Deep Root Fertilization: Helping Trees Survive the Summer Heat

For us, summertime means fun in the sun. While we may be busy making vacation plans, we should also consider preparing our trees for the seasonal challenges they will soon face. Warmer months can cause issues such as leaf scorch and root dehydration. As we protect ourselves with sunscreen, trees need their own defenses.

How can we give our trees a head start before summer temperatures rise? Unfortunately, standard surface fertilizing doesn’t always cut it. Deep root fertilization (DRF) is an advanced process that adds muscle to a tree’s infrastructure, making it stronger as the environment becomes problematic.

What is Deep Root Fertilization?

You may ask yourself, “How does deep root fertilization work?” DRF targets a tree’s critical root zone by injecting a pressurized liquid soil conditioner directly into that specific area. It brings critical nutrients straight to the roots. As a result DRF, encourages growth, bolsters tree health, and aerates the soil. The process helps make sure nutrients aren’t evaporated by the sun or hijacked by surface turf. This is important for trees in urban areas as the soil is often compacted, which keeps water and oxygen from reaching the tree’s feeder roots.

Building Drought Resistance Through Root Density

According to the Oregon State University Extension Service, thoroughly soaking the root zone encourages roots to develop deep in the soil. It’s important to saturate the area to a depth of 8 to 10 inches. DRF replicates this and proves superior to surface watering, because it provides nutrients directly to the roots, allowing them to thrive and become stronger during a drought. It stimulates fine root hair production, which helps retain moisture for longer periods.

How DRF Fills the Urban Soil Deficiency Gap

In forest settings, falling leaves create a natural compost loop. This circle of life allows decaying leaves the opportunity to return critical nutrients back to the soil. At home, we break this loop by raking leaves and our trees ultimately suffer. A study from the North Carolina State Extension says this fact makes supplemental fertilization a critical process in an urban environment. DRF helps replace that missing organic layer by giving trees the nutrient boost they need to survive and flourish, especially during the summer heat.

Let a Premier Tree Solutions Expert Provide DRF for Your Trees

Trees are arguably your landscape’s most valuable players. With DRF, you get the added assurance your trees are receiving the nourishment they require to flourish before the temperatures skyrocket.

Contact Premier Tree Solutions for a soil assessment and possible DRF treatment. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

Storm Season Survival Guide: Identifying Hazard Trees Before the Rain

Spring and summer remain Georgia’s rainiest seasons. While precipitation obviously helps trees and other flora thrive, a heavy rain can sometimes cause a tree hazard.

The calm before the storm is the best time to be proactive and avoid potential tree problems. A Premier Tree Solutions pre-storm tree inspection can help save money and even lives in the long run.

The following are three of the most common signs of potential hazards.

Root Zone Disturbances and Leaning

Roots anchor trees, and the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach quickly points out that strong, stormy winds can potentially blow over a tree with compromised roots, especially when the soil is wet. Keep an eye out for exposed or decayed roots as well as fungus growth or cracks in the soil located within the root plate.

Has a tree developed a sudden lean? According to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, a lean that worsens quickly is a warning sign of impending failure. Another major red flag is a tree with a lean where the soil on the opposite side is lifting. Both of these conditions make a tree extremely vulnerable during a rainstorm and call for immediate attention.

V-Shaped Bark Unions

Do you notice any V-shaped unions on a tree’s branches? These have weak attachment points and are more subjective to split or break during a windy rainstorm. The Purdue University Extension recommends eliminating these branches, especially those with tight or narrow branch junctions. Branches with bark inclusion, which means bark has grown inward between two stems, are problematic as well.

Internal Decay and Deadwood

Internal decay and deadwood make a tree more susceptible to falling during a storm. However, these invisible dangers can be difficult to spot. Holes from woodpeckers or previous pruning, deep cavities, and sunken or peeling segments of bark are all signs of internal wood decay. Other signals of internal decay include fungal growth on the trunk, roots, or branches, spongy or soft wood, cracks and splits, and a swollen base of the trunk. Keep in mind a tree may look healthy on the outside, but could be experiencing internal decay.

Tree branches not receiving enough nutrients to survive naturally die off. If a tree’s branches aren’t presenting buds or don’t have leaves, that portion of the tree has likely become deadwood. Beware of sizable, brittle branches without leaves. These are indicative of deadwood and can fall during even a mild rainstorm.

When to Call Premier Tree Solutions

With a little education, you can spot signs of trees that might fall during a rainstorm. However, it’s important to rely on a professional to take proactive measures.

Don’t be left out in the rain. Have Premier Tree Solutions inspect your trees today to make sure your property weathers the storm. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

Top Warning Signs a Tree Could Fall

According to Weather Spark, March continues to be the windiest month of the year in the Atlanta area, with an average hourly wind speed of 7 mph. That can be quite a blow to trees.

Flawed trees are most vulnerable to high winds. Get ahead of the game by spotting signs of potential falling branches or trees and taking care of hazards in advance of windier weather.

Deadwood and Hanging Branches

Both dead branches and broken branches caught in a tree’s canopy can pose a serious risk in the face of high winds. Heavy gusts have the ability to snap the wood into pieces, potentially causing damage to both people and property.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences suggests keeping an eye out for dieback, the progressive death of branches. Signs include brown and wilting leaves, dead twigs, and a thinning crown. Leafless limbs and twigs poking out of the canopy may also signal branches are dead or dying.

Spotting Decay

A decaying tree can be in danger of falling due to a loss of structural integrity. White rot, brown rot, and soft rot are the most common forms of wood decay. In addition to the obvious visual proof of wood decay on trunks and branches, the Penn State Extension cites several signs decay expansion is taking place within a tree. Look for fungal conks and mushrooms on the branches, trunk, or roots. Does the tree trunk have nesting holes or cavities? If carpenter ants are creating colonies in the decayed wood, but aren’t consuming the wood, that could signal decay.

Root Zone Issues and Heaving Soil

Since roots anchor a tree, compromised roots can mean trouble in the midst of powerful winds. The Purdue University Extension recommends looking for exposed or decayed roots as well as fungus growth or cracks in the soil located within the root plate. The latter is the mass of roots around the tree’s base. According to the Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities Extension, a leaning tree with heaving soil, which means the soil on one side of the tree is lifting or mounding, is a strong sign a tree is in danger of falling. In this case, immediately seek professional help.

V-Shaped Forks Equal Poor Structure

Does your tree have a V-shaped fork? The University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service says these forks prove weaker in comparison to broader angled forks and branches. This makes them susceptible to high winds, especially tree varieties such as elm, oak, maple yellow poplar, and willow.

Premier Tree Solutions Can Spot a Potential Tree Fall

Don’t let windy weather damper your spring. Premier Tree Solutions’ team of professionals can assess your trees, identifying any on your property in danger of falling due to high winds. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

DIY Tree Care Mistakes Georgia Homeowners Should Avoid

Owning a home in a forest-rich state like Georgia means tree care is virtually unavoidable. At one time or another, you will most likely find yourself branching out and tending to a tree.

While undertaking a DIY tree care project might sound like a money-saving option, mistakes can sometimes prove costly. The following are a few of the most common tree care mistakes and how to avoid them.

Just Say No to Volcano Mulching

Mulching on your property is a great way to stop erosion, keep weeds at bay, conserve moisture, and regulate soil temperature. However, a common landscaping gaffe when trying to protect a tree is creating a mulch volcano. That means piling mulch high up against a tree’s trunk, creating a volcano shape. The mulch allows Georgia’s humidity to trap moisture on the tree’s bark, which leads to bark decay, root rot, insect troubles, and even the slow death of the tree.

Doing it Right: Skip the volcano and opt for the donut method. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension suggests pulling mulch several inches away from the tree’s trunk and extending it to at least the dripline of the tree. The end result resembles the shape of a donut. Make sure the mulch is 3- to 4-inches thick.

Improper Pruning

The wrong pruning technique can easily do more harm than good. This includes topping, a method where the top of a tree’s main branches are cut back to stubs. It can cause starvation, decay, weak regrowth, and sunscald, and even prove fatal for many types of trees.

 

Lion’s tailing is another pruning snafu that can wreak havoc on a tree. It calls for stripping away the interior branches and foliage with only tufts of leaves remaining at the ends of the branches. According to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, this technique can cause branches to weaken, sunscald, rotting and cracks, increased disease and insect vulnerability, and more.

Doing it Right: The basic best pruning practices in Georgia call for focusing on removing dead, diseased, or damaged branches. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension recommends using the three-cut method to avoid damaging the bark around the cut. And refrain from removing more than 25% of a tree’s canopy in a single season.

Ignoring the Root Zone

A tree’s root zone is the portion of soil where most of the roots grow, and it usually spans well past the tree’s drip line or canopy. The Georgia Forestry Commission offers a formula to help you determine both the total root zone area and the critical root zone of your tree.

Keep an eye out for soil compaction, which can be a silent killer, and the red clay found in Georgia compacts easily. The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences explains how densely packed soil is difficult for roots to penetrate and can lack water and oxygen.

Doing it Right: Ways to avoid soil compaction and protecting the root zone include keeping cars out of the area and refraining from digging in and around the root zone.

Rely on Expertise From Premier Tree Solutions

Offering top-notch professionalism and excellent client service, Premier Tree Solutions can help you avoid potentially expensive DIY tree care mistakes. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

Behind the Scenes of Tree Removal

Above image: Premier Tree Solutions’s JAWS knuckle boom crane and grapple saw.

Whether it’s a smaller job or a tall order, Premier Tree Solutions knows every aspect of tree removal. From the best way to approach a project to the right clean-up procedures, our seasoned experts have front-line experience with a range of tree removal services. Tree removal safety is paramount and essential for your home, property, and family. If you’re looking to learn more about the professional tree removal process, you’re barking up the right tree.

Why Remove a Tree?

The University of Maryland Extension reminds us hazardous trees with structural issues that could possibly result in injury to people or property damage should be addressed immediately. A Premier Tree Solutions expert can assess the situation, inspect the tree, and see if tree removal is the appropriate solution. They look for issues such as trunk damage, dead branches, a hollow trunk, and the tree’s proximity to power lines. Are signs of fungus or severe stress, such as sprouts or shoots, evident at the base of the tree? Has nearby excavation caused root damage? Answers to these and other questions help guide property owners toward making the right decision.

How Are Trees Professionally Removed?

Depending on the size of the tree and the issue at hand, there are different removal methods. The more traditional technique involves first cutting the branches, then felling the tree, which means cutting the trunk with a controlled notch to help direct the tree’s fall. Additionally, ropes are used to guide the fall.

For trees located in smaller yards or confined spaces near houses or power lines, felling the whole tree at once isn’t an option. The solution is having a professional climb the tree and dismantle it in sections from the top down. Sectioning requires rigging, which is the use of ropes, slings, pulleys, and other devices to control how fast and in which direction the limbs and wood will fall.

Another approach finds Premier Tree Solutions at the forefront of tree removal technology. The company was the first in Georgia to own and use JAWS, a massive knuckle boom crane and grapple saw, which simplifies and provides maximum control of the entire tree removal process. Workers operate JAWS safely and remotely from the ground, making it unnecessary for them to climb trees. It also results in faster, money-saving results while eliminating potential property damage from falling trees and limbs.

Get Expert Tree Removal From Premier Tree Solutions

Whether it’s a consultation or emergency tree removal, don’t hesitate to call Premier Tree Solutions. We’re your trusted source for assessment and removal. Licensed and insured, we take tree removal seriously, offering honest, expert advice and the utmost in safe, professional execution. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

How Proper Tree Care Can Boost Your Home’s Value in 2026

For homeowners, a yard with well-cared-for trees can bear serious fruit. According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, healthy and mature trees can increase property values by as much as 15%. In fact, the Arbor Day Foundation reported that in Fulton County, Georgia, mature trees gave real estate a boost with homes in tree-heavy neighborhoods selling for nearly $105,000 more.

How to Increase Curb Appeal with Trees

A finely landscaped yard, complete with aesthetically pleasing trees, sends a signal to potential buyers that a home is well maintained. According to the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, many home buyers decide whether or not to consider purchasing a house based on its curb appeal. Mature trees have the ability to frame homes, enhancing a real estate listing with eye-catching allure.

Unlike many home improvements, trees can be an investment that increases in value through the years. To maximize your return on investment, experts suggest adding trees that serve as a focal point. Consider the following native Georgia trees for landscaping. They bring both style and sustainability:

  • Southern Magnolia: While the large size, thick branches, and dense foliage of this iconic Georgia staple help provide privacy, its white blooms serve up regional charm.
  • Japanese Maple: Well-suited for smaller yards due to their compact nature, these trees offer striking blasts of year-round color.
  • Live Oak: With its old-school southern style, live oak trees boast impressive, lush canopies, durability, and an unrivaled, stately appearance.

Why Eco Value Matters

Trees can significantly raise home values by saving homeowners money on energy costs. According to the Mississippi State University Extension, trees that are purposely planted on the south, east, and west sides of a home can block direct sunlight in the summer months, which reduces indoor temperatures, lessening the need for air conditioning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says smartly placed trees can help homeowners save as much as 56% on annual air conditioning costs.

These savings, however, aren’t limited to the warmer seasons. Additionally, trees can enhance comfort during the winter and reduce heating costs. By placing evergreen trees on the north and northwest sides of a home, they serve as natural windbreaks. This means they will slow winter winds and reduce heat loss from a home. As a result, it lowers heating needs.

Reduced Liability Equals Greater Value

Utilizing professional pruning services and health checks from Premier Tree Solutions help make a home more desirable in the long run. Taking action, such as removing dead wood and weak branches, can prevent property damage and reduce safety risks.

While a properly cared for tree can be seen as an asset, neglected trees are liabilities. Smart buyers can call out a structurally unsound or dead tree as a potential hidden cost and use it as a negotiation tool.

Let Premier Tree Solutions Help Maximize Your Home’s Value

Are you looking to use trees to maximize your home’s value? Premier Tree Solutions can guide you along the way with a tree health assessment, professional pruning, storm damage prevention, and more. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

Now is the Time to Shape and Strengthen Crape Myrtle & Fruit Trees

Crape myrtles and fruit trees can have a happy home in Georgia with our toasty summers and softer winters. While low-maintenance crape myrtles bring the color, fruit trees – think peaches, apples, pears, and more – can deliver popping produce. But they both require proper care.

When Should I Prune Crape Myrtle and Fruit Trees?

What’s the best time to prune trees in Georgia? When it comes to pruning crape myrtle and fruit trees, the Peach State has a winter window. Premier Tree Solutions suggests late January through February as prime time for pruning.

Since leaves have fallen, professionals get the best possible vantage point of a tree’s skeleton, and a better idea on how to approach pruning. And pruning during a tree’s dormancy period reduces the risk of sap loss and stress before spring arrives and the growth flush begins.

How do you shape and strengthen crape myrtle and fruit trees with pruning? Premier Tree Solutions suggests the following:

Crape Myrtle Trimming in Georgia

Have you ever noticed crape myrtle trees that have been reduced to unsightly stubs? That’s likely due to topping, an often harmful and indiscriminate pruning method caused by cutting the top of a tree’s main branches or trunk back to stubs. This harms the tree’s natural shape, creates knuckles, weakens branches, and amps up the risk of disease. Aggressive pruning, based on the myth that crape myrtles need pruning to flower, is sometimes known as “crape murder.”

According to the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, the most aesthetically pleasing crape myrtle trees typically result from limited or no pruning. However, proper pruning can give way to stems that are strong enough to carry the weight of summer blooms. The following are recommended steps to proper crape myrtle pruning:

  • Remove suckers from the base of the plant.
  • As the tree grows, remove lower branches from the bottom third of the tree, which exposes the trunk.
  • Finally, check the canopy for any crossing or crowded branches and remove them.

Fruit Trees: Shaping for a Bountiful Harvest

Georgia’s favorite fruit trees need to get in shape, literally. Pruning and training help make it a reality by improving airflow, which combats Peach State humidity. Techniques differ depending on the variety. In general, apple, pecan, and pear trees benefit from central leader or Christmas tree-style pruning, while peach, nectarine, and plum trees are best served with an open center or cereal bowl pruning approach. Other varieties call for different cuts. However, no matter which variety grows on your grounds, the first step is always removing dead, damaged, or diseased wood.

The Gwinnett County Extension Service offers the following fruit tree pruning guide compiled from various University of Georgia publications.

Premier Tree Solutions: Your Crape Myrtle and Fruit Tree Pruning Pros

Considering crape myrtle or fruit tree pruning services? Premier Tree Solutions have the professional equipment and expert knowledge to help shape and strengthen your crape myrtle and fruit trees, allowing them to thrive come spring and summer. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

Property Health Check: Why a Tree Inspection Sets the Tone for the Whole Year

Trees play an important role as part of your property. These towering works of natural art can serve as long-term assets, providing lush beauty, shady canopies, and enhanced property value.

However, in order to live their best lives, trees need proper attention. An unseen issue, such as disease or structural weakness, can manifest into a pricey problem. Ignore it, and you’re going out on a limb.

The solution? A professional tree inspection at the beginning of the calendar year helps avoid any potential challenges, while protecting your investment and enhancing the health of your whole landscape.

What is a Tree Inspection?

A tree professional, like those on staff at Premier Tree Solutions, can provide a tree inspection in the form of a comprehensive evaluation. They take a detailed look at a tree’s health, starting with its roots, all the way up to the canopy. How is the tree’s root flare? Is its trunk stable? What about branch structure? These and other questions help provide answers to best serve your tree and your property at large. According to Purdue University, tree inspections should take place, at a minimum, every five years. An annual investment in a tree inspection, however, is a seed well planted.

Catching Problems Early and Playing it Safe

The primary goal of a tree inspection is to detect issues as soon as possible and keep your trees, as well as everything that surrounds them, safe. To mitigate potential hazards, inspections attempt to catch any structural weaknesses that may prove risky when a tree faces severe weather. Inspectors keep an eye out for decay, hidden cracks, weak branch connections, and other telltale signs. The University of Florida offers a detailed look at tree risk assessment.

Catching disease and or pest problems out of the gate can be crucial when it comes to saving a tree. Damage can spread quickly, so nipping these issues in the bud allows for more effective treatment. Professionals know what to look for, and a close examination is essential. Once major damage becomes clearly apparent, it may be too late to save a tree. Inspectors hunt for things such as chew marks on leaves or branches; holes in the bark; sticky, waxy, or cottony material on tree limbs; a thin canopy; dead branches; and more.

Letting Your Investment Grow

A professional tree inspection continues your investment in the trees lining your property, bolstering their health into the future. Inspections help promote the longevity and vigor of trees by correcting any negative effects caused by environmental factors, such as soil or root issues.

A tree inspection report provides the owner with a plan on how to best care for the tree throughout the year. This could include pruning suggestions, when to fertilize, and additional helpful guidance. Taking advised action after a tree inspection helps preserve property value. Dying trees can put a damper on property value, while well-maintained trees can often allow property value to blossom by boosting curb appeal, increasing energy efficiency, preventing real estate hurdles, and more.

Premier Tree Solutions Can Inspect Your Trees

Looking to avoid a tree challenge before it arises? Invest in the trees adorning your property by having Premier Tree Solutions provide a tree inspection. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

The Ultimate 2026 Pruning Calendar: When and How to Care for Your Trees

When pruning trees, timing matters. This is certainly the case in Georgia with our milder winters, early warm spells, and occasional freezes. Pruning at the wrong time can stress out trees. And who needs an ornery oak?

With that in mind, our expert tree professionals drew upon their knowledge, as well as data from the University of Georgia Extension, and put together a suggested tree pruning calendar for 2026. The goal: to help make sure you stay, ahem, a cut above.

Suggested Tree Pruning Calendar 2026

Late January-February: Early 2026 will be a good time for dormant pruning on many deciduous trees, those that shed their leaves seasonally. During dormancy, trees slow down their growth processes and stress levels are less risky. Late winter is a good time to prune fruit trees, especially temperate ones such as apple, peach, and pear. That’s when winter dormancy is wrapping up, and the risk of freeze injury won’t be as high.

Early to Mid-March: The sweet spot for renewal pruning of overgrown trees in north Georgia is early to mid-March. This type of pruning technique focuses on removing older, declining, unproductive wood in an effort to stimulate fresh growth while keeping the overall structure and health of the tree in good standing. It’s a method typically relevant for fruit and ornamental trees.

Early Summer: Trees that bleed lots of sap from pruning wounds include those of the shade and flowering variety. Think dogwood, maple, birch, elm, beech, willow, flowering cherry, and flowering plum. While these sap excretions aren’t harmful, they’re not necessarily aesthetically pleasing. The best way to keep sap bleeding to a minimum is hold back on pruning until after the leaves fully mature in the spring.

Late Fall/Early Winter: Skip pruning in the late fall and early winter. It can confuse a tree and slow down its dormancy process. During the fall, trees pull energy into their roots for the winter, and pruning can cause trees to redirect that energy toward healing or growth. Any new growth in the fall won’t have time to harden before the frost of winter. This puts a tree at risk of cold damage. However, there are some exceptions in terms of fall pruning. If limbs are damaged, diseased, or dead, they should be removed as soon as possible. The same goes for any branches that are hazardous and pose a safety risk. Check out Premier Tree Solutions’s fall pruning blog for more information.

Pruning Tips

To properly prune, you can’t simply go wild with your shears and snip with complete abandon. Technique and safety are paramount. Consider the following basic suggestions from Premier Tree Solutions:

  • Remember to cut just outside the branch collar. The branch collar is the swollen, ring-like area at the base of a tree’s branch where it joins the trunk or a bigger branch. This technique helps keep both the natural structure and healing mechanism of the tree intact.
  • Make slants when cutting. Slanted cuts stop water from collecting in the wound. Additionally, it assists in speeding up the healing process.
  • Use the right tools for the job. Depending on the type of project, consider tools such as pruning shears, lopping shears, hand saws, pole saws, or small chainsaws. Before investing in tools and going to work, research the appropriate tool for the task at hand. And don’t forget to keep tools clean and sharp, which only enhances their performance.

Call a Premier Tree Solutions for Your Pruning Needs

Premier Tree Solutions experts are just a call away and can provide personalized service for your specific pruning needs. We offer pruning services, including hand pruning. Our experts can assess the situation and prune your trees at just the right time. If you have questions regarding tree pruning, call Premier Tree at 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.

How to Identify and Remove Invasive Plants Before They Harm Your Trees

Imagine an unwanted houseguest who overstays their welcome by raiding your fridge, covering you with negative attention, and leaving you with a parting gift in the form of an unshakable illness.

In a way, that’s what harmful, invasive plants can do to trees. They often compete for the tree’s resources, such as water and nutrients, sunlight, and space for growth. Their vines sometimes wrap around trees, causing strangulation. The weight of vines can weaken branches, making a tree more vulnerable to disease and damage. And certain invasive plants release chemicals in the soil, which block tree growth.

To properly protect your trees from these more-than-pesky plants, it all begins with invasive plant identification and awareness. The following are three of the most common ones that threaten trees in the Southeast. Additionally, we share tips on how to remove invasive plants.

English Ivy

This trailing and climbing evergreen vine has glossy, darkish green leaves. English ivy remains notorious for wrapping around and smothering trees, blocking sunlight from its leaves, adding compromising weight, and bringing moisture that welcomes rot and pests.

Removal tip: The University of Maryland Extension suggests creating an ivy-free band that spans about 3 to 4 feet above the ground. Start by first removing the leaves and smaller vines in order to expose the larger vines attached to the tree’s trunk. Then gently pry the vines away from the entire circumference of the trunk and cut off the vines. Once you’ve created the cleanest band possible, it will cause any vines above it to eventually die and fall off of the tree.

Chinese Privet

Although it’s an ornamental shrub with tiny, glossy oval leaves, arching branches, and white flowers with bluish-black berries, the Chinese privet has a reputation for causing trouble. It can choke out and displace native trees, and shake up ecosystems with its dense thickets. The Georgia Forestry Commission listed the non-native privet, which includes the Chinese privet, at the top of its 2023 non-native, invasive plants list.

Removal tip: If the shrub is small or young, pull it out by the roots. A recent rainfall can make the task easier. It helps to grab the plant’s stem and pull the whole root system from the ground. Removing larger shrubs calls for a leverage-based tool sometimes called a privet puller or uprooter. If you have to resort to cutting down the privet, finish the job by immediately brushing the cut stump with triclopyr, an organic herbicide.

Kudzu

It creeps, it crawls, it’s kudzu. Experts say the invasive perennial vine that’s known for covering Georgia landscapes and just about anything in its path can grow as much as 1 foot per day. Kudzu creates a lush, leafy blanket of green that has the potential to smother other vegetation. It blocks sunlight, which can result in damage and death to trees. In fact, the weight of a mass of kudzu can be heavy enough to pull down younger trees.

Removal tip: According to the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, kudzu roots can grow as deep as 9 feet. It’s difficult to eradicate kudzu and often takes multiple seasons, which span from May to late fall. As new growth appears, cut back the vines to the ground. Once vines are cut and removed, cover the area with heavy plastic. A poison ivy herbicide can be used for smaller infestations. After cutting large vines at the ground, you can brush the remaining base of the vines with a triclopyr-based herbicide.

Let Premier Tree Solutions Remove Invasive Plants

Trying to protect trees from invasive plants can be challenging, especially once they are wrapping around and smothering your trees. Premier Tree Solutions professionals can identify the culprit, and are equipped and ready to solve your specific problem. Call 404-252-6448 or schedule a complimentary assessment online.