Taking care of the trees on your property includes regular trimming, fertilization, and watering. Here at Five Star Tree Services we offer Tree Care in Toronto as well as the Greater Toronto Area, performing examinations on your tree(s) periodically. This will help prevent disease, infestations, and other common problems that affect them. Before we talk more about how to properly care for your trees, let’s go over the importance of bark.
Outer Tree Bark
Every tree species has a different style of bark, being that some are harder while others may be softer. They tend to differ depending on the environment in which the tree is raised and the common dangers that it usually faces. Regardless of these differences, all bark has the same job. The exterior bark is there to act as the first line of defense against mother nature. It also keeps the tree safe from rain, hail, and harsh wind, as well as being the first layer of protection against animals who like to nibble and various bugs that are harmful to the health of trees. Many bugs have adapted to the outer layer of bark, however, and are able to dig deep to get to the delicious softer layers underneath.
Under The Bark
The layer right under the outside bark is the most important layer of every tree, and it is called the phloem. This layer of the bark collects sugar from photosynthesis and distributes that to every other part of the tree. This is similar to how our cells or veins transport nutrients around our bodies.
Under the phloem layer is the Cambium. This part is very important because it plays a big role in tree growth. The Cambium is tasked with adding new layers to the phloem in addition to adding layers to the xylem. A tree is only as healthy as this layer, to that alone shows just how critical it truly is.
The fourth layer of the tree is called the xylem. This layer is tasked with drawing and gathering nutrients and moisture from the soil. Once these are collected, the xylem transports those to the rest of the tree. If this layer is damaged, it will ultimately die.
The center of a tree is called heartwood, and this is the main support layer of the tree made up of dead cells. While it may seem strange that the middle of the tree contains a dead core, it is the hard heartwood layer that keeps a tree standing tall and strong.
Proper Tree Care With Five Star Tree Services
Taking care of your trees can be both relaxing and informational. If you are interested in learning more about trees or Tree Care in general, we can help. Give the knowledgeable arborists here at Five Star Tree Services a call at (416) 990-3355 to find out more.