Welcome to March! The month that brings spring! With budding trees right around the corner, take these last few weeks of dormancy to plan for tree care. Use this as a checklist to make sure you don’t miss an important part of proper tree maintenance.

Plan for Tree Care

How did your trees make it through the winter? Whether you’ve dealt with whipping winds, extreme temperatures, or damaging ice, it’s time to evaluate your plants to help prepare them for the growing season. Here’s how:

Inspection. Take stock of your yard and garden from the grass up. Notice any brown patches, large broken branches, bark discoloration, or browning evergreens? Also look for areas of standing water, major runoff, soil erosion, and other water damage. Pay close attention to trees close to utility lines and structures, like your house or shed. Clean up what you can and contact a professional to help diagnose signs you aren’t sure of and determine the next steps.

Pruning. One thing you can take care of is low-hanging branches. Prune anything you can reach from standing on the ground. This is anything that’s torn, broken, diseased, or dead. Call a pro to take care of whatever is too high to reach safely.

Reinforcing. If your trees have substantial damage, to the point it’s unstable, consult an arborist to determine whether cabling or bracing would help to reduce the strain.

Planting. Is there a tree you had to remove for safety reasons? Is there a spot in your yard that’s begging to be planted? Start shopping for the perfect plant or tree to fit that space. Make sure whatever you put there will thrive and not outgrow the area.

Fertilizing. Feed your plants before the peak growing season have them starving for attention. Apply a slow-release formula to help replace nutrients throughout the season. This will also help strengthen the plant’s resistance to disease, insects, and stress.

Mulching. Once the ground has thawed and you’ve planted spring blooms, mulch your gardens to help control weeds and conserve soil moisture.

Professional Planting Plans

If the anticipation of spring is just too much to handle, get help tackling your lawn and garden to-do list. Contact Elite Tree Care for a consultation for everything from plant inspection to proper pruning and beyond.