Growing shade trees on your landscaping has many amazing benefits. Underneath a full-grown shade tree is the perfect location for a backyard barbeque or for kids to spend time outside. It will also keep your home cooler when temperatures rise.

To get all of the benefits of shade trees, you need to plant the right species of tree and care for them properly.

AK Tree Trimming has recommendations for the best trees to plant for shade, as well as some expert advice on caring for your shade trees so they grow strong and healthy.

Planting Trees for Shade

All trees can provide shade, but there are some types of trees that are built for optimal shade. These types of trees often have a thick, wider canopy that extends out nearly as far as it does upward.

Below, we’ve provided some examples of shade trees based on whether they would be best suited for your front or back yard.

Back Yard Shade Trees

Shade trees in the back yard are primarily for your own benefit. Next-door neighbors and passersby usually won’t be able to see these trees , so they can be planted purely for shade and enjoyment.

In addition to shade, these trees can create year-round color as well as some extra privacy from neighbors.

Here are popular options:

• Magnolia
• Sugar maple or silver maple
• Weeping willow
• Weeping cherry
• Red oak

If you have the space, a live oak is a beautiful choice. Live oaks are said to be the fastest growing shade trees, and they can get very big. A mature live oak is able to reach up to 80 feet tall and as much as 100 feet wide.

Many of these back yard shade tree suggestions get extremely large, so you definitely want to do some research to determine if the tree will have enough space to grow to its full potential.

If there is not enough space, its root system can damage your fencing or even your home. You will also have to prune the tree every year to keep it from being overgrown. A tree that grows too big for its yard will probably have to be removed, which is an inconvenient and sometimes costly situation.

Front Yard Shade Trees

In the front yard of your home, you are planting trees for your enjoyment as well, but they will be a lot more beneficial for increasing value and curb appeal to your home since they can be seen.

Buy shade trees for the front yard that are a little smaller so they don’t overshadow your home. These trees should pair with your landscaping in color and size, while still creating lots of shade for front yard play and relaxation.

These are some of the shade trees AK Tree Trimming recommends:

Red maple
River birch
Dogwood
White oak
Ginkgo tree

These trees are colorful throughout the year, and they’ll showcase even more color during the fall.
Another great choice for your front or side yard is the ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae. This hedge-like tree can be planted in a long row with others to create privacy as well as shade.

With these suggestions in mind, we recommend that you plant what you like. In all honesty, any tree can grow to become a “shade tree.” Assuming the trees you choose are suitable for the climate in Alaska, they will provide your yard and home with shade.

Benefits of Planting Shade Trees

The benefits of having shade n your yard are numerous — there are a few that you probably don’t automatically think about.

Shade, Obviously – When temperatures {soar|get very warm, you don’t have to hide indoors if you have a comfortable, shady yard. Set up a chair or hammock below your biggest shade tree and enjoy time outside as long as you want.

Climate Control – Trees can regulate the temperature in your yard and inside your home. Not only do trees protect you from glaring sun, but they can make it feel 10-15 degrees cooler under their canopies. This means less solar radiation on your roof and siding as well, which might result in lowering your energy costs!

Better Air Quality – Trees produce oxygen and filter out pollutants, so there is cleaner air surrounding your house. Arbor Day Foundation research states that one mature tree absorbs around 48 pounds of CO2 out of the air.

Safety for Animals – If you enjoy bird watching or think squirrels and chipmunks are adorable, your trees can give them all they need to build a shelter, find food and raise babies.

Fun – What child doesn’t love a backyard tire swing or tree house? If you have small children, shade trees can provide hours of fun and joyful memories.

How to Care for Shade Trees

Caring for shade trees is very simple as long as you’ve planted the type of trees for the climate in Alaska. Trees are strong and durable after the first few years, needing little attention or care.

Consult a certified arborist from AK Tree Trimming if you have any questions about how to care for your shade trees, or even to help you select the perfect tree for your property.

After you have decided on the best shade tree(s), follow this easy care guide until your shade tree is well established.

Planting Your Shade Tree

The south, west and east of your yard get the most sun, so plant your trees on one of these sides of your yard. This is two-fold: 1) the trees will then create the most amount of shade and 2) they will also receive the maximum amount of sun for healthy growth.

Trimming Your Shade Tree

Trim during the first year or two after you first plant the tree to help to shape it and help it form a strong structure. To be safe, and for the best results, call AK Tree Trimming for tree trimming in Alaska. A certified arborist will arrive at your home and deliver professional care for the tree.

Watering Your Shade Tree

Watering a new tree is crucial. This will help them develop a deep root system and will give the tree stability in the long run.

Fertilizing Your Shade Tree

Fertilize a shade tree the same way you would any other type of tree in order to aid growth. Fertilizer is not a requirement, but it can assist in helping your tree to grow faster and blossom more leaves, which are the source of your shade.

We hope this information was helpful! Remember, when it is time to trim or prune a new shade tree, AK Tree Trimming can help! Call and a certified arborist in Alaska will visit your property, examine the tree and lay out the best care plan for its long-term health and growth.

Tree pruning is best left to experienced professionals. It’s dangerous work, climbing high up trees, using chainsaws and lowering heavy tree limbs to the ground; and it can be dangerous for the tree too. Trees that aren’t pruned the right way can suffer from a lifetime of issues.

Rather than putting yourself and putting the tree at risk, hire an arborist who is knowledgeable and experienced to do the job for you.

This will result in healthier trees and a safer environment near your home for many reasons:

• Healthy trees are sturdier and less likely to cause damage during storms
• Maintained trees don’t attract or spread parasites and diseases
• Trimmed trees produce more flowers or fruit
• Trimmed trees create shade while still allowing air to flow throughout their canopies and your landscaping

AK Tree Trimming strongly encourages trimming trees that are very close to your home or any that are a focus of your landscape.

Is Tree Trimming Necessary?

It is not required. But it is important. Trees are strong and survive on their own everywhere in the world, in a variety of different climates and regions, without trimming.

That said, there are a lot of benefits of professional tree trimming, so it’s highly recommended for trees that you value. This can include sentimental trees, fruit trees and flowering trees or trees that perform an important job for your home, such as shade or wildlife habitat.

Tree Trimming Gone Wrong

Tree pruning is a difficult task. You are going to need the correct equipment and a lot of knowledge to ensure the job is done right. The vast majority of homeowners don’t have either of these!

But that’s not a problem, because there are several companies available who know exactly how to properly prune trees for an affordable cost to you including all arborists in Alaska we work with!

Here are the 5 most common mistakes people make when they attempt DIY tree pruning that can lead to many tree problems. These are things that a trained arborist from AK Tree Trimming will know, and that’s exactly why their services are worth the price!

Pruning Too Much

When done correctly, tree trimming is an ongoing process. Starting when your trees are only 2 or 3 years old, they should be trimmed by an expert if you care about them and want to keep them healthy.

A big mistake that people make when trimming trees by themselves is cutting too much of the tree at a time. This happens because they have let the tree’s growth get out of hand and try to fix it all immediately. Ideally, you should only cut off 5-20% of the tree’s crown at a once. It is much easier to do this during a time of year that there are no leaves, but an experienced arborist is able to properly prune trees any time of year.

Removing Bark from the Tree

After you cut a tree branch and gravity starts pulling it down, it can tear off bark from the tree trunk right along with it. This exposes the tree’s inner layers, leaving the tree in danger of attracting diseases and making it easier for pests and rodents to scurry their way in.

To stop this from occurring, a trained arborist will make special cuts underneath big branches before making their final removal cut. Knowing how to place these small cuts removes pressure from the branch collar and reduces the stress at the exact point of the main cut so the branch doesn’t rip.

Cutting at the Wrong Place

A certified arborist knows where to trim each limb to protect against damage. This cut should occur just beyond the branch collar, the exact place where the branch connects to the tree trunk.

Cutting too close to the branch collar exposes the tree to decay, mildew and pests. Cutting too far from it leaves a stump when the tree has recovered. Most DIY tree pruning results in an improper cut, leaving either aesthetic or structural issues.

Pruning Large Branches

Branches larger than 4 inches in diameter shouldn’t be pruned unless it is necessary. Cutting off a branch this large can cause imbalance in the tree and expose it to pests and rodents and decay as the tree recovers from losing such a big branch.

Conservative trimming annually ensures that the company only has to remove branches that are 2-3 inches in diameter, which results in a more attractive shape for the tree and less risk of harming the tree or exposing it to decay and pests.

Topping the Tree

Tree topping is no longer a type of pruning, and for good reason! During this process, arborists would cut the top off of the tree to achieve the desired height. It was neither attractive nor was it beneficial for the tree, so the majority of tree care companies do not practice tree topping currently.

As a DIY tree pruning, you may think this is a good way to lower the height of your tree with only one cut, but once you have cut off the top of a tree, there’s almost no chance that it will ever return to a natural shape.

The Solution? Call AK Tree Trimming

Your tree may never recover from poor trimming.

Attempting this job yourself might seem like a good way to save money, but you could end up with way more cost trying to revive damaged trees, so it’s really safer (and more economical in the long run) to hire a certified arborist in Alaska from AK Tree Trimming.

Limbs aren’t going to grow back. The tree will grow more, but not in the same places, which causes strange shapes that could take years to fix. The tree could end up looking bad for the rest of its life, all because of a single trimming error.

Bad pruning could also result in death of the tree. Cutting off too many limbs (and, therefore, leaves) can affect the tree’s photosynthesis process, meaning it won’t get all of the water it needs or enough sunlight and carbon dioxide to continue growing.

Cutting off too many branches might also send the tree into a state of shock. Shock isn’t necessarily permanent, but it takes a great deal of patience and care. Even with the right maintenance, a tree undergoing shock may still die.

Avoid all of these tree pruning mistakes and call AK Tree Trimming to speak with a tree care specialist in Alaska able to customize a plan to ensure your tree continues to blossom and look beautiful for years to come!

Trees are living things, so that means that they can become “sick” like people and animals can. A disease or other tree problem may take a little while to show appear due to the sheer size of the tree, and once symptoms become clear, it could be too late to save the tree.

A certified arborist from AK Tree Trimming can diagnose and treat tree problems so that you have a much better chance of saving the tree. Learn about our service here. Not only can an arborist prevent a tree from dying, but they are also able to help trees get healthier growth and more flowers or fruit with professional tree trimming.

Have you noticed a tree on your property that has always seemed healthy but suddenly seems like something is wrong? In the next paragraphs, we’ll describe some of the most common tree problems and what these symptoms mean.

If you spot any of these things on any of your trees, act fast for the best chance of saving the tree and the ones nearby it.

Tree Diseases & Common Problems

These 7 things are the most common issues addressed by professional arborists in Alaska. The moment you think one of these things is wrong with your tree, contact someone with the knowledge and equipment to help!

Tree Diseases

Leaf Rust – Leaf rust is a fungus that is common in both trees and plants. The name comes from the brown and yellow spots this disease produces on the leaves.

Leaf rust is bad because it inhibits the leaves’ photosynthesis, the process by which it breathes. Leaf rust can be treated with fungicides and selective tree trimming of the diseased leaves. It could be necessary to remove entire branches with leaf rust.

Witches’ Broom – This common tree disease results in a large clump of twigs, dead leaves and branches that resemble a broom shape. It is caused by pests, unusually rainy weather or fungus. The formation of a clump of leaves and twigs is the tree’s reaction to infection or danger.

Some instances of Witches’ Broom are deadly for the tree, while others are just considered a growth malformation. An arborist can diagnose the issue.

Mildew – Mildew is a fungus that grows on almost anything in moist conditions, but even after the wet conditions are gone, mildew can persist and thrive. It appears as a powdery substance, usually white, and it often grows on the leaves of the tree first.

The trick to treating mildew is to use a fungicide that contains sulfur. This will remove the current mildew and help to prevent future mildew on the tree. You may also need to trim the tree to remove branches, fruit, flowers and any leaves that have been affected by the mildew

Gall – Gall is a type of tree disease that occurs when pests or rodents build small nests on the leaves or twigs of a tree to leave their eggs in. Most types of galls are not harmful to the tree, but none of them are attractive.

Gall will appear as bumps on the tree, in varying sizes. They are often white, brown, gray or some color in between.

You do not have to treat the tree for galls, but they can affect the growth of recently planted trees. Treat galls by killing the insects. You should also clean out from under the tree after the leaves fall off, because this is where the insects live during winter months.

Other Tree Problems

Poor Pruning – There’s an art to tree pruning, as well as many types, and if you aren’t sure how to do it, you could damage the tree beyond recovery. Consider the type of tree, season and other factors. Under-pruning (or not pruning at all) is just as big of an issue. Only a trained arborist should be trusted to trim trees in order to keep them healthy.

Lack of Water – Young trees can be severely impacted by drought. If you plant new trees on your property, you will probably have to supplement how much water they get from rainfall. A tree that is not getting enough water will have its growth stunted. The first symptom you are likely to noticed is scorched, dry leaves. Find more tips for new trees here.

Too Much Sun – Do some planning before planting trees in a sunny area. Many types of trees can handle it just fine, but too much sun can happen to any tree if the sun is too hot for an extended period of time and rainfall is light. A tree that is getting excessive sun needs even more water to fight against wilting, drooping leaves.

Certified Arborist Services in Alaska

An experienced arborist from AK Tree Trimming will be able to quickly identify what’s going on with your sick tree and put together a plan to rescue it if at all possible.

Here are the things an arborist is trained to do:

• Inspect trees from below and from the branches of the tree if possible. Climbing into the canopy is usually necessary to identify exactly what is causing the symptoms.
• Treat your tree with additives and fertilizers in the dirt or products applied to the leaves. The arborist will have expert knowledge about the disease affecting your tree and the best treatments for it.
• Trim tree limbs to eliminate dead or diseased branches and to assist healthy growth. Even if heavy trimming is needed, they will know how to cut off branches so that the tree survives both the problem and the trimming.
• Remove the tree from your lawn if there is no chance to save it. The worst case is that the tree is dying, and removing it is the only choice to protect your home and surrounding landscape.

They can also educate you about the trees that you have om your property and how to best maintain them so you don’t find yourself in the same situation again.

Many tree issues look very similar to each other, requiring a professional opinion to correctly determine and treat the issue. If your trees appear to be dry, unhealthy or disfigured, call a certified arborist from AK Tree Trimming for an inspection before it’s too late for your tree.

When it comes to the question, “What time of year is best for tree trimming?” The answer can be vague.

The type of tree dictates when many species are able to be pruned, along with pest population and activity, local tree and plant diseases and other plants and trees in the landscape.

With the guidance of a certified arborist in Alaska, you can figure out which season is ideal for pruning your trees to prepare them for success next season and beyond.

Best Season to Prune Trees

Without any other context, AK Tree Trimming recommends tree trimming during the winter. This would be sometime within November to March in most areas. This season is best because trees are mostly dormant, so trimming will cause the least amount of harm, if any.

There are a lot of benefits to trimming trees during the winter:

Lower chance of pest damage and disease – Insects and plant diseases are mostly inactive in the winter. Throughout the rest of the year, everything from insects to fungus can affect a newly pruned tree because the tree is most susceptible and these issues are more common during warmer weather.

Easier to determine the shape of the tree when the leaves are gone – Leaves get in the way of your arborist from seeing the complete shape of a tree. When the branches are bare, it is a lot easier to see diseased or dead limbs and branches that are touching versus those that are just too close to each other.

Trees can heal before spring – By performing significant tree trimming during the winter, your trees have many months to rebuild callus tissue on the tips of the remaining branch collar. By the spring season, you’ll barely be able to notice where the branches were cut off, and the tree will be able to focus its energy to produce new, healthier leaves, fruit or flowers rather than healing new cuts.

Less chance of damaging surrounding landscaping – Most of the nearby trees and greenery will also be dormant, so there is a lower risk of them. Most of the time, a tree is surrounded by annual plants in the warmer seasons, but there are no plants to be disturbed in the winter months since these annuals have already died out.

Do All Trees Need Trimming?

Yes, all trees can benefit from pruning. Tree trimming each winter is good for trees, but it is also a precaution for the safety of your property and your family and neighbors. Let us explain:

Pruning Makes the Tree Healthier

Dying and diseased limbs are cut off, as are branch stubs that are prone to pests and disease. Limbs that can rub each other are also pruned so that they don’t weaken one another or cause an open wound on the tree.

Pruning trees every year is a great way to get expert eyes on your trees so that early warning signs of decay, disease and insect infestations can be spotted and dealt with immediately.

A Well-Maintained Tree Serves Its Purpose Better

When a tree becomes overgrown, it starts to be hard for water and nutrients to get to every limb. This can leave the tree looking weak and sick and definitely not doing what it’s meant to do.

Trimmed trees, on the other hand, produce more fruit, healthier leaves and provide better shade. They are fuller and healthier and less likely to cause landscaping issues. So regardless of why you decided to plant a new tree, pruning will maximize the results you want from it.

Trees are More Attractive After Pruning

If the view of your landscaping is important to you, tree pruning is important! Pruning trees gives them an attractive, uniform shape and size. This is especially important if you have a lot of similar trees on your property.

Trimming lower branches and upper branches that grow at awkward angles improves the overall beauty of the tree while also strengthening tree health.

Less Chance of Falling Branches

Tree pruning – from an arborist – helps the remaining tree branches to grow healthier and stronger. Therefore, storms and other inclement weather in Alaska won’t damage your trees the same way they would an unkempt tree. Your home and family will be much safer living under and around trimmed trees.

Another safety concern for overgrown trees is that they block the view of traffic lights, road signs and driveways. Tree pruning, crown raising and other specialized tree care services will keep the tree at a good size and stop it from blocking various views.

Call AK Tree Trimming for Tree Pruning

Working with a certified arborist in Alaska gives you access to their expert knowledge on tree trimming. We recommend relying on their expertise if you have trees on your property that you’d like to keep healthy for a long time.

An arborist won’t only look at the immediate situation. Instead, he or she will take time to inspect your trees and study their unique scenario (including their location and other factors that could put them at risk of disease or infestation). After gathering all of the information, an arborist will make a long-term plan based on the trees’ unique needs and stick to that plan until your goals for your trees are met.

This plan could require many years to implement, but rest assured, it will result in healthy trees that you and your family can enjoy for many years to come.

This kind of annual care will aid in healthy tree growth, help your landscaping resist plant diseases and increase flower or fruit production from the trees. It will also fortify your trees so there is not as much risk of falling trees or branches.

Being proactive about tree pruning will save you a lot of money as well. Preventative maintenance is much more affordable than paying for emergency tree services, storm damage restoration or restoring an ill tree of a disease that has spread out of control (and one that was easily preventable).

If you care about the health of your trees and the beauty of your landscaping, trust a certified arborist for tree trimming and maintenance from AK Tree Trimming. Discover our service area here. We work with arborists across the entire state of Alaska. Call now!

Tree pruning in Alaska is an important professional service that can beautify and reinforce trees so they can withstand pests, diseases and inclement weather – and look good while doing it!

Pruning has to be done if you want healthy trees, but it must be done properly by someone who knows what they’re doing. Like a certified arborist from AK Tree Trimming. You may be able to prune trees safely while they are small and growing, but you also may do irreparable harm to the tree in the process.

To correctly prune trees, you must know all of the following:

• When is the best time to prune your species of trees
• How much of the tree can be trimmed at a time
• Where to cut each branch so you do not harm the tree

Taking too much from a tree can kill it or cause structural damage, but minimal trimming done each year benefits trees in several ways. Professional pruning helps to improve the appearance of trees, makes them healthier, eliminates dead or diseased limbs and assists in fruit or flower production.

Ideally, pruning must be performed annually, but as trees get older, you might be able to wait two years between major pruning services. Regardless of how regularly you have your trees trimmed, ensure your arborist is qualified to do the type of tree pruning your trees need. This won’t be a problem if you call AK Tree Trimming in Alaska!

Types of Tree Pruning Methods

There are 7 different ways to properly prune a tree so that it grows healthier and stronger every year.

Depending on the size, type and health status of your trees, one pruning method could be more beneficial than another, but each technique has various benefits.

Crown Thinning Your Trees

Crown thinning is common for larger, overgrown trees in Alaska. This technique eliminates weak branches within the crown of the tree to improve light and air flow throughout the crown. Air flow is important for disease prevention.

This pruning method also removes branches that are touching so they do not rub against one another and snap or create weaker areas that can be an entry point for insects and pests. Branches that grow at odd angles are typically removed during crown thinning.

Crown Raising Your Trees

This tree pruning technique removes branches and limbs at the lower part of the crown so new limbs start higher up on the trunk of the tree. Allowing low branches to get too big makes them very difficult to cut off, and they can draw nutrients from the top of the tree, which leads to less fruit and a weaker tree.

There are many reasons you might want to raise the crown of a tree. Often, it is done in order to clear the line of sight for automobiles and pedestrians, but it can also be done to increase space for landscaping under the tree.

It is a common technique for overgrown trees that are too close to homes and buildings.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction lowers the overall size of the tree’s crown from its exterior edges. It shortens limbs horizontally and vertically to maintain the tree at a certain size. By reducing the size of the crown, you can remove the need to chop the tree down because it won’t interfere with traffic lights, power lines or street lights.

Even if the tree isn’t close to structures like these, crown reduction can help the tree look much better because it also removes irregular growth. This is a good idea for trees that are different ages but you want to look consistent.

Crown Cleaning

Often referred to as deadwood pruning, crown cleaning is a minimally invasive type of tree trimming method that gets rid of dying, broken or diseased branches so that the rest of the tree may continue to grow normally. These branches can only cause issues in the future.

Crown cleaning makes the tree look a lot better, and it prevents limbs from rubbing together. Plus it is a safety practice that reduces the risk of branches falling, because healthy branches do not fall very often.

Crown Restoration

Crown restoration is an advanced pruning technique for trees that were significantly damaged (either by weather or vandals). It must be performed by an experienced arborist who knows how the tree is likely to grow over time and just how long it’s restoration is going to take.

Unlike most other tree trimming services, crown restoration happens over an extended time period with conservative trimming that reshapes the tree. An arborist must have a definitive plan to restore the tree, but also be flexible as the tree grows and reshapes on its own, working with the tree’s new growth.

Vista Pruning

If you are looking for trees that help improve curb appeal, you are probably interested in vista pruning. The goal of vista pruning is to make the tree more visually pleasing from a particular viewing point.

It encompasses several pruning techniques including crown thinning, crown cleaning and crown reduction – any technique that makes the trees look prettier. Remember, though, that an arborist is not going to jeopardize the health of a tree, so the focus of vista pruning is still to maintain strong, healthy trees.

Espalier Pruning

Espaliered trees are pruned heavily to grow flat up against a wall or a trellis. It is a different style of tree trimming that will draw a lot of attention to your landscape. Espalier pruning has to be started when the tree is very young and then done consistently throughout the tree’s life span.

of espalier pruning include facilitating maximum sunlight to reach the trees, as well as making it easier to harvest fruit.

Professional Tree Pruning in Alaska

Tree trimming can be dangerous for a tree, your lawn, and, of course, for you! AK Tree Trimming highly recommends professional tree pruning over DIY.

Besides the many dangers of tree trimming, you can do a lot of harm to a tree if you don’t prune it correctly. Over-pruning is one of the most common errors made by homeowners maintaining their own trees.

Trees in Alaska that get routine care from a professionals are much better off, and hiring an experienced arborist from AK Tree Trimming to care for the trees on your property is a decision you won’t regret. Locate your town in our service area. We work with arborists throughout the entire state of Alaska!

Planting new trees on your property has many benefits. Trees create much-needed summer shade, create privacy, filter contaminated air and increase property value. Everyone should plant trees.

Once full-grown, trees are pretty easy to care for: another benefit! Trees are hardy and tend to grow despite minimal care. However, if you want to ensure your trees reach their potential, they need more effort.

Lack of care for growing trees could lead to rotting, disease, under watering or pest issues.

The good news is that tree care isn’t very difficult, but you do need a little information to do it right. Research the new trees you plant in order to know what they need to succeed. Then properly care for them and watch them flourish.

Below, we’ll explain the five best tips for planting a new tree and seeing it grow. You probably are aware of the basics, so let’s dive deeper and detail how to perform each step correctly.

Tree Care Tips for New Trees

These five tips will not only help keep trees alive, they’ll help them grow faster, resist extreme winds, fight off diseases ,insects and pests and create more leaves, buds or fruit.

Water Your Tree

New trees need a lot more water than older ones. The trees you plant on your property are no exception.

The root ball of the tree and the soil surrounding it have to be kept moist, but don’t let it get soaked, as this can cause the roots to rot.

The popular recommendation is 4-10 gallons of water each week. This includes rain water, and although it’s hard to get an exact reading, a rain gauge can help get you close enough to supplement the remaining gallons. Your trees will need this much water every week for the initial 2-3 growing seasons.

Mulch Around Your Trees

Mulch is much more than an attractive lawn care product. It actually helps protect new trees, especially the roots underground. But laying mulch the wrong way can sometimes lead to rotting and decay – so much so, that it’s possible that the tree will not survive.

Place mulch exactly 3 inches away from the tree trunk and spread it out to cover the ground under the longest horizontal limb. For brand new trees, this won’t be very far, but as the tree continues to grow, your mulch area will continue to grow as well.

Keep the mulch 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas. Be vigilant in keeping it spread out consistently and far enough away from the trunk of the tree so it does not limit air flow around the trunk.

Fertilize Around Your Tree

Fertilizer provides the nutrients that your land’s soil may not naturally have. Most young trees will benefit from fertilizing, but you have to be using the correct products and doing it at the right time for fertilizer to be most beneficial.

The best season to fertilize is early spring. Sometimes early summer provides good conditions (mild temperatures and moist soil), but don’t count on it.

If you are uncertain about which type of fertilizer to use, speak to a tree care specialist for advice. Slow-release fertilizers are usually a good idea because they feed trees over a period of time rather than all at once.

Follow through with these things in the first growing seasons after planting a new tree, and then reconsider your watering, mulching and fertilizing as the tree grows larger. As time goes on, there will be additional tree care projects that are more important for your young trees.

Prune Your Tree

Tree trimming is very important – yet very challenging – in the first years after you plant a new tree. As the tree grows, you may see several little branches take off, trying to become the trunk of the tree. While you may think this shows that the tree is healthy and that it is growing well, but it can actually result in a weak tree as time goes on.

Early pruning shapes the tree into what it will look like when it becomes much larger. As little branches emerge on the lower trunk, they have to be cut off so they don’t steal water and nutrients away from the upper branches.

As long as you have trees somewhere on your land, they need to be pruned regularly. When the tree gets too large for you to trim them safely, you can count on AK Tree Trimming to do it for you.

Monitor Your Tree

Growing trees are at the highest risk for damage, disease and insect issues. But you’re never truly safe from these things. As your tree gets older, monitor it closely for signs of disease or poor nutrition, including the following:

• Leaf color changing out of season, especially leaves turning yellow or brown
• Premature leaf falling, despite whether these leaves appear healthy or diseased
• Wilting, even with proper watering
• Single limbs dying
• Bark peeling

These signs likely mean a health problem. The tree is likely going to require professional maintenance if your hope is to save the tree. A certified arborist can usually identify the problem by simply looking at your tree, although they will perform testing if deemed necessary.

If you identify the problem early enough, you will probably be able to save the tree. Being proactive is the best course of action to protect your younger trees.

The tips above are basic but effective. Don’t underestimate the value of the basics! When your new trees have pruning, fertilizer and more,, combined with some sunshine and barring severe, damaging weather, the chances are good that they will survive and look wonderful!

Of course, you could already have a very busy schedule and don’t really want to take on these additional tasks. In many cases, homeowners don’t have the ability or the tools to give their new trees the necessary maintenance.

No matter the situation, it’s a good idea to seek the help of a tree company for the care of new trees. A professional arborist in Alaska can consult with you about the best course of maintenance for each tree species you plant. Arborists love sharing their expertise and skills with homeowners planting new trees on their land, and can be the difference between trees that struggle and trees thriving.

Call AK Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree maintenance in Alaska – including tree trimming – for newer trees and old trees. A local tree service can determine the best plan for your trees! Locate your city in our service area here.