Essential Spring Tree Maintenance for a Healthy Growing Season

Watching your trees come to life after a season of slumber is an energizing sight. But to ensure they stay as vibrant as possible through the coming months, it’s important to treat them to a little TLC. Here, we share our top spring tree care tips to encourage healthy growth.

How to Care for Trees in Spring

Prune Like a Pro

Should trees be pruned in the spring? It’s a question we encounter often, so we’ve touched on it before. As a reminder, early spring pruning is ideal for most tree species since it allows you to eliminate dead or damaged branches affected by winter’s wrath. Prune your trees to thin out crowded branches or control its shape and watch its growth take off — or call in expert help if you’re feeling unsure.

Serve Up Some Sustenance

After a season of dormancy, your trees are hungry. Deliver nourishment via an all-natural fertilizer: trash! Collect organic waste like eggshells, coffee grounds, vegetable trimmings and fruit peels (no meat, dairy or shellfish products though) and pile them together to create your own compost. Spread a layer at the base of your tree, but avoid placing it directly against the trunk. With nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, the blend will give your trees beneficial sustenance to support healthy root development.

Quench Their Thirst

While many mature trees can survive on rainfall alone, most shrubs and younger trees will appreciate added hydration to help fuel their growth. Manual watering is one way to get the job done, but irrigation is a shortcut worth considering. For a DIY method, place drip lines around the base of your tree, about as far out as its canopy extends. Set your system to deliver at least three weekly watering sessions during the growth season, but check back to make sure the surrounding soil isn’t flooding. If so, cut back until it’s damp but not saturated.

Mulch for a Magic Touch

We’ve sung the praises of mulch in the past, but as one of the most effective spring tree care activities you can do, it bears repeating. Mulch locks moisture in, keeps weeds out, and keeps your yard looking polished at the same time. Spread a layer two to four inches thick around your tree’s base, taking care to avoid the area directly against the bark.

Make It Fun

Trees benefit your property in many ways, from improving air quality and energy costs to assisting in stormwater management. Caring for them is work, but we believe having trees can be rewarding in other ways, too. Here are just a few ideas for making the most of your trees through the springtime and beyond:

  • Set up feeders to invite Georgia’s backyard bird populations for a visit. From sparrows and finches, to mockingbirds and cardinals, you never know who might show up.
  • String lights around or between your trees to enjoy an ethereal outdoor glow after the sun sets. Just be sure to avoid using nails, which could injure your trees’ bark tissue — tree straps or electrical tape are safer alternatives.
  • Hang a hammock to get ready for warm afternoons spent swaying in the breeze.

Schedule a Service With Premier Tree Solutions

Getting your yard spring-ready can be a major endeavor. From stump grinding to tree trimming, our professional tree care services can set you up for a smooth and successful growth season. To request an estimate, call 404.252.6448 or send us a message online.

Spring Cleaning Your Pruning Toolkit

As buds turn into blooms and the buzz of spring draws nearer, you might find yourself growing eager to get back into the swing of yard work. But before you start your first trims of the season, take some time to assess your pruning toolkit. From the handheld essentials you’ll need for pruning flowering trees to maintenance tips to keep them in top condition, we’re covering all the basics of pruning hardware here.

Your Spring Pruning Tool Checklist

Hand Pruners

Also known as pruning shears, pruners, clippers, or secateurs if you’re feeling fancy, these tools allow you to snip branches up to ¾ of an inch in diameter with ease. They feature handles and blades that move on a fixed axis and come in several styles:

  • Bypass: Scissor-like pruners that are ideal for trimming live branches
  • Anvil Pruners: Tools with a straight blade that can split dry branches or stems
  • Ratchet Pruners: Similar to anvil pruners, but with an added mechanism that allows you to cut in stages to prevent wrist strain

Reach for hand pruners when you’re deadheading flowers, shaping small shrubs, trimming back perennials, or making any other small, precise cuts on delicate plants.

Loppers

Think of loppers as the next step above hand pruners. Like their smaller cousins, they’re available in bypass, anvil, and ratchet styles, but come with extended handles for a broader reach. With their added size, they can make their way through branches of up to two and a half inches in diameter, such as those found on fruit and nut trees, as well as thick vines. Some even have telescopic handles, granting you access to especially hard-to-reach places when you’re pruning flowering trees this spring.

Pruning Saws

For thicker branches or vines that can’t easily squeeze between the blades of loppers, call in the pruning saw. With a serrated blade and either a fixed or folding handle, these tools should get through branches up to five inches thick.  

Pole Pruners

For even harder-to-reach branches at extended heights, pole pruners allow you to make cuts with your feet planted safely on the ground. Many are battery or gas-operated, so they’ll do the sawing work all on their own.

How to Care for Your Pruning Tools This Spring

If you’re retrieving pruning tools from a shed or garage for their first use of the season, sharpen their blades first for easier, more precise cuts. Here’s how:

  • Clean the blades using warm water and dish soap, scrubbing away any debris with a wire brush. If needed, disassemble the tool to clean between the blades.
  • Dry the tool thoroughly with a lint-free cloth.
  • Use gentle motions to stroke the blade against a sharpening tool, such as a diamond file or carbide sharpener, maintaining a consistent angle. If you feel uncertain, there are professionals who can do the job for you. 

Once your blades are sharp, you’re ready to get pruning. Just be mindful to clean them when moving between different plants: Wiping them down with an alcohol-soaked cotton pad will eliminate bacteria that could otherwise spread between trees, potentially transferring diseases.

Lastly, make sure your tools are free of any sap, wood, or other debris before putting them away. Prevent rust by storing them in a dry place.  

Schedule a Tree Pruning With Premier Tree Solutions

While small plants may be no match for your pruning tools, mature trees need large-scale equipment and expertise for safe and proper pruning. And if you’re scratching your head wondering, “When should flowering trees be pruned?” let alone how to do it or what tools to use, allow Premier Tree Solutions to assist you with all of your tree pruning needs through the springtime and beyond. We can take care of your trees, shrubs, and bushes with our professional hand pruning services easily arranged by an appointment scheduled online or by calling us at 404.252.6448.