Plant Health & Maintenance Tips

 

To Take the Best Care of Your Trees, Contact the Orlando Tree Doctor: Advance Tree Pros

Properly caring for your landscape is not an exceptionally difficult thing to do; however, it does require at least some education. The following are some of the maintenance aspects that Advance Tree Pros, the Orlando Tree Cutting & Removal Experts, employs in order to maintain the overall plant health and also of the landscape.

Anti-Transpirants

Sunny days during the winter can actually be a bad thing. If the sunlight brings the temperature of your foliage above freezing (over 32° F) while the ambient air temperature remains colder than that, conifers may sustain an injury, because the needles’ pores (stomates) open up and water is released from the foliate. As this water is lost to the atmosphere, the tree begins to feel the effects of the loss of this water, since the tree is dormant and not absorbing new water. If this happens enough times, the needles, brances, and even entire plants can die. The use of anti-transpirants can help prevent this injury from happening by preventing the stomates from allowing water to escape.

Chlorosis

If you have oaks, you should be aware of chlorosis, which is a chronic condition that eventually drains the tree of its strength. Other tree species, such as maples and birches can also be victims of this condition.

The Correct Tree for the Right Location

The type of tree you choose can make every difference in the world as far as whether it will thrive or be the source of headaches. In order to choose the correct species, consider the environment it will live in and what sort of aesthetics it will contribute to your overall landscape. A little forethought in choosing the right tree is an investment that can pay off for a lifetime or more.

Dealing With Dead And Dying Ash Trees

If you have ash trees, you need to be aware of the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle that is killing hundreds of thousands of native ash trees. Even though some of these trees will be saved, obviously we have the dilemma of what to do with all the dead and hopelessly dying ash trees. While Advance Tree Pros focuses on keeping trees healthy and maintained, we are now also looking at how to fully utilize the felled trees through an Urban Wood Utilization program.

Decreasing The Potential Spread Of Disease And Insect Infestation

Be sure to remove or destroy tree remnants of trees that have died due to insect infestation or disease. These trunk and branch tissues can continue to harbor whatever the original problem was that ended up killing it, whether they be disease pathogens or boring insects (such as bark beetles).

Girdling Roots

A very common problem found in urban landscapes is the fact that trees are quite often planted too deeply. The rootstock often does not need to be any deeper in the soil than a few inches. When the optimal depth for a tree is exceeded, the tree’s root system may endure extreme stress trying to supply the tree with enough nutrients and water.

Harmful Pruning Practices

When you prune a tree, the effects are permanent. While trees may need to be pruned, it’s important that all pruning be evaluated and justified before doing so. If done wrong, the tree can weaken and eventually die. Pruning should only be done when the action will improve the health of the tree or if it is necessary in order to keep the tree from being a safety hazard.

Injured Roots

The roots of most properly planted trees exist at a relatively shallow depth of fewer than twelve inches (often less than six inches). Because of the shallow depth, it is easy for the root system to be damaged due to soil compaction, drainage issues, lack of water, or accident cutting.

Large Property Mapping and Inventory

It is important to be able to gauge our efforts in taking care of your trees. One of the ways we do so is by creating a landscape inventory, by mapping out the landscaping. With smaller properties, a hand-drawn map is aplenty. But for larger properties, we actually use GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to accurately document each tree and its exact location.

Manganese and Iron Chlorosis

It is very important that the soil pH (the ability of the soil to exchange hydrogen ions for other chemical elements) is monitored and maintained. If the pH levels are off, this directly affects the ability of the tree to receive the nutrition it needs to survive and thrive.

Prescription Organic Matter

Based on 20 years of research, Advance Tree Pros has developed soil modifiers that enhance the roots’ water and nutrient absorption rates. As a tree matures, its nutritional requirements will also change with it. We understand the need to watch this closely in order to keep the tree in its optimum health.

Proper Tree Planting

Proper planting of a tree and the first year of its planting is critical to the tree’s health. The reason most trees have issues can usually be traced back to problems surrounding their planting and first year of growth. If you want a tree to live long enough to be enjoyed by future generations, it’s extremely important that it is properly planted, to begin with.

Pruning Procedures

Pruning research from Dr. Dan Neely of the Illinois Natural History Survey and Dr. Alex Shigo from the U.S. Forest Service has shown that wound healing is the key to successful pruning. Our Arborists are very careful when pruning, to ensure that the impact and stress of pruning the tree are kept to a minimum.

Pruning Standards

Tree pruning is done to remove deadwood or to address structural problems by selectively removing live branches. Pruning is a tree maintenance practice and is necessary to maintain the health and safety of urban trees. An educated decision is needed before removing live branches as it will take away resources from overall tree health.

Reduce Tree Growth Using Cambistat

Everyone loves large trees. They add character and beauty to one’s landscape and can even increase the value of your land. However, it is not always advantageous for a tree to grow to its largest size… it really depends on the needs and looks of your landscape.

Root Enhancement System

Since the root system is the largest part of a tree’s mass and since a tree has no choice but to survive and adapt to the soil that it has been planted in, it is important to enhance this root system as much as possible. Trees in urban settings tend to endure more stress, as becomes evident in their overall appearance.

Shrub Pruning

Shrubs should be pruned regularly, but again, with intention. Shrubs are proved in order to maintain a desired size and appearance (either an artistic or natural appearance). Pruning also helps with the health of the shrubs, encouraging it to flower as well as encouraging regeneration.

Tree Cabling

Sometimes, support cabling needs to be installed in order to prevent certain hazards and to limit branch movement or assist a branch joint in the support of critical weight.

Tree Growth and Tree Health

Believe it or not, a tree can grow TOO much. A tree can only produce so much energy through photosynthesis. This energy is used for important processes such as storing water, defense, and reproduction. If too much energy is diverted toward growth or if the tree grows to a size that it cannot maintain, it won’t be able to recover as readily from stresses such as root damage, pruning, soil compaction, etc.

Tree Nutrition

Every landscape is different, so a “one size fits all” approach to providing nutrients to trees and plants. We prescribe nutrients and a fertilization program based on several factors, such as the plants involved, the soil condition, the climate, and many others in order to ensure that every plant gets the proper and optimum care.

Trees and Drought

Water is the basis of life and energy for trees. It is necessary for photosynthesis as well as root growth and assimilating enough nutrients. As trees grow, they focus on creating a more expansive and productive rootstock, in order to ensure survival during dry periods. Often though, in urban situations, this ability to survive droughts is hindered by the damage of rootstocks, as well as stress. Such damage is often irreparable.

Urban Tree Stress

Did you know that trees don’t live as long in urban environments? In fact, some research has shown that many trees live only for 10 years in challenging downtown settings. Stress affects trees, just as it does people.

Watering Drought Stressed Trees

The climate and our environment is changing at an alarming pace. Because of this, it is very important that trees become more tolerant of periods of drought and low rainfall. The best solution is to water your trees regularly so that they can store up what they need for times of emergency.

Winter Pruning

Wintertime is a good time to evaluate and care for any structural needs your trees may have. Most tree damage can be prevented when it is properly pruned.