Fall Tree Maintenance

Now that summer is officially over, landscaping tasks become more about cleanup, winter maintenance, and prepping for next spring. The trees are starting to display the change in seasons with foliage that ranges from bright oranges and reds to warm golds and rusts.

While many take this as a time to rest from landscaping til next spring, it is actually a great time to plant a new tree and to prep the trees you already have for winter. Your trees will be grateful for the fall TLC and will show their appreciation when spring rolls round once more.

In a forest, the soil remains quite rich in nutrients from all the organic matter present on the forest floor. These nutrients nourish the trees year round. In our yards, we have to supplement our soil to make it more like a forest floor for our trees.

Fall Fertilizing

To make sure our trees are well-fed through the winter, apply a slow-release fertilizer this fall. Slow release fertilizers best mimic the forest by providing nutrients in a slow and steady rate throughout the year. It’s the consistent access to the nutrients they need that helps trees maintain their health – growing healthy leaves, roots, and wood.

Mulch

Mulch not only makes your landscape look great but also helps your trees thrive. Mulch helps conserve moisture around trees, maintain soil temperature, and keeps the soil from eroding away. Mulch can be store bought, but it can also be made up of the ground-up leaves from your fall lawn clean-up. Just be sure not to over mulch; one to two inches of mulch is ideal. And, it’s best to keep the mulch an inch or so away from the trunk.

Water

As trees prepare to drop their leaves they need less water. This is because as temperatures cool, the trees enter a dormant phase and need less water. In addition, the soil naturally stays more moist in cooler temperatures. Continuing to water trees can result in root disease.

Trimming

Now is the time to prune dead, diseased, and unsafe branches from trees. This not only promotes better growth in healthy areas of the tree but can protect you, your home, and your car from falling branches.

Plant More

Fall is the best time of year to plant new trees. In fall, newly planted trees get a jumpstart on establishing healthy roots over the dormant season so they can then concentrate on their above ground growth in spring. Augustine has had its own tree farm for 25 years and can help you choose the right type of tree for your landscape. We carry trees of all sizes and specialize in large trees that don’t make you wait ten years before showing their full majesty. We can even deliver and plant it for you!