3 Tips To Prepare Your Trees For Winter
Posted on: 14 December 2018
Trees may be an important part of your landscape design, but they can also become big problems in the winter season. From fallen branches to a complete uprooting due to soft, wet land, trees can damage your home, property, and belongings. This guide and the help of professionals can teach you a few essential tips for preparing your trees for the harsh reality of winter.
Brace
If you have trees that you worry will fall if they are weighed down by rain, sleet, snow, and ice, consider bracing them to the ground. Bracing may sound like a technical term, but it can actually be accomplished easily using rope and a few wooden stakes. Heavier trees may require a more elaborate form of bracing that involves thick cables.
Bracing, also known as tree cabling, can create the support your tree will need to survive the heavy winter precipitation. The brace should be tight enough to offer support while also allowing some slack for any growth that may occur during the early and end parts of the winter season.
Prune
The end of winter is a great time to prune most trees, since it helps stimulate new growth in the spring. However, pruning may be necessary on your trees before the winter season arrives.
Inspect your trees carefully for limbs and branches that appear diseased, discolored, rotted, or broken. Use sharp shears to make clean and quick cuts that remove these branches and limbs with ease.
If any branches or limbs are hanging over your driveway, walkway, roof, or outdoor living space, remove them before the winter arrives. This will ensure the branches do not break off and damage your property when they become bogged down by moisture and snow.
Remove
In some cases, the removal of the entire tree may be necessary.
If you notice multiple sections of diseased bark and foliage, the tree is most likely infected by a fungal disease or pest infestation. Treating this severe damage will require more than just pruning. Therefore, you may need to cut the entire tree down to ensure it does not die and fall down onto your roof during the winter.
If the tree is leaning excessively, causing the base of the trunk and some of the roots to lift out of the ground, removing the tree is smart.
Large holes or cavities in the tree trunk are also signs that your tree is dying and cannot be restored back to health. If your tree is displaying this sign, remove it before the stress of winter arrives.
For more information, contact a company like Good Morrow today.
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