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How to Diagnose Common Tree Health Problems at Your Home

Diagnosing Common Tree Health Problems at Your Home

How long has it been since you walked your property and took a really good look at your trees? It’s important to periodically check your trees to determine you have any tree health problems around your home.

Sure, they are beautiful, provide shade in all the right places, and they play key role in the landscape design of your property… but problems could be lurking in the leaves and branches.

August is National Tree Check Month which means this is the ideal time to assess the trees on your property to ensure they are tip-top! A quick check will help you stop the invasion of persistent pests and discover diseases before they kill an important part of your landscape.

Is your tree healthy and normal?

The first place to start is definitively know what type of tree you have. Does it shed its leaves each year like an oak or maple? Or is it an evergreen that like a spruce or a pine? And don’t feel like you have to exactly what species it is, you just want to have a general sense of what the tree should look like when it’s healthy.

Check the leaves

  • Are the leaves yellow, red, or brown?
  • Are they spotted or discolored?
  • Do the leaves look distorted or disfigured?
  • Is there a sticky liquid on the leaves?
  • Do the leaves appear wet, or give off a foul odor?
  • Are leaves missing?
  • Are parts of the leaves chewed?

Check the trunk and branches

  • Are there holes or splits in the trunk or branches?
  • Is the bark peeling from a tree that shouldn’t shed its bark?
  • Are there tunnels or unusual patterns under the bark?
  • Is there sawdust on or under the tree?
  • Is there sap oozing down the tree?
  • Does the sap have a bad odor?
  • Do sticky drops fall on you when you stand under the tree? 

If you answered YES to any of the questions above, there’s a good chance something is wrong. And now would be the perfect time to decide how you should treat the issue or if it is time remove the tree before the problem spreads.

Three Things to Do to Minimize Tree Health Problems

Confirm the Tree Species:

Diagnose the Problem:

Call in the Pros at Tomahawk Tree Service:

  • Our team of experts will come out and do an assessment of what is going on and if necessary, provide a free estimate if trimming, pruning, or removal is necessary.

If you have questions or you would like to speak with our Tomahawk Tree Service operations scheduling team to set up an appointment or discuss potential tree health problems, call us at 770.640.0003.

Tomahawk Tree Service Special Offer National Tree Health Month
Atlanta's Best Tree Service Award to Tomahawk Tree Service

Understanding the History of Arbor Day

History of Arbor Day, Tomahawk Tree Service, Atlanta Tree Removal

???? Happy 150th Anniversary of Arbor Day! ????

Arbor Day is always observed on the last Friday in April. Arbor Day is a national holiday created to recognize the importance of trees. The most common way people celebrate Arbor Day is to get together in groups to plant trees.

How Did Arbor Day Start?

The day was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton, a Nebraskan journalist who later became the U.S. Agriculture Secretary under President Grover Cleveland. Morton was an enthusiastic promoter of tree planting, had long championed the idea of a day dedicated to planting trees.

In 1970 President Richard Nixon officially declared the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day. This move was in line with other environmentally-friendly actions taken by Nixon in the 1970s, including the passing of the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Protection Act, along with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Here Are Some Suggestions on How to Celebrate the Day, Courtesy of The Arbor Day Foundation:

  • Celebrate Arbor Day in a personal way by planting a tree yourself. Plant trees on your own property, or volunteer with your local government agency to plant or care for trees on public land in your area.
  • Read a book about trees and learn to identify trees in your yard and neighborhood.
  • Enjoy the outdoors. Visit a local park or take a nature hike, taking care to notice the different tree varieties you encounter. Bring along a field guide to help with identification.
  • Attend a class on tree and plant care.
  • Volunteer with a local tree-planting organization. You’ll meet new people while making a difference in your community.

And Tomahawk Tree Service is here to help with any seasonal pruning, tree health assessments, and the removal of any diseased or dead trees on your property. Call us at 770.640.0003 for a FREE Quote today or simply book the appointment online right now: https://rebrand.ly/Tomahawk-Tree-Service-Book-Online

5-Item Checklist for Springtime Tree Care in Atlanta

Springtime Tree Care Checklist Atlanta

Despite recent cooler temperatures, it’s time to add springtime tree care to your to-do list!

This is the time of year that the trees around your home need some additional attention and care. So, now is the perfect time for homeowners to assess how things look to make sure your trees are set up for a successful summer whatever the weather may bring.

To assist you in this effort here are five tips to ensure that your trees will thrive:  

CLEANING

Our first step simply involves cleaning the tree and the surrounding areas of it. Prune away dead, damaged, or diseased limbs.  Proper pruning protects your green assets from the unsafe branches that suffered damage from winter weather. Make sure to remove any remaining holiday décor from the trunks and branches.

After removing any holiday decorations, focus on the weeds. Weeds compete with the tree for water and nutrients, so make sure to remove any. Spring is the perfect time for this as dirt is still soft from the rain. In addition to that, making sure that dead leaves and sticks are not clogging up the areas around the tree is vital.

MULCHING

Now that the entire area around your trees has been cleaned up, you can move on to putting down mulch. Use mulch to help conserve moisture. Mulch also secures the organic matter trees need beneath the soil surface.

Keep the soil covered with a 3- to 5-inch layer of mulch starting a few inches from the base of the trunk and extending 1 to 2 feet from the tree in all directions (creating a circle around the tree).

‘This is an extremely important process for your trees because the mulch will allow the tree to retain more water, instead of allowing it to run off. It is also a fantastic help for keeping away weeds and will reduce the damage from your lawnmower.

WATERING

To ensure that your tree does not dry out as the weather continues to get warmer, make sure to give it a thorough watering throughout the spring. Deep watering prevents weak surface roots from forming and encourages the growth of robust roots underground. 

If you have a younger tree, you should water closer to the trunk, as it not as established yet. The roots of trees under 3 years old are usually not spread out completely. As trees grow, use more water less often. Approximately 10 gallons for each inch of trunk diameter.

PRUNING

Springtime is ideal for pruning because all your greenery has been dormant for the past few months. It is also a great time for it because there are fewer leaves, making it easier to see what you are doing, as well as fewer bugs and pests, and a lower risk of disease.

To prune, remove competing plants, including ivy and lawn. These plants can hide defects such as areas of decay and can trap moisture around the root crown, creating the perfect environment for fungus. If there are extra stubs from old limbs, make sure to remove those, as well as cutting back branches that rub together.

FERTILIZE

Springtime is the perfect time to start fertilizing your trees – mostly because this is right before everything starts growing and blossoming. Before your trees and shrubs enter peak growing season, apply a slow-release fertilizer to not only replace nutrients, but also to improve plants’ resistance to damage from diseases, insects and stressful weather.

To ensure that your plants are being fertilized properly, here are a few tips. Provide larger trees with about ¼ to ½ pound of nitrogen per inch of diameter, and for smaller trees use ¼ of a pound. Over time it will be easier to tell if more fertilizer is needed, but this is a good place to start.

We Can Help With Your Springtime Tree Care…

Maintaining your trees is, of course, a year-round job, but taking big steps to ensure their health in the spring will set them up for a great year!

As always, let the pros at Tomahawk Tree Service know if we can help you with your springtime tree care, pruning, and tree removal at your home. Remember we make it easy and we chop um cheap!

Top 5 Southern Trees for Pollinators

Want Bees…. Plant Trees! Did you know 90% of plants require a pollinator, and bees pollinate more than a third of our fruits and vegetables? Pollinators are an essential part of our everyday life. Without them, our gardens and flower beds would look totally bare.

Native Oaks

Planting natives are one of the best ways to assist pollinators. Native oaks, like black oak, white oak, pin oak, or swamp chestnut oak, support pollinators throughout the year in many ways, but especially by providing winter shelter and healthy habitat. In fact, oaks give more than 500 pollinator species a home and enable them to return for years to come. The tree height depends on variety, but the black and white oak can easily grow to a height of 60’ with a spread of 60’ or larger at maturity.

Southern Magnolia

Bees love this tree’s vibrant white to cream-colored flowers that are filled with pollen. Then, later in the spring, birds enjoy the tree’s yummy fruit. All year round, you’ll get to admire the shiny, evergreen leaves of this Southern staple. This tree can grow to a height of 80’ with a spread of up to 40’.

Eastern Redbud

This tree’s blooms are some of the first to blossom in spring. Bees of all kinds, including honey, bumble, and mason bees, enjoy its pollen and nectar. The rest of the year, birds and insects appreciate what this tree must offer. Growing about 25’ tall with a 25’ spread, this tree, filled with heart-shaped leaves, will sure to be one of your prettiest trees.

Black Gum

A black gum tree provides colorful pops of foliage to the fall landscape. But its yellow, red and orange leaves appeal to the bee population in a completely different way. The flowers provide a source of food for bees during springtime and the bark offers a safe home. This tree can grow to 50’ tall and 30’ wide when mature.

Tulip Tree

The large, tulip-like flowers produced by the yellow poplar give this tree its name. While not actually a poplar, this tree is a member of the magnolia family. Its greenish-yellow blooms and sweet nectar attract pollinators. This tree needs a lot of space, so plan for them to keep growing. At maturity, it can be 90’ tall with a spread of 40’.

▪Reprinted excerpt from The Arbor Day Foundation