Fall Tree Care Checklist
Prepare Your Trees for the Coming Winter
By now, you’re beginning to see the beautiful fall displays on the trees around the area. Indeed, thousands flock to the Blue Ridge Parkway to check out the changing of the colors. Their reward is striking color changes from greens to rusty brown, ruby reds, glittering golds, and a bit of everything in between.
With Fall comes the end of warmer temperatures in the Gaston County area. However, that doesn’t mean it’s time to ignore your yard. Fall is a wonderful time to prepare your trees for the cold weather of winter and also make sure they get a healthy start next Spring. Proper preparation during the Fall can help protect your trees during the winter and help them have an optimal growing environment for next Spring.
Follow Our Checklist to make sure your trees are ready for Fall and ready for another growing season next Spring.
Soil Care
Trees that grow in a forest have rich soil to feed off of. Trees that are growing in your yard don’t necessarily have the same advantages. Here are things you can do to enhance the soil and make it more hospitable to your tree, while providing it with the nutrients it needs.
Fertilize
Apply a show release fertilizer during the fall. These slow releasing fertilizers mimic nature by steadily giving nutrients to the tree throughout its growing season. The tree will use the nutrients during the Fall season to develop new root growth and fight disease. The leftover nutrients will help the tree to grow new leaves, wood, and roots as the seasons progress.
Mulch
High quality organic mulch can give your tree a huge boost by adding organic matter to the ground underneath the tree. This helps it conserve moisture, maintain its proper soil temperatures, and aids against erosion.
- You can make your own mulch from ground up leaves, straw, or even wood chips.
- It is imperative to keep mulch two to three inches away from the trunk of the tree. Otherwise it can cause the bark rotting around the bottom of the tree.
- It’s also a great idea to mulch over old leaves and before the first freeze.
Less Water
During Fall trees drop their leaves and return to a dormant state so they need less water. In addition, with cooler temperatures, the soil will lose less water to direct evaporation. This means that you need to reduce the frequency of watering. Just take care not to overwater.
Cleaning
Clean up the debris of fallen leaves and trim branches in the correct way to keep your trees healthy.
Rake up the leaves once they fall from the tree. This will reduce the chances or mold development. Then, the leaves can be combined with organic matter from the ground and gutters and added to a compost bin. You should flip the leaf pile at least once per month. The following year the resulting compost can be used to provide your trees and shrubs with good organic matter.
Fall Prep leads to a Healthy Tree in the Spring
If you follow our checklist and do the proper prep work, it’ll give your trees a good foundational base for them to be ready to grow and bloom next Spring. If you have any questions about proper care of your trees be sure to contact us. Our tree care professionals can answer any question you might have!