If you’ve spent even one winter in Utah, you’re aware of how harsh cold weather conditions can be. The excessively dry air can wreak havoc on our skin and dry out our sinuses. And we don’t live outside – imagine how our trees and shrubs feel! Prolonged exposure to cold and dry conditions can cause severe damage to our larger ornamental plants. Fortunately, there’s something you can do about it. By investing in a solid tree care program, you’ll provide trees with the nourishment and protection they need. Here’s what you need to do.
Keep Your Trees And Shrubs Safe This Winter
Feed Them From The Roots Up
November is the time when trees and shrubs are focused not on producing buds, leaves, and aboveground growth but rather on expanding their root system. This vital connection to the earth allows them to find and store all the necessary nutrients to make it through winter. And if you’re wondering about evergreens, even these types of trees could use a helping hand. Even though evergreens never go fully dormant – like maples, oaks, and other deciduous trees – pulling nutrients from the soil in winter still poses a challenge. So what can you do to help out your larger plants?
Have a professional deep-root feeding done! Also known as deep-root fertilization, this treatment is one of the most common we perform in the lawn care industry. Just as humans might take vitamin-D supplements to make up for the lack of sun in the winter, trees could use a “supplement” of their own – and it comes in the form of deep-root feeding. Using a specialized tool that looks like a comically large shot you’d see at a medical office, your arborist will send a highly concentrated dose of nutrients into the tree’s root system.
Target Trees Specially
When you have deep-root feeding done, it’s the equivalent of filling your storm cellar to the max with non-perishable food. Your tree won’t have to go out “shopping” for food in the soil because it already has everything it needs. Also, this specific type of fertilization reduces competition from other plants. If you didn’t know, plants will compete with each other for nutrients. So if you were to sprinkle fertilizer on top of the soil surrounding the base of your tree, other plants like flowers, grass, or shrubs will work to get those nutrients as well.
Loosen Up Soil That’s Too Hard
The ideal state for soil to exist in is loose and porous. This allows plant roots to move and expand while simultaneously allowing air, water, sunlight, and fertilizer to circulate through the earth. Unfortunately, the soil will become hardened over time, which we call compaction in the industry. When soil is compacted, it’s challenging for roots to do what they do best. However, when you have deep-root feeding done, this process helps alleviate that compaction a bit. It’s not as good as getting aeration performed, but it certainly does help. If you’re wondering if the ground surrounding your tree is compacted, see if you can easily dig a screwdriver into the earth. If you can, you have nothing to worry about. If not, the earth is probably compacted.
Spray The Pests Away 
Keeping pests away from our trees and shrubs is a never-ending battle. But as the saying goes: work smarter, not harder. Whether you’ve had active pest infestations or not, applying a dormant oil spray to your trees and shrubs every fall is recommended. This tree-safe spray is used not only in home gardens but also in large-scale agricultural production – particularly fruit tree orchards. You might also hear it referred to as horticulture oil. This treatment accomplishes two things. Firstly, it will kill off any pests currently on your plant, things like scale, mites, mold, mildew, fungi, aphids, caterpillar eggs, and more. It does this by effectively smothering them to death. And it works not only against adult bugs but also larvae and unhatched eggs. So no matter where in the life cycle these pests are, they don’t stand a chance. Secondly, dormant oil spray coats the plants and keeps any new bugs from hopping on. It’s such a clever product because it provides immediate protection and future protection at the same time.
Find Affordable Tree Care Near Salt Lake City
There’s no need to roll the dice this winter. Give yourself peace of mind and assurance that your largest ornamental plants will not only survive but thrive this winter. Ferta-Lawn’s tree and shrub care service provides your plants with protection and nourishment – keeping them safe from pests, wind, and winter burn. And if your turfgrass needs rescue, we can help with that as well through our robust lawn care service. To learn more about this beneficial program or schedule an appointment, give us a call at 801-295-3057, or you can reach out to us through our online form here.
Don’t forget to check out our blog page for more informative articles. You can also follow us on social media!
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fertalawn
Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/fertalawn
Browse our Pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/fertalawn/
