Tree service professionals of Naples, Florida give advice for sustainable tree care.
Helping Your Yard Trees Thrive Through Earth-Friendly Tree Health Care Choices
When someone is talking about gardening and growing things in general, it may seem ridiculous to discuss sustainability. Growing things is all about sustainable living, isn’t it? As long as you are growing things you are doing the right thing, right? Well, unfortunately, this is not the case.
Some common practices can have unintended collateral damage to other flora and fauna around the area and the tree being tended to. Make sure you are practicing tree trimming and care that is good for both the tree and the rest of the environment.
Dos and Don’ts of Tree and Plant Health Care
Because there are many well-meaning amateur gardeners who may be doing the wrong thing, let’s go over some basic rules for tree care. This will cover watering, mulching, fertilizing, and tree pruning as well as protecting against tree disease.
- Watering: Even established trees sometimes need water during a particularly dry and/or hot season. Young trees especially need to be watered slowly and deeply. Using a soaker hose is ideal because it allows the water to slowly soak through to the deepest roots without wasting water or causing over-saturation of the soil, which can cause problems.
- Mulching: Use organic mulch because beyond just looking nice and insulating the soil against moisture loss and extreme temperature changes, it actually nourishes the soil like compost as it decays. Make sure to place it no deeper than 2-4 inches and keep it away from the trunk to avoid pests.
- Using Fertilizer: Before you consider using fertilizer, consider having a tree service company do soil testing for you. This will tell you what your soil needs for the plants and trees in your yard to thrive. Use organic fertilizer that will not burn the roots of the plant you are trying to strengthen.
- Pruning: Pruning should be done by professionals in order to avoid cutting too much off. Cutting back too severely can kill the tree, which is certainly not a sustainable practice.
- Tree Health: Using pesticides and herbicides in order to protect a tree is not necessarily a bad practice, but be careful what you choose to use and use sparingly. These chemicals can kill helpful insects(like bees) and plants.
Plant Native Plants and Trees
One of the best ways to have a sustainable garden that will help future generations is to plant native plants. Though non-native plants can make for a pretty garden, they may spread and become an invasive species problem. Native plants are certain to grow well within the environment and will help maintain biodiversity in the area.
A few lovely native plants of Florida are listed below:
- Fire Bush
- Red Maple
- Royal Palm
- Silver Maple
- Southern Live Oak
- Southern Magnolia
Though this is a very short list, there are many other native plants that can beautify both residential and commercial properties.
Consult with a Certified Arborist
If you are concerned about your gardening practices and whether or not your plants may be native plants, the best place to start is with a conversation with an arborist. They are experts in tree health and not just in tree risk assessment and tree removal. Let them help you plan for your future garden.
About Any Town Tree
Licensed and insured and offering tree services all around Naples, FL, Any Town Tree has the high-end equipment needed for everything tree including emergency removal service. Call today for a free estimate.