When you have trees in your backyard, you need to keep them healthy. That way, you can maximize the benefits of having trees around you. They beautify your landscape while providing cleaner air, shade and value to your property.
When trees age, they become unhealthy like human beings. However, you might not notice them quickly. You can understand if your trees are healthy with the following tips:
1. Inspect The Central Leader
You should only have one vertical stem at the top of the trunk, known as the central leader. This vertical stem stabilizes and strengthens the tree structure. It also makes the tree straight and upright.
However, if your tree has two or more leaders, the tree will split and, as a result, will create a wound that can lead to disease or insect infiltration. You may need help from professionals from companies like Tree Menders who can properly prune excess trunks or infested parts of the tree.
But, this should not apply to all trees because some trees like plum trees, cherry nectarine, peach, and other species have more than one vertical stem. These species will take on a specific growth pattern, so you need to prune them to maintain one main leader for each trunk.
2. Check Yearly Growth
Believe it or not, tree growth can determine if your trees are healthy. Tree growth refers to the increase in numbers and size of its vegetative structures: roots, stems, and leaves. Trees also produce sugars to grow using the minerals, water, carbon, dioxide, and the sun. That means they rely on the environment to grow healthy.
Different species of trees have various lifespans. Bristle cone pine up can live up to 5,000 years, cypress for about 1,600 years, oaks for about 200 years, while peach trees for about 30 years. However, environmental factors can shorten the tree’s lifespan, and one way to check is through their yearly growth.
Check for the annual rings which show the amount of wood produced. These annual rings are concentric circles from the formation of new cells. On trees, you can see a light-colored ring at a cross-section of a tree. As the trees manufacture new cells, they grow in diameters.
3. Prune Broken Branches
Although trees can naturally grow even without pruning them, you still need to prune them for many reasons. One is to keep them healthy and allow them to live longer.
Because pruning focuses on removing diseased, dying, or dead branches, you can maintain your trees’ health. Pruning also includes removing branch stubs and branches rubbing together. By doing so, you’re also controlling the specific form the trees need. Moreover, dead branches may endanger lives and properties, so pruning them will avoid such scenarios.
4. Inspect Trunk Health
When the trunk is healthy, the bark should not be peeling or loose unless they’re maples and birches. Also, the trunk should not have fungi on the ground or around it. Another sign that the trunk is healthy is the absence of holes or cracks. If the trunk is healthy, it’s one sign that the tree is healthy.
Conclusion
Trees are vital parts of the environment, but they become a danger when they’re unhealthy. They may suddenly fall when they’re too unhealthy, causing some accidents. You would know if the trees on your property are healthy by following the tips above.