Top 10 Summer Tree Care and Maintenance Tips

Trees are one of the precious things on the landscape that deliver us oxygen to survive, shed to sit, and fruits to eat. They not only look attractive by the roadside; rather, they are a great addition to your yard or garden. Keeping all the above things in mind, it becomes quite essential to take care of trees in every season, but they need special care in the summer season.

Now, as you know that summer is around the corner when the temperature touches the sky, it is crucial to prepare your trees for summer to live healthy for a long time. When we talk about tree care, different seasons have almost the same tree care tips, but the summer tree care tips are additional from another season, and that means in this season, they need more attention to stay healthy.

If you don’t do it, the poor care will harm its growth and cause the tree to fail. So, if you want your trees to remain healthy even in the summer season, follow the below 10 summer tree care and maintenance tips.

Here are few Summer Tree Care and Maintenance Tips:

Tree evaluation

It is believed that summer days are the last days in which trees essentially shut down due to excess heat and lack of water. Because of this, they look wilted as they cannot conserve their energy. So, if you want your trees to be healthy, then summer is a wonderful time to take professional tree care services to examine your tree health.

Consult the best-certified arborist who will suggest various remedies for your tree’s problem during the summer season. Apart from that, they will also advise you on irrigation and other tree maintenance tips.

Look for signs of heat stress.

In the summer season, even the healthiest tree can experience heat stress. So, you need to know the signs that will help you catch the issue and prevent it from being damaged. However, this can be your priority in this season as any tree can experience heat stress that needs immediate care. Heat stress signs are: –

• Reduced leaves of branches
• Poor flower and fruit development
• Yellow, brown, or wilting leaves

While inspecting trees, if you get to see any of these signs, you must call professional tree care services for the treatment. 

Apply a fresh layer of mulch

If you apply mulch to the tree, it will offer much-needed help to trees, especially around the root area. This step is the best way to protect the tree’s roots from the scorching heat, and it also helps in retaining moisture.

Moreover, if you apply mulch properly, it is one of the best ways to help young trees take excess water and also helps in settling down strong root systems. Also, remember that when you apply mulch, less is more, and that means applying that much mulch, which will avoid creating a friendly environment for both pests and germs. For example, one layer of around 5 to 10 centimetres would work best.

In addition to that, don’t forget to leave some space between the mulch and the tree’s base. Also, arrange the mulch in such a way like a doughnut shape around the tree to discourage pests and diseases.

Cabling as summer tree care

Unexpected summer storms are quite hazardous for trees and their neighbouring properties. So, you must contact professional tree care services as they will determine whether the tree in your yard or area can pose any danger to your home, vehicle, etc.

After this step, they will also suggest you go for cabling of weak limbs, or they can also ask you to remove all weak limbs, which are dangerous. The main aim of cabling is to curb the excessive shedding of twigs and leaves in the summer season.

Ensure the roots and trunk are safe

You very well know that roots are vital parts of the tree, and if you take care of roots, you are taking care of the tree’s health. If your tree is in the open, it will be exposed to more foot traffic, taking away the mulch. So, apply the mulch from time to time as it acts as a minor barrier against people near the tree. 

Moreover, if your tree is near a well-trodden path, you have to take care of it more. However, if the tree is young, it is essential to have a barrier against the animals while growing. To protect the tree, you can also plant some shrubs so that people will be away from the tree.

Fertilize the trees properly

Fertilization is the key to keeping the trees healthy and strong. The reason is that fertilization adds nutrients to the soil, and it is true that the more beneficial the soil, the more a tree will be. In other words, if the tree is fully nourished, the tree will develop healthy leaf and shoot systems.

Apart from that, when we talk about fertilization, there are various factors that you need to consider while choosing the best fertilizer, especially for fruit trees. For example, consider quality so that the crop will turn out healthy and tasty. For more information, you must consult professional tree care services as they will guide you on this topic.

Inspect the tree for pests

Many tree pests can harm the trees and leave them wilted, and finally, they die. So, for the best result, regularly examine the trees for pest infestations throughout the summer. However, several pests don’t harm the trees, but some of them can due to which it becomes essential to examine the trees regularly, especially in the summer season for pests.

In addition to that, if you don’t know the signs to recognise pests, then you can take the help of professional tree care services.

Water the trees thoroughly

Whether you are planting a new tree or transplanting a tree, this process can cause the tree to go into a state of shock. However, this process is normal but must not last for more than a few weeks. In this period of time, the tree will look slightly wilted.

But if you want your trees to overcome this shock, then water the trees thoroughly as it will help your tree overcome the shock. That means watering the tree regularly for a full recovery. However, for the first week, water the tree every day and water them every three days for the next three months.

Irrigation

Due to dry weather, watering trees is essential during hot days, especially when the trees are young, growing, and newly planted. According to the professional tree care services, every tree needs around one inch of water every week. However, water applications encourage better root growth than shallow, more-frequent irrigation when you water trees deeper and less frequently.

Refrain from pruning

The step of pruning is essential to maintain the overall tree health and appearance. But in the summer season, ensure to avoid pruning unless you have to remove diseased and damaged branches. But ensure to go for swift removal, which will minimize any damage and prevent the tree from spreading to other parts of the tree.

In addition to that, proper pruning can indeed improve a tree’s health as it promotes air circulation and also reduces water uptake. But don’t do pruning on your own; rather, put this job left to the pros. That means consulting the certified arborist of the best professional tree care services as they know how to do proper pruning and at what time.

Shading

The summer season is hot, but conditions make the tree even hotter. So, if you have a younger tree, it would be beneficial to have shading to keep it cool. In this regard, ensure that you do not keep any of the landscaping material near the tree as it can offer more heat to the tree.

Well, keep shaping in mind to ensure the younger tree will not die in the summer season.

When to remove a tree if it faces some issues and cannot survive?

No doubt you love the trees like your family, but there may come a time when your best companion needs removal from your property. This happens when the tree is no longer healthy and has the potential to fall as it can cause damage to your home or injure nearby.

So, if you want to avoid these serious issues, first monitor the overall health of the tree by calling a certified arborist of professional tree care services. If not, you can look for the below signs, which will help you to know whether a tree needs removal or not. They are: –

• The trunk of the tree is hollow.
• More than a quarter of the branches are dead or damaged
• The tree is leaning significantly rather than growing straight
• There is a severe fungus or infestation affection the tree

But make sure not to remove the tree if it can become healthy again.

The bottom line

A summer tree care routine is the best that you must adopt for a healthy and strong tree. The reason is that wonderful and environment-friendly trees are a good addition to your yard and raise the value of your home and property. So, follow the above tree care maintenance tips to make your trees long-lasting and fruitful.

For more suggestions and advice, you can consult professional tree care services as certified arborists are highly experienced, skilled, and qualified enough to tell better about trees.

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Dustin Pope

Dustin Pope, the President of Tree Doctor, wisdom is stored in the optimum health of the trees, plants, and shrubs in the landscape of San Diego. He is very passionate about creating awareness for tree health management and educating people about the consequences of ignoring the unique tree healthcare needs. He believes in sustainable results using advanced environmentally-friendly technology. He loves to write about the tree and plant health care problems, insect and disease diagnosis and treatment, soil and root care making people aware through his experience, and keeping the San Diego County landscape healthy and beautiful. Stay tuned with the recent articles to know all about harmful insects and diseases hampering tree health, tree nutrients, soil care, root management, deep root fertilization, and other stress to trees.