Spring has sprung and the trees are budding! Now is the perfect time to get outdoors in your yard and take a look at your trees. Dead or broken branches are easier to spot in the spring, right as the leaves pop out. The dead branches, having no leaves or buds, stand out fairly well. Without a mature canopy out yet to obstruct your view, spotting a problem branch is never easier than now.
Check Your Roofline
Another problem to check on while outside is the clearance of your tree limbs from your roofline. As the new leaves come out the branches will weigh down from the added foliage. Branches that come to close to your roof can do a surprising amount of damage over time! There have been cases we’ve seen holes worn clear though not just the shingles on the roof, but the plyboard underneath as well. You may think that it’s only large limbs that are to worry about, but it was twigs no bigger then my fingers that had rubbed back and forth with the wind and done all that damage. Don’t wait for the sticker shock of an estimate for a new roof. Tree experts can usually trim back your trees to a safe clearance for a fraction of the cost.
Trim Your Palm Trees Before the Wasps Move In
This one I haven’t heard mentioned often but tree climbers everywhere will agree. Palm trees must be the perfect haven for wasp and hornet nests. By the end of summer there can hardly be a single dead frond that doesn’t harbor nest of some stinging thing or another! Though watching fellow climbers, arborists or groundsmen running for their lives away from a palm tree has brought me to tears with laughter, in all seriousness folks, spring is better for everyone involved when it comes to trimming palms.
Fertilize Before Summer Heat
If you had plans to give your trees a boost and missed a fall/winter fertilization, it’s still not to late. Spring will actually give you the most dramatic results as you’ll be boosting the natural surge in springtime growth. However, don’t wait to much longer. Summer heat and more importantly drought stress present a pause in the effective window that unirrigated trees can be treated with most fertilizers.
Most importantly folks, get out there and enjoy the natural beauty of spring and wonderful weather!
