Growing shade trees in your yard has many wonderful benefits. Underneath a big shade tree is the best place for a backyard BBQ or for kids to play outdoors. It will also keep your home cooler during warmer months of the year.

To get the full benefit of shade trees, you have to plant the correct species of tree and care for them properly.

MD Tree Trimming has recommendations for the best trees to plant for shade, and some expert advice on maintaining your shade trees so they grow healthy and strong.

Planting Trees for Shade

All trees can provide shade, but there are some types of trees that are built for the best shade. These types of trees usually have a thick, wider canopy that extends out about as far as it does upward.

Below, we’ve provided some examples of shade trees depending on whether they would be best suited for your back or front yard.

Back Yard Shade Trees

Shade trees in the back yard are typically for your own benefit. Neighbors and passersby usually won’t be able to see these trees , so they can be planted purely for your enjoyment.

Besides just shade, these trees can provide year-round color and some extra privacy.

Here are a few popular choices:

• Magnolia
• Sugar maple or silver maple
• Weeping willow
• Weeping cherry
• Red oak

If you have the space, a live oak is another beautiful choice. Live oaks are considered the fastest growing shade trees, and they can get very big. An older live oak can grow up to 80 feet tall and as much as 100 feet wide.

Many of these back yard tree suggestions get very large, so you need to do your research to find out if the tree is going to have enough space to grow to its full potential.

If there is not enough room, the tree’s root system can destroy your fencing or home. You will also need to prune the tree every year to keep it manageable. A tree that grows too big for its location will most likely have to be cut down, which is an inconvenient and sometimes expensive situation.

Front Yard Shade Trees

In the front yard, you are planting trees for your enjoyment as well, but these trees will be much more beneficial for adding curb appeal and value to your home since they can be seen.

Buy shade trees for the front yard that are a little smaller so they don’t overpower your home. These trees should pair with your landscaping in color and size, while still creating plenty of shade for front yard play and relaxation.

These are some of our favorites:

Red maple
River birch
Dogwood
White oak
Ginkgo tree

These types of trees are colorful throughout the year, and they’ll display even more color in the fall months.
Another good option for your front or side yard is the ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae. This tree looks like a hedge and can be planted in a long row with others to create privacy as well as shade.

With these suggestions in mind, we encourage you to plant what you like. In all honesty, any tree can grow to become a “shade tree.” so long as the trees you choose are suitable for the weather in Maryland, they will provide your yard and home with shade.

Benefits of Planting Shade Trees

The benefits of having shade n your yard are numerous — there are some that you probably wouldn’t typically think about.

Shade, Obviously – When temperatures get too hot, you won’t have to run indoors if you have a comfortable, shady yard. Place a chair or hammock under your best shade tree and enjoy time outside as long as you want.

Climate Control – Trees can control the temperature in your yard and inside your home. Not only do trees protect you from hot sun, but they can make it feel 10-15 degrees colder under their canopies. This translates to less solar radiation on your home as well, which should also result in lowering your energy costs!

Better Air Quality – Trees produce oxygen and remove pollutants from the air, so there is healthier air around your home. Arbor Day Foundation research reports that one mature tree absorbs around 48 pounds of CO2 out of the air.

Shelter for Animals – If you’re into bird watching or think squirrels and chipmunks are cute, your shade trees can provide them all they will need to build a home, find nearby food and raise babies.

Fun – What kid doesn’t love a backyard tree fort or tire swing? If you have children, shade trees will provide hours of fun and joyful memories.

How to Care for Shade Trees

Caring for shade trees is easy as long as you’ve chosen the type of trees for the climate in Maryland. Trees are strong and durable after the first few years, demanding little attention or maintenance.

Consult a certified arborist from MD Tree Trimming if you have any questions about how to care for your trees, or even to help you decide the best tree for your home.

Once you have chosen the best shade tree(s), follow this easy care guide until your shade tree is fully grown.

Planting Your Shade Tree

The east, west and south sides of your yard always get the most sun, so plant your new trees on one of these sides of your yard. This is two-fold: 1) the trees will provide the ideal amount of shade and 2) they will also receive the most amount of sun to grow healthy.

Pruning Your Shade Tree

Prune during the first year or two after you first plant the tree to help to shape it and help it develop a strong foundation. To be safe, and for the best results, call MD Tree Trimming for tree trimming in Maryland. A certified arborist will arrive at your home and deliver professional care for the tree.

Watering Your Shade Tree

Watering a new tree is crucial. This will help them form a deep root system and will give the tree stability in the long run.

Fertilizing Your Shade Tree

Homeowners should fertilize a shade tree just like you would any other tree in order to aid healthy growth. Fertilizer is not a requirement, but it can help your tree to grow faster and produce more leaves, which are the source of your shade.

We hope this information was helpful! Remember, when it is time to trim or prune a new shade tree, MD Tree Trimming can help! Call and a certified arborist in Maryland will visit your home, assess the tree and formulate the best care plan for its long-term health and growth.

Tree pruning is best left to experienced professionals. It’s dangerous work, climbing high up trees, using chainsaws and dropping heavy branches to the ground; and it can be dangerous for the tree as well. Trees that are improperly pruned can sustain a lifetime of damage.

Instead of putting yourself in harm’s way and putting the tree at risk, call a professional who is knowledgeable and experienced to do it for you.

This will lead to much healthier trees and a safer environment near your house for many reasons:

• Healthy trees are stronger and less likely to cause damage during storms
• Maintained trees won’t attract or spread parasites and diseases
• Pruned trees grow more flowers or fruit
• Pruned trees provide shade while still allowing air to flow through their canopies and your landscaping

MD Tree Trimming highly recommends pruning trees that are very close to your house or any that are an integral part of your property.

Is Tree Trimming Necessary?

It is not required. But it is beneficial. Trees are very strong and grow on their own across the world, in a variety of different climates and regions, without pruning.

However, there are many benefits of professional tree trimming, so it’s highly recommended for trees that you care about. This can include sentimental trees, fruit trees and blossoming trees or trees that offer an important job for your home, such as shade or home to wildlife.

Tree Pruning Gone Wrong

Tree pruning is a complicated task. You are going to need the right tools and a lot of knowledge to guarantee the job is done right. The vast majority of homeowners don’t have either of these!

But that’s not a problem, because there are many companies available who know how to properly trim trees for an affordable cost to you including all of the certified arborists throughout Maryland we team up with!

Below are the 5 most common mistakes people make when attempting DIY tree pruning that can lead to many tree problems. These are things that a certified arborist from MD Tree Trimming will know, and that’s exactly why their services are worth the price!

Pruning Too Much

When done properly, pruning is an ongoing process. Beginning when your trees are just 2 or 3 years old, they should be care for by a professional if you value them and intend to keep them strong and healthy.

A huge mistake that people often make when trimming trees by themselves is trimming too much of the tree at a time. This occurs because they let the tree’s growth get out of control and try to fix it all at once. Ideally, you should not cut off more than 5-20% of the tree’s crown at the final removal cut. It is much easier to do this during a season that the leaves are off, but a certified arborist is able to safely trim trees any time of year.

Pruning in the Wrong Place

A trained arborist knows exactly where to trim each limb to protect against damage. This cut should be made just beyond the branch collar, the exact place where the branch connects to the trunk.

Cutting too close to the branch collar exposes the tree to insects, decay and mildew. Cutting too far from it leaves an unsightly stump when the tree has recovered. Most DIY tree trimming results in an improper cut, leaving either aesthetic or structural problems.

Pruning Big Branches

Branches larger than 4 inches in diameter really shouldn’t be trimmed unless it is necessary. Cutting off a branch this large can result in imbalance in the tree and expose it to pests and rodents and decay as the tree recovers from losing such a big branch.

Conservative pruning once each year ensures that the company only has to remove branches that are 2-3 inches in diameter, which produces a more attractive shape for the tree and less chance of harming the tree or exposing it to decay and insects.

Topping the Tree

Tree topping is an outdated type of pruning, and for good reason! In this service, tree trimming companies would cut the top off of the tree to achieve the desired height. It was not attractive nor was it beneficial for the tree, so the vast majority of arborists do not practice tree topping anymore.

During DIY tree pruning, you may think this is an easy way to reduce the height of your tree with just one cut, but once you have cut off the top of a tree, there’s almost no chance it will ever regain a natural shape.

The Solution? Call MD Tree Trimming

Let’s face it. Your tree may never recover from bad pruning.

Performing this job yourself might seem like a way to save a little money, but you could end up with way more expenses trying to revive damaged trees, so it’s really safer (and more economical in the long run) to hire a certified arborist in Maryland from MD Tree Trimming.

Limbs aren’t going to grow back. The tree will grow more, but it will not grow back in the same places, which can lead to odd shapes that could require years to correct. The tree could look bad for the remainder of its life, all because of a single pruning error.

Incorrect trimming could also cause death of the tree. Removing too many limbs (and, therefore, leaves) can affect the tree’s photosynthesis process, meaning it won’t get all of the water it needs or enough sunlight and carbon dioxide to continue growing.

Cutting too many branches can also send the tree into a state of shock. Shock isn’t necessarily permanent, but it takes a lot of care and patience. Even with the right maintenance, a tree undergoing shock may still die.

Avoid all of these tree pruning mistakes and call MD Tree Trimming to speak with a tree care specialist in Maryland able to devise a plan to ensure your tree continues to blossom and look beautiful for years to come!

Trees are living things, so that means that they can get “sick” just like people and animals can. A disease or other tree problem might take a little while to show itself because of the sheer size of the tree, and once symptoms become clear, it could be too late to save the tree.

A certified arborist from MD Tree Trimming can identify and treat common tree issues so that there is a much better chance of saving the tree. Learn about our service here. Not only can an arborist stop a tree from dying, but they can also help trees get healthier growth and bloom more flowers or fruit with professional tree pruning.

Have you noticed a tree on your lawn that has always seemed OK but all of the sudden looks like something is wrong? In the next paragraphs, we’ll explain some of the most common tree problems and diseases and what these symptoms mean.

If you spot any of these things, act fast for the best chance of saving the tree and the ones nearby it.

Tree Diseases & Common Problems

These 7 things are the most frequent issues addressed by experienced arborists in Maryland. The moment you think one of these things might be wrong with your tree, call someone with the training and equipment to help!

Tree Diseases

Leaf Rust – Leaf rust is a fungus that is very common in both plants and trees. The name comes from the brown and yellow spots this disease produces on the leaves.

Leaf rust is a problem because it prevents the leaves’ photosynthesis, the process by which it breathes. Leaf rust can be tended to with fungicides and selective tree pruning of the diseased leaves. It might be necessary to cut off entire branches with leaf rust.

Witches’ Broom – This common tree disease creates a large mass of twigs, dead leaves and branches that resemble a broom shape. It is caused by pests, unusually rainy weather or fungus. The construction of a clump of leaves and twigs is the tree’s reaction to infection or danger.

Some cases of Witches’ Broom are fatal for the tree, others are just considered a growth malformation. A tree care professional can tell you for sure.

Mildew – Mildew is a fungus that grows on almost anything in wet conditions, but even after the moist conditions are over with, mildew can persist and thrive. It appears as a powdery texture, usually white, and it often grows on the leaves of a tree first.

The trick to treating mildew is to apply a fungicide that contains sulfur. This will treat the current mildew and help to prevent future mildew on the tree. You might also need to trim the tree to remove branches, fruit, flowers and leaves that have been affected by the mildew

Gall – Gall is a tree disease that happens when insects build small nests on the leaves or twigs of a tree to leave their eggs in. Most types of galls are not dangerous for the tree, but they are not attractive.

Gall appears as as bumps on the tree, in a range of sizes. They can be white, brown, gray or some shade in between.

It is not necessary to treat the tree if there are galls, but they can inhibit the growth of young trees. Treat galls by killing the insects. You should also clean out from under the tree after the leaves fall off, since this is where the insects live during winter months.

Other Tree Problems

Improper Trimming – There’s a discipline to tree trimming, as well as many types, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could harm the tree beyond recovery. Consider the type of tree, season and other factors. Under-pruning (or not pruning at all) can be just as big of an issue. Only a certified arborist should be trusted to prune trees to keep them healthy.

Lack of Water – Young trees can be severely impacted by drought. If you want to plant new trees, you will need to supplement how much water they get from rainfall. A tree that doesn’t get enough water will have its growth stunted. The first sign you are likely to noticed is scorched or dry leaves. Find more tips for new trees here.

Too Much Sun – Do some planning before planting trees in a full-sun area of your property. Most species of trees can handle it just fine, but too much sun can happen to any tree if the sun is harsh for an extended period and rainfall is light. A tree that is getting too much sun needs even more water to prevent wilting, drooping leaves.

Certified Arborist Services in Maryland

A trained arborist from MD Tree Trimming will quickly diagnose what’s going on with your sick tree and formulate a plan to save it.

Here is what an arborist is trained to do:

• Inspect trees from the ground and from the branches of the tree if possible. Climbing into the canopy is often necessary to see exactly what is causing the symptoms.
• Treat your tree through fertilizers and additives in the soil or products sprayed on the leaves. This person will have expert knowledge about the disease impacting the tree and the most effective treatments for it.
• Prune tree limbs to remove dead or diseased branches and to assist healthy growth. Even if heavy trimming is necessary, they will know how to cut off branches so that the tree survives both the problem and the pruning.
• Remove the tree from your property if there is no chance to save it. The worst case is that the tree is too far gone, and removing it is the only way to protect your home and surrounding landscape.

They can also inform you about the trees that you have and how to best care for them so you don’t find yourself in the same situation again.

Some tree diseases look very similar to each other, requiring a professional opinion to accurately diagnose and correct the issue. If your trees are looking dry, disfigured or dying, call a professional arborist from MD Tree Trimming for an inspection before it’s too late for your tree.

When it comes to the question, “What season is best for tree tree pruning?” The answer can be vague.

The type of tree will dictate when many species are able to be pruned, along with pest population and activity, local tree and plant diseases and other types of plants and trees nearby.

With the help of a certified arborist in Maryland, you can figure out which season is the best for pruning your trees to prepare them for success next season and every year after that.

Best Season to Trim Trees

Without any other context, MD Tree Trimming recommends tree trimming in the winter. This ranges from November to March in Maryland. This season is best because trees are mostly dormant, so trimming will lead to the least amount of harm, if any.

There are several benefits to pruning trees in the winter:

Less risk of pest damage and disease – Insects and plant diseases are mostly inactive during the winter. Throughout the rest of the year, everything from insects to fungus can harm a newly pruned tree because the tree is most susceptible and these issues are more common in warmer weather.

Easier to determine the shape of the tree when there are no leaves – Leaves prevent your arborist from seeing the complete shape of a tree. When tree branches are bare, it is a lot easier to see diseased or dead limbs and branches that are touching versus those that are just too close to each other.

Trees have time to heal before spring – By performing significant tree trimming during the winter, your trees will have many months to rebuild callus tissue on the tips of the remaining branch collar. By spring season, you’ll hardly be able to tell where the branches were removed, and the tree will be able to focus its energy to produce new, healthier leaves, fruit or flowers rather than healing new cuts.

Less chance of harming nearby landscape – Most of the nearby trees and plants will also be dormant during this time, so there is a lower risk of damaging them. Many times, a tree is surrounded by annual plants in the warmer seasons, but there are no plants to be disturbed in the winter months since these annuals already died out.

Do All Trees Need Pruning?

Yes, all trees benefit from routine trimming. Tree trimming every winter is good for trees, but it is also a precaution for the safety of your landscaping and your family and neighbors. Let us explain:

Trimming Makes the Tree Healthier

Dead and diseased limbs are removed, as are branch stubs that are prone to pests and disease. Branches that can rub against one another are also trimmed so that they don’t weaken each other or cause an open wound on the tree.

Trimming trees every year is a great way to get expert eyes on your trees so that early warning signs of decay, disease and pest infestations can be identified and handled immediately.

A Well-Maintained Tree Serves Its Purpose Better

When a tree becomes overgrown, it starts to be hard for water and nutrients to reach every branch. This can leave the tree looking weak and sick and definitely not doing what it’s intended to do.

Trimmed trees, on the other hand, blossom more fruit, healthier leaves and better shade. They are fuller and healthier and less likely to create landscaping issues. So regardless of why you planted a new tree, pruning each winter will improve the results you desire from it.

Trees are More Beautiful After Pruning

If the curb appeal of your yard or landscaping is important to you, tree pruning is a necessity! Pruning trees creates an attractive, uniform size and shape. This is very important if you have many similar trees on your property.

Cutting off lower branches and upper branches that grow at improper angles improves the overall look of the tree while also strengthening tree health.

Less Risk of Dropping Branches

Tree pruning – done the right way – encourages the remaining branches to grow healthier and stronger. Therefore, storms and high winds won’t damage your trees the way they would an unkempt tree. Your home and family will be safer living under and around trimmed trees.

Another safety issue for large trees is that they can impede the view of traffic lights, road signs and driveways. Tree trimming, crown raising and other professional tree care services will keep the tree at a good size and stop it from blocking various views.

Call MD Tree Trimming for Tree Pruning

Working with a professional arborist in Maryland gives you access to their expert knowledge on tree trimming. We highly recommend relying on their years of experience if there are trees on your property that you’d like to keep healthy for awhile.

An arborist doesn’t only look at the immediate situation. Instead, he or she will take the time to inspect your trees and study their unique scenario (including their location and other factors that could put them at risk of disease or infestation). After collecting all the information, an arborist will create a long-term plan based on your trees’ unique needs and stick to that course of action until your goals for your trees are achieved.

This plan could take many years to implement, but rest assured, it will result in healthy trees that you and your family can enjoy for many years to come.

This kind of annual care will aid in healthy tree growth, help your entire property fight off plant diseases and increase fruit or flower production from your trees. It will also strengthen your trees so there is not as much risk of falling trees or branches.

Being proactive about tree trimming will save you a lot of money too. Preventative care is much more affordable than the cost of emergency tree services, storm damage restoration or restoring an ill tree of a disease that has spread out of control (and one that was easily preventable).

If you care about the health of your trees and the beauty of your property, trust a certified arborist for tree trimming and maintenance from MD Tree Trimming. Find our service area here. We work with arborists across the entire state of Maryland. Call today!

Tree pruning in Maryland is a landscaping service that beautifies and reinforces trees so they can fight off pests, diseases and severe weather – and look breathtaking doing it!

Pruning needs to be done if you want healthy trees, but it must be done properly by someone who knows what they’re doing. Like a certified arborist from MD Tree Trimming. You may be able to prune trees safely while they are small, but you also may do permanent damage to the tree in the process.

To correctly prune trees, you need to know all of the following:

• When to prune your types of trees
• How much of the tree can be pruned at a time
• Where to cut the branches so you do not harm the tree

Cutting too much off of a tree might kill it or result in structural damage, but minimal pruning done each year benefits trees in a lot of ways. Pruning improves the appearance of trees, makes them healthier, eliminates dying or diseased portions and increases fruit or flower production.

For the best results, pruning should be completed annually, but as trees mature, you may be able to go two years between pruning services. Regardless of how often you have your trees trimmed, ensure your arborist is qualified to perform the type of tree pruning your trees need. This won’t be a problem if you call MD Tree Trimming in Maryland!

Types of Tree Pruning Methods

There are 7 different ways to correctly prune a tree so that it grows healthier and stronger every year.

Depending on the size, type and health status of your trees, one pruning method could be more effective than another, but each technique has various benefits.

Crown Thinning Your Trees

Crown thinning is typical for larger, overgrown trees in Maryland. This method eliminates weak branches within the crown to improve sunlight and air flow within the crown. Air flow is especially important to help prevent disease.

This pruning technique also gets rid of branches that are touching so they do not rub against one another and snap or create weaker areas that can be an access point for insects and pests. Limbs that grow at strange angles are typically removed during crown thinning.

Crown Raising Your Trees

This trimming method removes branches and limbs at the lowest part of the crown so new limbs start higher up on the trunk. Letting low branches get too large makes them hard to cut off, and they can pull nutrients away from the top of the tree, resulting in less fruit and a weaker tree.

There are several reasons you may decide to raise the crown of a tree. Often, it is done in order to clear the line of sight for automobiles and pedestrians, but it can be done to free up space for landscaping under the tree.

It is a very common technique for overgrown trees that are too close to homes and buildings.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction reduces the total size of the crown from its outer edge. It shortens branches vertically and horizontally to maintain the tree at a certain size. By reducing the crown size, you can remove the need to chop down the tree because it will no longer come into contact with traffic lights, power lines or street lights.

Even when the tree isn’t close to structures like those listed above, crown reduction will help the tree look neater because it also eliminates irregular growth. This is a good solution for trees that are different ages but are supposed to look uniform.

Crown Cleaning

Also referred to as deadwood pruning, crown cleaning is a minimally invasive tree trimming technique that eliminates dying, broken or diseased branches so that the remaining parts of the tree may continue to grow normally. These branches can only create issues later.

Crown cleaning helps to make the tree look much better, and it prevents branches from rubbing together. Plus it is a safety practice that lowers the risk of branches falling, because healthy branches rarely fall.

Crown Restoration

Crown restoration is an intense pruning technique for trees that have been significantly damaged (either by weather or vandals). It needs to only be done by a certified arborist who knows where the tree is likely to grow over time and how long it’s restoration will take.

Unlike other tree trimming services, crown restoration happens over a longer period of time with conservative pruning that reshapes the tree. The arborist must have a definitive plan to restore the tree, but also be flexible as the tree grows and reshapes on its own, working with the tree’s new growth pattern.

Vista Pruning

If you are hoping for trees that increase curb appeal, you are probably interested in vista pruning. The intent of vista pruning is to help to make the tree more visually pleasing from a particular vantage point.

It encompasses many tree trimming techniques including crown thinning, crown reduction and crown cleaning – anything that helps the trees look prettier. Remember, though, that an arborist will never compromise the health of a tree, so the focus of vista pruning is still to maintain strong, healthy trees.

Espalier Pruning

Espaliered trees are heavily pruned to grow flat against a wall or a trellis. It is a unique style of trimming that will attract a lot of attention to your yard. Espalier pruning should be started when the tree is young and then done routinely during the tree’s life span.

Some of the benefits of espalier pruning include allowing maximum sunlight to reach the trees, as well as making it much easier to produce fruit.

Professional Tree Pruning in Maryland

Tree pruning can be harmful to a tree, your landscaping, and, of course, for you! MD Tree Trimming highly encourages professional tree trimming over DIY.

Aside from the dangers of tree trimming, you can do a lot of damage to a tree if you don’t prune it properly. Excessive pruning is one of the most typical mistakes made by homeowners trimming their own trees.

Trees in Maryland that get routine care from a professionals are usually much better off, and hiring an experienced arborist from MD Tree Trimming to prune trees on your property is a choice you won’t regret. Locate your town in our service area. We work with arborists throughout the entire state of Maryland!

Planting a tree on your property has many benefits. Trees offer much-needed summer shade, create privacy, filter contaminated air and increase curb appeal and property value.

Once full-grown, most trees are easy to care for: another benefit! They are durable and tend to continue growing despite minimal care. However, if you want to see your trees reach their potential, they need more effort.

Lack of care for growing trees might cause rotting, disease, under watering or pest issues.

The good news is that caring for trees isn’t very difficult, but you do need a little information to do it correctly. Research the new trees you plant to know what they need to succeed. Then care for them and watch them flourish.

Below, we’ll outline the five best practices for planting a new tree and seeing it thrive. You probably know the basics, so let’s dive a little deeper and lay out how to complete each step.

Tree Care Tips for New Trees

These tips will not only help keep trees alive, they’ll help them grow much faster, withstand extreme winds, fight off diseases ,insects and pests and produce more leaves, flowers or fruit.

Water Your Tree

New trees need a lot more water than older ones. The trees you plant are no exception.

The root ball of the tree and the soil surrounding it need be kept moist, but don’t let it get too wet, as this might cause the roots to rot.

The general rule is 4-10 gallons of water every week. Rain water counts, and although it’s difficult to get an exact reading, a rain gauge can help get you close enough to add the remaining gallons. Your trees need this much water for the first 2-3 growing seasons.

Mulch Around Your Trees

Mulch is much more than an attractive lawn care product. It actually helps protect new trees, especially the roots underground. But laying mulch the wrong way can sometimes result in rotting and decay – so much so, that the tree will not survive.

Place mulch 3 inches away from the trunk of the tree and spread it around to cover the ground under the longest horizontal limb. For brand new trees, this won’t be very far, but as the tree grows, your mulch area will grow substantially.

Keep the mulch 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas around the tree. Be vigilant in keeping it spread out consistently and away from the tree trunk so it does not stop air flow around the tree trunk.

Fertilize Around Your Tree

Fertilizer provides nutrients your land’s soil may not naturally have. Most new trees will benefit from fertilizing, but you have to use the right products and doing it at the correct time for fertilizer to be most impactful.

The perfect time of year to fertilize is during early spring. Sometimes early summer also provides the right conditions (mild temperatures and wet soil), but don’t count on it.

If you are uncertain about which type of fertilizer to use, consult a tree care professional for advice. Slow-release fertilizers are often a good idea because they feed your trees over a period of time rather than all right away.

Follow through with these things in the first few growing seasons after planting a tree, and then reevaluate your watering, mulching and fertilizing as the tree grows larger. As seasons go on, there will be tree care projects that become more important for new trees.

Trim Your Tree

Tree pruning is very important – yet very challenging – in the first years after planting a new tree. As the tree grows bigger, you may see a lot of small branches take off, attempting to become the tree’s trunk. While you may think this means that the tree is healthy and growing well, but it can actually result in a very weak tree in the future.

Early pruning helps to shape the tree into what it is going to ultimately look like when it is much larger. As little limbs emerge on the lower trunk, they must be cut off so they don’t steal water and nutrients away from the branches at the top.

As long as there are trees somewhere on your property, they need to be trimmed periodically. When the tree gets too large for you to prune them safely, you can count on MD Tree Trimming to do the job for you.

Monitor Your Tree

Young trees are at the most risk for damage, disease and pest issues. But you’re never completely safe from these issues. As your tree gets older, monitor it carefully for signs of disease or poor nutrition, including the following:

• Leaf color changing out of season, especially leaves turning brown or yellow
• Premature leaf drop, regardless of whether these leaves look healthy or diseased
• Wilting, even with adequate watering
• Single limbs or branches dying
• Peeling bark

These signs indicate a health issue. The tree is probably going to need professional maintenance if your hope is to save the tree. A certified arborist can identify the issue by just looking at the tree, although they will perform testing if necessary.

If you determine the problem early enough, you will likely be able to save the tree from dying. Being proactive is the best course of action to protect your new trees.

The tips above are basic yet effective. Don’t underestimate the importance of the basics! When your new trees have pruning, fertilizer and more,, combined with sunshine and barring severe, damaging weather, the chances are in your favor that they will survive and look beautiful!

Of course, you might already have a lot on your plate and don’t really want to be responsible for these additional lawn care projects. In many cases, property owners don’t have the ability or the tools to give their new trees the necessary care.

No matter the situation, it’s ok to contact a local tree service for the care of new trees. A certified arborist in Maryland can consult with you about the course of maintenance for each type of tree you plant on your land. Arborists enjoy sharing their expertise and skills with people planting new trees, and can be the difference between trees struggling and trees that thrive.

Call MD Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree maintenance in Maryland – including tree trimming – for newer trees and older trees. An arborists can determine the best plan for your trees! Locate your city in our service area here.