Follow these Top 10 tips and keep trees healthy | Evergreen Arborist

Tips for pruning trees

image credit: Courtesy photo

Buried somewhere in the list of challenges and hopes for the New Year are a few issues that we face in our landscapes.

To highlight some of these, the following Top 10 list has been developed from situations I often encounter. Many are repeated year after year to the dismay of arborists.

But first, what will be the impact of the recent prolonged cold temperatures on certain plants, trees and shrubs in our landscapes?

Cold Weather Damage

Most of our native trees and shrubs can withstand freezing conditions. However, the more exotic plants, like those with palm-like leaves, will either be damaged or killed by extended cold temperatures.

Plants or small trees that are planted in pots or containers may have been damaged or killed. While they might normally withstand such conditions, they lacked the insulating soil that normally protects the roots when planted in the ground.

As spring approaches, the damaged tissue on the tips of branches and twigs will begin to darken and shrivel up. New growth will not emerge as usual. Then decisions must be made to either bury the victim or attempt to apply gardener first aid.

If new growth begins to develop below the damaged portion of a plant, the dead part can be removed for aesthetic appearances. Eventually, the tree or shrub may recover its former shape with some patient TLC.

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Follow these Top 10 tips and keep trees healthy | Evergreen Arborist