Taking Care of Trees During the Summer
Checklist for Taking Care of Trees During the Summer
From Root to Crown, Certified Arborists Look Out for Your Trees
Even with a trusted partner such as Petalon Landscape Management on the job, it’s important to know how to care for trees on your commercial property in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow these tips and let our certified arborists know when pests, disease, and other signs threaten your trees.
Tips for Easy, Breezy Summer Tree Care
Follow these steps to take care of your trees during the summer.
- Deep water trees for healthy roots. Regular watering keeps your trees healthy from the roots up. This is especially important during the hottest months of the year. Use a deep watering method to ensure moisture reaches into the soil and root system. Ideally, you can use a soaker hose installed by our team to create a steady drip.
- Restore the soil with mulching. To maintain soil quality and keep it rich in nutrients and oxygen, it’s important to mulch around your trees each summer. In the forest, this process happens naturally. However, in an urban setting, you’ll need to provide the right ‘debris’ that benefits your landscaping. Mulching your landscape suppresses weeds, keeps the soil moist, and reduces competition with other plants.
- Check for pest infestations. Even the healthiest looking tree may have hidden pest problems. You can check your trees once a week to look for signs of pests, including:
- Leaking tree sap
- Boreholes
- Dead bark
- Fine webbing on leaves and twigs (not spiderwebs)
- Chewed or curled foliage
- Clumps of webbing with caterpillars inside
- New growth covered in or wilting from masses of pests
These simple, visual inspections can help prevent major infestations or the spread of disease between landscaping maintenance appointments.
- Know when to prune trees in summer. Typically, it’s best to prune trees during their dormant season; for most species this is early winter. However, you may sometimes need to prune trees back in the summer. Here are signs that it’s time for summer pruning:
- Dead branches
- Damaged branches
- Signs of pests or disease
Removing dead or damaged limbs and branches can help your trees remain healthy for many seasons to come. Rely on the Petalon crew for tree pruning services and to help look after your trees throughout the long, hot summer days.
- Fertilize on schedule. Slow-release fertilizer applied in early spring benefits your trees all summer long. If you miss spring fertilization, ask your landscaper to feed the trees with an appropriate fertilizer for the season. Contact Petalon for experienced tree care services as part of your commercial landscape management needs.
These are just a few proven strategies that Petalon’s reliable network of certified arborists and experienced landscapers can apply to your commercial property. Feel free to browse our blog for more advice and tips on tree care in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Petalon Landscape Management, Inc. has been taking care of trees during the summer and every other season since 2004. Contact us online today or call 408-453-3998 to schedule a consultation on the best tree care strategy for your commercial property in San Francisco and the surrounding communities.