’t want it waterlogged.
Type & Age of Tree
There is no one size fits all for tree. There are many factors that go into how much water a tree requires. These factors include things like age, species of tree, and what environmental conditions you live in. When you have a younger tree or a tree that has been newly planted, these need frequent watering in order to help them grow their root system to be more self-sufficient. Whereas mature trees do not need as much water as frequently but need deeper watering every once in a while. For established trees, or ones that are a few years old, do not water them directly or next to the trunk as this is not where their roots are gathering water from. By this time, tree roots have extended much further, requiring you to water them with a wider circle in order to help them. But for younger trees, you can water closer to the trunk, as their roots have not stretched as far.
Environmental Factors
You will want to keep an eye out on the outside temperature, humidity, and rain as all of these can influence how often you need to water your trees. When there are hot and dry stretches, this is when your trees will need a little extra helping of water to help prevent dehydration and moisture stress.
Proper Watering Techniques
Frequent and Deep Watering
Avoid frequent and shallow watering as this does not get to the roots, make sure to be watering deeply and infrequently. Doing this is going to encourage deeper root growth, which is going to help your trees develop their independence and resistance to drought conditions. When you water, make sure it is a slow process that allows it to seep deeply into the soil. Typically, tree roots are roughly 18-24 inches below the soil surface, which means a complete soaking less often is more beneficial for them retaining more of the water.
Watering at The Right Time
Just like your garden plants, you are going to want to time your watering to either early in the morning or late in the afternoon-early evening. Do not water during mid day, which is the hottest time of the day. Doing this is likely to leas to excessive evaporation and loss of water, making it practically pointless to water since your trees are not getting it. You should also avoid watering in the late evening because this can encourage fungal diseases if foliage is left wet overnight.
Using Soaker Hoses or Drip Irrigation
If you want to properly deliver water to the root zone, the use of drip irrigation or a soaker hose is necessary. These are going to help minimize wasted water and promote efficient absorption.
Adjusting Watering Practices
Soil Type Considerations
The type of soil your tree is in is going to influence how water is retained and drained. For instance, if you have sandy soil, this is going to drain quickly, requiring more frequent watering. Whereas clay soils are able to retain moisture for longer, making it so it will require less frequent watering. Based on the soil on your property, you will have to adjust how frequently you are watering your trees and for how long you need to water each time.
Weather Monitoring
Your watering schedule should be adjusted based on the weather. If it is raining, you obviously do not need to water your trees. If it is hot and dry, you might want to water more frequently.
Tree Response Observations
Keep an eye on how your tree responds to your watering. Look for signs of moisture stress, which can come in the form of wilting leaves, drooping branches, and dry soil. In order to ensure adequate hydration, adjust your watering schedule/practices for how your tree is responding to it.
Pruning
For the health of your trees, pruning in the spring is vital as it promotes structural integrity, better airflow, and overall health. Pruning in the spring is the most ideal window to do so as this is when you can get your trees before they wake up. This can make it easier to identify issues like diseased or dead branches. Not to mention it is the least stressful time to prune your tree. When you follow proper pruning practices, you will be able to enhance the appearance of your tree and reduce the risk of diseases and pest infestation.
Spring Pruning Benefits
Removal of Deadwood
When you remove things like dead, damaged, or diseased branches from your tree, this is going to help improve the appearance of your tree, make it safer, and reduce the risk of infection and decay. Leaving deadwood can attract pests and pathogens, which can compromise the health of your tree and its structural integrity.
Air Circulation Improvement
The 3 main things trees require is water, air, and sun. When you prune the canopy of your tree, this allows for better airflow and lets the sunlight in.
Structure and Shape
You can prune the desired shape of your tree, while helping the structure. This can prevent overcrowding and reduce branch breakage risks during storms.
Techniques for Pruning
What to Prune
The first thing you need to do is identify what branches need to be pruned. This means looking for dead, damaged, diseased, or crossing branches. Put your focus on removing any branches that affect your trees’ overall health and appearance.
Using Proper Tools
You should always be using sharp and sterilized tools when pruning. You can use pruning shears for small branches and loppers or pruning saws for larger branches. Always make clean cuts for rapid healing promotion and to reduce the risk of infection.
Pruning Guideline
Your objective should be to maintain your trees’ natural shape and structure. Do not over prune because this can make your tree stressed and inhibit its growth patterns. Put your focus on removing problem branches.
How Five Star Tree Services Can Help
Both watering and pruning can be a fine art when dealing with trees. Our team at Five Star Tree Services is here to help you! Contact us if you are interested in our Tree Pruning Services in Toronto! Give us a call at (416) 990-3355!