How To Get The Most Out Of Your Shade Trees

You value your shade trees for both their attractiveness in your landscape and the ample shade they bring your lawn in the warmer months. Caring for your shade trees allows them to grow to their healthiest potential.

There are many ways you can care for your shade trees so they provide the most shade and grow to their greatest heights without creating a disturbance in your yard. Here are ways you can maintain your shade trees so you can get the most out of their presence in your yard.

Young trees with a healthy root ball structure can be moved to more ideal areas of your yard where you want them to grow. You want to have shade trees placed in areas of your landscape where they will not be near fence lines or power lines so they can branch out naturally without creating a disturbance in your yard.

While a healthy young tree can be transplanted most times of the year, the best time is when it has already budded or leafed out for the spring or summer season to avoid shocking the tree.

Do not attempt to move a tree on your own, as this can cause a disturbance to its root ball structure and poor transplanting can cause the tree to die. It's best to leave tree removal and transporting to a professional tree expert who can recommend the best placement for young trees already growing in your landscape.

Most trees have a natural shape they prefer to grow in. Many shade trees are naturally weeping, round, spreading, or even a shaped like a vase. You want to maintain their natural shape by having your trees trimmed in the early spring or late fall so they can branch out and provide as much shade as possible.

Your tree specialist will shape your trees by cutting low-hanging branches and removing heft to keep the tree even on all sides. Trimming your trees not only allows them to grow more healthily into their natural shape so they offer the most shade as they age, but it also gives you greater opportunity to remove dead or dying branches that can pose a hazard to your home or landscape.

A common ailment of maple, black locust, ash, and stone fruit trees is a condition called verticillium wilt. The condition is caused by a fungus in the soil surrounding the trees that can cause their branches to become brittle and wilt. You will notice yellowing leaves at first, then wilting branches in the hottest part of the summer. These branches eventually die and break off, leaving your shade tree appearing sickly and unable to provide enough shade for your yard.

This condition can spread to the entire tree if not treated, but a skilled arborist can spot symptoms right away and treat your soil to help bring the tree back to health. Some mature trees can live with this condition for many years, but most trees will eventually die from this wilting disease and similar others.

With proper care and maintenance, you can expect your shade trees to last for many years. Whether your trees are mature already or they are just young saplings, you should have them trimmed and inspected for disease every season.
A skilled tree expert can help you keep your shade trees at their healthiest so you can always enjoy their shade. Trust our team at Druid Tree Service to keep your shade trees beautiful and healthy for as long as you live in your home.