Going Green for Good

June 23, 2015

If you enjoy gardening, you probably already know that it is a valuable form of exercise and that it improves mood and bolsters emotional health. However, you may not know that it has several environmental and financial boons that make it an even better idea. Whether you’re a gardening pro or a newbie just digging your first patch, keep these benefits in mind.

Protect Your Assets

When you garden, you turn soil, reducing compaction and helping it absorb water and nutrients. This lessens the chances of water running across yard surfaces, which can pool and erode foundations, leak into basements and cause buckling or lifting of patios and other hardscaping features. Plus, improving soil health makes for healthier trees and other large landscape plants, which add to the value of your home.

Host Wildlife

You know who loves a good garden? Animals. Flowering plants attract bees, which are in desperate need of habitat, as well as butterflies, hummingbirds and larger bird types. If you’re into native fauna, plant native plants to have the best chance of attracting local salamander, frog, bird, bee and other insect species. You might even get some deer, although not everyone thinks that’s a bonus!

Save Money on Groceries

Yes, really. If you put in a summer garden, you can save significantly on fresh produce during the height of production. Whereas others might have to pay for tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, potatoes, berries and herbs, which are somehow still pricey even in summer, you can head right out back and skip the lines — and the bill. If you maintain year-round gardens using cold frames or hothouses, you can add fall and spring vegetables to the list; think broccoli, spinach, cabbage, kale, beets, carrots and much more.

Help the Environment

The more green stuff growing in our world, the better protected it is against pollutants and greenhouse gases. Plants, which need carbon dioxide to breathe, filter it and other damaging chemicals out of the air, helping to combat global climate change. Plants also anchor soil, keeping it in place when wind and rain would otherwise cause erosion.

What’s not to like about a hobby that’s good for you, protects your home, pads out your bank account and throws Mother Earth a bone at the same time? Dare we say it might be the perfect hobby? So go on and get out there!

Stumped: Debunking Myths of Trees and Tree Care

June 1, 2015

You probably treasure the trees on your property and appreciate that they offer shade, beauty, and a natural element that cannot be matched by anything else. However, caring for those trees can feel like a daunting task. This is especially the case if you have misinformation regarding proper tree care. Before you stress about how to proceed or make a mistake you cannot repair, let us debunk a few common tree care myths.

Myth 1 – Staking newly planted trees helps them develop a better root system. – The practice of staking a young tree (attaching it to a stiff piece of wood or pole when planting it) may offer both benefits and drawbacks. Trees planted without staking will often develop a deeper and more widespread root system. However, the staking can help the tree grow straighter and keep it from washing away in a rainstorm.
Myth 2 – Tree wraps can prevent insect problems and prevent temperature fluctuations. Tree wraps are a type of artificial sleeve developed to protect a young or growing tree. However, in many cases, covering a tree trunk can make pest problems worse (certain insects will burrow underneath the wrap and become stuck) and the improvement in temperature control is minimal at best.
Myth 3 – When pruning, cut flush with the trunk to encourage healing. Pruning trees, or cutting them back regularly, is important to help them grow. However, it is important to note that trees do not heal. In reality, the spread of decay is more likely with flush cuts (cuts that are flat against the trunk) than in a non-flush cut.
Myth 4 – The root system is burrowed deep, deep into the ground. The truth is, while root systems vary, most of a tree’s roots will grow within the first few inches underground.
Myth 5 – It is easy to kill fungus or insect problems using a chemical product. While the sheer number of these products available at your nearby home improvement store may make it seem to be the case, it is not so. Many fungal and insect problems have no known chemical treatment. Working with an expert is often best.
Myth 6 – Regular and vigorous pruning is necessary for all trees and will make a tree grow larger and stronger. There are so many different types of trees that this statement is simply not true in all cases. Doing your research or talking to an arborist is important to find out what type of pruning is necessary.

Don’t go barking up the wrong tree! If you need more information on tree care or want to work with the best, contact us at Premier Tree Solutions today at 404-252-6448 or online at www.chopmytree.com/contact-form/.

Source

http://www.tiptoparborists.com/articles/20-tree-care-tree-service-myths/

http://theworldlink.com/news/local/don-t-fall-for-age-old-tree-care-myths/article_b7deaf89-c302-5600-b903-2aded0d6fcb7.html

When It Rains, It Firs: Storm Damage Prevention

May 21, 2015

Whether it’s hailstones flying from the heavens or winds blowing like nobody’s business, weather can wreak some serious havoc on trees. From fragile willow saplings to hardy oaks, if your trees are hit by a storm, you should always try your best to make sure you and your home are ready for the worst. Use the valuable information we’ve assembled below to learn how you can stay prepared for whatever woes the weather may bring.

Six Types of Tree Damage

Although storms can be unpredictable, knowing the types of storm damage beforehand can help you be better prepared for any incident.

According to the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forest Resources, there are six types of tree damage:

Lightning
Branch failure
Root failure
Blow-over
Crown twist
Stem failure

Out of the 6 listed above, lightning is the most dangerous type of tree damage. If a tree is struck by lightning, the resulting current travels through the entire tree system, ending at the roots and destroying the tree’s tissues with a mixture of electricity, steam and heat. Trees that have been damaged by lightning will often experience water loss, further escalating the downfall of the plant. Furthermore, pests are drawn to a lightning-damaged tree like sap collectors to seeping maples. Unfortunately, because most of this takes place internally, it’s often difficult to identify the extent of the damage by just looking externally. Sometimes trees can begin to die without significant damage having occurred aboveground.

Branch, root and stem failure resulting from storm damage can create irreversible devastation throughout the entire structure of a tree. Additionally, without sturdy roots, life-providing branches or a sturdy stem, a tree cannot thrive. As for blow-overs and crown twists, these types of damage often stem from failures in another part of the tree. For example, a tree with a weakened root system will be more apt to toppling during a blow-over.

Nipping Tree Damage in the Bud

Proper pruning, the careful and selective removal of certain parts of the tree, can help resolve tree damage problems. Knowing whether you have spruce, sycamore, pear or pines, is also an essential part of determining how to reverse tree damage and prevent it. You can install preventative measures, such as lightning protection systems, if you are particularly keen to keeping your trees upright and healthy. Finally, subscribing to a regular routine of watering, fertilizing and pest control can help keep your trees in tiptop condition by. If you would like professional assistance in maintaining the specific types of trees in your outdoor space, contact Premier Tree Solutions at 404-252-6448 or online.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (A Tree to Fall)

May 4, 2015

Trees are a perfect addition to any space. They clean the air, provide us with extra oxygen, and even add value (and a little pizzazz) to our homes! Unfortunately, trees can also be a huge hassle when they’re about to fall – sometimes toppling unexpectedly, giving you no advance warning. Luckily, trees that are about to tip over do display a few signs that are easy to spot if you know how to look for them. Check out these common signs that your tree might be readying to go timber.

Keep an Eye on Certain Species

Some trees are much more susceptible to dropping limbs or snapping than others. These include willows, silver maple, box elders, oaks, and sycamores. While any tree can drop a limb, these species may be brittle or subject to summer limb drop, which is when hot temperatures cause them to cast off branches. Keep an extra close eye on these species.

Look for Leans

It is natural for a tree to lean, but when it goes too far, it is more likely to fall. This is especially true when severe weather hits, but a fall can happen any time the tree can no longer support its weight at the unstable angle.

Scan for Splits and Breaks

Split or cracked bark and partially broken limbs are sure signs that your tree is unstable. Particularly when the split or break occurs near the base of the tree, it is in danger of falling.

Check for Dead Areas

Trees with bare or dead-looking branches that don’t leaf out or branches that seem otherwise sickly may have internal damage that reduces their structural integrity. This may be due to disease, old age, or simply due to damage. If you see dead branches but the rest of the tree looks healthy, your tree may need deadwooding, the process of removing dead, diseased, or dying branches from the tree. If the whole tree appears to be dead or dying, contact Premier Tree Solutions for assistance in removal.

Beware Construction Damage

Construction can take a heavy toll on trees, especially if workers aren’t careful. Digging up the ground around roots can shock the tree, and while it may look normal for a while, it might become unstable. Disturbing soil beneath or around roots can also lessen the tree’s stability, leading to a fall later on.

Now that you know the signs, you can watch your trees to keep your home, family, and property safer. Think you’ve got one that’s ready to go any day? Get professional help by calling Premier Tree Solutions today at 404-252-6448 or get in touch online.

It’s Not Easy Being Green: The Lives of Trees

April 20, 2015

We’ve seen trees around us all our lives, so it’s often easy to take them for granted – but inside, the world’s favorite foliage is so much more complex than most people may imagine. Take a look at the facts below to learn a little bit more about the secret lives of trees.

From Seed to Sprout

Trees of all types take root as a single seed, which may come in the form of an acorn, pod, or papery cone. After establishing its roots, the tree often grows in the direction of the sun. For some trees, constantly blowing wind currents may influence the tree’s direction of growth as well. Growth starts within the trunk of the tree, which is made up of several distinct stratums, or layers. Each year that a tree lives, another layer is added to the trunk, creating growth rings, which spill the seeds about the age of any tree.

Tree Anatomy 101

Let’s start with the trunk, the main source of a tree’s growth. The trunk connects the roots and the top leafy portion of the tree, known as the crown. The outer layer of the trunk is the bark. This serves as the tree’s thick skin, protecting it from weather conditions, cold temperatures, excessive heat, and pests. Peel back the bark and you’ll discover the phloem, or the inner bark. The phloem constantly grows along with the tree, absorbing water and nutrients. Living for only a short while, the phloem regularly dies and becomes cork, i.e. the outer bark.

Barking up a Tree’s Trunk

Other layers in the trunk include the cambium cell layer. This layer works directly with the phloem by stimulating cell growth, which is used for shooting sprouts and leaf buds through the tips of branches. Like the phloem, the cambium cell layer regularly dies and turns to cork. Sapwood is the next layer inside a tree. This is where water is sucked up from the roots. Sapwood shoots water through to the tree’s tiniest twigs. Heartwood, the innermost part of a tree’s trunk, is the life source of any sapling, no matter how big or small. It is like a tree skeleton, neither alive nor rotting, but simply beneficial for holding the tree upright. Don’t doubt the heartwood’s strength, though, as this inner core can be as strong as steel pipe.

Branching Out

Out from the trunk, you’ll find the parts of a tree that you’re probably most familiar with. At the top of the tree trunk you’ll find branches, which are often covered in needles, leaves, or other seed-producing tree parts. This is where a tree absorbs the sunlight necessary for making chlorophyll, which is the vitamin-packed food for trees. The root system holds the tree into place, while simultaneously providing a connection to a water source.

The next time you’ve got a question about a tree that’s becoming a thorn in your side; contact Premier Tree Solutions at 404-252-6448.