With roughly 3 trillion trees on Earth, it’s hard to single out just a handful for appreciation. Here are six of the world’s most remarkable trees, each for its own unique reasons.

1) Certainly one of the most picturesque and recognizable trees on the planet, Pebble Beach’s Lone Cypress, stands noble guard on a granite hillside overlooking the rocky shoreline of California’s northern coast. Located along the scenic 17-mile drive, this much-photographed Monterey Peninsula icon is thought to be approximately 250 years old. For many decades, half-hidden steel cables have secured this venerable symbol of the idyllic West Coast in place.

2) Named for the beloved Siberian husky that belonged to the professor who discovered it in 2004, Old Tjikko, at approximately 9,558 years young, is the world’s oldest known Norway spruce. Found growing on Fulufjället Mountain in Sweden’s Dalarna province, Old Tijikko is not one individual old tree but a clonal tree that has regenerated new trunks, branches, and roots over time.

3) Believed to be the world’s oldest known living non-clonal organism for many years, Methuselah is a 4,850-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine tree. Growing in an undisclosed location somewhere between 9,500 to 9,800 feet above sea level in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in California’s Inyo County, Methuselah’s estimated germination date of 2833 BC was bested in 2013 by the discovery of another bristlecone pine in the same region with germination in 3050 BC.

4) Standing alone on a hill in the Arabian Desert surrounded by miles of sand, The Tree of Life is a miracle of nature. Bahrain’s solitary mesquite tree is believed to be at least 400 years old, and the only explanation for how it continues to grow without a clear source of water is attributable to deep root systems capable of reaching deep beds of underground water.

5) When you stand before the General Sherman Tree in California’s Sequoia National Park, you’re saluting the world’s largest tree, measured by volume. Standing 275 feet tall and coming in at over 36 feet in diameter at the base, this tourist favorite is approximately 2,000 years old.

6) Discovered in 2006 by a pair of amateur naturalists who named it, Hyperion claims the title of world’s tallest known living tree. The exact location of this nearly 380-feet-high coast redwood is not revealed in an effort to protect it, but it’s found somewhere deep in California’s Redwood National and State Parks.

Here at Premier Tree Solutions in Atlanta, we love all trees — famous and infamous. We’re experts at trimming, pruning, storm cleanup, tree removal, stump grinding, and many other services. Give us a call at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

While both are lovely options for your garden, fruit and flower trees have different needs if they’re to live long and healthy lives. The most important aspect of caring for fruit trees, obviously, is making sure they produce the maximum amount of large, fully ripe fruit. Flowering trees, on the other hand, are prized for their showy blooms in the spring, summer, or even fall. Perfect your care routine and you’ll get the most out of each for life.

Prune for Effect

Your pruning goals vary with the type of tree being pruned. Flowering trees are valued for the huge show they put on in spring or summer. If they bloom in spring, you should prune them directly after the blooms fade, whereas summer-flowering trees should be pruned in winter after the coldest weeks have passed. Remove branches that don’t add to the overall shape and beauty of the tree.

Fruit trees, however, should be pruned for the best production. That means removing all but a few of the upright limbs, leaving enough for photosynthesis and creating a light and bright canopy. Horizontal limbs, which are usually the ones that bear the most fruit, should be cleared out enough to create more light and airflow. Reducing crowding also ensures the tree has enough resources to offer toward each fruit, which will result in the tastiest fruit.

Water When Necessary

Fruit and flower trees have similar watering needs, with one exception: fruit trees need lots of water while they’re setting fruit, or else their goods will be small and dry. No bueno. Here’s a handy guide to watering, which you can follow for both types. In addition, ensure that fruits such as peaches, apricots, apples, and cherries get a thorough soaking whenever the top 10 inches of soil go dry.  

Fertilize Well

Fertilizing is roughly equivalent for fruit and flowering trees as well. Flowering trees should be fertilized in early spring, while fruit trees can be fertilized multiple times starting in spring and until midsummer.  

If you want to take the best care of your trees – fruit, flower, or other – you might want the help of an expert team. Just go ahead and call Premier Tree Solutions at 404-252-6448, a top-rated tree removal business in Atlanta. We assist with trimming, pruning, storm cleanup, stump and branch grinding, branch clearing, and tree and debris removal. No matter what you need, if it has to do with a tree, we’ve got you covered.

Trees whose branches are thinned out and growing disease-free in the proper direction are much healthier than their crowded counterparts. They can’t do it themselves, however; trees count on you for their yearly haircuts. Here’s how to trim right.

Prune to Natural Shape

When pruning, you should have an overall vision in mind. Unless you’re going for the full-on Versailles effect – in which case, let’s get your topiary on! – you want to take your cue from the tree itself. Go with its natural shape, leaving the strongest, prettiest branches, and removing everything that grows downward or back in toward the crown. If you have to raise the crown, meaning remove lower branches over a sidewalk or building, that’s okay.

Remove Dead and Dying Branches

One of the most important jobs when pruning is to get dead and dying branches out of there. These not only suck up tree resources when they’re already doomed, but they may spread a disease to other parts of the tree or other plants. Dead branches also invite predatory insects to the feast. No Bueno.

Respect the Leader

According to the University of Minnesota Extension, topping trees – or trimming the tall, straight “leader” branch that comes from the trunk – is never a good idea. It promotes suckering (sapling growth from the ground) and destroys the form of the tree. Instead, leave the tallest, most upright branch in place and remove any competing leaders. If your only option to fit a tree in a certain space (say, under an eave) is topping, you’re better off transplanting it.

Say NO to Disease

While pruning is good for trees, it’s also one of the easiest times to spread disease (oops, now we’re rhyming). That’s why it’s important to disinfect your tools. Here’s a good primer, but basically it means soaking your shears in a cleansing solution before each use and, if you’re dealing with diseased wood, between each cut.

Of course, you don’t have to trim your trees yourself. Sometimes it’s best to leave things to the experts, such as when you’re busy or you have one of those King Kong oak trees on your hands. In that case, call in the pros and leave it to us. Premier Tree Solutions, based in Atlanta, can help with pruning as well as storm cleanup, tree removal, stump grinding, and more. All you have to do is give a shout at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

A beautiful yard speaks for itself. The tranquility and expansion of living space brought by a pretty garden are awesome assets to any home, but they become all the more valuable if you are trying to sell your home. A nice yard not only brings potential buyers in, it makes them more likely to put down an offer – which in turn means more people will bid on your home and you can get a higher price.

Even if you aren’t planning to list your house quite yet, it’s still helpful to start thinking ahead about how to improve your home’s value, and cultivating a beautiful yard can help you do just that.

The Psychological Impact of Curb Appeal

“First impressions” isn’t just a phrase. Sometimes, no matter how nice your interior is, you’ll lose buyers if they aren’t greeted with a well-maintained garden. If you want to make that first impression count and increase the number of people willing to bid on your home, your yard counts.

Impressive ROI

Did you know that something as simple as greening up your lawn can have a 303% return on investment, according to the National Association of Realtors Research Department? That means whatever you pay to up your lawn’s loveliness factor will be returned to you three times over when it comes to your home’s value. Pretty neat, right?

Moreover, reports Houzz, quoting a study by RealEstate.com, return on investment for hardscaping projects can be as high as 150%. Not quite as high as the rewards for your lawn, but still impressive, especially if you complete several projects. Think fire pits and walkways, they suggest.

Forgotten Yard Attributes

If you really want to capitalize on curb appeal, don’t forget often-overlooked aspects such as the driveway, which should be pretty too. Also address issues such as poor drainage, unstable tree limbs, and other practicalities that can turn buyers off.

Affordable Help

Luckily, achieving your landscape goals doesn’t mean you have to buy a cherry picker and get to work yourself. Premier Tree Solutions is a growing tree removal business based in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in a variety of landscape services, and we can help.

We offer tree removal and trimming, pruning and storm cleanup, branch clearing and debris removal, and many other services needed to maintain a beautiful yard, substantially increase your curb appeal and inflate your home’s value. Give us a call today at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.