A properly pruned tree or shrub maintains the plants health, desired shape, as well as promoting new growth. Trees and shrubs are also pruned for safety and security reasons. Although most pruning is done once a year not all plants should be pruned at the same time. An ideal time to prune many tree and shrub varieties is in March. This is a time after deep winter when pruned wounds will be quickly healed by new growth, lessening the likelihood of disease, and drying out. This is a time of the year where branch visibility is ideal and choosing which branches to prune is easier for the arborist, and as always helping aid in the burst of new growth come spring. Tips for the pruning season;
Do not forget treating your trees is just as important as properly pruning them. Preventing insect infestations or disease before the spring is a very proactive approach to preserving your trees or shrubs health for the coming growing season. Some tips;
Pruning at the wrong time of the year and excessive pruning are both leading causes of why trees and shrubs fail to bloom the following year. Because new growth is slower in Fall, causing wounds to take longer to heal, Fall is not an ideal time to prune. Pruning at this time of the year or excessively can also leave your trees or shrubs vulnerable to disease. Also remember when pruning to resist the desire to top your trees, the process of removing the top of the tree to keep it shorter. This is never a good idea, not only is the result unsightly, but it is hazardous because it causes weak branches. Pruning or treating trees and shrubs can be an intimidating endeavor. If your unsure of proper pruning techniques or what treatments should be used, do not fret, The Kings’ Tree Care is here for all your tree care needs. We will be happy to help with any concerns or questions that you may have. The health of your trees and scrubs are our priority. Here at The Kings’ Tree Care we are as always, ready and happy to help. Lighting, thunder, and heavy downpour. Are your trees ready for this monsoon season? Arizona's monsoon season extends from mid-June through mid-September. Monsoon season can inflict significant damage to trees that are not prepared for heavy downpours or high winds. Dead or dying branches make a tree more vulnerable during monsoons, because of their brittleness. These branches crack under pressure, causing damage to healthy parts of the tree. Pruning your trees also thins out foliage at the crown of the tree. Very dense canopies do poorly in high winds. Increasing the chance if healthy branch breakage, putting the health of your tree at risk.
Pruning your trees on a regular basis helps your trees in so many ways. Think of it as a haircut for your trees. Sure, at first a lot of branches have been removed but the shape of the tree instantly looks better. Hazardous limbs are removed, meaning less breakage. Now the rest of the tree has room to grow and become thicker and healthier! “If you want to grow a healthy tree that can live for a long time, pruning is a must,” says Jason Parker of Davey’s North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office. “Specifically, cutting off dead or diseased branches helps keep you and your home safe.” Here are some main reasons to focus on when making the decision to prune your trees regularly. 1. Prune for safety. No one wants a branch falling on them or their property. Pruning removes the deadwood that could possible do harm to property owners, visitors, or the property. "Plus, think about this. A mature sweetgum tree can grow up to 75 feet tall and weigh 5,200 pounds. When healthy, that tree continues to save you money and deliver beauty." (Davey) In the same breath the same tree can do extensive damage to your property if not properly pruned and cared for. In fact, the National Storm Damage Center estimates that in severe weather damaged or downed trees account for more than $1 billion in property damage in the U.S. each year. The more you invest in your trees, the less likely you will have to worry about this kind of damage to your property. No one wants a 5,200 pound tree falling through the roof of their home. 2. Prune for over all health. A great step to proactively reducing risk is to have an arborist train your young trees, typically a few years after planting, so that it develops a strong sturdy structure. As the tree matures your arborist should regularly prune your trees to thin the canopy and remove weak branch structures. By doing this the shape of the tree will improve. Plus allowing more sunlight and oxygen through the canopy encourages the healthy growth of the tree. Photosynthesis! "One study even found that pruning helps trees’ health. Trees that were not pruned for more than 10 years were in 10 percent worse condition than pruned trees, according to this study." (Davey) 3. Prune for beauty, bucks and a bumper crop. Most arborist view their skills as an art form. They strive to help trees to look their best, while maintaining the health of the tree. They do this by enhancing the trees natural shape. Through a two-part treatment that demands a specialized knowledge of collars and dose, pruning, the arborist can ensure that your tree continues to benefit your home! One healthy tree in front of your home can increase the home’s sale price by an average of $7,130, found the PNW Research Station. That is just some of the small ways pruning and removing dead branches help your trees, and why it should be done regularly. Ready to prune your trees the right way?Click here for your free consultation with The Kings' Tree Care! What a great way to honor our earth🌎 and all that it provides by celebrating the trees and the beautiful landscape that surrounds us!👍
Trees truly are one of the most wonderful gifts from nature! They provide us with clean air and support the wildlife around us. It doesn't stop there, trees also increase our properties value, WOW! 🤯 They protect us and our homes from the harmful effects of the sun. What an awesome all natural sunscreen! They also keep us cool all summer long with their excellent source of shade!☀️⛱ In honor of Earth and Arbor day plant a new tree or don't go out at all show your existing trees some love! While trees in the forest play by their own rules, trees in our own yards do not, and for good reasons. We all would love for our trees to look as natural as possible, but also maintain their integrity and limit any potential safety hazards. Unlike the trees in the forests our trees in our own yards can not safely drop weak, dying limbs. This is where proper pruning comes in. What is tree pruning? Glad you asked! The goal behind pruning is to remove unwanted or hazardous limbs, improve upon the structure of the tree. While directing and promoting healthy new growth. Pruning is one of the best things you can do for your trees. Proper Pruning is an investment in the long-term of the health and safety of your trees as well as your property. Properly pruning your trees comes with many benefits;
In response to the rapidly evolving situation around the coronavirus (COVID-19): While we are following the guidance of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect the communities we serve, The Kings' Tree Care will remain open. We understand this is a fluid situation, but our companies role as a critical service provider obligates us to take extra precautions to ensure safe working conditions and to minimize risk to public health and safety.
We will continue to monitor the situation and make any and all necessary adjustments as required to ensure the safety and well-being of the communities we serve. It can be upsetting to see our gentle outside dwelling friends have to go through a heavy snowfall or damaging storm. As the ones who care for them, we want nothing more then to help our trees in some way. It is hard to witness the load they have to endure with the weight of snow or ice on their out reached branches, forcing their branches sometimes past their limits. Can you prepare your trees and shrubs for unpredictable weather? Yes, you can. It starts with proper care and maintenance before the season hits. Make sure your trees are prepared to withstand such weather, by properly pruning for weight reduction and removal of hazardous, dead or weak branches. Consider Pruning branches away from structures as well, this is a great precautionary measure in the event that the the tree is unable to withstand sever weather. It maybe hard to resist, because of our desire to help our trees, but shaking the snow off trees is never a good idea. Shaking the tree can cause damage to the trees circulatory system, putting branches at risk of damage or complete breakage. If you must remove the snow from the branches it is best to lightly brush the snow off without putting extra stress on the limbs. It is always wise to proceed with caution, keep in mind branches may have already been compromised by the extra load of the snow, creating a potential hazard of them falling while snow is being removed. The unfortunate reality is the weight of the snow and ice has the potential of causing broken or damaged limbs. These limbs can pose a hazard to people and their property. If your tree has broken limbs, caused by the weight of the snow and ice, have it removed as soon as the weather allows. Be sure to inspect your upright evergreens and older trees after a snowstorm, because they can be hit the hardest by a heavy snowfall, undergoing sever damage. Be sure to inspect trees when conditions are safe and when in doubt call a professional; to assist with the inspection and remove any hazards safely. The Kings’ Tree Care, here for all your tree care needs! Providing services, with safety first! The Manchineel tree also known as Hippomane mancinella, which translates to “little apple that makes horses mad”, is one of the most poisonous trees found in Southern North America and Northern South America. Meet the Manchineel tree. The Manchineel Tree is a pleasant looking tree with greenish-yellowish fruit, that can be very deceiving. It will tempt you to touch it or try its fruit, but be warned, do not touch this tree or eat the fruit from this tree. All parts of the Manchineel tree are extremely poisonous, and can cause bodily harm. The fruit on this tree is described to be sweet and tasty, but are extraordinarily toxic. Causing severe stomach and intestinal issues, accompanied by inflammation and blistering around the month as well as inside the throat. These symptoms can carry on for several hours. It does not end there, do not take shelter from the rain under a Manchineel tree. Rain mixed with the sap (white and milky) or dust from one of these trees can create an acid like rain, delivering painful burn like blisters upon any contact with skin. Beware the dust and sap can cause temporary blindness as well, if your unfortunate enough to get it in your eyes. The sap from the Manchineel tree can be found all over the tree, including in the bark and leaves. So it is best to avoid touching this tree. Though the tree is considered the deadliest in North America, it's not all bad, the indigenous people use to use the sap, at the end of their arrows, for hunting and survival. Did you know! Brought to you by The Kings' Tree Care. Your Trees, Our passion. Like & follow us @treecarefortheking! Black knot disease (as shown in the picture), is a common disease caused by a fungus(Apiosporina morbosa). This disease is common among fruit trees, but mainly attacking plum and cherry trees. Black Knot Tree Disease Info Black knot disease is easily identified and diagnosed by its hard, uneven black galls that cocoon twigs and branches. The gall can be as little as an inch in length and as big as a foot in length. Older galls can become infested with a pinkish white mold. Black knot disease spreads in spring. On rainy days, the fungus releases spores which are carried on wind currents. If the spores happen to land on new spring growth of a susceptible tree, and especially if the tree is damp, the spores germinate and infect the tree. The disease is a slow developer and may go unnoticed a season or two. If left to grow, it effectively strangles new growth, girdling branches and dooming the tree to deterioration and poor fruit production. Insects and plant diseases use the galls as an entry to the tree. Black Knot Treatment
Pruning all branches with galls on them is a vital step when treating the disease. Because of the potential of the disease extend further into the tree, it is best to cut branches approximately 4 inches from the gall. Branches can still spread spores once they are cut so it is advised to dispose of branches appropriately. It is recommended once the branches are removed that the tree is treated with a suitable fungicide. Be sure to read and follow the instruction on the fungicide for effectiveness. The best time to remove branches with Black Knot disease is in late winter when the tree is dormant. Call Micah King at The Kings' Tree Care, (928)499-7111, for assistance in identifying, treating, and preventing black knot and other tree diseases. Follow us @treecarefortheking or checkout our Facebook page for more helpful tips! It is important to understand the differences between a Landscaper and an Arborist. It may seem as though the two are interchangeable but, they are far from the same profession. Each role requires its own unique set of skills, experience and equipment. If you were to entrust a job to a company that is not equipped or trained to handle tree work, you could be looking at many damages and safety hazards to your property. This in the long run could become a costly sink hole for the homeowner. Its important that homeowners set these two unique professions apart from each other. As Peter Gerstenberger, Senior Advisor to the President for safety, Standard and Compliance at TCIA puts it; “Traditional landscaping tasks include landscape and hardscape installation, lawn care, lawn irrigation installation and maintenance, mulching, garden bed preparation and maintenance and sometimes shrub pruning,” Gerstenberger explains. “Arboriculture, on the other hand, involves caring for mature trees, tree removal, pruning, cabling, stump grinding, and more.” The importance of homeowners making the distinction between the two professions could be the difference of the overall cost of the job, the results of entrusting an arboricultural job in the hands of an unqualified company could present damages to persons and/or property. As a homeowner, you may even find yourself responsible for the damage, especially if your contractor doesn’t carry liability insurance! Professional arborists, on the other hand, are accustomed to handling dangerous equipment such as chippers and chainsaws. Reputable tree care companies also adhere to pruning standards, carry liability insurance and understand the importance of standardized safety practices on the jobsite for the set of skills required for such an arboricultural job. When determining if your job requires the skillset of a Landscaper or Arborist, consider the scope of the work that needs to be done, does it match the scope of the services offered by the company you’re hiring? When the work of a landscaping job includes trees, that work should include an arborist. Arborists specialize in maintaining tree health and can properly assess the condition of trees to help ensure longevity at an affordable cost. A professional arborist will also be able to identify hazardous tree conditions and are trained to safely manage a job site and adhere to established industry standards. Meaning that the crews on your property have experience handling chippers and chainsaws, climbers safely access tree canopies and technicians properly identify pest problems. Just imagine the potential consequences of this work being undertaken by unqualified individuals! Landscapers and Arborist may not be interchangeable, but they can work together to achieve the over all goal of the homeowner’s landscape maintenance dream. For example, when a landscaper is installing new plants, an arborist can provide practical information on tree selection and planting as well as guidance on getting young trees through the critical first years. The two professions are complementary and when working together can be beneficial to you as a homeowner, and in the end be better for the trees, the most visible and valuable assets in a landscape. When thinking about the needs of your property remember that your landscape investment will receive the best care when all the professionals involved recognize the value of each element of your landscape – from the turf down below to the treetops up high. For all your landscaping needs give our friends over at Angel’s Landscaping & Lawn Service a call 623.340.2163 and ask for Angel. For all your tree care needs give us, The Kings’ Tree Care, a call at 928.499.7111 and ask for Micah. The Kings’ Tree Care and Angel’s Landscaping & Lawn Service Working together to help you preserve your landscaping investments. |
Micah King/ OwnerWith 12 years of experience and extensive climbing ability, I can guarantee the quality of my work. Archives
April 2020
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