Basic Tree Care and Maintenance
A quick guide to keeping your trees happy and healthy
Trees need regular maintenance to ensure their long-term health and safety in our landscapes. The urban environment is the source of many stressors on trees; from asphalt reflecting excess heat, to the salt we put down in the winter time. Trees do not usually encounter these stressors in their natural environment, and they can often lead to poor growth or even death of the tree if they aren’t properly addressed. There are lots of things we can do to help our urban trees grow large and live long, productive lives.
Keep your trees healthy with these best practices below.
Mulching
The most beneficial thing you can do for any tree is to mulch it properly. The more space you are able to mulch, the better for your tree. Some landscape standards call for mulching to the ‘drip line’ of the tree, or to the edge of the tree’s leaf canopy. This may be impractical if you have a large tree in your yard whose canopy spans the entire lawn, so a smaller circle of mulch around your tree may be more appropriate. The larger your mulch area, the greater long-term improvement in tree health and growth. Street trees planted in 3‑by-10-foot tree pits (standard Pittsburgh tree pits) receive the most benefit from mulching the entire 30-square-foot area.
Mulch wide, not deep. Tree roots need oxygen, and if the mulch layer is too thick it can limit the amount of oxygen available to the roots below. Don’t allow mulch to touch the trunk of your tree (AKA volcano mulching)! This will cause decay in the bark of your tree and can kill a young tree after only a few years.
Watering
Newly planted trees have often lost part of their root system during the transplanting process, which makes them more vulnerable to the effects of drought during their first few seasons in the ground. That’s why it’s so important to water young trees! Watering young trees helps them become established in the landscape. Once they are established, they have grown new roots that can collect enough water on their own and supplemental irrigation isn’t needed.
Knowing how much water to give a tree can be tricky, so follow these tips to keep your trees happy and hydrated:
- Give a tree 10 gallons of water for every 1 inch of trunk diameter every week. For example, if you plant a tree whose trunk is 2 inches in diameter, you should give it 20 gallons of water per week during the growing season.
- Water slowly to ensure the water percolates down through the soil to where the roots need it most.
- Consider your tree’s location and environmental conditions when watering. For example, trees in windy locations will undergo more evapotranspiration from their leaves, causing them to need more water than trees in sheltered locations.
- The soil surrounding your tree can be a very helpful source of information! By digging down a few inches, it is possible to see if the soil has moisture in it or if it is very dry.
Protection and Staking
Some trees provide humans with food like fruits and nuts, but other animals are much more opportunistic: almost all trees are a tasty snack for animals like rabbits and deer! Putting a wire cage around your young tree is a great way to protect it from animals as well as other factors like lawn equipment and humans. Keep this cage around your tree until it reaches 5 feet.
Stakes are sometimes used to help trees grow straight up, to combat wind and other environmental factors. You can remove these stakes one year after planting your tree.
Winter Tree Care
Winter can be a harsh season for newly-planted trees. Follow these tips to help your trees in the cold months.
- Give trees fresh mulch in the fall. A new layer of mulch insulates the tree’s roots during cold temperatures.
- Be careful with de-icing products. Rock salt (and de-icing mixes that include rock salt) prohibits a tree’s finer roots from absorbing water, nutrients, and oxygen. Alternative products like calcium or magnesium chloride are less harsh on a tree’s roots but can still cause harm if used excessively.
- Prune dead and damaged branches.