Tomahawk Tree Service

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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

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!