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Planting shade trees in your yard has many wonderful benefits. Underneath a big shade tree is the perfect place for a backyard barbeque or for kids to play outdoors. A shade tree will also keep your home cooler when temperatures rise.

To get all of the benefits of shade trees, you need to plant the correct species of tree and care for them properly.

DE Tree Trimming has recommendations for the best trees to plant for shade, and some expert advice on caring for your shade trees so they continue to grow healthy and strong.

Planting Trees for Shade

All trees can provide shade, but there are some types of trees that are built for optimal shade. These trees often have a thick, wider canopy that reaches out about as far as it does upward.

Below, we’ve provided examples of shade trees depending on whether they would be best planted in your front or back yard.

Back Yard Shade Trees

Shade trees in the back yard are primarily for your own benefit. Next-door neighbors and passersby usually won’t be able to see these trees very much, so they can be purely for your enjoyment.

In addition to shade, these trees can provide year-round color and some extra privacy.

Here are a few popular options:

• Magnolia
• Sugar maple or silver maple
• Weeping willow
• Weeping cherry
• Red oak

If you have enough space, a live oak is another fantastic choice. Live oaks are considered the fastest growing shade trees, and are able to get very large. An older live oak is able to reach up to 80 feet tall and as much as 100 feet wide.

Many of these back yard shade tree suggestions get very large, so you need to do a little research to find out if the tree will have enough space to grow to its full potential.

If there is not enough room, its root system can destroy your fencing or home. You will also have to prune the tree every year to keep it manageable. A tree that grows too large for its location will most likely have to be cut down, which is an unfortunate and sometimes costly situation.

Front Yard Shade Trees

In the front yard of your home, you are planting trees for your enjoyment as well, but they will be a lot more beneficial for increasing value and curb appeal to your home since they can be seen.

Purchase shade trees for the front yard that are somewhat smaller so they don’t overpower your home and landscaping. These trees should complement your landscaping in color and size, while still creating plenty of shade for front yard play and relaxation.

These are some of the shade trees DE Tree Trimming recommends:

Red maple
River birch
Dogwood
White oak
Ginkgo tree

These trees are colorful throughout the year, and they’ll showcase even more color in the fall months.
Another excellent choice for your front or side yard is the ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae. This hedge-like tree can be planted in a long row to provide privacy and shade.

With options in mind, we encourage you to plant what you like. In reality, any type of tree can grow to become a “shade tree.” As long as the trees you choose are suitable for the climate in Delaware, they will provide your yard and home with shade.

Benefits of Planting Shade Trees

The reasons to have shade on your property are numerous — there are some that you probably don’t typically think about.

Shade, Obviously – When temperatures get very warm, you won’t need to run indoors if you have a comfortable, shady yard. Put a chair or hammock below your best shade tree and relax outside as long as you want.

Climate Control – Trees can help regulate the temperature in your yard and inside your home. Not only do trees protect you from the hot sun, but they can also make it feel 10-15 degrees colder below their protective canopies. This translates to less solar radiation on your home as well, which might result in lower energy costs!

Better Air Quality – Trees produce oxygen and remove pollutants from the air, so there is cleaner air around your house. Arbor Day Foundation research reports that one mature tree absorbs around 48 pounds of CO2 from the air.

Safety for Animals – If you’re into bird watching or think chipmunks are cute, your shade trees can provide them all they need to build a habitat, find food and raise babies.

Fun – What kid doesn’t love a backyard tree house or tire swing? If you have children, shade trees will offer hours of fun and countless memories.

How to Care for Shade Trees

Maintaining shade trees is pretty simple as long as you’ve planted the right species for the weather in Delaware. Healthy trees are strong and hardy after a couple of years, demanding little attention or care.

Consult an arborist from DE Tree Trimming if you have any questions about how to care for your shade trees, or to help you select the perfect tree for your yard.

Once you have decided on the perfect shade tree(s), follow this simple care guide until your shade tree is well established.

Planting Your Shade Tree

The east, west and south sides of your property get the most sun, so plant your new trees on one of these areas of your yard. This is two-fold: 1) the trees will then provide the ideal amount of shade and 2) they will also receive the maximum amount of sun for healthy growth.

Pruning Your Shade Tree

Prune during the first year or two after you first plant the tree in order to shape it and help it form a strong structure. To be safe, and for the best results, call DE Tree Trimming for tree trimming in Delaware. A certified arborist will arrive at your home and deliver professional care for the tree.

Watering Your Shade Tree

Watering a new tree is crucial. This will help them form a deep and strong root system and will give the tree stability over the course of its lifetime.

Fertilizing Your Shade Tree

Fertilize a shade tree just like you would any other type of tree in order to promote growth. Fertilizer is not necessary, but it can assist in helping your tree to grow faster and produce more leaves, which are the primary source of your shade.

We hope this blog post was helpful! Remember, when it is time to prune or trim a new shade tree, DE Tree Trimming can help! Call us and a certified arborist in Delaware will visit your property, examine the tree and determine the proper maintenance plan for its long-term growth and health.

Tree pruning is best left to the pros. It’s a dangerous job, climbing trees, wielding chainsaws and dropping heavy tree limbs to the ground; and it can also be dangerous for the tree too. Trees that aren’t pruned correctly can suffer from a lifetime of issues.

Instead of putting yourself in harm’s way and putting the tree at risk, enlist an arborist who is knowledgeable and experienced to do it for you.

This will result in much healthier trees and a safer environment near your home for several reasons:

• Healthy trees are stronger and not as likely to cause damage during storms
• Maintained trees won’t attract or spread parasites and diseases
• Trimmed trees produce more flowers or fruit
• Pruned trees create shade and allow air to flow throughout their canopies and your landscaping

DE Tree Trimming highly recommends pruning trees that are near your house or any that are a focus of your landscape.

Is Tree Trimming Necessary?

It is not necessary. But it is important. Trees are very resilient and can survive on their own all over the world, in various different climates and locations, without being trimmed.

That said, there are a lot of benefits of tree trimming, so it’s definitely recommended for any trees that you care about. This can include sentimental trees, fruit trees and flowering trees or trees that offer an important job for your house, such as shade or wildlife habitat.

Tree Pruning Gone Wrong

Pruning a tree is a difficult project. You are going to need the right equipment and a lot of information to guarantee the job is done right. The vast majority of homeowners don’t have either of these!

But that’s OK, because there are a lot of services available who know how to correctly trim trees for an affordable price to you including all of the certified arborists in Delaware we team up with!

Below are the 5 mistakes people make when they attempt DIY tree trimming that can lead to many tree problems. These are things that an experienced arborist from DE Tree Trimming will know, and that’s the reason why their services are worth paying for!

Pruning Too Much

When done the right way, tree trimming is an ongoing process. Beginning when your trees are only 2 or 3 years old, they should be trimmed by an expert if you value them and intend to keep them strong and healthy.

A huge mistake people often make when pruning trees by themselves is cutting too much of the tree at a time. This happens because they let the tree’s growth get out of control and try to fix it all immediately. Ideally, you should only cut off 5-20% of the tree’s crown at the final removal cut. It is a lot easier to do this during a season that there are no leaves, but an experienced arborist is able to properly prune trees any time of year.

Trimming in the Wrong Place

A trained tree specialist knows exactly where to cut each limb to protect against damage. This cut should be made just beyond the branch collar, the exact place where the branch connects to the trunk.

Trimming too close to the branch collar exposes the tree to decay, mildew and pests. Cutting too far from it leaves a stump when the tree recovers. Most DIY tree pruning leads to an improper cut, leaving either structural or aesthetic damage.

Pruning Large Branches

Branches larger than 4 inches in diameter shouldn’t be trimmed unless it is absolutely necessary. Cutting off a branch of this size can cause imbalance in the tree and expose it to pests and rodents and decay as the tree recovers from such a large loss.

Conservative trimming every year guarantees that the tree service company only has to cut off branches that are 2-3 inches in diameter, which produces a more attractive shape for the tree and less chance of damaging the tree or exposing it to disease and pests.

Topping the Tree

Tree topping is no longer a type of pruning, and for good reason! In this process, arborists would just cut the top off of the tree to achieve the desired height. It was not attractive nor was it beneficial for the tree, so the vast majority of arborists do not practice tree topping currently.

As a DIY tree trimming, you might think this is an easy way to lower the height of your tree with only one cut, but once you have cut off the top of a tree, there’s virtually no chance that it will ever return to a natural shape.

The Solution? Call DE Tree Trimming

Let’s face it. Your tree may never recover from bad trimming.

Attempting this project yourself might seem like a good way to save a little money, but you might end up with way more expenses trying to revive damaged trees, so it’s much safer (and more economical in the long run) to hire a certified arborist in Delaware from DE Tree Trimming.

Limbs aren’t going to grow back. The tree will grow more, but not in the same places, which produces strange shapes that could require years to correct. The tree might look bad for the rest of its life, all because of just one trimming error.

Incorrect pruning could also result in death of the tree. Removing too many branches (and, therefore, leaves) can inhibit the tree’s photosynthesis process, which means it won’t get enough water or enough carbon dioxide and sunlight to continue healthy growth.

Cutting off too many branches could also send the tree into a state of shock. Shock can be overcome, but it does take a great deal of care and patience. Even with the right maintenance, a tree experiencing shock may still die.

Avoid all of these tree pruning mistakes and call DE Tree Trimming to speak with a tree care specialist in Delaware able to devise a plan to ensure your tree continues blossoming and looking beautiful for years to come!

Trees are living things, so that means that they can become “sick” like people and animals can. A disease or other tree issue may take a little while to show appear due to the sheer size of the tree, and once symptoms become obvious, it could be too late to revive the tree.

A professional arborist from DE Tree Trimming can identify and treat common tree problems so that you have a much better chance of keeping the tree. Learn about our service here. Not only can an experienced arborist prevent a tree from dying, but they can also help trees get healthier growth and bloom more flowers or fruit with professional tree pruning.

Have you noticed a tree on your lawn that has always seemed healthy but all of the sudden looks like something is wrong? In the next blog post, we’ll describe some of the most common tree issues and what these symptoms mean.

If you spot any of these things on any of the trees on your property, act fast to have the best chance of saving the tree and the ones around it.

Tree Diseases & Common Problems

These 7 things are the most common problems addressed by experienced arborists in Delaware. As soon as you think one of these things is wrong with your tree, call someone with the training and tools to help!

Tree Diseases

Leaf Rust – Leaf rust is a fungus that is very common in both plants and trees. The name originates from the brown and yellow spots this disease produces on the leaves.

Leaf rust is a problem because it inhibits the leaves’ photosynthesis, the process by which it breathes. Leaf rust can be tended to with fungicides and selective trimming of the diseased leaves. It may be recommended to remove entire limbs with leaf rust.

Witches’ Broom – This common disease creates a large grouping of twigs, dead leaves and branches that look like a broom shape. It is caused by insects, unusually rainy weather or fungus. The construction of a clump of twigs and leaves is the tree’s reaction to infection or harm.

Some cases of Witches’ Broom are fatal for the tree, others are only considered a growth malformation. A tree care specialist can diagnose the issue.

Mildew – Mildew is a fungus that grows on almost anything in wet conditions, but even after the wet conditions are gone, mildew can persist and thrive. It appears as a powdery texture, usually white, and it usually appears on the leaves of the tree first.

The the best method for eliminating mildew is to apply a fungicide that contains sulfur. This will eliminate the current mildew and help to prevent future mildew growth on the tree. You may also need to trim the tree to remove limbs, fruit, flowers and leaves that have been affected by the mildew

Gall – Gall is a type of tree disease that appears when insects build small nests on the leaves or twigs of a tree to lay their eggs in. Most galls are not harmful to the tree, but they are not attractive.

Gall appears as as bumps on the tree, in different sizes. They are often white, brown, gray or some shade in between.

It is not necessary to treat the tree for galls, but they can limit the growth of new trees. Treat galls by killing the pests. You should also clean out from under the tree after the leaves fall off, since this is where the pests survive during winter months.

Other Tree Problems

Improper Trimming – There’s a science to tree trimming, as well as many types, and if you don’t know what to do, you could damage the tree past the point of recovery. Consider the type of tree, season and other factors. Under-pruning (or not pruning at all) is just as big of a problem. Only a trained arborist should be trusted to trim trees in order to keep them healthy.

Lack of Water – Young trees can be severely impacted by drought. If you plant new trees on your property, you will probably have to supplement the amount of water they get from rainfall. A tree that doesn’t get enough water will have its growth stunted. The first symptom you are likely to noticed is scorched, dry leaves. Find more tips for new trees here.

Too Much Sun – Do some research before planting trees in a full-sun area. Most species of trees can handle it without issue, but too much sun can happen to any tree if the sun is harsh for an extended period and rainfall is light. A tree that is getting too much sun needs even more water to fight against wilting, drooping leaves.

Certified Arborist Services in Delaware

A trained arborist from DE Tree Trimming will be able to quickly diagnose what’s going on with your sick tree and put together a plan to rescue it.

Here are the things an arborist is qualified to do:

• Evaluate trees from the ground and from the branches of the tree if necessary. Getting into the canopy is usually necessary to see exactly what is creating the symptoms.
• Treat your tree through additives and fertilizers in the soil or solutions sprayed on the leaves. This person will have knowledge about the disease impacting the tree and the best treatments for it.
• Trim trees to remove dead or diseased branches and to help healthy growth. Even if heavy pruning is needed, they will know how to cut off branches so that the tree survives both the disease and the pruning process.
• Remove the tree from your property if there is no chance to save it. The worst case scenario is that the tree is too far gone, and cutting it down is the only way to protect your property and surrounding landscape.

Arborists can also inform you about the other trees that you have om your property and how to best care for them so you don’t find yourself in the same situation in the future.

Some tree problems look very similar to each other, requiring a professional eye to accurately identify and treat the issue. If your trees appear to be dry, unhealthy or disfigured, call a professional arborist from DE Tree Trimming for an inspection before it’s too late.

When it comes to the question, “What time of year is best for tree tree pruning?” The answer will likely be indirect.

The type of tree will dictate when many species can be pruned, along with insect population and activity, local tree and plant diseases and other plants and trees in the yard.

With the guidance of a certified arborist in Delaware, you will be able to decide which season is the best for pruning your trees to prepare them for success next season and every year after that.

Best Season to Prune Trees

Without any other information, DE Tree Trimming recommends tree trimming during the winter. This would be sometime within November to March in Delaware. This season is ideal because trees are usually dormant, so pruning will lead to the least amount of damage, if any.

There are a lot of benefits to pruning trees during the winter:

Lower risk of insect damage and disease – Pests and plant diseases are mostly inactive during the winter in Delaware. Throughout the remainder of the year, anything from insects to fungus can affect a newly trimmed tree because the tree is most susceptible and these issues thrive during warmer weather.

Easier to see the shape of the tree when the leaves are gone – Leaves prevent your arborist from seeing the overall shape of the tree. When the tree branches are bare, it is much easier to identify dead or diseased branches and branches that are touching versus those that are just close together.

Trees have time to heal before spring – By doing this significant pruning in the winter, your trees will have several months to rebuild callus tissue on the ends of the remaining branch collar. By the spring, you’ll barely be able to notice where the branches were removed, and the tree will be able to focus its energy to produce new leaves, fruit or flowers rather than healing new cuts.

Less chance of damaging nearby landscape – Most of the nearby trees and plants will also be dormant, so there is a lower risk of doing damage to them. Most of the time, a tree is surrounded by annual plants in the warmer seasons, but there are no plants to be disturbed during the winter since these annuals already died out.

Do All Trees Need Pruning?

Yes, all trees benefit from annual pruning. Tree pruning in the winter is good for trees, but it is also a precaution for the safety of your property and your family and neighbors. Let us explain:

Trimming Makes the Tree Healthier

Dying and diseased limbs are cut off, as are stubs that are susceptible to pests and disease. Branches that can rub against each other are also pruned so that they don’t weaken one another or create an open wound on the tree.

Pruning trees each year is also a good way to get expert eyes on the health of your trees so that early signs of decay, disease and pest infestations can be identified and dealt with as soon as possible.

A Cared-For Tree Serves Its Purpose Better

When a tree is overgrown, it’s hard for water and nutrients to reach every limb. This can leave the tree looking scraggly and sick and definitely not doing what it’s meant to do.

Trimmed trees, on the other hand, blossom more fruit, healthier leaves and better shade. They are fuller and healthier and less likely to cause landscaping issues. So regardless of why you decided to plant a new tree, routine trimming each winter will improve the results you desire from it.

Trees are More Attractive After Trimming

If the view of your yard or landscaping is important to you, tree trimming is important! Pruning trees creates an attractive, uniform size and shape. This is very important if you have a lot of similar trees on your property.

Trimming lower branches and upper branches that grow at improper angles enhances the overall beauty of the tree while also promoting tree health.

Less Risk of Dropping Branches

Tree trimming – from a professional – encourages the remaining branches to grow healthier and stronger. Therefore, storms and other inclement weather in Delaware won’t affect your trees the way they would an unkempt tree. Your home and family will be safer living under and around pruned trees.

Another safety concern for large trees is that they can block the view of traffic lights, road signs and driveways. Tree trimming, crown raising and other professional tree care services will keep the tree at a manageable size and stop it from blocking various views.

Call DE Tree Trimming for Tree Trimming

Working with a professional arborist in Delaware gives you access to their expert knowledge on the subject of tree pruning. We recommend relying on their expertise if you have trees on your property that you’d like to keep healthy for a long time.

An arborist won’t only consider the immediate situation. Instead, an arborist will take the time to research your trees and understand their unique scenario (including their location and factors that may put them at risk). After gathering all of the information, an arborist will suggest a long-term plan based on the trees’ needs and stick to that course of action until your goals for your trees are met.

This plan might take years to implement, but rest assured, it will lead to healthy trees that you and your family can enjoy for generations.

This type of ongoing care will result in healthy tree growth, help your entire property fight off plant diseases and enhance fruit or flower production from your trees. It will also strengthen your trees so there is not as much risk of falling trees or limbs.

Being proactive about tree care will save you a lot of money too. Preventative care is far more cost-effective than paying for emergency tree services, storm damage restoration or restoring a sick tree of a disease that has spread out of control (and one that was easily preventable).

If you care about the health of your trees and the curb appeal of your landscaping, trust a certified arborist for tree trimming and maintenance from DE Tree Trimming. Discover our service area here. We work with arborists across the entire state of Delaware. Call today!

Tree pruning in Delaware is an important landscaping service that beautifies and reinforces trees so they can withstand insects, diseases and inclement weather – and look breathtaking doing it!

Pruning needs to be done if you want healthy trees, but it needs to be done carefully by someone who knows what they’re doing. Like a certified arborist from DE Tree Trimming. Homeowners may be able to prune and trim trees safely while they are small, but you also may be doing permanent damage to the tree.

To safely prune trees, you must know all of the following:

• When to prune your species of trees
• How much of the tree should be trimmed at at once
• Where to cut the branches so you do not harm the tree

Removing too much from a tree might kill it or cause structural damage, but minimal trimming done each year benefits trees in several ways. Professional pruning helps to improve the appearance of trees, makes them healthier, removes dead or diseased portions and assists in fruit or flower production.

For the best results, pruning must be performed every year, but as trees mature, you may be able to go two years between major pruning services. Regardless of how often you have your trees trimmed, be sure your arborist is qualified to perform the type of tree pruning your trees need. This won’t be an issue if you call DE Tree Trimming in Delaware!

Types of Tree Pruning Methods

There are 7 different ways to properly trim a tree so that it grows stronger and healthier each year.

Depending on the shape, species and health problems of your trees, one method could be more beneficial than another, but each technique has different benefits.

Crown Thinning Your Trees

Crown thinning is popular for larger, overgrown trees in Delaware. This technique eliminates weak branches within the crown of the tree to allow more light and air flow within the crown. Air flow is especially important for disease prevention.

This tree pruning technique also eliminates branches and limbs that are touching so they do not rub up against each other and snap or cause weaker areas that can be an entry point for insects and pests. Branches that grow at strange angles are usually removed during crown thinning.

Crown Raising Your Trees

This tree pruning technique only removes branches and limbs at the lowest part of the crown so new limbs start higher up on the trunk of the tree. Allowing low branches to get too large makes them hard to cut off, and they can pull nutrients away from the top of the tree, which leads to less fruit and a weak tree.

There are several reasons you may decide to raise the crown of a tree. Many times, it is done to clear the line of sight for automobiles and pedestrians, but it can be done to free up space for landscaping under the tree.

It is a common technique for overgrown trees that are close to homes and buildings.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction lowers the overall size of the crown from its outer edges. It shortens branches horizontally and vertically to maintain the tree at a certain size. By reducing the crown size, you can remove the need to cut down the tree because it will no longer come into contact with traffic lights, power lines or street lights.

Even when the tree isn’t near structures like these, crown reduction will help the tree look neater because it also removes irregular growth. This is a good solution for trees that are a variety of ages but are supposed to look consistent.

Crown Cleaning

Sometimes referred to as deadwood pruning, crown cleaning is a minimally invasive pruning method that gets rid of dying, snapped or diseased limbs so that the rest of the tree can continue to grow normally. These branches can only create issues over time.

Crown cleaning helps to make the tree look much better, and it prevents branches from rubbing together. Plus it is a safety practice that lowers the chance of falling branches, because healthy branches rarely fall.

Crown Restoration

Crown restoration is a focused trimming technique for trees that have been significantly damaged (either by weather or vandals). It should only be performed by a professional who knows where the tree is going to grow in the future and roughly just how long it’s restoration is going to take.

Unlike other tree pruning services, crown restoration happens over an extended period of time with conservative trimming that reshapes the tree. An arborist will have a definitive plan to restore the tree, but also must be flexible as the tree grows and reshapes on its own, adapting to the tree’s new growth.

Vista Pruning

If you are striving for trees that help improve the overall beauty of your landscaping, you are most likely interested in vista pruning. The purpose of vista pruning is to help to make the tree more aesthetically pleasing from a particular viewing point.

It entails several pruning techniques including crown thinning, crown reduction and crown cleaning – anything that helps the trees look more attractive. Remember, though, that an arborist will never sacrifice the health of a tree, so the focus of vista pruning is still to create strong, healthy trees.

Espalier Pruning

Espaliered trees are pruned heavily to grow flat against a wall or a trellis. It is a unique style of tree pruning that is going to attract a lot of attention to your landscape. Espalier pruning has to begin when the tree is young and then continued very consistently during the tree’s life span.

of espalier pruning include facilitating maximum sunlight to reach the trees, as well as making it exceptionally easier to produce fruit.

Professional Tree Pruning in Delaware

Tree pruning can be harmful to a tree, your lawn, and, of course, for you! DE Tree Trimming highly encourages professional tree pruning over attempting DIY.

Aside from the many possible dangers of tree trimming, you can do a lot of harm to a tree if you don’t know how to prune it properly. Over-pruning is one of the most common errors made by homeowners caring for their own trees.

Trees in Delaware that get annual care from a professional are usually much better off, and hiring an experienced arborist from DE Tree Trimming to trim the trees on your property is a decision you won’t regret. Locate your city in our service area. We work with arborists throughout the entire state of Delaware!

Planting new trees on your land has many benefits. Trees offer much-needed summer shade, create privacy, filter polluted air and increase property value. Everyone should plant trees.

Once full-grown, trees are simple to care for: another benefit! Trees are durable and tend to continue growing despite minimal care. However, if you want to see your trees achieve their potential, they need more effort.

Lack of care for young trees could cause rotting, disease, under watering or pest problems.

Fortunately, caring for trees isn’t too difficult, but you will want a little information to do it correctly. Research the new trees you plant in order to know what they need to succeed. Then properly care for them and watch them flourish.

Below, we’ll describe the five best practices for planting a new tree and seeing it thrive. You probably know the basics, so let’s dive a little deeper and explain how to perform each step correctly.

Tree Care Tips for New Trees

These five tips will not only help keep trees alive, they’ll help them grow faster, resist damaging gusts of wind, fight off diseases and pests and produce more leaves, flowers or fruit.

Water Your Tree

New trees need a lot more water than well-established ones. The trees you plant on your property are no exception.

The root of the tree and the soil around it should be kept moist, but don’t let it get too wet, because this can cause some of the roots to rot.

The rule of thumb is 4-10 gallons of water each week. This includes rain water, and although it’s challenging to have an exact reading, a rain gauge can help get you close enough to add the rest. Your trees will need this much water every week for the first 2-3 growing seasons.

Mulch Around Your Trees

Mulch is more than an attractive landscaping product. It also helps protect new trees, especially the roots underground. But laying mulch incorrectly can sometimes cause rotting and decay – so much so, in fact, that it’s possible that the tree will not survive.

Place mulch exactly 3 inches away from the tree trunk and spread it around to completely cover the ground under the longest limb. For new trees, this won’t be very far, but as the tree grows, your mulch area will continue to grow substantially.

Keep the mulch 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas. Be attentive in keeping it spread out consistently and far enough away from the tree trunk so it does not stop air flow around the trunk.

Fertilize Around Your Tree

Fertilizer provides the nutrients that your soil might not have naturally. Most new trees will benefit from fertilizing, but you need to use the correct products and do it at the right time for fertilizer to be most impactful.

The perfect time of year to fertilize is during early spring. Sometimes early summer also provides good conditions (mild temperatures and moist soil), but don’t count on it.

If you are unsure about which type of fertilizer to use, speak to a tree care professional for recommendations. Slow-release fertilizers are often a good idea because they feed trees over time rather than all at once.

Follow through with these tasks in the first growing seasons after planting a new tree, and then reconsider your watering, mulching and fertilizing as the tree gets older. As time goes on, there will be tree care tasks that become more important for your new trees.

Trim Your Tree

Tree pruning is very important – yet very challenging – in the first years after you plant a tree. As the tree grows, you may see many small branches take off, competing to become the tree’s trunk. You may think this shows that the tree is healthy and growing well, it can actually lead to a very weak tree as time goes on.

Early trimming shapes the tree into what it will look like when it gets much larger. As small branches emerge on the lower trunk, they need to be cut off so they don’t pull water and nutrients from the branches at the top of the tree.

As long as there are trees growing somewhere on your land, they need to be trimmed periodically. When the trees get too big for you to prune them safely, you can trust DE Tree Trimming to do the job for you.

Monitor Your Tree

Growing trees are at the most risk for damage, disease and pest issues. But you’re never completely safe from these things. As your tree grows older, monitor it carefully for evidence of disease or bad nutrition, including the following:

• Leaf color changing out of season, with leaves turning brown or yellow
• Premature leaf falling, despite whether leaves appear healthy or diseased
• Withering, regardless of adequate watering
• Single branches or limbs dying
• Peeling bark

These signals indicate a health issue. It is likely going to need professional maintenance if your plan is to save the tree. An arborist can diagnose the problem by simply looking at your tree, although they will do testing if deemed necessary.

If you catch the issue early enough, you will likely be able to save the tree. Being proactive is the best way to protect new trees.

The tips above are basic but effective. Don’t underestimate the importance of the basics! When your new trees have proper care, combined with sunshine and barring severe, damaging weather, the odds are probable that the tree will survive and will look wonderful!

Of course, you might already have a full schedule and don’t really want to perform these additional tasks. In some cases, property owners don’t have the ability to give their new trees the necessary maintenance.

No matter the situation, it’s ok to seek the help of a professional for caring for new trees. A professional arborist in Delaware can advise you about the course of maintenance for each type of tree you plant. Arborists enjoy sharing their expertise and skills with people planting brand new trees on their land, and they can be the difference between trees that struggle and trees thriving.

Call DE Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree maintenance in Delaware – including tree pruning – for newer trees and older trees. An arborists will determine the best plan for your trees! Locate your city in our service area here.