Superior Tree Services in Virginia

Getting Ready For Summer: FAQs Answered | Tree Care In Virginia

If you find yourself in Northern Virginia or areas like Springfield, Vienna, Reston, McLean, Great Falls, Loudoun, Falls Church, Alexandria, Fairfax, Arlington, or Ashburn, we want to tell you about our award-winning tree care company, Growing Earth Tree Care. We’ve been part of the North Virginia community, being experienced and knowledgeable tree care specialists, for over forty years now. We are comprised of a team of certified arborists who have a passion for serving residential and commercial clients alike, big or small. We have a range of tree care services that we are happy to provide. Whether you are looking for an emergency tree removal or for a pest control solution, we have the knowledge of the regional environment and the friendly customer service that sets us apart as a tree doctor company, if you’ll allow such an expression. Our other services include tree and stump removal, tree pruning, tree disease treatment and diagnosis, soil and root care, along general tree maintenance. We can pretty much do it all when it comes to taking care of trees, so there’s really only one choice when you are looking for an insured professional tree care company. We should probably stop bragging (sorry, we can’t help ourselves) about how great we are as a tree company, but keep in mind we just want people to know how much we care about the trees in our community! Today’s post is going to highlight a few of the more common customer questions we hear, specifically related to summer tree care in Virginia. Without further ado, let’s get started so you can start thinking about how much better your yard would look with vibrant, healthy trees.

Where Do I Start With Summer Tree Care?

Start with the landscape of your yard. While we aren’t lawn care specialists by any means, we do understand the interaction between your lawn and trees. While you are getting a feel for how you want to clean up or alter your yard to get prepared for barbecues or what have you, make sure that you take a look up at the trees in your yard. You want to be looking out for any limbs that look like they might fall soon, along with looking for any potential pest control issues. We will get to pest control a bit later, but remember to look up and around while you are getting a feel for your summer yard.

What Does Good Watering Look Like?

Well, like anything, it depends. In our Virginia climate, we get a reasonable amount of rainfall every year, so unless we are in a drought, you are looking to have around an inch of water for your trees each week. Our main tip here is to water established trees with good deep watering about once a week rather than daily and lightly. This can be counter-intuitive to some, but the concept of “drowning” your plants doesn’t really apply as much to trees. So give them a deep soak!

What Does Good Soil Care Look Like Beyond Watering?

Making sure you water your trees and lawn when it hasn’t rained for a while is a good start, but it’s far from comprehensive soil care. In fact, a high percentage of tree problems originate with poor soil and root conditions, which eventually translate to the entire organism. Common problems can include the quotient of acidity in the soil, soil compaction, planting depth, along with a host of other issues. While we want to encourage our readers to nip this in the bud, many times we see this issue long after we would prefer, which means it usually requires our professional care to truly solve.

Mulching

We mentioned mulching earlier and for good reason. Mulching is a vital component of your trees’ health (especially young trees) because of the positive impact it will have on the surrounding soil. Namely, mulching will help regulate soil temperature, hold in moisture, and reduce the existence of weeds. All of those are important to regulate soil conditions, which in turn will afford a greater likelihood of long-term health for your tree.

Should I Treat My Little, Younger Trees Any Differently Than The Older Trees?

For the little trees, you’re going to want to lay down a layer of mulch below the canopy as far out from the trunk as possible. When mulching be sure not to put the layer higher than two to three inches, mulch should not be up against the trunk or root flare because you could trap moisture which leads to fungus growth. We recommend wood chip mulch as opposed to double shredded mulch for your tree health.

How Do I Know Which Limbs To Prune?

We are tree pruning specialists, we would be more than happy to set up a free consultation with you so we can give you a quote.  We are going to help set you up for success. We remove the “3 Ds of pruning”: diseased, dead, or damaged. While you always want to use caution, it’s important to remove these branches because that is how pests or diseases can find their way inside the tree. Plus, your tree will look healthier, which is always nice.

What Should I Know About Tree Pest Control And Tree Disease Treatment?

When it comes to tree disease and pest problems the first step is a proper diagnosis. During your initial walk-through every late spring, you will want to check each tree out for pest issues. You’ll want to continue to do this intermittently throughout the summer as well. You want to look out for spider mites, magnolia scale, aphids, and other nasty little guys, which can create a problem. In truth, not all tree pests will lead to tree disease, so it’s important to have a trained eye assess the situation once you have identified that there might be a pest control issue. Our certified arborists are experienced and are straight-shooters. They will tell you the exact steps needed to be taken to get your trees in tip-top shape! Whether you are looking at tree removal, tree pruning, pest control, or some other form of tree maintenance altogether, Growing Earth Tree Care is an option worth considering. We are successful and happy when we help our customer’s trees grow and look beautiful. With an A+ rating on the BBB and our affordable pricing, it makes sense to get a free estimate from your local tree care specialists. Get in touch with us today!