Does Your Plant Need Fertilizing?
To help understand why an urban tree needs fertilizer, let’s compare a tree in your yard to one in the forest. Typically, we give trees planted in a yard much more care than a forest tree. Why?
The urban tree has been planted in disturbed soil and, in fact, may not have any top soil or organic material at all. Often these soils are wet, with very poor aeration, high in clay content, and a very low content of coarse materials such as sand or silt.
In the forest, soil has not been disturbed. Leaves drop each year to add a continuing supply of organic material. Microorganisms work to break down leaves and other vegetation into humus and mineral elements. Earthworms mine the soil and aid in soil aeration.
There is no construction equipment or foot traffic to compact the soils. Drainage has not been interrupted with underground construction, concrete, compacted soils or grade changes. Tree roots don’t have to compete with the lawn for water and nutrients.
It’s no wonder trees grow so well in the forest!
What is Plant Health Care?
Plant health care focuses on the health, growth, and beauty of your landscape.
Good cultural practices are essential. Proper watering, mulching, and fertilizing is important. A Pine will suffer with too much water, but a Cottonwood will thrive on lots of water.
Pruning is important to repair damage and create a good stable branch structure.
Integrated pest management focuses on identifying insects and controlling them when they pose a threat to the overall health of the plant. For example, foliar Aphids are a nuisance, but will not kill a woody plant. On the other hand, wood borers kill trees quickly.
Many times we can diagnose symptoms in your landscape before they become costly problems. Plant Health Care saves you money, since treating a problem is less expensive than replacing a dead plant.
Diagnostic services by a plant health care specialist or a certified arborist is important to identify issues. A visit to your property is essential to determine what is needed to enhance the health of your plants. A written comprehensive report is filled out with customized treatments that will benefit your plants.
We offer year long programs, seasonal treatments, and single applications to suit your needs. We formulate and apply our custom products to what your trees and shrubs need. Our goal is to keep your landscape healthy and beautiful in the most cost effective way possible.
Maple Tree Decline
Mature Silver Maple trees in the Rocky Mountain Area are suffering from a composite group of problems contributing to Maple Tree Decline.
Problems stem from soils and water that are high in alkalinity, and also from root diseases causing insufficient mining of soil nutrients. When soil PH rises above 7.0, iron cannot be assimilated by the roots. Iron, zinc, and manganese are essential for green leaves.
Symptoms of Maple Tree Decline
Early symptoms are chlorotic appearance of the leaves (yellowing).
As the tree matures over a number of years, the chlorosis increases, brown spotting takes place on the leaves, scorching and premature leaf drop occurs. Trees in the later stages show twig and branch die-back.
The symptoms can occur over a 20 to 30-year time frame. Eventually the tree will show enough die-back that it will no longer enhance the landscaping and would need to be removed for aesthetic and/or safety reasons.
For a number of years therapeutic treatment only improved the health of the tree to a limited extent. Now we can treat your Maple tree to reverse the decline using a macro injection technique. For success, treatment needs to be implemented before extensive die-back occurs.
Treatment is recommended to be done in the fall after leaves have dropped with September or October the most desirable months.
Treatment will enhance color reducing the chlorotic appearance, and relieve summer scorch and other stresses.
Treatment prevents additional die-back. It will not revive branches that have previously died back. These should be removed by a skilled arborist.
Treatment will need to be repeated at two to three-year intervals if the tree starts showing renewed signs of decline.
Mature Silver Maple Trees quite often are the most valuable plants in the landscaped environment—providing shade and enhancing the appearance of the property. They are also the most commonly fertilized tree in the Yellowstone Valley area due to our growing environment.
Summary
The liquid root fertilization process provides the elements essential for healthy, vigorous plant growth. This also increases a tree’s resistance to insect and disease attack. Give your trees and shrubs the tender, loving care they deserve. Practice good Plant Health Care.