Tree Health Care

 

Tree Health Care advise must rank right up there with the ten best ways to discipline your children. Everyone wants to give you advise but by what authority are they giving you that advise?

With that in mind this blog covers basic information about Tree Health Care that everyone should know.

The first thing you must realize about trees is that they do not do anything fast. The slow Ents in the movie Lord of the Rings was a fun emphasis on that fact and it's true. Trees can't run and hide or move out of the way so they slowly try to remedy everything by growing through it.

The second biggest misinformation I hear from the "next door neighbor" is, bores are killing that tree. The fact is insects attack the sick trees in the forest not the healthy ones as part of the natural plan to eliminate the weak and make room for the healthy trees. So if you have an insect attack the tree was having a health problem in the first place. University studies have proven that insects can hear sonic cracking of dry or dead wood which leads them to those sick trees. See the University Study from Texas A&M as one example.

The third biggest mistake is assuming yellowing leaves means the tree needs more water. The fact is that you will get the same symptoms from too much water as too little. See http://forestry.about.com/od/arboriculture/a/tree_watering.htm  To prevent this the only real answer is to probe the ground around the tree and see how wet it is.

Even a cheap water meter like this for as little as $10 can help.

 

The Fourth mistake is to take a sample to your local extension office or nursery and believe they can diagnose the problem and the cure by looking at a twig or leaf. Never trust a person who states they can to that. The fact is you have to get the history of events happening to the tree over the past year (remember; trees do not react to anything quickly) and you have to look at the environment the tree is growing in. If you do not take all factors into consideration you are getting a diagnosis like a doctor who doesn't take the time to get your medical past and current conditions but gives a random diagnosis out of a book.

 

That's just a start, but a good start to help you with Tree Health Care.