Building a Patio or Deck Around Trees

Quite opposite of the typical instinctive thought, putting a patio around a tree can be very beneficial to the tree. I will cover the fundamental benefit the tree receives from a patio and discuss the pros and cons of different construction materials / techniques.
Continue reading Building a Patio or Deck Around Trees

Constructing In-Ground Swimming Pools Around Trees

Quite possibly the only thing better than being under a shade tree in the summer is taking a dip in the pool. If you are planning to build an in-gound pool near one of your prized trees be careful. You are going to be digging a big hole in the ground and will likely be taking many tree roots in the process.
Continue reading Constructing In-Ground Swimming Pools Around Trees

Soil Restructuring. An Important Part of Tree Care.

Soil restructuring is one of the most powerful tools we have for tree health management. The idea is to till the soil; improving its structure will allow valuable air and water to more easily penetrate the soil. While fundamental in gardening theory, this task is not easy at the scale of a large tree.
Continue reading Soil Restructuring. An Important Part of Tree Care.

Part 3. How to Apply Treatments to Trees

There are a variety of ways to apply tree fertilizers and other treatments. For the average layperson, applications to a tree can be challenging. High pressure sprayers are readily available at equipment rental stores, so you can do it yourself, but this equipment is not easy to use. Accessing a tree’s root system deep in the soil or reaching the upper boundaries of canopy on a mature tree requires this special equipment.
Continue reading Part 3. How to Apply Treatments to Trees

How Summer Heat Stress Affects Your Trees

Summer heat stress is one of the number one tree killers I run into. Okay, realistically no tree ever dies from just one problem, but rather a cumulative affect of many stress factors. Heat and drought stress are stress factor that almost all trees in the central Texas area deal with on an annual basis. So, if your tree has some other factor stressing it out, the summer heat might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I see more trees die during the summer time than any other time of the year.
Continue reading How Summer Heat Stress Affects Your Trees

All About Bradford Pears

Bradford pear trees have become a popular addition to the urban landscape. Although the Bradford pear is a hardy tree consistently producing showy flowers in the spring and some fall color, the tree is not without its fair share of problems. The trees have a relatively short life span due to structural integrity issues, they are susceptible to a few disease issues and they can be overbearing on landscapes with limited space.

Continue reading All About Bradford Pears

Herbicide Damage To a Tree. Weed-n-Feed for Your Lawn is Killing Your Trees.

Herbicide damage is one of the biggest tree killers I run into. Weed-n-feed products are the number one culprits. If you buy a bag of fertilizer from your local do-it-yourself store make sure that the bag does not have weed control mixed in with the fertilizer. Most weed control products will affect boad leaf plants and go unnoticed to grasses. Trees are in the broad leaf plant category.
Continue reading Herbicide Damage To a Tree. Weed-n-Feed for Your Lawn is Killing Your Trees.

Water Your Trees, How Much and When

You should water your trees. Watering your tree can be the best treatment for improving tree health. But, watering improperly will provide zero or negative help to your trees and waste a valuable resource. The complicated part of knowing how much to water is recognizing that different trees have different needs and different planting sites will have different drainage and water holding characteristics. This blog isn’t about learning to be a hydrologist, but here are a few general tips to point you in the right direction for properly hydrating your tree.
Continue reading Water Your Trees, How Much and When