3 Things You Didn’t Know About Tree Maintenance In Your Garden

Maybe you’ve planted a couple of small trees, or perhaps your garden naturally has big trees growing in it. No matter how the trees got there, you need to maintain them! Tree maintenance is a bit different from other garden maintenance as trees seem so self-sufficient. Saying that, many gardeners make common tree maintenance mistakes because they don’t think certain things need to be done, or they follow general plant maintenance tips. 

That brings us to today’s post: three things you didn’t know about tree maintenance. You’ll learn some key secrets that’ll help you look after your trees and avoid making big mistakes. 

Don’t trim during the growing season

You’re likely aware that trimming and pruning a tree is essential for all-around health. These activities remove dead branches and let you control the tree’s shape so it doesn’t grow dangerously. However, there is a bad time to trim trees and a much better time. The bad time is during the active growth season, which normally runs from late spring to early summer. 

Why is this bad? Because trimming interferes with new growth, causes a lot of stress throughout the tree, and stops it from blooming. Instead, trim your tree during the dormant season (fall to early spring) and prune immediately after flowering – if your tree flowers. 

Water deeply around the tree’s drip line

How do you normally water plants in your garden? Generally speaking, you’re out there at least once a week when there’s no rainfall. Everyone tells you to water frequently if you want to make the most of your land and see things grow/bloom. This works for plants, vegetables, and fruit – but it’s not the way to water a tree. 

Frequent watering around the base of your tree will just make the roots grow weak at the surface. This stops your tree from getting the right nutrients, and it can slowly die. The better approach is watering less frequently but very deeply. Ensure the water gets deep into the roots by watering around the drip line. For those that don’t know, the “drip line” is directly under the furthest point of your tree’s branches. Look at how far the branches go out, and then draw an invisible line to the ground; that’s where you should water a tree for proper sustenance. 

Young trees need winter protection

Your garden normally shuts down during the winter as cold weather conditions stop things from growing. You’re resigned to just sitting back and waiting for the spring, which also means you don’t tend to think about the trees at all. From your perspective, these gnarly things are big enough to look after themselves during the winter months. 

In fairness, that’s true for older trees. However, younger ones will need winter protection, or they develop sunscald. This is when the bark cracks in the winter sun, and it can lead to permanent damage that inhibits the young tree’s growth cycle. So, make sure you protect younger trees by wrapping them with tree guards throughout the winter. For context, a “young tree” is normally five years or younger. 

And there you go: three things you didn’t know about tree maintenance until today. Don’t forget to look after your trees or they can ruin both your garden’s aesthetic and the ability to grow things around the trees.