Tree Care Tips

Would you like to increase your property value, cut energy costs, improve air quality, and reduce runoff problems? Healthy trees in your yard and on your street can do all this and more, making your home and neighbourhood a cleaner, healthier, and safer place to live.

Here are nine easy ways to protect your investment and ensure that your trees remain healthy and happy for years to come:

• Water your trees—During hot dry periods, water your trees with 15 to 25 gallons of clean water per week. This is the equivalent of running a slow running hose near the base of your tree for 30 minutes, filling a five gallon bucket with holes in the bottom five times throughout the week or filling a 15 to 25-gallon watering bag installed around your young tree once weekly. Do not pour used cleaning water on your trees.
• Avoid mulch volcanoes—Apply mulch three inches deep and three feet wide per inch of tree diameter for newly planted trees or as wide as the branch spread for mature trees if you have room. Pull mulch back three inches from the base of the tree. Piling mulch against the trunk of your tree creates a dark moist habitat for rodents, bugs, bacteria, and fungus to attack and can potentially kill your tree.
• Guard the bark—Avoid tying or otherwise attaching signs or decorations to trees. Do not allow anyone to chain their bike to your trees. Keep lawn mowers and weed whackers away from the base of your tree. Any damage to the bark can ultimately kill your tree.
• Keep it clean and clear—Trees roots extend past the branch spread. Do not install flower beds or turf in the root zone of your tree. Do not place large heavy objects in the root zone as both can damage roots, as well as prevent oxygen and water from getting to the roots, which can ultimately kill your tree. If you have a newly planted young tree, remove the turf and any weeds surrounding it as its branch spread increases. Do not allow pets to use the area around your tree as a bathroom. Keep the area around your tree free of litter. (If you must plant, plants with root structure similar to trees may be planted in the root zone by digging small holes in the outer two-thirds of the branch spread of a mature tree. These include shade-loving bulbs, wildflowers, ferns, ground covers, and other herbaceous perennials.)
• Don’t change the grade—Adding soil or other organic matter, including compost, in excess of two to three inches in the root zone of your tree can smother the roots and ultimately kill your tree. Conversely, do not remove soil or otherwise rototill/dig in the root zone of your tree.
• Keep chemicals away—Common herbicides and weed killers can damage and kill your trees, in addition to being unhealthy for humans, pets, and wildlife. Avoid their use in your lawn.
• Skip the salt—In the winter, use non-sodium sidewalk salt with calcium chloride. Sweep excess salt to the curb and not into the soil.
• Learn more—You can learn much more about caring for your trees and the trees in your neighbourhood by enrolling in Openlands' TreeKeepers course.
• Call for help—If your tree looks sick, shows evidence of pest infestation, has limbs that need to be pruned, or otherwise needs help, contact a professional tree-care firm for a free inspection and estimate. Visit the International Society of Arboriculture Web site and click on “Find a Tree Care Service.”