12Apr

April 12, 2021

Tree Care Tips: How to Keep Your Trees Healthy

Tree Care Tips

Trees are a great asset, not only to the plants and animals but also to the people that live around trees. You can have a great number of birds and squirrels, and you have the obvious aesthetic benefits that the tree can offer you. You can increase an estate’s value as well.

But did you know that trees need doctors like humans and animals do? Trees need care, especially if planted in areas that are not suitable for them, like urban residents. Other times they can fall sick or even be dead, and a layperson may not be able to recognise the signs in time to help the tree. This is why it is important to call a tree doctor even if you feel nothing is wrong. That way, they can tell you if something needs to be looked at, what to watch out for, and also about tree risk assessment. That way, you know exactly what is required for tree care, and your tree remains healthy and strong.

A tree doctor is an arborist who is a professional in the field of care for trees, plants, shrubs, etc. Professional arborists are of two types: consulting and certified.

Consulting arborists are those that specialise in the diagnosing of problems, recommendation of treatments, appraising trees and even suggestions as to where you can get tree service that is competent and efficient. Certified arborists, on the other hand, are actually equipped to offer you services to plant, prune, transplant, fertilise, monitor, and even treat for diseases, insects and even remove trees for you.

By hiring an arborist, you are taking part in good tree care for existing problems, in the prevention of future problems, and even get assessments. This way, you know if your tree can survive where it is planted, if the soil is good for it, if it is going to grow in a specific direction that can end in getting branches tangled in wires, or even if you need to remove or uproot the tree entirely. We suggest Treecotech to you for arboriculture services in Mumbai.

25Mar

March 25, 2021

How do I know when a tree is sick?

There’s nothing you can do about a dead tree, but a sick tree can definitely be saved. Many times people think that once a tree begins growing, you can leave it alone, and it’ll be just fine. But that is not true. Tree care is important and essential, especially if you do not want a diseased tree. If you can’t, for whatever reason, take proper care of your tree, tree doctors exist, and they can help you.

Tree care cannot be overlooked for many reasons, and a straightforward reason is the benefits they give. It can be obvious sometimes to spot a dying tree. But it’s not always that easy. Here is what you can do to check if your tree is dying.

Begin looking from the ground up. First, you must examine the roots and check if there are signs of decay like mushrooms or fungi. Or if there are severed roots and the ground is heaving up. The tree’s collar is next; this is the part of the trunk that is right above the soil. Here you need to search for loose or peeling bark or if there are deep slits and cracks in the tree. Next, the trunk is to be observed for swelling, small holes, cavities, and decaying or soft wood. These are also signs of decay. For the canopy, you need to look for branches that seem to be dead or dying or if they lack bark and leaves. Another obvious visual aid for signs of decay is problems in the leaves, be it spots, discoloration, deformed leaves, or holes. Lastly, look for dead sections of bark on the tree or limbs and branches that are leaning.

If you find these symptoms, look up what you can do to help your tree, as the solution can differ from tree to tree. Another option, as mentioned earlier, can simply be to call a tree doctor to help. In that way, you’re taking care of a tree that’s taken care of you, and you’re ensuring safety for all.

July 19, 2019

How to Know if the Tree can be Saved or Not?

Trees and plants often catch diseases or gets infected. Identifying that the tree is sick is just the first step in tree healthcare. The next step is to take a remedial action. For that, you must first know whether it is worth spending time, effort and resources in saving the tree or not. Depending upon the ongoing season, the health of the tree can vary. Changing seasons always leave some effects on the trees.

The answer to whether the tree can be saved or not is not always straightforward. The judgement varies on a lot of factors. Most importantly, you should also be aware of the decline process of the tree. If the decline or decay has just started, then chances of saving the tree are pretty high. But if the tree has been sick from an year or longer than that, then saving it can be a very tough task. Even those trees which have a dead top are very difficult to save. This statement cannot be generalised for all sorts of trees. The reason for decline or decay plays a very important role here.

As said for all the other diseases for every creature on this earth, prevention is better than cure. It is important to keep the trees healthy and maintain their good health all through year, specially during changing seasons. If any signs are showing up, then it is important to follow up regularly and conducting repeat checks. Sometimes, correct usage of tree pruning techniques can also save from spreading disease.

It should be accepted that the tree is always disturbed by regular fungi and some varieties of insects during the summer season. This kind of disturbance to the health of the tree is nothing to worry about because the trees have their own healing mechanisms and immunity against these regular insects and fungi which comes up during summers.

An example of such a problem is apple scab. This disease or infection is caught by apple trees or other fruit bearing trees. Such an issue is commonly caused in the spring season and it does not harm the overall health of the tree badly, so this can be ignored in some cases if the intensity is too high. But if this issue is coming up every year, then this should also be treated.

The colour of the leaves is also an indication of the health. Green leaves are a sign of good health but if they are having off-coloured leaves, then it is a matter of concern. In case of pine trees, if the needles are not looking like other needles, it could be a problem as well. Note that yellow leaves can be fixed.

Another concerning problem are the small dead branches or limbs. If the reason for dead limbs is insects, then it can be fixed. If the reason is something else, then it might not be fixable.

Arboriculture training includes identification and handling of such issues. You can also hire the services of a certified arborist in India if you need help in looking after your trees and maintaining their good quality of health.

7Jun

June 7, 2019

Why should we Have Lots of Trees in our Community?

Reasons Of Having Trees In Our Community

Having wide variety of trees in the neighborhood seems like a great idea, but why really? There are certain obvious advantages that can immediately come to the mind like improving the aesthetics of the place (by the use of creative tree pruning techniques), or improving the air quality of the place. But apart from these, there are lot many other benefits that the trees provide- on a broader as well as more detailed levels. Some of the reasons why we should have trees in Planning and Development are listed below:

Monetary benefits:

This might seem strange at the first thought, but that’s true! Those homes which have more trees in their backyard or those streets where the number of trees are more- sell for more money as compared to the homes where the presence of trees in considerably less. Homes located on tree-lined streets sells faster as well. The reasons for these could be just the mental effects of trees on humans, or could be that some people might just prefer to sit in the shade of the tree and save the cost of air conditioning.

This not only applies to homes, but even those businesses which have plenty of trees around them, flourish better since people tend to spend more time in such surroundings. This is why, the Tree planning consultancy services gives the advice of having more trees.

Environmental benefits:

We always knew that trees do absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen for us to breathe. But, it is great to know that they also absorb pollutants like nitrogen oxide, dust particles, ammonia, sulphur dioxide etc. They even protect us by absorbing the storm water and holding up the soil. They not only help us in living in a good habitat, but also serve as a home for birds, many varieties of insects and some animals as well. That provides us enough reasons to adopt safe tree retention and protection strategies.

Health benefits:

Apart from reducing the pollution, they also provide a cool shade for people to walk on the streets and protect themselves from the harmful UV rays. Presence of large number of trees creates a social space where children play, adults spent time talking and everyone improves there mental health. It can lead to reduction in blood pressure as well. It is also a well known fact that patients recover fast if they have access to a view with lots of trees and plants.

Social Benefits:

Trees in the backyard can give privacy to people, by blocking the views from unwanted surroundings. In a way, they also reduce noise pollution.

You can learn about more benefits by going through arboriculture training. The training will also help you to take care of the trees already existing in your locality. You can even get an arboriculture impact assessment done if you are considering the growth of trees in your area. Sharing this information in local community can lead to creation of nice neighborhoods!

25May

May 25, 2019

Why and When You Should Prune the Trees

Causes of Tree Pruning in Winters

Pruning the trees is important part of the maintenance. If done properly and carefully, it can be a healthy thing for the trees as well. There are a plenty of tree pruning techniques and they should be used depending upon the kind of tree it is.

Generally, the pruning is done for following purposes:

Removing the deadwood from the way or from the tree itself.
Aesthetic purposes or giving a shape to the tree so that it can grow in a specific direction.
Removing the hazards which can be for humans as well as other trees/plants nearby
To initiate new growth
Sometimes, the trees needs pruning after the storm or very windy weather.
To action something found after tree decay detection.

When exactly the right time to prune the trees is independent on the conditions above. The purpose of pruning has to be determined first. If the purpose is just to remove the deadwood or little bit of tidy-up, then it can be done almost any time in any season.

Pruning in fall:

Pruning should be done during fall when ret-structuring is required. This is because during or just after the fall, the structure of the tree is clearly visible due to absence of the leaves. This is also called as dormant pruning. It’s affects can also be seen until the following year. When the trees are pruned at this time, for some kinds of trees, it results in much better growth. It requires Safe Climbing and Working in Trees.

Pruning in Winters:

Pruning in dead cold winters might not be a very good idea because the cut open area of the tree might dry out very soon. However, for some trees like the oak, pruning can be done if it has caught a disease like Oak Wilt. Any major pruning can be avoided in winters, specially is the tree is going through dryness itself.

Pruning in Spring:

Spring is the best season to prune the trees which bears the fruits. Even for other trees, it is a good time since at this time, the tree is in a mode to grow, recover and flourish. For some of the trees like Magnolia or redbud, it is better to wait for their blooms to drop before you prune them.

Pruning in summers:

Summer pruning is mostly meant to remove the deadwood and dried leaves which can catch fire if not cleaned. Too much heat can also cause dryness for the tree.

Apart from usual seasons, sometimes the trees needs pruning when there is a damage due to storm or construction. In such situations, the timing becomes secondary and the ‘need’ takes the priority. Knowledge of managing the tree is a must here. Arboriculture training can help you to identify the need for pruning at the right time, thus giving a healthy life to the trees. You can also go through the reports for pruning & removal applications to understand the process and its effects better.

Tag: tree care

Tree Care Tips

How do I know when a tree is sick?

Reasons Of Having Trees In Our Community

Causes of Tree Pruning in Winters