Trees, being living things, tend to be a little more vulnerable as they mature to things like diseases and pests, which can lead to the ultimate death of the tree.
There are four main things you should keep in mind when maintaining trees into maturity. Here they are in no particular order.
Having a regular tree trimming program in place is paramount to maintaining a healthy tree into maturity as it:
All trees should be trained to a single main leader/ trunk with second, third and forth order branches growing off it. Duel leading trunks eventually fail as their inherent shape is flawed and allows rot, and pests into the tree which eventually leads to failure.
Removing 10 – 20% of branches from a tree every year or 2 is like an overweight human losing a large amount of fat. There is a lot less pressure on their heart, to pump blood and less pressure on their knees and ankles to support the extra weight.
Health trees grow at a rate of 20 – 25% each year. By removing some excess dead weight you are essentially relieving pressure and allowing it to spend the extra energy it would have normally used to maintain those branches on growing new ones.
As mentioned above when you prune branches off a tree you are freeing up excess energy stores to be used by other parts of the tree. This is normally used to grow more fruit or flowers and to grow more and deeper roots. It’s a bit like an investment in your tree. With deeper roots and more of them your tree can produce more resource to grow more fruit, flowers and healthier branches. It’s a win win.
For newly planted trees (these are ones that have been planted within a period of the past three years) should be regularly watered. Not getting the required amount of water can open doors to diseases and stopping the tree from reaching its full size.
It is recommended that a tree gets 25 gallons of water each week. This number is equal to 1.5 inches of rainfall.
An efficient way of providing such levels of hydration to a tree without wasting water include:
•You can keep the water hose’s power low and leave it at the tree’s base for at least half an hour.
•You can use a 25-gallon watering bag (slow-release) and fill it up only once a week.
•A water bucket with holes in the bottom can also be placed at the base of the tree.
After a period of time, your tree will be big enough to get all of its water from the ground as water from rain soaks in deep and can last for months.
Having a trunk guard installed can help guard a tree against small animals, including rodents. It also stops mechanical damage from mowing equipment. If you were to constantly batter the base of a mature tree, it has to spend so much time repairing and fighting off pests and disease, it has little resources left over for new growth.
There are a few signs that are a dead give-away to whether your tree is healthy or is starting to turn. Paying attention to your tree and spotting these early warning signs are vital to helping your tree make a quick recovery.
When a tree is starting to turn, it will show at the very top of the tree first. You will not a distinct thinning of leaves at the very centre and top of the tree. This is a sign your tree is beginning to struggle for whatever reason and needs to be looked at.
If you notice that your mature tree is weeks late in blooming with leaves as compared to other trees in your area, it is also an early sign that your tree might be struggling a little.
Similar to crown die-back, canopy thinning refers to the thin growth of leaves evenly throughout the entire canopy of the tree and not just the very top. A lot of the time this is accompanied with crown die-back. This would indicate the tree is unable to sustain itself with the amount of resources it has. Maybe it is not getting enough water or something is seeping into the ground that it does not like.
If for no reason you notice your evergreen dropping more leaves than usual, it is a reaction by the tree to shed some of its foliage to concentrate on repairing itself. It’s normally a sign of more than just lack of water. A tree will normally wilt when lacking water in the short term. Loss of leaves could indicate something worse.
Saving a dying tree is possible, but it depends on how far gone it is and what was the initial cause of its turn for the worst.
It is also important to remember that trees are not immortal, they do all eventually die. Once a tree has reached the end of its Safe and Useful Life Expectancy, and has become more of a hazard than an asset and it might be worth removing altogether.
The best course of action is to call an arborist in and get their opinion. If they can identify the issue they will suggest fixing that first then most likely carrying out some remedial pruning.
Trimming branches off a mature tree gives it a new lease on life as it reduces the amount of branches and leads that needs to maintain and feed and can redirect energy on maintaining what is left. If it has excess stores, it will grow new leaves and branches over time.
One of the best ways to ensure the health of a tree is through professional examination. This is where hiring an arborist comes into play. Such professionals have experience when it comes to analysing the health of a tree and determining how to handle any tree-health related issue.
They are capable of spotting potential infestations, disease and the structural stability of the tree.
