uttreeadmin

Planting shade trees on your landscaping has many wonderful benefits. Underneath a full-grown shade tree is the perfect location for a backyard barbeque or for children to play outdoors. A shade tree will also keep your home cooler when temperatures rise.

To get all of the benefits of shade trees, you need to plant the right species and care for them correctly.

UT Tree Trimming has recommendations for the best trees to plant for shade, as well as some expert advice on maintaining your shade trees so they grow healthy and strong.

Planting Trees for Shade

Any tree can technically provide shade, but there are some types of trees that are built for the best shade. These trees usually have a thick, wider canopy that reaches out about as far as it does upward.

In the following paragraphs, we’ve provided some examples of shade trees depending on whether they would be best suited for your back or front yard.

Back Yard Shade Trees

Shade trees in the back yard are typically for your own benefit. Next-door neighbors and passersby probably won’t be able to see these trees , so they can be purely for shade and enjoyment.

In addition to shade, these trees can provide year-round color and some additional privacy from neighbors.

Here are popular options:

• Magnolia
• Sugar maple or silver maple
• Weeping willow
• Weeping cherry
• Red oak

If you have enough space, a live oak is another beautiful choice. Live oaks are said to be the fastest growing shade trees, and are able to get very big. An older live oak can grow up to 80 feet tall and up to 100 feet wide.

Most of these back yard shade tree suggestions get pretty big, so you need to do some research to determine if the tree is going to have enough space to reach maturity.

If there is not enough space, its root system can destroy your fencing or even your home. You will also have to prune the tree every year to keep it manageable. A tree that grows too large for its location will most likely have to be removed, which is an unfortunate and sometimes costly situation.

Front Yard Shade Trees

In the front yard of your home, you are planting trees for your enjoyment as well, but they will be much more beneficial for adding curb appeal and value to your home than the back yard trees.

Purchase shade trees for the front yard that are a little smaller so they don’t overshadow your home and landscaping. These trees should pair with your landscaping in color and size, while still offering lots of shade for front yard relaxation and play.

These are some of our favorites:

Red maple
River birch
Dogwood
White oak
Ginkgo tree

These types of trees are beautiful throughout the year, and they’ll display even more color in the fall months.
Another excellent choice for your front or side yard is the ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae. This hedge-like tree can be planted in a long row with others to provide privacy as well as shade.

With options in mind, we recommend that you plant trees you like. In reality, any type of tree can grow to become a “shade tree.” Assuming the trees you choose are suitable for the climate in Utah, they will provide your yard and home with some shade.

Benefits of Planting Shade Trees

The benefits of having shade n your yard are numerous — and there are some that you probably wouldn’t typically think about.

Shade, Obviously – When temperatures get too hot, you don’t have to run indoors if you have a comfortable, shady yard. Set up a chair or hammock below your biggest shade tree and relax outside as long as you like.

Climate Control – Trees can help control the temperature in your yard and inside your home. Not only will trees protect you from hot sun, but they can make it feel 10-15 degrees colder under their protective canopies. This results in less solar radiation on your home as well, which could result in lowering your energy costs!

Better Air Quality – Trees produce oxygen and filter out pollutants, so there is healthier air surrounding your home. Arbor Day Foundation research states that one mature tree absorbs around 48 pounds of CO2 from the air.

Safety for Animals – If you’re into bird watching or think squirrels and chipmunks are cute, your trees can provide them all they will need to build a shelter, find nearby food and raise babies.

Fun – What child doesn’t love a backyard tree fort or tire swing? If you have small children, shade trees will offer hours of fun and countless memories.

How to Care for Shade Trees

Maintaining shade trees is pretty simple as long as you’ve chosen the right species for the weather in Utah. Healthy trees are strong and durable after the first few years, requiring little attention or maintenance.

Consult a certified arborist from UT Tree Trimming if you have any questions about how to care for your trees, or to help you determine the best tree for your home.

Once you have chosen the perfect shade tree(s), follow this easy care guide until your shade tree is fully grown.

Planting Your Shade Tree

The south, west and east of your property always get the most sun, so plant your new trees on one of these sides of your yard. This is two-fold: 1) the trees will provide the most amount of shade and 2) they will also receive the most amount of sun to grow healthy.

Trimming Your Shade Tree

Trim during the first year or two after you first plant the tree to help to shape it and help it form a strong foundation. To be safe, and for the best results, call UT Tree Trimming for tree trimming in Utah. A certified arborist will arrive at your home and deliver professional care for the tree.

Watering Your Shade Tree

Watering a new tree is very important. This helps them form a deep root system and will give the tree more stability over the course of its lifetime.

Fertilizing Your Shade Tree

Homeowners should fertilize a shade tree just like you would any other type of tree in order to support healthy growth. Fertilizer is not necessary, but it can help your tree to grow faster and blossom more leaves, which are the source of your shade.

We hope this information was helpful! Remember, when it comes time to trim or prune a new shade tree, UT Tree Trimming can help! Call and a certified arborist in Utah will visit your home, assess the tree and formulate the proper maintenance plan for its long-term growth and health.

Tree pruning is best left to the pros. It’s a dangerous job, climbing trees, using chainsaws and lowering heavy tree limbs to the ground; and it can also be dangerous for the tree as well. Trees that are improperly pruned can experience a lifetime of issues.

Rather than putting yourself in harm’s way and the tree at risk, find an arborist who is knowledgeable and experienced to do it for you.

This will result in much stronger trees and a safer environment surrounding your landscaping for many reasons:

• Healthy trees are sturdier and not as likely to cause damage during storms
• Cared for trees won’t attract or spread parasites and diseases
• Pruned trees grow more flowers or fruit
• Pruned trees create shade and allow air to flow throughout their canopies and your property

UT Tree Trimming highly recommends trimming trees that are near your home or all that are a focus of your landscape.

Is Tree Trimming Necessary?

It is not required. But it is important. Trees are very resilient and can survive on their own across the world, in a variety of different climates and locations, without trimming.

That said, there are many benefits of tree trimming, so it’s highly recommended for any trees that you care about. This includes sentimental trees, fruit trees and blossoming trees or trees that perform an important service for your house, such as shade or home to wildlife.

Tree Trimming Gone Wrong

Pruning a tree is a complicated task. You need the right tools and a lot of knowledge to guarantee the project is done right. The majority of homeowners don’t have either of these!

But that’s OK, because there are plenty of services available who know how to properly trim trees for an affordable cost to you including all of the certified arborists in Utah we work with!

Here are the 5 most common mistakes homeowners make when they attempt DIY tree pruning that can lead to several tree problems. These are things that a certified arborist from UT Tree Trimming will know, and that’s the reason why their services are worth paying for!

Trimming Too Much

When done the right way, tree pruning is a never-ending process. Beginning when your trees are just 2 or 3 years old, they should be care for by an arborist if you value them and desire to keep them strong and healthy.

A huge mistake people often make when pruning trees themselves is cutting too much of the tree at a time. This occurs because they let the tree’s growth get out of control and try to correct it all immediately. Ideally, you should only cut off 5-20% of the tree’s crown at a once. It is easier to do this during a time of year that there are no leaves, but an experienced arborist will be able to properly prune trees any time of year.

Removing Bark from the Tree

After you cut a tree limb and gravity starts pulling it down, it can rip bark from the tree trunk right along with it. This exposes the tree’s inner layers, putting the tree in danger of contracting diseases and making it easier for insects to scurry their way in.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, an arborist will make special cuts underneath big branches before making their actual removal cut. Knowing how to place these small cuts takes pressure off the branch collar and reduces the stress at the exact point of the main cut so the branch doesn’t tear.

Pruning in the Wrong Place

A trained arborist knows where to trim each limb to protect against damage. This cut should occur just beyond the branch collar, the specific place where the branch connects to the trunk.

Trimming too close to the branch collar exposes the tree to insects, decay and mildew. Cutting too far away from it leaves an unsightly stump when the tree recovers. Most DIY tree trimming leads to an improper cut, leaving either structural or aesthetic issues.

Trimming Large Branches

Branches larger than 4 inches in diameter really shouldn’t be trimmed unless it is necessary. Cutting off a branch of this size can lead to imbalance in the tree and expose it to pests and rodents and rot as the tree recovers from losing such a large branch.

Conservative trimming once each year ensures that your tree trimmer only has to remove branches that are 2-3 inches in diameter, which produces a more attractive shape for the tree and less chance of hurting the tree or exposing it to disease and insects.

Topping the Tree

Tree topping is an outdated type of pruning, and for good reason! In this service, tree trimmers would cut the top off of the tree to get the desired height. It was neither attractive nor was it beneficial for the tree, so the majority of tree care companies do not practice tree topping currently.

During DIY tree pruning, you may think this is a good way to lower the height of your tree with just a single cut, but once you have cut off the top of a tree, there’s almost no chance it will ever regain a natural shape.

The Solution? Call UT Tree Trimming

Let’s face it. Your tree may never recover from poor pruning.

Performing this project yourself might seem like a way to save money, but you could end up with way more cost trying to revive damaged trees, so it’s a lot safer (and more economical in the long run) to hire a certified arborist in Utah from UT Tree Trimming.

Limbs don’t grow back. The tree will grow more, but it will not grow back in the same places, which can lead results in strange shapes that might require years to correct. The tree might end up looking bad for the rest of its life, all because of a single trimming mistake.

Bad pruning could also result in death of the tree. Cutting off too many limbs (and, therefore, leaves) can inhibit the tree’s photosynthesis process, meaning it won’t get all of the water it needs or enough carbon dioxide and sunlight to continue growing.

Cutting too many branches can also send the tree into a state of shock. Shock isn’t necessarily permanent, but it takes a great deal of patience and care. Even with the right maintenance, a tree undergoing shock may still die.

Avoid all of these tree pruning mistakes and call UT Tree Trimming to speak with a tree care specialist in Utah able to devise a long-term plan to ensure your tree continues to blossom and look beautiful for years to come!

Trees are living organisms, so that means that they can get “sick” like humans and animals. A disease or other tree issue may take a while to show appear because of the sheer size of the tree, and once you see a symptom, it could be too late to revive the tree.

A certified arborist from UT Tree Trimming can help you identify and treat tree issues so that there is a much greater chance of saving the tree. Learn about our service here. Not only can an arborist prevent a tree from dying, but they can also help trees get healthier growth and more flowers or fruit with professional tree pruning.

Have you ever noticed a tree on your lawn that has always seemed OK but all of the sudden looks like something is wrong? In the next blog post, we’ll explain some of the most common tree problems and diseases and what these symptoms mean for a tree.

If you see any of these things on any of your trees, act fast to have the best chance of saving the tree and the ones around it.

Tree Diseases & Common Problems

These 7 things are the most typical problems addressed by certified arborists in Utah. The moment you think one of these things might be wrong with your tree, call someone with the knowledge and equipment to help!

Tree Diseases

Leaf Rust – Leaf rust is a fungus that is very common in both plants and trees. The name originates from the yellow and brown spots this disease produces on the leaves.

Leaf rust is a problem because it inhibits the leaves’ photosynthesis, the process by which it breathes. Leaf rust can be tended to with fungicides and selective trimming of the diseased leaves. It may be recommended to cut off whole branches with leaf rust.

Witches’ Broom – This common tree disease creates a large clump of twigs, dead leaves and branches that form a a broom shape. It is caused by pests, unusually wet weather or fungus. The formation of a clump of twigs and leaves is the tree’s reaction to infection or harm.

Some instances of Witches’ Broom are deadly for the tree, while others are simply considered a growth malformation. A tree care professional can diagnose the problem.

Mildew – Mildew is a fungus that grows on just about anything in wet conditions, but even after the moist conditions are gone, mildew can persist and thrive. Mildew usually appears as a powdery texture, typically white, and it usually appears on the leaves of the tree first.

The the best method for eliminating mildew is to use a fungicide that contains sulfur. This will treat the current mildew and prevent future mildew growth on the tree. You might also need to prune the tree to remove branches, fruit, flowers and leaves that have been affected by the mildew

Gall – Gall is a tree condition that occurs when pests or rodents build small nests on the leaves or branches of a tree to leave their eggs in. Most types of galls are not harmful to the tree, but none of them are attractive.

Gall appears as as bumps on the tree, in a range of sizes. They are often white, brown, gray or some color in between.

It is not necessary to treat the tree for galls, but they can limit the growth of new trees. Treat galls by killing the insects. You should also clean out from under the tree when the leaves fall off, because this is where the pests live during winter months.

Other Tree Problems

Incorrect Pruning – There’s an art to tree trimming, as well as many types, and if you aren’t sure what to do, you could damage the tree past the point of recovery. Consider the type of tree, season and other factors. Under-pruning (or not pruning at all) is just as big of a problem. Only a trained arborist should be trusted to prune trees in order to keep them healthy.

Lack of Water – Young trees can be severely impacted by drought. If you plant new trees, you will need to supplement the amount of water they get from rainfall. A tree that doesn’t get enough water can have its growth inhibited. The first sign you are likely to see is scorched, dry leaves. Find more tips for new trees here.

Too Much Sun – Do your planning before planting trees in a full-sun area. Most types of trees can handle it just fine, but too much sun can become a problem for any tree if the sun is too hot for a long period of time and rainfall is light. A tree that is getting a lot of sun needs extra water to fight against wilting, drooping leaves.

Certified Arborist Services in Utah

An experienced arborist from UT Tree Trimming will be able to quickly identify what’s happening with your sick tree and formulate a plan to save it if at all possible.

Here is what an arborist is trained to do:

• Review trees from below and from the limbs of the tree if possible. Getting into the canopy is often necessary to understand exactly what is creating the symptoms.
• Treat your tree with additives and fertilizers in the soil or solutions sprayed on the leaves. This person will have expert knowledge about the disease impacting the tree and the best treatments for it.
• Trim tree limbs to get rid of dead or damaged branches and to encourage healthy growth. Even if heavy trimming is needed, they will know how to remove branches so that the tree can survive both the disease and the trimming process.
• Remove the tree from your property if nothing can be done to save it. The worst case scenario is that the tree is dying, and cutting it down is the best way to protect your home and surrounding landscape.

They can also educate you about the other trees that you have om your property and how to best maintain them so you don’t return to the same situation in the future.

Some tree issues look similar to each other, requiring an expert opinion to correctly identify and treat the problem. If your trees are looking dry, unhealthy or disfigured, call a certified arborist from UT Tree Trimming for an inspection before it’s too late for your tree.

When it comes to the question, “Which season is best for tree trimming?” The answer will likely be indirect.

Tree type will determine when many species can be trimmed, along with insect population and activity, local tree and plant diseases and other types of plants and trees nearby.

With the guidance of a certified arborist in Utah, you will be able to figure out what season is ideal for trimming your trees to prepare them for success next season and beyond.

Best Season to Trim Trees

Without any other information, UT Tree Trimming recommends tree trimming in the winter. This ranges from November to March in Utah. This season is optimal because the trees are usually dormant, so pruning will lead to the least amount of harm, if any.

There are a lot of benefits to trimming trees during the winter:

Less chance of insect damage and disease – Insects and plant diseases are usually inactive in the winter. Throughout the rest of the year, anything from insects to fungus can affect a newly trimmed tree because the tree is most susceptible and these issues thrive during warmer weather.

Easier to determine the shape of the tree when there are no leaves – Leaves prevent your arborist from seeing the overall shape of the tree. When the tree branches are bare, it is much easier to see diseased or dead branches and branches that are touching versus those that are just close together.

Trees can heal before spring – By doing this significant pruning in the winter, your trees have many months to build up callus tissue on the tips of the remaining branch collar. By the spring, you’ll barely be able to tell where the branches were cut off, and the tree will be able to focus its energy to produce new, healthier leaves, fruit or flowers instead of healing new cuts.

Less chance of harming surrounding landscaping – Most of the nearby trees and greenery will also be dormant during this time, so there is a lower risk of damaging them. Most of the time, a tree is surrounded by annual plants in the warmer seasons, but there are no plants to be disturbed during the winter since these annuals have already died out.

Do All Trees Need Pruning?

Yes, all trees benefit from pruning. Tree trimming in the winter is good for trees, but it is also a precaution for the safety of your landscaping and your family and neighbors. Let us explain:

Pruning Makes the Tree Healthier

Dying and diseased branches are cut off, as are stubs that are prone to pests and disease. Limbs that can rub each other are also pruned so they don’t weaken one another or cause an open wound on the tree.

Pruning trees each winter is also a great way to get expert eyes on your trees so that early signs of decay, disease and pest infestations can be spotted and handled right away.

A Well-Maintained Tree Serves Its Purpose Better

When a tree becomes overgrown, it’s hard for water and nutrients to reach every limb. This can leave the tree looking weak and sick and definitely not doing what it’s intended to do.

Pruned trees, on the other hand, blossom more fruit, healthier leaves and offer better shade. They are fuller and healthier and less likely to create landscaping issues. So regardless of why you planted a new tree, pruning each winter will maximize the results you want from it.

Trees are More Beautiful After Pruning

If the view of your yard or landscaping is important to you, tree trimming is a necessity! Trimming trees gives them an attractive, uniform size and shape. This is especially important if you have several similar trees on your property.

Trimming lower branches and upper branches that grow at awkward angles improves the overall beauty of the tree while also promoting tree health.

Less Chance of Falling Branches

Tree pruning – from an arborist – encourages the remaining tree branches to grow stronger and healthier. Therefore, storms and other inclement weather in Utah won’t affect your trees the same way they would an unkempt tree. Your home and family will be safer living under and around pruned trees.

Another safety issue for overgrown trees is that they impede the view of traffic lights, road signs and driveways. Tree trimming, crown raising and other specialized tree care services will keep the tree at a good size and stop it from blocking various views.

Call UT Tree Trimming for Tree Pruning

Hiring a certified arborist in Utah gives you access to their knowledge on tree trimming. We recommend relying on their expertise if there are trees on that you’d like to keep healthy for a long time.

An arborist won’t just look at the current situation. Instead, an experienced arborist will take the time to research your trees and study their unique scenario (including their location and factors that may put them at risk of disease or infestation). After collecting all the information, an arborist will suggest a long-term plan based on your trees’ unique needs and stick to that course of action until your goals for your trees are met.

This plan could require many years to implement, but rest assured, it will lead to healthy trees that you and your family can enjoy for many years to come.

This kind of ongoing maintenance will promote healthy tree growth, help your landscaping fight off plant diseases and increase flower or fruit production from trees. It will also fortify your trees so there is less risk of falling trees or limbs.

Being proactive about tree care can save you a lot of money over time too. Preventative maintenance is much more cost-effective than the cost of emergency tree services, storm damage restoration or restoring an ill tree of a disease that has gotten out of hand (and one that was easily preventable).

If you care about the health of your trees and the beauty of your landscaping, trust a certified arborist for tree pruning and maintenance from UT Tree Trimming. Discover our service area here. We work with arborists across the entire state of Utah. Call today!

Tree pruning in Utah is an important professional service that can beautify and reinforce your trees so they can fight off pests, diseases and severe weather – and look wonderful while doing it!

Pruning has to be completed if you want a healthy tree, but it needs to be done properly by someone who knows what they’re doing. Like a certified arborist from UT Tree Trimming. Homeowners may be able to prune trees safely while they are small and growing, but you also may do permanent harm to the tree in the process.

To correctly prune trees, you need to know all of the following:

• When is the best time to prune your species of trees
• How much of the tree should be pruned at a time
• Where to cut the branches so you do not damage the tree

Taking too much from a tree could kill it or lead to structural damage, but minimal trimming done each year benefits trees in a lot of ways. Pruning improves the appearance of trees, makes them healthier, removes dying or diseased branches and expedites fruit or flower production.

Ideally, pruning needs to be done each year, but as trees get older, you may be able to wait two years between pruning services. Regardless of how routinely you have your trees trimmed, ensure your arborist is qualified to do the type of tree pruning your trees need. This won’t be an issue if you call UT Tree Trimming in Utah!

Types of Tree Pruning Methods

There are 7 different ways to correctly prune a tree so that it grows healthier and stronger year after year.

Depending on the shape, type and health status of your trees, one pruning method might be more effective than another, but each technique has distinct benefits.

Crown Thinning Your Trees

Crown thinning is typical for larger, overgrown trees in Utah. This process eliminates weak branches within the crown of the tree to allow more light and air flow within the crown. Air flow is important to help prevent disease.

This pruning technique also gets rid of branches that are touching so they no longer rub up against each other and break or create weakened areas that can be an access point for pests. Limbs that grow at odd angles are almost always removed during crown thinning.

Crown Raising Your Trees

This tree trimming method removes branches and limbs at the lowest part of the crown so new limbs start higher up on the trunk of the tree. Allowing low branches to get too big makes them hard to remove, and they can draw nutrients away from the top of the tree, resulting in less fruit and a weak tree.

There are several reasons you may decide to raise the crown of a tree. Often, it is done to clear the line of sight for automobiles and pedestrians, but it can be done to free up space for landscaping under the tree.

It is a very common technique for overgrown trees that are too close to homes and other buildings.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction lowers the overall size of the tree’s crown from its outer edge. It shortens limbs horizontally and vertically to keep the tree at a certain size. By lowering the size of the crown, you can eliminate the need to chop the tree down because it won’t come into contact with traffic lights, power lines or street lights.

Even if the tree isn’t near structures like those listed above, crown reduction can make the tree look much better because it eliminates irregular growth. This is a smart idea for trees that are various ages but you want to look consistent.

Crown Cleaning

Also known as deadwood pruning, crown cleaning is a minimally invasive type of trimming technique that removes dead, snapped or diseased limbs so that the rest of the tree may grow normally. These limbs can only create issues over time.

Crown cleaning helps to make the tree look much better, and it stops limbs from rubbing together. It is also a safety practice that reduces the chance of branches falling, because healthy branches rarely fall.

Crown Restoration

Crown restoration is an advanced pruning method for trees that were significantly damaged (either by pests or weather). It should only be attempted by an experienced arborist who knows how the tree is likely to grow in the future and how long it’s restoration is going to take.

Unlike most other tree trimming services, crown restoration happens during an extended time period with conservative pruning that reshapes the tree. The arborist must have a plan to restore the tree, but also must be flexible as the tree grows and reshapes on its own, working with the tree’s new growth.

Vista Pruning

If you want trees to add to curb appeal, you are actually interested in vista pruning. The purpose of vista pruning is to help to make the tree more visually pleasing from a particular viewing point.

It consists of many pruning techniques including crown thinning, crown reduction and crown cleaning – any technique that helps the trees look more attractive. Remember, though, that an arborist will never jeopardize the health of a tree, so the primary focus of vista pruning is still to create strong, healthy trees.

Espalier Pruning

Espaliered trees are heavily pruned to grow flat up against walls or a trellis. It is a unique style of tree trimming that is sure to attract a lot of attention to your yard. Espalier pruning should be started when the tree is very young and then continued very consistently during the tree’s life span.

Some of the benefits of espalier pruning include allowing maximum sunlight to reach the trees, as well as making it exceptionally easier to harvest fruit.

Professional Tree Pruning in Utah

Tree trimming can be dangerous for a tree, your landscaping, and, of course, for you! UT Tree Trimming highly suggests professional tree trimming over DIY.

Besides the many dangers of tree trimming, you can do a lot of harm to a tree if you don’t know how to trim it properly. Excessive pruning is one of the most typical mistakes made by homeowners caring for their own trees.

Trees in Utah that get annual care from a professionals are much better off, and hiring a certified arborist from UT Tree Trimming to prune trees on your property is a decision you won’t regret. Locate your city in our service area. We work with arborists throughout the entire state of Utah!

Planting a tree on your property has several benefits. Trees create summer shade, filter polluted air and increase property value. Everyone should plant trees.

Once full-grown, trees are very easy to care for: another benefit! Trees are durable and tend to continue growing despite minimal care. However, if you want to see your trees reach their full potential, they need a little more effort.

Lack of care for young trees could result in rotting, disease, under watering or pest problems.

Fortunately, caring for trees isn’t too complicated, but you do need some tips to do it correctly. Familiarize yourself with the new trees you plant in order to know what they need. Then care for them and watch them bloom.

Below, we’ll describe the five best tips for planting a new tree and seeing it thrive. You probably are familiar with the basics, so we’ll dive deeper and lay out how to perform each step.

Tree Care Tips for New Trees

These tips will not only keep trees alive, they’ll help them grow much faster, resist extreme gusts of wind, fight off diseases ,insects and pests and create more leaves, flowers or fruit.

Water Your Tree

New trees need a lot more water than well-established ones. The trees you plant on your land are no exception.

The root of the tree and the soil all around it have to be kept moist, but don’t let it get soaked, as this can cause some of the roots to rot.

The best practice is 4-10 gallons of water every week. Rain water also counts, and although it’s difficult to get an exact reading, a rain gauge can get you close enough to add the rest. Your trees will need this much water every week for the initial 2-3 growing seasons.

Mulch Around Your Trees

Mulch is much more than an attractive landscaping product. It actually helps protect new trees, especially the roots underground. But laying mulch incorrectly can lead to rotting and decay – so much so, in fact, that the new tree will not survive.

Place mulch 3 inches away from the tree trunk and spread it around to cover the ground underneath the longest limb. For new trees, this isn’t going to be very far, but as the tree continues to grow, your mulch area will also grow as well.

Keep the mulch at least 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas. Be vigilant in spreading it out consistently and away from the tree trunk so it does not limit air flow around the tree trunk.

Fertilize Around Your Tree

Fertilizer provides the nutrients that your land’s soil may not naturally have. Most new trees will benefit from fertilizing, but you have to be using the correct products and doing it at the right time in order for fertilizer to be most beneficial.

The ideal time to fertilize is during early spring. Sometimes early summer provides good conditions (mild temperatures and wet soil), but don’t count on it.

If you aren’t sure about which type of fertilizer to use, speak to a tree care professional for recommendations. Slow-release fertilizers are typically a good idea because they feed trees over time rather than all at once.

Follow through with these tasks in the initial growing seasons after planting a new tree, and then reevaluate your watering, mulching and fertilizing as the tree becomes more established. As seasons go on, there will be additional tree care tasks that become more important for new trees.

Prune Your Tree

Tree trimming is very important – yet very tricky – in the first years after you plant a tree. As the tree grows bigger, you may see many small branches take off, competing to become the tree’s trunk. While you may think this shows that the tree is healthy and that it is growing well, it can actually lead to a weak tree in the future.

Early trimming helps to shape the tree into what it is going to look like when it becomes much larger. As small branches emerge on the lower trunk, they need to be cut off so they don’t suck water and nutrients from the upper branches.

As long as you have trees on your land, they need to be trimmed periodically. When the trees get too large for you to trim them safely, you can trust UT Tree Trimming to do the job for you.

Monitor Your Tree

Growing trees are at the most risk for damage, disease and pest issues. But you’re never 100% safe from these issues. As your tree grows larger, monitor it closely for signs of disease or bad nutrition, including the following:

• Leaf color change out of season, with leaves turning yellow or brown
• Premature leaf falling, regardless of whether leaves look healthy or diseased
• Wilting, regardless of adequate watering
• Single limbs or branches dying
• Bark peeling off

These signals indicate a health problem. The tree is probably going to require professional maintenance if your goal is to keep the tree alive. An experienced arborist can typically diagnose the problem by just looking at your tree, although they will perform testing if necessary.

If you identify the problem quick enough, you will likely be able to save the tree. Being proactive is the best way to protect your growing trees.

The steps above are simple but effective. Don’t underestimate the value of the basics! When new trees have proper care, combined with sunshine and barring any severe, damaging weather, the chances are in your favor that the tree will survive and will look wonderful!

Of course, you might already have a full schedule and don’t really want to take on these additional tasks. In some cases, property owners don’t have the physical ability to give their growing trees the appropriate care.

No matter the situation, it’s a good idea to contact a tree service for caring for new trees. A professional arborist in Utah can consult with you about the course of maintenance for each type of tree you plant on your land. They enjoy sharing their knowledge and skills with homeowners planting brand new trees, and they can make the difference between trees struggling and trees thriving.

Call UT Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree care in Utah – including tree trimming – for newer trees and old trees. A local tree service can determine the best plan for your trees! Locate your city in our service area here.