Planting a tree on your land has several benefits. Trees offer summer shade, create privacy, filter contaminated air and increase property value.
Once grown, most trees are very simple to care for: another benefit! They are durable and tend to grow even with minimal care. But, if you want to see your trees reach their full potential, they need more effort.
Lack of care for growing trees could result in rotting, disease, under watering or pest issues.
The good news is that caring for trees isn’t all that difficult, but you will want a little information to do it correctly. Educate yourself with the new trees you plant to know what they need to succeed. Then properly care for them and watch them bloom.
Below, we’ll outline the five best practices on how to plant a new tree and seeing it grow. You likely are aware of the basics, so let’s dive deeper and detail how to do each step.
Tree Care Tips for New Trees
These tips will not only help keep your trees alive, they’ll help them grow faster, withstand extreme gusts of wind, fight off diseases ,insects and pests and produce more leaves, buds or fruit.
Water Your Tree
New trees need more water than well-established ones. The trees you plant 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 rule of thumb is 4-10 gallons of water per week. This includes rain water, and although it’s challenging to get an exact reading, a rain gauge can help get you close enough to supplement the remaining gallons. Your new trees will need this much water every week for the initial 2-3 growing seasons.
Mulch Around Your Trees
Mulch is more than an attractive lawn care material. It helps protect new trees, especially the roots. But laying mulch incorrectly can result in rotting and decay – so much so, that it’s possible that the tree will not survive.
Place mulch 3 inches away from the trunk of the tree and spread it out to completely cover the ground underneath the longest horizontal branch. For brand new trees, this isn’t going to be very far, but as the tree grows, your mulch area will grow as well.
Keep the mulch 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas around the tree. Be vigilant in keeping it spread out consistently and away from the trunk of the tree so it does not stop air flow around the tree trunk.
Fertilize Around Your Tree
Fertilizer provides nutrients that your soil might not have naturally. Most young trees can benefit from fertilizing, but you have to use the correct products and doing it at the correct time in order for fertilizer to be most beneficial.
The perfect season to fertilize is during early spring. Sometimes early summer also provides the right conditions (mild temperatures and moist soil), but don’t count on it.
If you aren’t sure about which fertilizer to use, consult a tree care specialist for recommendations. 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 tree, and then review your watering, mulching and fertilizing needs as the tree grows larger. As seasons go on, there will be additional tree care tasks that become more important for your young trees.
Prune Your Tree
Tree trimming is very important – yet very tricky – in the early years after planting a new tree. As the tree grows bigger, you may see several small branches take off, competing to become the trunk of the tree. You may think this means that the tree is healthy and growing well, but it can actually result in a very weak tree as time goes on.
Early pruning shapes the tree into what it is going to look like when it is much larger. As little limbs emerge on the lower trunk, they have to be cut off so they don’t steal water and nutrients away from the upper branches.
So long as you have trees growing on your property, they need to be pruned periodically. When the tree gets too big for you to trim them safely, you can rely on NV Tree Trimming to do the job for you.
Monitor Your Tree
Young trees are at the highest risk for damage, disease and insect issues. But you’re never completely safe from these issues. As your tree gets older, watch it carefully for signs of disease or poor nutrition, including the following:
- Leaf color change out of season, with leaves turning brown or yellow
- Early leaf falling, despite whether leaves look healthy or sick
- Wilting, even with proper watering
- Single limbs or branches dying
- Bark peeling off
These signals indicate a health problem. It is likely going to require professional maintenance if your plan is to save the tree. A certified arborist can usually identify the issue by simply looking at your tree, although they will perform testing if necessary.
If you identify the issue quick enough, you will likely be able to save the tree from dying. Being proactive is the best way to protect growing trees.
The tips above are simple yet effective. Don’t underestimate the importance of the basics! When new trees have proper care, combined with some sunshine and barring severe, damaging weather, the odds are probable that the tree will survive and will look beautiful too!
Of course, you could already have a full schedule and don’t want to be responsible for these additional tasks. In some cases, property owners don’t have the physical ability or the tools to give their new trees the necessary maintenance.
No matter the situation, it’s a good idea to contact a tree company for the care of new trees. A certified arborist in Nevada can consult with you about the best course of maintenance for each type of tree you plant on your property. Arborists love sharing their expertise and skills with homeowners planting brand new trees on their land, and they can make the difference between trees that struggle and trees that thrive.
Call NV Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree maintenance in Nevada – 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.
