Help Your Trees Welcome Spring

Your deciduous trees’ leaf buds are swelling and getting ready to burst forth into a crown of green. Will the branches be able to carry the extra weight of all those leaves? One way to be sure is to have your trees inspected by one of our Certified Arborists and pruned, if needed, before they leaf out.It’s March and winter isn’t over yet. Besides having to protect tree branches from the weight of leaves, you may also have to protect them from the added weight of ice and snow, as well as the buffeting of high winds. This winter has been so unpredictable that I can only recommend preparing your trees for the worst case scenario.Pruning can be done anytime a tree needs it. However, late winter and early spring are excellent times to have it done. The tree’s skeletal structure is visible so the arborists can see which limbs might be prone to break under the weight of ice, snow or a bumper crop of leaves. The visible leaf buds will also let the arborists estimate the amount of weight leaves will add to the branches and determine which cannot handle the load and should be removed.One caution, though: Don’t prune trees like dogwoods that flower in the spring. The flower buds, as well as the leaf buds, are on the branches. It’s difficult for the untrained eye to distinguish between the two types of buds. As a result, you may prune off the reason you planted the tree in the first place – the flowers.If you pruned, or had us prune, your trees during the fall or winter, they probably don’t need pruning this spring, unless you discover a potentially hazardous situation. Then you should call immediately. Always remember that tree pruning is not a do-it-yourself job, especially if you have to leave the ground or stand under the tree to cut big limbs above you.Trees are the backbones of all landscapes. Losing one during a storm will leave a hole in your landscape that could be impossible to replace in your lifetime. That’s why it’s so important to keep your trees healthy. Besides, keeping your current trees healthy is much less expensive than removing and replacing them.