Fall - Time To Forget About Your Trees, Right?

The leaves are dropping. Your trees' systems are shutting down. You can forget about the great outdoors until spring. "Not true, says Lou Giroud, ISA Certified Arborist and President of Giroud Tree And Lawn. "In reality, fall is the best time to perform many tree care operations," explains Mr. Giroud. He recommends taking the following actions now to prepare your trees for winter and give them a healthy start in the Spring.

Start with a professional tree inspection
Fall is the perfect time to have your trees inspected by a professional arborist. With the leaves off, your arborist can thoroughly evaluate your trees. Spotting problems early is the main purpose of the inspection. Your arborist will be looking for cracks, decay, excessive deadwood, structural defects and other problems that may require action.

Treat for Fall and some Spring pests now.
There are two categories of pests that require treatment in the fall.

Fall Pests: This fall, the most active pests are Spider Mites, Hemlock Adelgid and Spruce Gall Adelgid. A spray application applied between now and November is the best way to treat these destructive pests

Spring Pests: Did pests attack your trees last Spring? A Merit soil injection in the Fall is the most effective treatment for controlling many Spring pests including Birch Leaf Miner, Lace Bugs and, Aphids. It takes several months for Merit to be absorbed by the root system and distributed to the branches, leaves and buds. When the pests emerge in the Spring, Merit is waiting for them in the leaves and buds that they feed on.

Stop Deer Damage
Trampled flowerbeds...Defoliated trees and plants...Most likely, deer have invaded your property. Spray products are available that can stop deer from munching on your trees and shrubs. To be effective, a deer deterrent should be applied monthly from November through March-the prime months for deer damage. Additionally, the deterrent should be biodegradable, rain resistant and have a smell that is not offensive to humans. Ask your arborist for more information.

Build your tree's energy reserves with fertilizer
Your tree may appear to be dormant. However, its roots continue to grow through the fall and winter. An injection of time-release fertilizer in the fall stimulates root growth, improves root absorption capability and provides vital nutrients throughout the winter to get your tree ready for Spring.

Prune now for health, beauty and safety
Fall is a great time to prune most trees. The risk of spreading disease is reduced and the tree's structure is more visible. A professional should remove deadwood, eliminate crossed branches and establish a healthy growth pattern. Fall is also a good time to elevate lower branches and prune trees away from houses, pools, driveways and walks.

Prevent split trees by installing cables or bolts:
Trees with multiple trunks or bark that has grown into wood at a tree's crotch are prime targets for problems. An arborist should install a cable that is bolted through both limbs to keep the tree from splitting apart. It's essential that your Arborist chooses the right hardware designed to fit the specific problem and uses it in the right way to successfully brace the tree.

Prevent Winter Burn
Cold wind can actually suck the moisture from the leaves and needles on your evergreens. Azaleas, hollies and rhododendron are most susceptible but pines, hemlocks and yews can also be affected. Ask your arborist to apply an antidescicant to protect your evergreens.

Want to plant a new tree?
Your new tree will have a better chance of survival if you plant it in the Fall. Over the winter, the roots of newly planted trees have an opportunity to grow and get established in the soil. By spring and summer, the tree has a better ability to deal with stress from lack of water and heat.

"A final thought for fall, suggests Mr. Giroud, "keep a protective layer of mulch around your trees and don't forget to water newly planted trees until the ground is frozen. "

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Signature Tree Service Commercial

Curtis and his team show how Signature Tree Service are the right choice when if comes to taking care of your trees. See more at www.signaturetreeservice.com

Tree Planting and Care During the Fall

Although it is not typically thought of as such, fall can actually be one of the best seasons for planting trees. Because summer months are drier, sometimes even drought-stricken, newly planted trees often face a hostile environment, unable to take root and thrive. Depending upon the average temperatures and weather and soil conditions for the region in which one lives, this may even be the case for the mid to late spring months. Conversely, the harsh winter months can also be hostile to newly planted trees.

Trees planted during the fall, however, have a great advantage to both these extremes. In fact, timely planting during the fall can prove to be quite beneficial for the successful growth of the tree. By planting during the fall, the climate is typically quite temperate, and the extremes of hot or cold temperatures are no longer an issue. Additionally, with the fall months, the soil tends to better retain moisture, thereby allowing a more nourishing environment for the tree. Planting trees during the fall also allows them the benefit of the winter months for taking root into the surrounding soil and establishing a better chance for viability with the onset of spring.

It is best to start by researching which trees are native to a region. Selecting a species native to a region further ensures the probability of survival. Once a tree has been selected, plant it by first locating the area where the tree is to be planted, carefully considering the average dimensions for the species selected.

Dig a hole as high as, but several times wider than the root ball of the tree. Loosening the soil of the sides of the hole will allow the roots to better establish themselves. However, the bottom of the hole should be left intact to stabilize the tree. If planted correctly, staking the young tree should not be necessary. Generally, staking is only required if there is damage to the lawn or if there are consistently windy conditions.

Remove any containers or, minimally, loosen any burlap (although removing the burlap altogether is best) that may have come on the tree when purchased from the nursery. Then, place the tree into the hole and begin backfilling. Occasionally stomping on the soil will help to remove air pockets.

Backfill approximately two-thirds of the soil originally dug out, then water and allow the soil to settle, continuing to remove any air pockets. Use the remaining one-third of the soil to create a berm (a mound or wall of soil or sand).

Finally, cover the span of the berm all around the base of the trunk with mulch for added support and protection of the young tree.

Once this simple planting process is completed, care of the tree is quite minimal during the fall months and usually includes only watering every other week.

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Owner/Operator Curtis Fosnaugh of Signature Tree Service loading a top of pine tree into load line and pulley with use of a "port-a-wrap". Port-a-wrap is a lowering device that enables one person to control heavy weighted items to the ground. This job took place in Benicia,CA

How Many Trees Can Make a Ton of Paper?

We all know that papers are made from trees and it is common to hear people say save more trees by using less paper. Some people have also heard and it has been circulating in the internet that "a ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees."

However, there is some caution when taking this quote. This first came out about 40 years ago, so with all the changes happening in the world, it may not be exactly true and applicable today. Also, this was computed based on paper used for newspaper printing. Producing this type of paper has a different process when compared to office and printing papers. But this is the closest calculation one can get when it comes to estimating the number of trees saved from cutting by recycled paper or the number of trees used to make virgin paper, regardless of the type of paper is being referred to.

During the recent years, there has been information online that some efforts made by a non-profit organization to somehow update this statistic. Some questions were posed and answers were given to give people an idea about how much paper can be produced with one tree or how many trees can be saved by recycling a particular amount of paper.

The first consideration is determining what kind of paper is being referred to. Paper that is made using a mechanical process or ground wood process are using trees efficiently twice as much as compared to making paper using the kraft or free sheet process.

Some examples of paper using the mechanical process are catalog, newsprint, telephone directories and some low-budget magazines. The free sheet process, on the other hand, produces paper for office, business cards, letterheads, high-quality coated materials and advertising and offset papers. Whether a paper is coated or uncoated also could spell a difference.

So, really, how many tress are needed to produce a ton of paper? In the book Recycled Papers written by Claudia Thompson, she reported an estimate that was calculated by a Pulp and Paper Technology program graduate student, Tom Soder. It was estimated that a rough average of 24 trees can produce one ton of paper for writing and printing. The craft chemical is the process used. This was based on a mixture of soft and hard woods that are about 40 feet high and has 6-8 inches diameter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4234491

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