How to prune an Ash Tree

The Cost of Bad Pruning

This is a sad example of what happens when people not trained in pruning work on mature trees.

This was a beautiful and important Ash Tree in the back yard of a Home Owner who decided it would be fine to let his lawn mowing guy prune his trees.

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So by not knowing the basics of pruning, the tree self destructed.
Let's look at the economics, finding someone to who was qualified to prune would have cost $300.

The Lawn Mow guy did it for $65.

The tree now needs to be removed, $900.

Not to mention it will take twenty to thirty years to get an Ash Tree this tall again.

A little bit of pruning every year is the most cost efficient way to take care of your trees.

We have a DIY booklet now on tree pruning which you can use or give to your Lawn Guy and ask them to study it and prune your trees as the

Planting Trees in the Winter

Fall Tree Planting

Fall is a good time to plant trees, however, keep a few things in mind.

One is that tree selection can be poor in the fall. Nurseries do not want to sit on a tree all winter, but you might find some better pricing because of this fact.

Two is decidua (leaf) trees, although dormant, are still subject to freeze damage as shown in the post about winter damage so protect them as we discussed.

Three is all the trees will still need watering. A decidua will need to be watered at the time of planting so you know the ground was moist around the root ball for any starter roots, then be sure and water it again the first warmth of spring, even if this is in February or January. Evergreens will need water all through the winter. It doesn't have to be a lot of water but you don't want them to get too dry. They are not dormant so they need care.

If it's a situation where you can not get water to them and it's a long dry month that you are concerned about, a water bag can help.  These bags can expand with freezing and usually will not break in the freezing and thawing time.

Protecting your Trees from Winter Damage

Winter Tree Damage

Every year I see home owners ignore basic simple steps that could have saved their trees.

The first is to protect from Sunscald. This is a severe problem in young trees like the one pictured to the left. It happens from a process of freezing and thawing, usually on the SW side of the tree. Humidity penetrates young bark making it soaked in moisture. This moisture does not evaporate but is held by the bark and easily freezes because it is very exposed. The freezing process expands the bark just like a water bottle in your freezer. Then the sun comes out and thaws the bark which contracts the bark. This happens over and over until it damages the phloem and xylem just below the cork bark. The phloem and xylem carry the necessary nutrients to keep the cell structure alive, when it is damaged, that area of the tree dies leaving the exposed interior core of the tree. Here is a up close video I did with a customer this year; click here.

To protect from this damage, you need to "shade" that side by using a tree wrap or what I prefer, a card board wrap allowing air movement. Several of these are available in different styles.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Nelson-Corrugated-LDPE-Tree-Guards/dp/B00D8GSG2M/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1445708506&sr=8-16&keywords=tree+wraps

Another damage issue is snow load on evergreens.

Arborvitaes have the most severe problems. The snow catches on the upper stems and weighs them down until the tree looks like this in the spring.

One option is to tie them like this to protect from snow load.
However we usually have a lot of wind in the fall and spring which these ropes will rub and tear tissue on the tree creating wear damage.

The best thing is to be pro-active and get out there and knock the snow off right after a storm using a rack or broom. Be careful though because the frozen tissue can break or tear.

If it looks like an extensive winter, with deep freeze expected. There is a netting you can purchase that works well but it can get expensive and does take time to get on and off the tree.

One issue often ignored is the need Evergreens have for water during the winter. If we are getting snow, you're fine. But recent weather patterns have given us long dry hot falls and hot dry spring weather. This has done more damage than anything else in the past two years.

Don't let your evergreens go more than a month without watering. If you have to, keep a hose in the garage where it won't freeze, so you can go out and water the trees  during mid-day when it is not freezing.

You don't have to flood the tree. Four hours with a soaker hose is usually adequate but use the water meter to find out just how wet and how deep the water got during that time period.

How to Prune Fruit Trees

This is one of the most common questions I get every year. It really isn't that scary once you understand what you are trying to do.

Tree propagate heavily when they think they are going to die...So if you want fruit, you prune them far harsher than you would ever do to a nice ornamental tree. This means you have to make a decision, do I want a pretty tree...or a fruitful tree.

You can have both to some extent, prune the tree but keep a nice canopy and you'll get some fruit which is often all the Homeowner was really wanting.

For real fruit harvest you will need to do some things that seem very drastic.

I am going to give you some of the better educational links that I feel will help you understand and be able to apply the fastest. However, keep in mind that the trees don't read, so they usually don't look like the text book :), which means you need to be focused on the WHY you make a cut to really be able to feel confident in the field.

Links to get started:
http://cesonoma.ucanr.edu/files/27164.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8p6MV04irM

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/Garden/07003.html