Tree Maintenance

Springtime Tree Checklist: Part 2

As you know, Springtime is on its way.  You will want to make sure you have everything in place and your checklists made to properly ensure your yard and property don’t get neglected.  Here are some simple steps to prepare for when Spring comes around:

3. Clean Up Around Plants.

Rake up fallen leaves and dead foliage (which can smother plants and foster disease), pull up spent annuals, and toss in a wheelbarrow with other organic yard waste. Once the threat of frost has passed, Roger also removes existing mulch to set the stage for a new layer once spring planting is done. Push heaved plants back into flower beds and borders, tamping them down around the base with your foot, or use a shovel to replant them. Now is a good time to spread a pelletized fertilizer tailored to existing plantings on the soil’s surface so that spring rains can carry it to the roots. Add a 5-10-10 fertilizer around bulbs as soon as they flower to maximize bloom time and feed next season’s growth. Use pins to fasten drip irrigation lines that have come loose and a square-head shovel to give beds a clean edge and keep turf grass from growing into them.

4. Compost Yard Waste.

Dump collected leaves, cuttings, spent foliage, and last season’s mulch into your compost pile, or make a simple corral by joining sections of wire fence (available at home centers) into a 3-by-3-by-3-foot cube like the one above. Shred leaves and chip branches larger than ½ inch in diameter to accelerate decomposition, or add a bagged compost starter to the pile. Keep the pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge, and aerate it with a pitchfork every two weeks. Just don’t add any early spring weeds that have gone to seed—they might not cook completely and could sprout instead.

Here at Top Tree LLC, we strive to be the best at what we do.  In order to do that, we ensure that our practices are consistent with optimal tree care, our arborists are properly trained, and our customer service is top notch.  If you are searching for a superior tree service company in the Tri-Cities, we would like to earn your business.

Springtime Tree Checklist: Part 1

Before you know it, Springtime will be here soon.  You will want to make sure you have everything in place and your checklists made to properly ensure your yard and property don’t get neglected.  Here are some simple steps to prepare for when Spring comes around:

1. Prune away dead and damaged branches.

Where tree or shrub branches have been damaged by cold, snow, and wind, prune back to live stems; use a handsaw for any larger than ½ inch in diameter. Shaping hedges with hand pruners, rather than electric shears, prevents a thick outer layer of growth that prohibits sunlight and air from reaching the shrub’s center. At right, Roger neatens up a yew by pruning wayward shoots back to an intersecting branch. Prune summer-flowering shrubs, such as Rose of Sharon, before buds swell, but wait to prune spring bloomers, like forsythia, until after they flower.

Trim overgrown evergreens back to a branch whose direction you want to encourage.

2. Cut back and divide perennials as needed.

Prune flowering perennials to a height of 4–5 inches and ornamental grasses to 2–3 inches to allow new growth to shoot up. Where soil has thawed, dig up perennials, such as daylilies and hostas, to thin crowded beds; divide them, leaving at least three stems per clump, and transplant them to fill in sparse areas. Cut back winter-damaged rose canes to 1 inch below the blackened area. On climbers, keep younger green canes and remove older woody ones; neaten them up by bending the canes horizontally and tipping the buds downward. Use jute twine or gentle Velcro fasteners to hold the canes in place.

Here at Top Tree LLC, we strive to be the best at what we do.  In order to do that, we ensure that our practices are consistent with optimal tree care, our arborists are properly trained, and our customer service is top notch.  If you are searching for a superior tree service company in Pasco, we would like to earn your business.

We Know When To Let You DIY.

Sometimes You Can Do It Yourself.  Sometimes you don’t need a professional tree removal service company.  You might just have a few limbs that need to be trimmed or cut.  The biggest concern is making sure you don’t cut too much off or make cuts that could permanently damage or kill your tree.

Here are some basic tools to use while trimming trees and shrubbery:

Hand Pruners – These are the tools you’ll use the most. Remember the two types of hand pruners: bypass and anvil. Each cuts in a different way and is designed for specific jobs. As a result, you’ll want to own both and know when to use them during different seasons and growth stages.

Loppers – These “grown-up” pruners have longer handles to provide extra reach and leverage for trimming growth as large as 3 inches in diameter. Like hand pruners, loppers are available with bypass or anvil cutting action. You’ll find a variety of sizes available, including designs engineered to multiply your cutting power.

Here at Top Tree LLC, we strive to be the best at what we do.  In order to do that, we ensure that our practices are consistent with optimal tree care, our arborists are properly trained, and our customer service is top notch.  If you are searching for a superior tree service company in Richland, we would like to earn your business.