It’s essential to maintain the trees in your yard, regardless of their number. You might have one maple tree in your front yard or a miniature forest at the back of your property. Nonetheless, you need to care for these gifts from Mother Nature, especially if you want to maintain the beauty of your home’s exterior.
Here are four tips to help you keep the trees in your yard as pristine as possible.
Know Their Specific Needs
Several trees follow similar care principles, such as the need for pruning and watering. But, different trees may require specific maintenance practices.
For example, don’t prune maple trees if they’re too young. Otherwise, you might induce significant sap loss. Also, don’t prune these trees if they’re too old because they might not have the natural components to heal wounds fast enough.
Hence, you should know the ideal time to prune specific foliage in your yard. You’ll know if it’s the right time if you can already see dead or weakened branches. As per TreeMenders.ca, if you don’t remove these branches, they might increase the risk of diseases or pests inside your property. As a result, the lives of your trees and other plants may be endangered. Never underestimate the damage one dead branch can bring to your garden.
Although you need to act quickly, a little research can go a long way before doing anything. Proper care practices for specific trees can help preserve the beauty and life of your trees and other plants in your yard.
Plant the Right Trees
Tree maintenance begins even before you plant the seeds. So, if you find that some trees in your yard aren’t doing well even with correct care techniques, perhaps, it’s because you don’t have the correct variants.
Note that specific trees love to thrive in certain locations. For example, an American holly will grow well in moist, well-draining soil. Also, the earth underneath the said tree should have a pH below 6.5, which tends to be quite common in zones four to nine in the US.
Conversely, the arborvitae, also called the ‘green giant’, is a fast-growing evergreen tree. It can grow well in roughly any soil and will develop into a conical shape. But, this tall tree could be at its peak health when grown in locations within zone three in the US. Also, the arborvitae will thrive if grown on soil pH levels of 6.0 to 8.0.
Remember, prevention will always be better than cure, so ensure that you’re planting the right trees in your yard. In return, it should be relatively easy to maintain the beauty and life of the foliage you planted.
Water Properly
The amount of water a particular tree needs depends on several factors. Think about the weather, soil type, and the tree’s age and species.
But, some guidelines tend to be correct for several plants. For instance, young and newly-planted trees may require more frequent watering than adult or well-established ones. Consider watering your new evergreens between four to ten gallons of water per week. Follow this trend for one or two growing seasons until the foliage matures.
Conversely, mature, well-established trees tend to be more efficient in water consumption than their younger siblings. It’s because established trees tend to only need about an inch of water within the immediate vicinity for them to remain healthy.
Watering may also promote other benefits, and these advantages aren’t only for the plants in your yard. For example, watering plants can become an essential component of horticultural therapy. This activity can help relax the mind, which can be ideal for anxious or stressed individuals.
Fertilize Correctly
Like humans, over- or underfeeding trees can lead to health complications. It might be tempting to pour all the fertilizer from the sack if you think your trees can’t have enough nourishment. Consequently, being overly cautious and not feeding the foliage enough fertilizer can lead to malnutrition.
Remember, maintaining a pristine lawn means giving your trees the correct amount of fertilizer. As a rule of thumb, consider several small applications per year.
Note that humans tend to require more nutrition as they age. However, this notion tends to be the opposite for trees. In other words, fertilizer applications have to be lessened as trees grow older. So, always remember to do proper research for the correct fertilizer applications and ratios for different tree types.
Moreover, you don’t need to remove mulch while you fertilize. Doing so will be a time-consuming effort, which might not be an ideal way to spend a perfectly-good Sunday afternoon. Drop or scatter the fertilizer under the foliage’s drip zone. This area should allow the tree to acquire an optimal amount of nutrients from the scattered feed.
Final Words
Careful planning can help you maintain the beauty and health of the trees in your yard. Understand each of your trees’ specific needs, and you reduce the risk of harming these evergreens. But, consider hiring professionals to help care for your trees, especially if you think the task is too tough to handle using DIY techniques.
