A substantial chunk of being an arborist in the northeast comes with grappling with a myriad of challenges. While New England is hardly the arctic – it gets cold here; and while not the tropics – it gets quite warm here, to boot. Bottom line is – there are four seasons and as such, it takes a lot of forethought and planning in order to provide the best care for our client’s trees.
We’re coming up on the middle of winter. As such, your trees are likely to have been dormant for a long time and there’s very little activity insofar as pathogens are concerned. It’s during this time that you’ll be able to get a good look at your trees in the proverbial nude – or as we like to call it – their naked frames. This’ll be the time where you can spot their structural issues and defects.
This is probably going to be your best time for pruning – especially if you have a tree with additional growth like fruit trees. With the snow pack generally being slightly lower, there are also opportunities to access more sensitive areas of a tree that would be almost impossible to reach with equipment during the prime growing months. So if you’re looking for treetop work that requires an aerial lift to do the job, now would be the time to schedule that, too.
As the winter evolves into spring, the challenges continue to get a little bit trickier. Getting ahead of things like oil treatments and eradicating insect eggs in order to avoid insect infestation should immediately be top of mind. Your monitoring will become more constant and that becomes very important because your window to do certain jobs will be closing. While you can prune – it’s important to only prune dead branches as exposed tree innards can leave them susceptible to infection and the like. Once the growth flush begins to happen, it’s time to put pruning off to the side. In addition, mud season is upon us and using heavy equipment becomes more and more difficult. A lot of damage can be done not just to roots and other structural components of the tree but the soil composition as well. Simply put – in the Spring, your goal should be to simply do no harm
Once summer arrives, the phone starts ringing, the pests begin to hatch and trees are in full bloom. Timing is of the essence as making sure trees are treated quickly and effectively becomes priority #1. It’s also time to inspect your trees for areas where foliage is weak, areas die back at the tip of the tree has occurred and how well roots are transferring nutrients and water to the rest of the structure. And once you’re through all the maintenance (preventative and otherwise) – it’s not time to rest on your laurels; but rather to head into the fall and make the necessary preparations it’ll take to re-enter the entire cycle again.
The fall brings with it warm and balmy weather, but still lots to do in a short period of time. The need for water is decreased and as such – energy is being stored. It becomes the perfect time to conduct root treatments. Excavating root crowns, removing defective roots, and stump removals are all popular things to do around this time of year. Just like the spring, use of excavation tools and equipment needs to be judicious due to the damp conditions brought upon certain areas due to the water retention.
To a point – an arborists’ job is never really done and as per the usual, it’s always a good this time of year – as one ends and a new one begins – to look back on the year and give thanks for the opportunities we get to care for our environment and educate others. The best to you, your trees and all the things that mean the most to you in the year to come!
This is probably going to be your best time for pruning – especially if you have a tree with additional growth like fruit trees. With the snow pack generally being slightly lower, there are also opportunities to access more sensitive areas of a tree that would be almost impossible to reach with equipment during the prime growing months. So if you’re looking for treetop work that requires an aerial lift to do the job, now would be the time to schedule that, too.
As the winter evolves into spring, the challenges continue to get a little bit trickier. Getting ahead of things like oil treatments and eradicating insect eggs in order to avoid insect infestation should immediately be top of mind. Your monitoring will become more constant and that becomes very important because your window to do certain jobs will be closing. While you can prune – it’s important to only prune dead branches as exposed tree innards can leave them susceptible to infection and the like. Once the growth flush begins to happen, it’s time to put pruning off to the side. In addition, mud season is upon us and using heavy equipment becomes more and more difficult. A lot of damage can be done not just to roots and other structural components of the tree but the soil composition as well. Simply put – in the Spring, your goal should be to simply do no harm
Once summer arrives, the phone starts ringing, the pests begin to hatch and trees are in full bloom. Timing is of the essence as making sure trees are treated quickly and effectively becomes priority #1. It’s also time to inspect your trees for areas where foliage is weak, areas die back at the tip of the tree has occurred and how well roots are transferring nutrients and water to the rest of the structure. And once you’re through all the maintenance (preventative and otherwise) – it’s not time to rest on your laurels; but rather to head into the fall and make the necessary preparations it’ll take to re-enter the entire cycle again.
The fall brings with it warm and balmy weather, but still lots to do in a short period of time. The need for water is decreased and as such – energy is being stored. It becomes the perfect time to conduct root treatments. Excavating root crowns, removing defective roots, and stump removals are all popular things to do around this time of year. Just like the spring, use of excavation tools and equipment needs to be judicious due to the damp conditions brought upon certain areas due to the water retention.
To a point – an arborists’ job is never really done and as per the usual, it’s always a good this time of year – as one ends and a new one begins – to look back on the year and give thanks for the opportunities we get to care for our environment and educate others. The best to you, your trees and all the things that mean the most to you in the year to come!
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