The Ultimate Damage Control: How to Undo a Storm’s Mess

Did a storm smash through your yard and leave wreckage in its wake? Whether you’ve suffered damage to trees and shrubs or other areas of your property, it’s important to follow the correct steps and ensure you put things back to rights as soon as possible. Here are five steps we highly recommend for you to take to get your property back from damage.

1. Assess Trees

Signs to look for include cracks or splits in tree limbs or trunks, dropped branches, or burnt areas from lightning strikes. These all indicate serious damage to trees and potential instability, which could result in injuries to people or further damage to your property if left unattended.

2. Call in the Specialists

If you need major clean up, significant pruning, to de-limb a tree, or to ensure the safety of your remaining trees and large shrubs, you want to work with specialists. Make sure they’re licensed and insured; otherwise you’re liable for anything that happens on your property, including the injury of tree workers themselves. Call them to come out and inspect your property, then make a recommendation on whether or not you need services.

3. Repair Structures

Once you’ve ensured there will be no further damage to your property and all hazards have been removed, you should repair any structures that may have been damaged. Unless you’re handy yourself, you’ll likely need to call in a contractor.

4. Perform a Main Clean Up

With or without the help of tree care specialists, you want to clean things up as soon as possible. That includes de-clogging your gutters if you see a lot of debris in them, picking up sticks and leaves that might be suffocating other plants, and performing minor pruning on shrubs and small trees. It’s especially important to inspect plants for damage or open wounds and remove those parts, as they can lead to infection.

5. Tidy

Now all you need to do is tidy up. If parts of your lawn were damaged, try to put the sod back in place as best you can. Replant smaller plants such as flowers or herbs, right overturned pots or ornaments, and put your yard back the way it was.

If you need help cleaning up your yard after a storm, call Premier Tree Solutions today. We specialize in helping you get your property shipshape again, from tree trimming and pruning to removal and stump grinding, and everything in between. Let us know how we can help today at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

New Year, New Yard: 5 Yard and Tree New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make

The New Year is a time for fresh beginnings. This go round, don’t just confine your goals to that disregarded gym membership or finally, finally giving up the Cheetos habit (we’re not there either). Show your tree some love as well. Without further ado, here are five arboreal aspirations to put on your list.

1. Prune with Precision

Pruning is crucial for trees, especially young ones. If you don’t take the time to trim your trees, they may grow beyond their capacity to support their own limbs, making breakage more likely. Pruning helps to ensure that branches are strongly attached to the tree, with narrow crotches rather than right angles. Plus, it makes trees look more pleasing to have elegantly spaced limbs and twigs.

2. Deal with Damage

If your tree does summer damage from a storm – which can happen year-round, not just in winter – make sure you deal with it immediately. Leaving trees cracked or wounded invites infection and can make it more likely that they will drop branches. This poses a danger to people and property as well as the trees themselves.

3. Make Mulch Happen

Mulching keeps trees warm in winter and traps moisture during dry periods. Cover the ground around the tree to a depth of 2-4 inches with leaf mulch or bark chips, leaving a 6-inch ring around the trunk clear.

4. Water Well

Watering your tree is important in the summertime, as well as in hot spring and fall weather. During the dormant period, avoid it. But during times of growth when you’re not getting enough rainfall, make sure you give long, well-spaced drinks, waiting until soil is dry then saturating to a depth of 12 inches within the drip line (the area covered by branches above).

5. Support with Space

Avoid planting smaller trees or shrubs within the drip line of a tree, which can compete with its water sources. Instead, dedicate that space to grass, wildflowers, or steppable plants such as mosses, wood violets, or low-growing herbs.

Premier Tree Solutions is a growing tree removal business in Atlanta, Georgia. We specialize in a wide range of tree care services, including tree removal, pruning and trimming, storm damage and clean up, stump and branch grinding, clearing and debris removal. If you want help keeping those tree resolutions, make sure you let us know right away at 404-252-6448.

Bring On the Storm: How to prepare your trees for freezing weather

Trees: beautiful, picturesque … deadly?

Well, not usually, but trees have been known to drop limbs, crack down the middle, or fall over. This can cause damage to cars and property, and even injure people and animals. If a tree limb hurts someone else or their property on your land, you could even be liable. Not to mention that leaving your tree at the mercy of cold weather could result in damage to it, or even tree death.

That’s why it’s important to make sure you’ve got your botanical beauties well in check. Here are three tips to make sure you do just that this winter.

  1. Look for Disease or Damage

One of the best things you can do to keep your trees healthy and prevent damage to them or property is to remove dead, rotten, or diseased limbs. These are more likely to grow brittle in cold weather or break under the strain of ice or high winds. Removing all unhealthy branches greatly reduces this chance, so use this guide to pruning out dead or diseased wood this winter.

  1. Check Cables or Braces

Many trees rely on some form of support to hold up overlarge branches or limbs to keep them from tipping over, or to support them while they grow. When these anchoring devices become too tight, however, winter can bring danger in the form of brittleness. If trees are too tightly contained or become iced over, they can snap, potentially ricocheting and hurting someone. Similarly, high winds can create too much stress, resulting in the same thing.

  1. Don’t Wait on Storm Cleanup

Storm cleanup is critical after a rainstorm, hailstorm, or other weather event. Leaving trees partially damaged is a bad idea, because unstable limbs can fall off or even split trees down the middle. Avoid this by getting professional cleanup as soon as possible after a storm.

Premier Tree Solutions can help. We specialize in a number of arboreal areas, including tree removal, tree trimming and pruning, storm damage reparation and cleanup, branch clearing and debris removal, stump removal and grinding, Bobcat work and more. If you need tree-related help this winter, either cleaning up after a tree incident or taking preventative measures to ensure cold weather doesn’t affect your yard, give us a shout. Let us know how we can help today at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

What Questions Should You Ask Every Tree Removal Company Before Hiring?

Tree removal can be a dangerous business. Not only can it lead to property damage, improper procedures can even mean the loss of life for workers or others in the area if they aren’t careful. That’s why it’s important to get the right tree team. These three questions will help you select the best team to complete the job.

1. Are You Licensed and Insured?

If tree removal professionals don’t have licenses, this indicates that they are not properly educated and equipped to be removing your trees, so you shouldn’t hire them. Insurance is even more important – if your tree care specialists don’t carry it, you will be liable for any damage that occurs on your property. Unfortunately, if you have not made every effort to ascertain their license and insurance status, it will be very hard for you to make a case disputing this. Always ask for proof of both.

2. Can You Provide a List of References?

Any company worth their salt should be able to provide references for you that will show their credibility. In fact, most will immediately produce a list of three or so people you can call to learn more about their work and their approach to business.

Note that these should be quality references. A company whose only reference is the office manager’s grandmother isn’t doing too well; you should take a pass on them. Opt for companies that can demonstrate experience in the business by providing several references. Even if the company is new, you can trust them as long as they’ve done good work and can prove it.

3. Can You Get a Detailed Proposal?

A good tree care specialist should be able to scope out a job and provide you a professional, detailed written description of your desired scope of work and an associated cost so you know exactly what you would be buying. If the proposal is non-descriptive and you just base your decision on price, then you could be left with an unexpected mess. KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS INCLUDED AND WHAT IS NOT – GET IT IN WRITING.

Premier Tree Solutions is a growing tree removal business based in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in a number of tree-related areas. We provide tree removal and trimming, storm damage and cleanup, branch clearing and debris removal, stump removal and grinding, and Bobcat work. Let us know if we can help you today. Contact Premier Tree Solutions today at 404-252-6448 or online here.

Shop Smart: Check For Insurance When Choosing An Arborist

Trimming, pruning, or even cutting down trees is an important part of yard maintenance, and many of these chores can’t be done on your own. When you need help with those tall oaks and pine trees, your first instinct is likely to head to a professional tree service, which is definitely a smart move.

Want to know an even smarter move? Checking the tree service’s insurance. When it comes to potentially dangerous situations like tree care, you want to make sure you’re going with reputable, qualified, and insured arborists. Here’s how to spot a good company with good insurance.

Prevent Foreseeable Accidents

A lot of accidents can be prevented if you take the time upfront to ensure you’re working with tree specialists who are qualified and are knowledgeable about safety protocols. However, sometimes accidents are unavoidable. When that happens, you want to make sure you haven’t made the even bigger accident of forgetting to check an arborist’s insurance.

Why? Because if accidents or injuries happen on your property and the arborist isn’t insured, you may become liable. If you don’t want to pay for damages or medical expenses, you should check that your tree care specialist has both liability and worker’s compensation insurance, without any exceptions.

Ask for Proof of Insurance

The easiest way to determine whether your tree care specialist is insured is simply to ask. They will be able to tell you what kind of insurance they have and what it covers. Note that if you hire a company from another state, you have to make sure they also cover work in your state.

Know that asking about insurance shouldn’t be awkward, and doesn’t imply that you don’t trust the arborist. In fact, a good tree care company will be glad you asked, because they can demonstrate how they can be trusted. On the other hand, a less-than-splendid company will probably turn sour if you ask for insurance. They might show you false or lapsed proof of insurance, which is another issue to look out for.

Call and Confirm

The only way to make sure your arborist truly is insured is to call their insurance provider. A tree care company can provide you with the number to do so, after which the insurance company will send you the requested proofs of insurance. In some cases, liability and workers compensation insurance are covered by separate companies, so you will need call both to be certain.

Need tree help that is also properly insured? Contact Premier Tree Solutions today at 404-252-6448 or online here.

Be Your Own Tree Hero This Fall! Let Proactive Trimming Save The Day

Most tree owners have heard that pruning is a chore to be done during the spring or summer months. While this is true, fall is a great time to prune as well. Once leaves drop, it’s easier to see where the tree has structural weaknesses. It is also a time to see if the tree needs branches or limbs removed to minimize damage in winter weather. Let’s take a quick look at fall pruning guidelines.

Why Prune Proactively?

The truth is that while bad weather can damage trees no matter what you do to prevent it, proactive pruning can minimize the potential damage. Reducing the number of open wounds in cold weather helps the tree remain strong and healthy until warm weather returns.

Colorado State University advises to always look for limbs that form narrow “V” crotches when you prune. This is where damages is likely to occur. You should also remove any branches that look dead or previously damaged because they are most likely to break during storms. This will preserve your trees against snow, ice, and high winds.

When to Perform Fall Trims

You can prune in fall at any time you need to remove dead, damaged or diseased branches. While this does pose a small chance of weakening the tree, it’s a good to remove limbs before they get ripped off in storms, creating jagged wounds that are much more dangerous for trees.

Annual Pruning Vs. Winter Protection

You should note that pruning in fall does still expose the tree to cold, pests, fungus, and disease at a time when its defenses are low. Confine your pruning efforts to removing limbs or branches that pose a danger to people, property, or the tree itself. Perform your annual pruning for shape at the end of the dormancy period, just before the tree breaks bud in spring.

Call in an Expert

While there are some pruning chores homeowners can do without endangering themselves or the tree, certified arborists are trained and outfitted for the big jobs. If you need help, call Premier Tree Solutions. We’re a growing tree removal business based in Atlanta, Georgia, and we specialize in pruning, tree removal, storm cleanup, storm damage repair, branch clearing, and stump grinding. Let us know how we can help today at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

A Little Tree TLC: Benefits & Drawbacks of Tree Wrapping

With the winter months fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to think about a little tree TLC. One of the most common ways people protect their tender trees during these cold months is by wrapping the trunks. Given the amount of confusion over this practice, however, we thought we should jump in and offer a little more info regarding the pros and cons of tree wrapping for winter.

Wrapping Benefits

There are a number of benefits offered by wrapping your trees. For one thing, winter reduces food sources for game, such as deer and rabbits, which may turn to bark. Stripping bark in winter can be dangerous or deadly to trees, so wrapping prevents this. Insects may also present a danger, which wrapping similarly defuses.

Sunscald is also an issue in the colder months. Thin-barked species are especially susceptible, and scalds can cause dried, dead bark that harms the tree. Wrapping the tree prevents the temperature fluctuations that cause this.

Lastly, wrapping can help prevent trees from getting splashed with salt from driveways and walkways. De-icing salt can burn foliage, harm bark and lead to tree damage or death. Especially good trees to wrap include crabapple, maple or honey locust trees.

Drawbacks of Wrapping

However, there are several drawbacks to wrapping trees, but most of them occur when you leave the wrappings on too long. For instance, when trees are still growing in fall or start growing again in spring, a tight wrap can inhibit growth and damage bark. Rubbing from wraps in the wind can also damage bark or break off spring buds.

Putting wraps on too early in fall or leaving them on too late in spring can also lead to insect damage because it provides a warm, moist habitat between the wrapping and the bark. This is another argument for waiting until cold months and taking off as soon as the weather breaks in spring.

Call the Experts

Premier Tree Solutions is a growing tree removal business based in Atlanta, Georgia. We would love to help you keep your trees as healthy as possible. We specialize in tree trimming and pruning, tree removal, storm cleanup and damage control, branch clearing and stump grinding, and Bobcat work.

Whatever your tree-related needs, we can help! If you have any questions, give us a call at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

It’s All In The Timing! Best Practices For Planting New Trees

Trees can be expensive, both at the time of purchase and in terms of the water and care they require while getting established. Therefore it’s smart to give them the best chance at life by planting at the right time and giving them the proper care while they settle into their new environment.

Plant in Spring … Or Fall

While early spring is the best time to plant trees, fall also works quite well, too. Since trees are just beginning to go dormant in fall, it can be an even better time to plant than later spring, because trees will go into shock if planted after they begin to bud or leaf out. If you’re going to plant in fall, don’t do it after mid-October, at which time it will get too cold for trees to safely adapt.

Summer Works OK

Technically, you can plant trees in summer, which gives them plenty of time to get established before the colder months arrive. However, if you plant in summer, you have to be aware of the opposite problem: heat. This can make it difficult to ensure plants get enough water to grow new roots and create a strong system before the colder (and often drier) winter months arrive.

Benefits of Fall Planting

While spring may be ideal for some species, fall is actually great for many trees as well. This time of year is cooler, and is very conducive to plants generating new roots, which is critical to them surviving the fragile post-transplantation period. This is especially beneficial because it encourages root growth without encouraging the generation of leaves and shoots. The latter outcome can sometimes make a tree vulnerable to disease, so it’s best if that’s avoided.

Conifer Versus Deciduous

You should plant conifers earlier in the fall season, as they need longer to establish before cold weather hits. Deciduous trees may be planted up to the mid-October deadline, but you should give some deciduous trees – gingko, hemlock, sweetgum and willow, for instance – longer than others.

If you’re looking for professional tree advise in the Atlanta area, call Premier Tree Solutions. We’re a growing tree removal business offering a wide range of services, specializing in tree trimming and pruning, tree removal, storm cleanup and damage control, branch clearing and stump grinding, and Bobcat work. If you have any questions, give us a call at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

Defend Trees In Dire Drought

The lack of water across the United States has gardeners everywhere worried about their landscape plants and trees. You don’t want to throw your life savings down the hose, but at the same time, you don’t want your beloved trees to die for lack of water. What’s a tree caretaker to do? Here are a few tips that will help.

1. Recognize the Signs of Drought

Most trees that are adapted to living in your climate will not need extra water in the summer once established. However, in cases of extreme drought, even well established trees need extra moisture. Because older trees typically don’t need a regular watering schedule, it’s important to understand the signs of water stress.

These include dull or wilted leaves, slower than usual growth of younger trees, discolored buds and blooms, or yellowing and dropping of leaves out of season, says Missouri Botanical Garden. Plants that aren’t getting enough water are also more susceptible to pests and diseases, so take care of them right away.

2. Water Frequently

Large, well-established trees need to be watered every 2-3 weeks in extreme drought, while younger trees that are less settled may need watering every week. Trees like a thorough watering, so apply about an inch of water at a time (you can set up a bucket to collect water if you need a metric for the first few watering sessions).

If you would prefer not to mess with the 1-inch rule, you can instead measure how much water your tree gets by testing soil moisture. At each watering, soil should be wet down to 6-8 inches, suggests the Morton Arboretum, otherwise you haven’t given the tree enough water to protect it from the heat and drought.

3. Water Different Areas of the Root System

A tree’s root system roughly mirrors the crown, so its main roots will extend along the ground to where the branches end overhead. Rather than watering just at the base of the trunk, try to switch up your watering so you’re hitting many different areas along the root zone. This is healthier for trees and will keep them happier during extremely hot weather.

Not sure how to care for your trees yourself, but don’t want them to succumb to summer heat? No problem. Simply get in touch with us here at Premier Tree Solutions, and we’ll make sure your arboreal companions survive the summer just fine. We specialize in tree removal, trimming, pruning, and more! If you have any questions about watering or tree care, give us a call at 404-252-6448 or contact us here.

Common Trees In Georgia and How to Spot Them

To the untrained eye, many trees look the same. They’re tall and leafy, aren’t they? Must be a tree. But to the more discerning eye, understanding the variations between common Georgia trees is not only a satisfying skill to have, but it can also help you make better decisions in your own garden. With this in mind we’ve outlined some of the most common Georgia trees and how to spot their distinguishing characteristics using your plain old peepers!

A Sugar Maple Tree Farm forest in autumn with brilliant yellow leaves in Oregon, USA

Maple

A wide variety of maples grows in Georgia, the most prominent being red maple and sugar maple. It’s easy to spot these trees due to their large leaves, which are palmate (leaf lobes spreading from the stem) and typically display bright autumn colors. Sugar maple is orange to red in autumn, while red maple is yellow to red in autumn and a deeper but rustier red the rest of the year.

Shagbark Hickory with its fall colors reaching for the sky

Shagbark Hickory with its fall colors reaching for the sky

Hickory

Hickories tend to be quite large – usually taller than 60 feet – with pinnate leaves (veins in neat rows spreading from the long center vein of the leaf) that grow in compound sets. They are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves in fall and grow new ones in spring. Trunks are gray to brown, grow coarser with age and often display a diamond pattern once mature.

Oak. Tall oak tree with green leaves with blue sky background. View from down. Summer background. Green environment concept.

Oak

Oaks have lobed, waxy leaves and large, spreading crowns that may be globular or semi-circular in nature. Their branches typically start low to the ground, giving them short trunks and making them excellent shade trees for properties and parks. Common species include white oak, scarlet oak, and water oak, though there are many more.

Healthy green trees in a forest of old spruce, fir and pine trees in wilderness of a national park. Sustainable industry, ecosystem and healthy environment concepts and background.

Pine

Pine trees are another common Georgia tree with a huge variety of species. They are evergreen and grow quickly relative to other trees, their needles growing in bunches along the branches. Young pines typically have a more slender form and often round as they age. Species include white pine, Virginia pine and longleaf pine, among others.

Of course, there are many other trees in Georgia, including ash, gum, chestnut, and buckeye. American beech, Sugarberry, American Yellowwood, holly, Eastern Red Cedar and others all abound as well!

If you need further help with trees in your yard, please feel free to give Premier Tree Solutions a call at 404-252-6448 or contact us here! We’re a growing tree removal business in Atlanta and can help you with all your tree-related needs. We also assist with storm cleanup, stump removal and grinding, tree trimming and branch removal and more.