816-214-6255

Caring for your trees throughout the hot days of summer is a great way to keep a happy, healthy landscape. From trimming, watering trees to pest inspections, summer is the perfect time to take care of your trees. Follow these six steps to keep your trees and your property looking great.

winterset-grade-a-tree

Mulching

If you didn’t get to mulch your trees this spring, it’s not too late. Mulching trees is an important step as it cuts down on weedy competition, stabilizes soil temperatures, which helps preserve soil moisture. Don’t forget to mulch trees with three to four inches of shredded hardwood mulch. The suitable way of mulching trees would be to form a donut shape around the bottom of the tree; don’t mound mulch from the trunk because it promotes disease and insect problems.

Irrigation

During the warm, dry weather of summer, watering trees could be necessary, especially if your trees are either young or recently planted. Trees need an average of one inch of water per week. When watering trees, even deeper, less-frequent applications of water encourage better root growth than shallow, more-frequent irrigation.

Fertilization

Another step in caring for summer trees is making sure they have ample nourishment to support leaf and shoot development and fend off insects and diseases. Trees growing in high-stress areas, such as urban or suburban environments, often have greater fertilization needs than trees growing in natural areas.

Tree Pest Inspections

Assess trees for pest infestation on a regular basis throughout the summer. While the great majority of insects are not harmful to trees, finding any potential tree pest problems early gives you a leg up on commanding them. Pests like magnolia scale, bagworms, Japanese beetles, aphids, and spider mites are active during the summertime. Grade-A-Tree can help identify these pests and come up with possible solutions.

Pruning

Tree pruning is just as much art as it is science. While the vast majority of tree pruning must occur during the dormant season, there are a couple of instances when summertime tree pruning is essential. To begin with, anytime you will find diseased, dead, or damaged branches present, they should be pruned out to both the health of the tree and security reasons. Second, trees that flower in the spring are best pruned in the first summer, once they finish flowering. This listing comprises magnolias, flowering cherries, and lilacs. And keep in mind, big trees are best pruned by professionals.

Storm Damage Prevention

Use these six tree maintenance tips to keep your trees healthy and growing strong. Summer is the season for thunderstorms and heavy winds. To protect your property from falling tree limbs, give us a call to assess the safety of your large trees. Cabling or muddy trees with feeble limbs, or removing weak limbs altogether, may be necessary.

Regardless of the scope of the project, our experienced professionals are ready to help every step of the way. Grade–A Tree Care is a professional tree management company committed to providing flawless execution of tree care services that enhance the beauty, health and safety of trees. Contact us at 816-799-4468 and we will be happy to help!