A Weekly Note from Mayor Gary L. Graham
“Traditional Values, Progressive Thinking”
Spring is just around the corner and now is a great time to think about maintenance and care of your trees so they will be healthy and green next growing season. Our trees have been exposed to a couple of summer storms, two ice storms, a late spring frost and a drought that has been taking place in the midst of all this for the past 18-24 months. To say the least, many of our trees are stressed and could use a little TLC.
What can you do?
First, you need to evaluate your tree’s canopy for broken branches or stubs. In addition to being unhealthy for the tree, the broken branches may pose a hazard to your family and property. If damaged branches are detected, they should be pruned to give the branch the opportunity to recover. Trees will compartmentalize the damage and often prevent disease and decay from extending much beyond the pruning cut. If left alone, a torn or broken branch may not be able to compartmentalize the wound, allowing disease and decay to spread past the initial wound.
Many of us can perform the pruning ourselves if we take our time and follow proper pruning steps. However, a Professional Arborist may be required if climbing is necessary, the work is near utility wires, or if the branches are over property that can’t be moved. Safety should be a priority! Also, remember that topping of the tree is not an acceptable maintenance practice.
Watering the trees is another step to improve the overall health. While it has not received much attention, the Midwest has been dealing with drought conditions for the past two years. Evidence of the severity can be seen by how low the local ponds and lakes have become. The lack of soil moisture will potentially translate into drying root systems and eventually into die back of our most stressed trees. In order to keep our trees healthy, trees should receive about one inch of rainfall weekly. Supplemental watering will be required in periods of little rainfall. This may mean an additional five gallons per week for newly planted trees and up to many more gallons for established trees. Evergreen trees, such as Norway Spruce and White Pine are susceptible to drying out in the winter, so
don’t forget to water in the winter months as well. Proper mulching of your trees will help to hold in the moisture.
Winter and early spring ice and snow control should be limited around the root system of trees. The salt and other products will act as a desiccant and increase the drought stress that the tree is experiencing. If your trees show signs of salt injury (leaf curling, discoloration & twig die back) in the spring, you will need to flush the salt from the ground by watering the area thoroughly to aid the dispersal of the salt.
Fertilizing of established trees can be beneficial; however, it is not necessary for all trees. Only fertilize when the tree has demonstrated die back, discoloration and distortion of leaves, or shortened twig growth. Low rates of fertilizer should be used, such as 6-12-12, to stimulate root growth in fall and early winter. Do not fertilize for the sake of fertilizing!! Too much fertilizer acts as a salt and will actually create moisture problems.
Plan for the future! Now that the leaves are off and the yard is fully exposed, you can begin to look for spaces to plant new trees.
Many sources of information are available to help with questions, such as the National Arbor Day Foundation, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U of I Extension service, or Calvin Beckmann, O’Fallon Parks & Recreation Department’s Certified Arborist. Calvin can be reached at 622-1566 or via email at cbeckmann@ofallon.org.
I am proud of our residents’ commitment to the preservation of trees in our community and I encourage you to contact our certified arborist, Calvin Beckmann when you have questions about trees on your property. Calvin is a real asset to our community with his vast knowledge of trees and is more than willing to answer any questions you may have. The strong working relationship between City Hall and the residents we serve is yet another example of why O’Fallon is such a great community in which to live.
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