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Having shade trees on your landscaping has many wonderful benefits. Underneath a full-grown shade tree is the best place for a backyard BBQ or for children to play outside. It will also keep your home cooler during warmer months of the year.

To get the full benefit of shade trees, you need to plant the right species of tree and care for them correctly.

AZ Tree Trimming has recommendations for the best trees to plant for shade, as well as some expert advice on caring for your shade trees so they continue to grow strong and healthy.

Planting Trees for Shade

Any tree can technically provide shade, but there are some types of trees that are built for the best shade. These types of trees usually have a thick, wide canopy that reaches out nearly as far as it does upward.

Below, we’ve provided some examples of shade trees based on whether they would be best planted in your front or back yard.

Back Yard Shade Trees

Shade trees in the back yard are typically for the homeowner’s benefit. Neighbors and passersby usually won’t be able to see these trees , so they can be planted purely for shade and enjoyment.

In addition to shade, these trees can create year-round color and some extra privacy from neighbors.

Here are popular options:

• Magnolia
• Sugar maple or silver maple
• Weeping willow
• Weeping cherry
• Red oak

If you have enough space, a live oak is a beautiful choice. Live oaks are said to be the fastest growing shade trees, and are able to get very big. A mature live oak is able to reach up to 80 feet tall and up to 100 feet wide.

Many of these back yard shade tree suggestions get very large, so you definitely want to do some research to find out if the tree is going to have enough space to reach maturity.

If there is not enough room, its root system can destroy your fencing or home. You will also have to prune the tree every year to keep it manageable. A tree that is too large for its area will most likely have to be removed, which is an inconvenient and sometimes expensive situation.

Front Yard Shade Trees

In the front yard of your home, you are planting trees for your enjoyment as well, but these trees will be much more beneficial for adding curb appeal and value to your home since they can be seen.

Choose shade trees for the front yard that are a little smaller so they don’t overshadow your home. These trees should complement your landscaping in both color and size, while still providing plenty of shade for front yard relaxation and play.

These are some of the shade trees AZ Tree Trimming recommends:

Red maple
River birch
Dogwood
White oak
Ginkgo tree

These species trees are beautiful throughout the year, and they’ll showcase even more color during the fall.
Another excellent choice for your front or side yard is the ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae. This hedge-like tree can be planted in a long row to provide privacy and shade.

With this advice in mind, we encourage you to plant what you like. In truth, any type of tree can be a “shade tree.” Assuming the trees you choose are suitable for the weather in Arizona, they will provide your yard and home with some shade.

Benefits of Planting Shade Trees

The reasons to have shade on your property are numerous — there are a few that you likely don’t typically think about.

Shade, Obviously – When temperatures {soar|get very warm, you don’t have to hide indoors if you have a nice, shady yard. Place a chair or hammock under your biggest shade tree and enjoy time outside as long as you like.

Climate Control – Trees can help regulate the temperature in your yard and inside your home. Not only will trees protect you from glaring sun, but they can make it feel 10-15 degrees colder under their protective canopies. This results in less solar radiation on your roof and siding as well, which might result in lower energy costs!

Better Air Quality – Trees produce oxygen and filter out pollutantsfrom the air, so there is cleaner air surrounding your house. Arbor Day Foundation research reports that one mature tree absorbs around 48 pounds of CO2 out of the air.

Safety for Animals – If you enjoy bird watching or think squirrels and chipmunks are cute, your trees can provide them all they will need to build a habitat, find food and raise babies.

Fun – What kid doesn’t want a backyard tree fort or tire swing? If you have small children, shade trees will provide hours of fun and joyful memories.

How to Care for Shade Trees

Maintaining shade trees is very easy as long as you’ve planted the right species for the climate in Arizona. Healthy trees are strong and durable after the first few years, demanding little attention or care.

Consult an arborist from AZ Tree Trimming if you have any questions about the care of your shade trees, or to help you determine the best tree for your property.

Once you have determined the best shade tree(s), follow this easy care guide until your shade tree is fully grown.

Planting Your Shade Tree

The south, west and east of your yard always get the most sun, so plant your trees on one of these sides of your yard. This is two-fold: 1) the trees will then create the maximum amount of shade and 2) they will also receive the maximum amount of sun to grow healthy.

Trimming Your Shade Tree

Trim during the first year or two after planting the tree in order to shape it and help it form a strong foundation. To be safe, and for the best results, call AZ Tree Trimming for tree trimming in Arizona. A certified arborist will arrive at your home and deliver professional care for the tree.

Watering Your Shade Tree

Watering a new tree is crucial. This will help them form a deep root system and will give the tree more stability over the course of its lifetime.

Fertilizing Your Shade Tree

Fertilize a shade tree the same way you would any other type of tree in order to support healthy growth. Fertilizer is not a requirement for caring for a shade tree, but it can help your tree to grow faster and blossom more leaves, which are the source of your shade.

We hope this information was helpful! Remember, when it comes time to prune or trim a new shade tree, AZ Tree Trimming can help! Call us and a certified arborist in Arizona will visit your home, assess the tree and determine the best care plan for its long-term growth and health.

Tree trimming is best left to the pros. It’s a dangerous job, climbing trees, using chainsaws and lowering heavy branches to the ground; and it can be dangerous for the tree too. Trees that aren’t pruned properly can experience a lifetime of problems.

Rather than putting yourself in harm’s way and the tree itself at risk, enlist an arborist who is trained and experienced to do it for you.

This will result in much healthier trees and a safer environment surrounding your landscaping for many reasons:

• Healthy trees are stronger and less likely to cause damage during severe storms
• Cared for trees don’t attract or spread diseases and parasites
• Trimmed trees produce more flowers or fruit
• Pruned trees provide shade while still allowing air to flow throughout their canopies and your property

AZ Tree Trimming highly suggests pruning trees that are near your house or those that are a focus of your property.

Is Tree Pruning Necessary?

It is not required. But it is important. Trees are very resilient and can survive on their own across the world, in various different climates and regions, without being pruned.

That said, there are a lot of benefits of tree pruning, so it’s recommended for any trees that you care about. This can include sentimental trees, fruit trees and flowering trees or trees that perform an important service for your home, such as shade or home to wildlife.

Tree Pruning Gone Wrong

Trimming a tree is a complicated project. You are going to need the correct equipment and a lot of information to guarantee the job is done correctly. The vast majority of homeowners don’t have either of these!

But that’s not a problem, because there are a lot of services available who know how to correctly prune trees for an affordable cost to you including all of the certified arborists in Arizona we partner with!

Below are the 5 most common mistakes homeowners make when they attempt DIY tree trimming that can lead to several tree problems. These are things that a professional arborist from AZ Tree Trimming will know, and that’s the reason why their services are worth paying for!

Trimming Too Much

When done properly, trimming is a never-ending process. Starting when your trees are just 2 or 3 years old, they should be trimmed by a professional if you value them and want to keep them healthy.

A big mistake homeowners make when trimming trees by themselves is trimming too much of the tree all at once. This occurs because they have let the tree’s growth get out of hand and try to correct it all at once. Ideally, you should only cut off 5-20% of the tree’s crown at the actual removal cut. It is a lot easier to do this during a season that the leaves are off, but an experienced arborist is able to properly prune trees any time of year.

Cutting at the Wrong Place

An experienced tree specialist knows where to trim each limb to protect against damage. This cut should be made just beyond the branch collar, the specific place where the branch connects to the trunk.

Trimming too close to the branch collar exposes the tree to decay, mildew and pests. Cutting too far away from it leaves a stump when the tree recovers. Most DIY tree trimming leads to an improper cut, leaving either aesthetic or structural damage.

Pruning Large Branches

Branches any larger than 4 inches in diameter shouldn’t be trimmed unless it is necessary. Cutting off a branch of this size can result in imbalance in the tree and expose it to insects and decay as the tree recovers from losing such a large branch.

Conservative pruning annually ensures that your tree trimmer only has to cut off branches that are 2-3 inches in diameter, which leads to a more attractive shape for the tree and less chance of harming the tree or exposing it to decay and insects.

Topping the Tree

Tree topping is no longer a type of pruning, and for good reason! During this process, tree trimming companies would cut the top off of the tree to achieve the desired height. It was not attractive nor was it beneficial for the tree, so the majority of arborists do not practice tree topping anymore.

As a DIY tree trimming, you may think this is an easy way to lower the height of your tree with only one cut, but once you have cut the top of a tree off, there’s virtually no chance it will ever return to a natural shape.

The Solution? Call AZ Tree Trimming

Here’s the truth. Your tree may never recover from poor trimming.

Doing this project yourself might seem like a good way to save a little money, but you might end up with way more expenses trying to revive damaged trees, so it’s a lot safer (and more economical in the long run) to hire a certified arborist in Arizona from AZ Tree Trimming.

Limbs don’t grow back. The tree will grow more, but it will not grow back in the same places, which leads to odd shapes that could take years to correct. The tree could look bad for the remainder of its life, all because of just one pruning mistake.

Improper pruning could also result in death of the tree. Cutting off too many branches (and, therefore, leaves) can alter the tree’s photosynthesis process, which means it won’t get enough water or enough sunlight and carbon dioxide to continue growing.

Cutting too many branches can also send the tree into a state of shock. Shock can be overcome, but it takes a great deal of care and patience. Even with proper maintenance, a tree experiencing shock may still die.

Avoid all of these tree pruning mistakes and call AZ Tree Trimming to speak with a tree care specialist in Arizona able to come up with a long-term plan to ensure your tree continues blossoming and looking beautiful for years to come!

Trees are living things, so it stands to reason that they can get “sick” like people and animals can. A disease or other tree problem may take a little while to show appear due to the sheer size of the tree, and once you see a symptom, it could be too late to revive the tree.

A professional arborist from AZ Tree Trimming can identify and treat tree issues so that you have a much better chance of keeping the tree. Learn about our service here. Not only can an experienced arborist prevent a tree from dying, but they can also help trees get more healthy growth and more flowers or fruit with professional tree trimming.

Have you noticed a tree on your property that has always seemed OK but suddenly seems like something is wrong? In the next section, we’ll explain some of the most common tree issues and what these symptoms mean for a tree.

If you see any of these things on any of the trees on your property, act fast for the best chance of saving the tree and the ones around it.

Tree Diseases & Common Problems

These 7 things are the most common issues encountered by professional arborists in Arizona. Once you think one of these things could be wrong with your tree, reach out to someone with the knowledge and equipment to help!

Tree Diseases

Leaf Rust – Leaf rust is actually a fungus that is common in both plants and trees. The name comes from the brown and yellow spots this disease creates on the leaves.

Leaf rust is dangerous because it inhibits the leaves’ photosynthesis, the process by which it breathes. Leaf rust can be tended to with fungicides and selective tree trimming of the diseased leaves. It could be necessary to remove whole branches with leaf rust.

Witches’ Broom – This common tree disease creates a large grouping of twigs, dead leaves and branches that look like a broom shape. It is caused by insects, unusually wet weather or fungus. The formation of a clump of leaves and twigs is the tree’s reaction to infection or harm.

Some cases of Witches’ Broom are deadly for the tree, others are only considered a growth malformation. An arborist can tell you for sure.

Mildew – Mildew is a type of fungus that grows on just about anything in moist conditions, but even when the moist conditions are over with, mildew can continue to thrive. Mildew usually appears as a powdery texture, usually white, and it often grows on the leaves of the tree first.

The trick to treating mildew is to use a fungicide that includes sulfur. This will eliminate the current mildew and help to prevent future mildew on the tree. You may also need to prune the tree to remove limbs, fruit, flowers and leaves that have been affected by the mildew

Gall – Gall is a type of tree disease that appears when pests or rodents build small nests on the leaves or twigs of a tree to lay their eggs in. Most types of galls are not harmful to the tree, but none of them are attractive.

Gall appears as as bumps on the tree, in various sizes. They can be white, brown, gray or some shade in between.

You do not have to treat the tree if there are galls, but they can inhibit the growth of new trees. Treat galls by killing the insects. You should also clean out from under the tree when the leaves fall off, since this is where the insects live during winter months.

Other Tree Problems

Incorrect Pruning – There’s a science to tree trimming, as well as many types, and if you aren’t sure what to do, you could harm the tree past the point of recovery. Consider the type of tree, season and other factors. Under-pruning (or a lack of pruning at all) can be just as big of an issue. Only a certified arborist should be trusted to trim trees in order to keep them healthy.

Lack of Water – Young trees can be significantly affected by drought. If you decide to plant new trees on your property, you will need to supplement how much water they get from rainfall. A tree that doesn’t get enough water will have its growth inhibited. The first symptom you are likely to noticed is scorched or dry leaves. Find more tips for new trees here.

Too Much Sun – Do some initial planning before planting trees in a sunny area. Most species of trees can handle it without issue, but too much sun can become a problem for any tree if the sun is harsh for an extended period of time and rainfall is light. A tree that is getting excessive sun needs even more water to fight against wilting, drooping leaves.

Certified Arborist Services in Arizona

An experienced arborist from AZ Tree Trimming will quickly diagnose what’s happening with your sick tree and put together a plan to save it if at all possible.

Here are the things an arborist is qualified to do:

• Review trees from below and from the limbs of the tree if possible. Climbing into the canopy is often necessary to see exactly what is leading to the symptoms.
• Treat your tree with fertilizers and additives in the soil or products applied to the leaves. The arborist will have expert knowledge about the disease impacting the tree and the best treatments.
• Prune tree limbs to get rid of dead or diseased branches and to assist healthy growth. Even if heavy trimming is necessary, they will know how to cut off branches so that the tree survives both the issue and the trimming.
• Remove the tree from your yard if nothing can be done to save it. The worst case is that the tree is too far gone, and removing it is the best way to protect your property and surrounding landscape.

They can also educate you about the other trees that you have om your property and how to best maintain them so you don’t find yourself in the same situation in the future.

Many tree issues look very similar to each other, requiring an expert eye to correctly determine and treat the issue. If your trees appear to be dry, unhealthy or disfigured, call a professional arborist from AZ Tree Trimming for an inspection before it’s too late.

When it comes to the question, “What season is best for tree tree pruning?” The answer will likely be indirect.

The type of tree will dictate when many species can be trimmed, along with insect population and activity, local tree and plant diseases and other types of plants and trees in the yard.

With the help of a professional arborist in Arizona, you can decide which time of year is optimal for trimming your trees to set them up for success next season and every year after that.

Best Season to Prune Trees

Without any other information, AZ Tree Trimming recommends tree trimming during the winter. This ranges from November to March in most areas. This season is ideal because the trees are typically dormant, so pruning will cause the least amount of harm, if any.

There are several benefits to pruning trees in the winter:

Less risk of insect damage and disease – Pests and plant diseases are usually inactive in the winter. Throughout the rest of the year, everything from insects to fungus can affect a freshly trimmed tree because the tree is most vulnerable and these issues are more common during warmer weather.

Easier to determine the shape of the tree when there are no leaves – Leaves get in the way of your arborist from seeing the complete shape of your tree. When branches are bare, it is much easier to identify diseased or dead branches and branches that are touching versus those that are just too close to each other.

Trees have time to heal before spring – By doing this significant tree trimming in the winter, your trees have many months to rebuild callus tissue on the ends of the remaining branch collar. By spring season, you’ll hardly be able to tell where the branches were trimmed, and the tree will be able to use its energy to produce new, healthier leaves, fruit or flowers instead of healing new cuts.

Less chance of harming nearby landscape – Most of the surrounding trees and plants will also be dormant, so there is less risk of damaging them. Many times, a tree is surrounded by annual plants in the warmer seasons, but there are no plants to be disturbed in the winter since these annuals already died out.

Do All Trees Need Pruning?

Yes, all trees can benefit from pruning. Tree pruning every winter is good for trees, but it is also a precaution for the safety of your landscaping and your family. Let us explain:

Trimming Makes the Tree Stronger

Dying and diseased branches are cut off, as are branch stubs that are prone to pests and disease. Limbs that can rub one another are also pruned so they don’t weaken each other or create an open wound on the tree.

Trimming trees each winter is a good way to get expert eyes on your trees so that early warning signs of decay, disease and insect infestations can be spotted and handled right away.

A Cared-For Tree Serves Its Purpose Better

When a tree becomes overgrown, it starts to be hard for water and nutrients to get to every branch. This can leave the tree looking scraggly and sick and definitely not doing what it’s meant to do.

Trimmed trees, on the other hand, blossom more fruit, healthier leaves and better shade. They are fuller and healthier and less likely to create landscaping problems. So regardless of why you decided to plant a new tree, routine trimming each winter will improve the results you want from it.

Trees are More Beautiful After Pruning

If the view of your landscaping is important to you, tree pruning is a necessity! Trimming trees creates an attractive, uniform size and shape. This is especially important if you have a lot of similar trees on your property.

Cutting off lower branches and upper branches that grow at awkward angles enhances the overall look of the tree while also strengthening tree health.

Less Chance of Dropping Branches

Tree pruning – done the right way – encourages the remaining branches to grow stronger and healthier. Therefore, storms and other inclement weather in Arizona won’t damage your trees the same way they would an unkempt tree. Your home and family will be safer living under and around trimmed trees.

Another safety issue for large trees is that they can impede the view of traffic lights, road signs and driveways. Tree pruning, crown raising and other certified tree care services will keep the tree at a manageable size and stop it from blocking various views.

Call AZ Tree Trimming for Tree Trimming

Hiring a professional arborist in Arizona gives you access to their knowledge on tree trimming. We highly recommend relying on their years of experience if you have trees on that you’d like to keep healthy for a long time.

An arborist won’t just consider the current situation. Instead, he or she will take time to inspect your trees and understand their unique scenario (including their location and factors that may put them at risk of disease or infestation). After collecting all of the information, an arborist will suggest a long-term plan based on your trees’ unique needs and stick to that course of action until the goals for your trees are met.

This plan could require many years to implement, but rest assured, it will lead to healthy trees that you and your family can enjoy for many years to come.

This type of annual care will aid in healthy tree growth, help your entire property fight off plant diseases and increase flower or fruit production from trees. It will also fortify your trees so there is less risk of falling trees or limbs.

Being proactive about tree care will save you a lot of money over time too. Preventative care is far more cost-effective than the cost of emergency tree services, storm damage restoration or curing a sick tree from a disease that has spread out of hand (and one that was easily preventable).

If you care about the health of your trees and the beauty of your landscaping, trust a certified arborist for tree trimming and maintenance from AZ Tree Trimming. Discover our service area here. We work with arborists across the entire state of Arizona. Call today!

Tree pruning in Arizona is an important professional service that can beautify and reinforce trees so they are able to withstand pests, diseases and inclement weather – and look breathtaking while doing it!

Pruning has to be completed if you want healthy trees, but it needs to be done carefully by someone who knows what they’re doing. Like a certified arborist from AZ Tree Trimming. You may be able to prune trees safely while they are small and growing, but you also may be doing permanent damage to the tree in the process.

To properly prune trees, you need to know all of the following:

• When to prune your types of trees
• How much of the tree should be trimmed at a time
• Where to cut the branches so you do not harm the tree

Pruning too much off of a tree can kill it or result in structural damage, but precise pruning done annually benefits trees in many ways. Professional pruning helps to improve the appearance of trees, makes them stronger, eliminates dying or diseased branches and expedites fruit or flower production.

For the best results, pruning must be done once a year, but as trees get older, you might be able to wait two years between pruning services. Regardless of how routinely you have your trees trimmed, ensure your arborist is qualified to perform the type of tree pruning your trees need. This won’t be a problem if you call AZ Tree Trimming in Arizona!

Types of Tree Pruning Methods

There are 7 different ways to properly prune a tree so that it grows stronger and healthier every year.

Depending on the size, species and health status of your trees, one pruning method could be more effective than another, but each technique has different benefits to consider.

Crown Thinning Your Trees

Crown thinning is popular for older, overgrown trees in Arizona. This process eliminates weak branches within the crown of the tree to allow more light and air flow through the crown. Air flow is important for disease prevention.

This pruning method also removes branches and limbs that are touching so they no longer rub up against one another and break or cause weaker areas that can be an entry point for pests. Branches that grow at odd angles are typically cut off during crown thinning.

Crown Raising Your Trees

This tree trimming method only removes branches and limbs at the lowest part of the crown so new limbs start higher up on the trunk. Allowing low branches to get too large makes them difficult to cut off, and they can pull nutrients away from the top of the tree, which leads to less fruit and a weak tree.

There are a variety of reasons you may decide to raise the crown of a tree. Frequently, it is done to clear the line of sight for cars and pedestrians, but it can also be done to make space for landscaping under the tree.

It is a very common method for overgrown trees that are close to homes and buildings.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction lowers the total size of the tree’s crown from its exterior edges. It shortens branches vertically and horizontally to keep the tree at a certain size. By lowering the crown size, you can eliminate the need to chop down the tree because it won’t come into contact with traffic lights, power lines or street lights.

Even if the tree isn’t close to structures like those listed above, crown reduction will make the tree look much better because it also eliminates irregular growth. This is a good idea for trees that are a variety of ages but are supposed to look consistent.

Crown Cleaning

Also known as deadwood pruning, crown cleaning is a minimally invasive type of pruning method that eliminates dying, broken or diseased limbs so that the remaining parts of the tree may continue to grow normally. These branches can only create issues in the future.

Crown cleaning makes the tree look much better, and it stops limbs from rubbing together. And it is a safety practice that reduces the chance of branches falling, since healthy branches do not fall very often.

Crown Restoration

Crown restoration is an advanced trimming technique used on trees that were significantly damaged (either by pests or weather). It needs to be done by an experienced arborist who knows how the tree is going to grow over time and just how long it’s restoration is going to take.

Unlike most other tree trimming services, crown restoration occurs throughout an extended time period with conservative trimming that reshapes the tree. Your arborist will have a definitive plan to restore the tree, but also be flexible as the tree begins to grow and reshape on its own, adapting to the tree’s new growth pattern.

Vista Pruning

If you want trees that help improve curb appeal, you are most likely interested in vista pruning. The goal of vista pruning is to make the tree more visually pleasing from a particular viewing point.

It encompasses several pruning techniques including crown thinning, crown cleaning and crown reduction – any technique that helps the trees look more attractive. Remember, though, that a professional will never compromise the health of a tree, so the primary focus of vista pruning is still to maintain strong, healthy trees.

Espalier Pruning

Espaliered trees are heavily pruned to grow flat against walls or a trellis. It is a unique style of pruning that is going to attract a lot of attention to your yard. Espalier pruning has to be started when the tree is young and then done consistently throughout the tree’s life span.

of espalier pruning include facilitating maximum sunlight to get to the trees, as well as making it easier to harvest fruit.

Professional Tree Pruning in Arizona

Tree pruning can be harmful to a tree, your lawn, and, of course, for you! AZ Tree Trimming highly suggests professional tree pruning over DIY.

Besides the many possible dangers of tree trimming, you can do a lot of harm to a tree if you don’t know how to prune it properly. Over-pruning is one of the most typical errors made by homeowners trimming their own trees.

Trees in Arizona that get routine care from a professionals are usually much better off, and hiring a certified arborist from AZ Tree Trimming to prune the trees on your property is a decision you won’t regret. Locate your city in our service area. We work with arborists throughout the entire state of Arizona!

Planting new trees on your property has many benefits. Trees create summer shade, create privacy, filter polluted air and increase curb appeal and property value.

Once grown, most trees are easy to maintain: another benefit! Trees are hardy and tend to grow despite minimal care. But, if you want to ensure your trees reach their maximum potential, they need a little more effort.

Lack of care for new trees could cause rotting, disease, under watering or pest issues.

The good news is that tree care isn’t very difficult, but you do need a little information to do it right. Familiarize yourself with the new trees you plant to know exactly what they need. Then properly care for them and watch them bloom.

Here, we’ll list the five best practices for planting a new tree and seeing it thrive. You likely are aware of the basics, so let’s dive deeper and explain how to perform each step correctly.

Tree Care Tips for New Trees

These tips will not only keep your trees alive, they’ll help them to grow faster, stand up to damaging 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 on your property are no exception.

The root ball of the tree and the soil around it have to be kept moist, but don’t let it get soaked, because this can cause the roots to rot.

The rule of thumb is 4-10 gallons of water each week. Rain water also counts, and although it’s hard to get an exact reading, a rain gauge can help get you close enough to add the rest. Your new trees will need this much water for the initial 2-3 growing seasons.

Mulch Around Your Trees

Mulch is much more than an attractive landscaping product. It also helps protect new trees, especially the roots underground. But laying mulch incorrectly can lead to rotting and decay – so much so, in fact, that it’s possible that the tree will not survive.

Place mulch 3 inches away from the tree trunk and spread it out to completely cover the ground under the longest branch. For brand new trees, this won’t be very far, but as the tree grows, your mulch area will also grow as well.

Keep the mulch at least 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas around the tree. Be vigilant in spreading it out consistently and far enough away from the trunk of the tree so it does not limit air flow around the trunk.

Fertilize Around Your Tree

Fertilizer provides many nutrients that your land’s soil might not naturally have. Most new trees can benefit from fertilizing, but you need to be using the correct products and do it at the correct time for fertilizer to be most beneficial.

The perfect time to fertilize is early spring. Sometimes early summer provides the right conditions (mild temperatures and wet soil), but don’t count on it.

If you aren’t sure about which fertilizer to use, speak to a tree care specialist for recommendations. Slow-release fertilizers are usually a good idea because they feed trees over time rather than all at once.

Follow through with these things in the initial growing seasons after planting a new tree, and then review your watering, mulching and fertilizing needs as the tree gets older. As seasons go on, there will be additional tree care projects that are more important for your new trees.

Trim Your Tree

Tree pruning is very important – yet very challenging – in the early years after you plant a tree. As the tree grows bigger, you will start to see many small branches take off, trying to become the trunk of the tree. While you may think this shows that the tree is healthy and that it is growing well, but it can actually lead to a very weak tree in the future.

Early trimming shapes the tree into what it will ultimately look like when it becomes much larger. As small branches emerge on the lower trunk, they have to be removed so they don’t suck water and nutrients away from the branches at the top.

As long as there are trees growing somewhere on your land, they need to be pruned regularly. When the tree gets too big for you to prune them safely, you can rely on AZ Tree Trimming to do it for you.

Monitor Your Tree

Young trees are at the highest risk for damage, disease and insect issues. But you’re never 100% safe from these issues. As your tree grows larger, monitor it carefully for evidence of disease or bad nutrition, including the following:

• Leaf color change out of season, especially leaves turning brown or yellow
• Premature leaf drop, regardless of whether these leaves appear healthy or sick
• Wilting, even with adequate watering
• Individual branches dying
• Peeling bark

These signs likely mean a health issue. The tree is probably going to need professional maintenance if your plan is to keep the tree alive. A certified arborist can typically diagnose the issue by simply looking at the tree, although they will perform testing if deemed necessary.

If you determine the issue quick enough, you will probably be able to save the tree. Being proactive is the best course of action to protect new trees.

The tips above are simple yet effective. Don’t underestimate the value of the basics! When your new trees have proper care, combined with sunshine and barring severe, damaging weather, the chances are in your favor that they will survive and look beautiful too!

Of course, you might already have a full schedule and don’t really want to be responsible for these additional lawn care projects. In many cases, property owners don’t have the physical ability or the tools to give their new trees the necessary care.

Whatever the situation, it’s ok to hire a tree company for the care of new trees. A certified arborist in Arizona can consult with you about the course of maintenance for each tree species you plant on your land. Arborists enjoy sharing their expertise and skills with people planting new trees, and can make the difference between trees that struggle and trees that thrive.

Call AZ Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree care in Arizona – including tree trimming – for newer trees and old trees. An arborists will determine the best plan for your trees! Locate your city in our service area here.