Summer is just around the corner, which means it’s time to consider how to care for your trees during the new season. What you do for your trees during the summer can help them stay happy, healthy, and looking great for the rest of the year – and many years to come!
Irrigation
Temperatures in Reno can float in the 90s during summer, which means that your tree can be afflicted by drought stress without proper irrigation.
Here’s what to look for in a tree that needs more watering:
- Curling or wilting leaves
- Off-color or undersized
- Premature leave dropping
The best way to water trees during the summer is deep watering. This prevents weaker roots toward the surface from forming and promotes root growth much deeper underground. Not only can you train your tree to seek more available groundwater below, but doing so will anchor it more securely to the ground.
Trimming & Pruning
Summer, and specifically the end of summer, is a great time of year to prune and trim trees with a purpose. Around this time of year, your tree’s done about as much growing as it will do before it goes dormant in the fall and winter.
That means late summer is a sweet spot to consider if you want to give your tree some shape or slow down certain branches’ growth. It can also promote growth in other areas of your tree, and if you have a flowering tree, pruning can increase the number of new buds in the spring.
A delicate touch is important here because too much trimming can hinder growth in an unwanted way during the following spring. If you are looking for a more substantial amount of trimming, though, it might be best to wait until your tree goes dormant.
Mulching
If you didn’t address mulching in the spring, it’s not too late to do it during the summer. Mulching is useful for mitigating weed growth around your tree, evening our soil temperature, and conserving moisture in the soil – all of which are vitally important to making sure your tree doesn’t get thirsty during the hotter months!
Fertilization
Fertilization provides trees with the resources they need to grow and stay healthy. Healthy trees can ward off pests and disease more efficiently, which is vitally important in high-stress climates like Reno. That means your trees here will probably need to be fertilized more than those in temperate climates.
Pest Inspections
Summer is a good time to check for pests like insects and rodents. This is because any that decided to move in during the spring can be dealt with early in the summer, limiting the extent to which they can harm a tree.
Most insects aren’t harmful to trees, but some are. It’s a good idea to inspect your trees for harmful woodboring insects like termites and beetles, which will both eat your tree and make it their home.
Pests like squirrels, mice, and rats might also decide to move into your tree, particularly in hollows. Their mere presence might not pose as serious of a threat to your tree’s health as certain insects might, but they will chew on your tree to file down their ever-growing teeth. This can damage tree bark and put your tree at risk of disease.
Expert Attention & Care
Taking care of trees on your property is a lot of work – so much so that you’re probably worried about monitoring your tree over time and making sure you’re doing everything right. You don’t need to be hands-on when it comes to tree care – in fact, most people hire experts to ensure their trees are healthy all year long.
At American Arborists, we built our trustworthy reputation for tree care by making sure our customers get the best possible quality of service. We can handle any tree care service you need during any season of the year. Whether you’re looking for ways to keep your tree healthy during summer, want to plant a new tree, or need to remove a dead tree from your property, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and learn more about our services.
Get in touch with American Arborists today when you contact us online or call (775) 352-4241.