Spring is right around the corner.  With it comes the onslaught of opportunistic pests looking for easy targets.  Where will they find them here in Texas?  EVERYWHERE!.  Our trees are still under extreme stress from the drought, making them a prime target for bark beetles, wood borers, mites, scale, and aphids.  Weakened trees will succumb quickly if insect populations are left unchecked.  Some of these pests also vector in fungal and bacterial spores which find easy entry into the living tissues, translating into disease.  Advanced Tree Care treatments are designed to promote health, and protect trees from these pests.  Contact your ISA Certified Arborist to schedule a check up before it’s too late!

With the mild start to our winter, and the really warm temperatures over the last few weeks, we saw many species budding, leafing out, and even flowering already. Our trees entered into fall stressed from the heat and drought of summer. We are now watching trees expend energies on spring growth, and along comes the cold. Much of the new growth will probably die back, and cause the trees to regenerate the initial spring flush again. More energy is expended, further depleting the stored carbohydrates in the roots. This will be a tough year for trees already suffering. Keep an eye out for changes in your trees early in the season. The faster we can respond to health problems, the more likely we can save your trees.

This time of year we get many calls regarding strange growths on tree trunks and tree limbs. What worries most people is that the growths at times appear to be completely covering the tree, and possibly smothering it.  The growth is called a Lichen (pronounced Like-en). The Lichen is an organism made of roughly 50% fungus, and 50% algae. It derives its nutrients strictly from the atmosphere, so it is not parasitic in nature. While it can look problematic, it is really just using the tree bark as a place to live.

Now that we have a good soaking rain behind us, it is time to give your trees what else they need, fertilization.

There are several types of pruning.  One type is called crown cleaning.  This is the removal of dead, dying, diseased or weakly attached branches and water sprouts from the tree’s crown.  Crown thinning is where you remove some branches to increase light penetration and air movement.  Crown raising is the removal of lower branches of a tree to provide clearance for buildings, vehicles and pedestrians.  Wintertime is an excellent time to prune trees, especially Oaks.

Trees show that they are “sick” in many ways. The following are signs and symptoms of dehydration: reduced vigor, discolored bark, brown foliage, splitting bark, dead limbs.  If you have been relying on your lawn irrigation to supply your trees with adequate water, there is a good chance they are dehydrated.  Trees require 10-15 gallons of water per diameter inch of trunk each time they are watered. So a 10″ tree (DBH) requires 100 gallons!!  In the winter this should be every 10-14 days (adjusting for rainfall).  Soaker hoses are excellent tools for watering your trees.  If manual irrigation is out of the question, try running multiple cycles with you lawn irrigation.  For instance,  one 30 minute cycle at 5AM, then anther 30 minute cycle at 10PM the same day.  This will allow the water to penetrate deeper into the soil. If you suspect something else is wrong with your tree always contact a certified arborist for a proper diagnosis.

Even though we have been the recipient of several inches of rainfall in the last month, we are still below normal.  The ground is still very thirsty, and will be so until we struggle out of the La Nina weather pattern.  Use soaker hoses to water your trees, as irrigation water does not provide vertical saturation.  Remember that a tree needs 10-15 gallons of water per diameter inch every time you water.  If you do need to replace plants or trees, consider native species and low water use plants. It doesn’t look like we will be back to normal for quite some time.

We had a good soaking rain here Monday and Tuesday, but that will only benefit your trees until the soil dries out again.  Remember, trees still need proper irrigation during the winter to maintain health.