Month: April 2022

Tips on Planting Trees

Posted on by mitweb

Friday, April 29, 2022, is Arbor Day, a national holiday to encourage people to plant and nurture trees. This annual holiday, which started in 1872, was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton, President Grover Cleveland’s Secretary of Agriculture.

One of the best ways to celebrate Arbor Day is to plant a tree. To get involved, you might find some non-profit groups in your area offering volunteer opportunities and some corporations may also organize tree planting events.

The Value of Trees

Trees are an important part of the ecosystem that provide food and shelter for animals and birds and add beauty to any area where they are allowed to grow and thrive. People simply love trees, and they have a positive effect on our moods and mental health.

Trees are also critical in combating climate change. They eat up air pollution and CO2 and replace it with life-giving oxygen. They reduce surface heat by providing shade, which is necessary in hot cities where pavement and buildings can create dangerous “urban heat islands.”

With all these benefits, trees also boost home and property values, making them an investment that provides tangible dividends.

Tips on Planting Trees

Planting trees is not overly difficult, but do not underestimate the care and planning that should go into your tree-planting venture. Here are a few things to consider when planting trees:

What Will You Plant and Where?

While it takes years for a tree to grow to its full height and width, keep the final size in mind when choosing what to plant and where. You’ll want a tree that doesn’t crowd out the other trees in the vicinity, or worse, grow dangerously close to a roof, power lines or other structures.

The type of tree you plant should be one that can thrive in your regional climate. Ideally, this will be a tree that is native to the area. Bringing in exotic trees could impact the ecosystem, including the insects, although it is now common to plant non-native palm trees in states like Florida and California. Both states have their own native palm trees, but in Southern California, only one palm tree is native, the Washingtonia filifera, and in Florida, many palm trees are becoming endangered due to development.

Palm trees guzzle water to survive, and other types of trees do as well, so keep this in mind when choosing a tree. You don’t necessarily want to plant a palm tree in an arid area where water is scarce unless you plan on watering it regularly.

Taller trees also need more water in general. Hot and dry areas like central Texas tend to have shorter trees because of the lack of water and excess heat.

Selecting a Tree

The best way to shop for a tree native to your area is, of course, locally. Your local nursery should have a variety of trees to choose from. A smaller, younger tree is a wiser choice for planting because larger, more mature trees often need to have their roots cut for transportation. Keeping the roots intact will give your tree a greater chance at success. This is not to say you cannot start with a larger tree, but it may need some additional care.

Preparing the Area for Planting

Once you have selected your tree and the general location, you’ll need to dig a hole. The hole will initially also be a testing hole. You should fill it with water before planting the tree, and if you notice any issues with drainage, the ground in that spot may not be suitable or you may need to consult with a professional landscaper.

The hole for your tree should be two to three times the size of the root ball of the tree.

Planting the Tree

To plant, place the tree’s root ball carefully in the hole and then fill the hole with dirt. Make sure the dirt is even around all sides and that the tree is secured in the middle. The dirt should be tamped down firmly but not packed so tightly that the roots can’t breathe. The tree should be stable in the dirt and not tipping over.

Water the tree immediately after planting. You should use enough water to make the soil moist but not too soggy.

Once the Tree is Planted

After planting, watering is one of the most important things you’ll need to do for your new tree. Depending on the tree, you might end up using five to ten gallons per week or more. Fertilizer for your tree can help it grow, especially if the soil in your area is depleted.

Mulching around the tree can also be helpful, but only if done correctly. Never place mulch directly against the tree’s trunk. This could trap moisture and cause the wood to decay. Mulch should be spaced at least three inches away from the tree trunk.

Finally, don’t forget pruning. Young trees will grow many branches that are in competition for one another as the top dog, but this can weaken the tree. Strategic pruning is the key to a healthy, strong, thriving tree for years to come.

Townsend Tree places a high value of trees. We take the utmost care to carefully trim and maintain trees to support their health while keeping branches away from critical power lines. Contact us today for more information on how we can keep energy systems up and running through smart vegetation management—or, reach out to our sister company, Townsend Arborcare, for help maintaining your residential tree needs.

What Would Happen If There Were No Trees?

Posted on by mitweb

On April 22, we celebrate Earth Day to remind ourselves to be grateful for our home planet. Earth Day is also about protecting the planet from pollution and deforestation by encouraging simple environmental actions such as picking up litter and planting trees.

It leaves us wondering: What would happen if there were no trees? Trees are so important to our well-being, but so often, we forget about their significance. If all the trees on planet Earth suddenly disappeared, it would be devastating to our environment.

The Negative Impact of Deforestation

Imagine a world without one tree on it. We have, of course, examples in our own solar system. Earth is the only planet in our system with trees. If you’ve ever seen footage of Mars, you may have noted how bleak and desolate the planet looks.

That’s because Mars has no trees.

Certainly, Mother Earth has her fair share of sandy deserts and desolate areas, such as Antarctica, that don’t contain any vegetation. But Earth is a forest planet in many respects‚Äîat least, it was.

Earth’s rich tree ecosystem has been quickly deteriorating since the Industrial Revolution enabled machines to advance material ‚Äúprogress.‚Äù The result? Far fewer trees on the planet.

In fact, early settlers to the United States didn’t really realize the value of the forests they ran across. In the 1800s and early 1900s, many beautiful large sequoias and redwoods were mowed down prior to our modern conservationist movement.

This led to approximately “96 percent of the original old-growth coast redwoods” being logged, according to the National Park Service. These old-growth forests were a national treasure that we cannot get back because it took hundreds and thousands of years to initially grow those trees. The world has lost 420 million hectares of forest since 1990. Agriculture and commercial business accounts for much of this loss of critical forest.

The Many Benefits of Trees

Trees offer many benefits to people and the planet. They are an important part of the ecological cycles of nature. People breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants basically do the reverse: they take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. For this reason, trees should be an integral part of any climate change mitigation strategy.

Trees don’t just take CO2 out of the air. They also remove common pollutants from the air we breathe, including particle matter (such as from car exhaust) and pollutant gases, including sulfur dioxide and ammonia. If you want to filter the air in your home, houseplants or small trees can help.

Trees also perform other important ecological functions such as reducing soil erosion and providing a home for animals like birds and monkeys.

Additionally, shade from trees helps to cool things down in hot summers. City neighborhoods that do not have a lot of trees are much hotter on average than neighborhoods with trees. Loads of concrete, brick and asphalt in a neighborhood can create what is called an “urban heat island,” which can be very unpleasant in the summer. These heat islands can become deadly, especially for the elderly. For example, in Baltimore, where efforts have been made to plant trees in poor neighborhoods, a study found an eight-degree difference between the hottest and coolest “Charm City” neighborhoods, with the coolest neighborhoods boasting 10 times more trees than the hottest.

Trees also beautify an area and make it more attractive and livable. This doesn’t even account for the psychological benefits afforded by natural beauty.

In short, a world without trees would be a very miserable world indeed.

How to Take Care of Trees

Trees can often do just fine when left to their own devices. However, in the modern era, with so much pollution and issues such as depleted soil, a little tree nurturing can go a long way. First, make sure you plant the right tree for your landscape. Considerations should include the amount of sunlight, the type of soil, the room for the tree’s growth and the climate. Planting a palm tree in Michigan is simply not going to end well!

Water is especially necessary when trees are first planted. In the Baltimore nonprofit initiative to plant trees in the city, they estimated that each tree would need 20 gallons per week to get established over two years.

Fertilizer and mulch can help strengthen trees and give them the nutrition and moist soil they need for healthy growth.

Pruning is also a very important part of tree maintenance. Trimming tree branches does not harm trees. In fact, pruning properly can actually strengthen the core tree structure. Deadwood on a tree can actually cause poor tree health. It can also be a hazard, not just to power lines but to people walking by.

If you represent a government or energy company and need professional vegetation management, Townsend Tree is a respected provider of tree trimming and debris clearing. Contact us today for more information on how we can keep your energy systems up and running.