If you’ve ever had a tree that gave you headaches and never seemed to get healthy, you probably just wanted to remove it and wash your hands of it. Instead of tree removal, there are many techniques we can use to save a tree rather than remove it. Arborists use the umbrella term “tree preservation” for these types of practices.
In this article, we will examine tree preservation techniques, how they can help your Massachusetts trees, and why saving a tree is vital compared to removing it.
Key Takeaways
- Damaged and dying trees do not always necessitate removal, as arborists have several techniques at their disposal to nurse a tree back to health.
- Regular pruning can make a tree healthier by removing competing or diseased branches or increasing light and air penetration to the lower sections of the canopy.
- Tree growth regulators are hormones that limit a tree’s growth, allowing it to spend energy becoming more vibrant and more resistant to droughts and diseases.
- Other ways to preserve a tree include cabling and bracing, treating for insects and disease, and targeted fertilization.
- Preserving trees will help keep their benefits, such as cleaner air, lower cooling costs, and reduced soil erosion.
Preserving a Damaged or Dying Tree
Trees are often sturdy, but they aren’t invincible. Trees are under attack from insects, diseases, weather damage, and human-caused injuries. Preserving a tree and nursing it back to health is a time commitment, but worth doing.
Regular Pruning Benefits a Tree’s Health
Pruning trees is about more than just making them aesthetically pleasing; it can also make them healthy and aid in tree preservation. Most arborists recommend regular pruning every few years, depending on the type of tree. Pruning has numerous health benefits, including:
- Removing competing branches: When branches compete against each other for space, they can rub each other, opening up wounds and potentially leading to disease spread. Instead of having two unhealthy branches, proper pruning will leave you with one healthy branch that doesn’t have to fight for room to spread.
- Removing diseased or dead branches: If a branch shows signs of a disease or a bug infestation, pruning it is often vital to limit the disease or infestation from spreading to other parts of the tree. Dead or diseased branches are more prone to breakage, so removing them will also help prevent storm damage.
- Increasing light penetration and air circulation: Overcrowded trees will have branches and leaves in the lower canopy that cannot get proper sunlight. Without air circulation and light penetration, the lower parts of the canopy may develop disease and become a breeding ground for fungi.
WARNING: While proper pruning can help a tree, making improper cuts or cutting too close to the trunk will harm a tree more than it can help it. If you are unsure what to do, leave it to the pros!
Tree Growth Regulators Can Focus a Tree’s Energy to Becoming More Vigorous
Trees naturally keep growing, but that isn’t always the best thing for them to do. The energy they use to grow may be better served by diverting it to improve their overall health and become more vibrant. This is where tree growth regulators (TGRs) come in.
TGRs are hormones that inhibit the synthesis of gibberellin, one of the primary hormones responsible for cell expansion and shoot growth. Cell division still occurs, but the cells are more compressed, producing more compact shoots and branches.
If this overly technical explanation left your head spinning, the key benefits of TGRs are:
- Darker green leaves from increased chlorophyll and phytol production
- Better water regulation to deal with droughts
- Thicker leaves with more pores
- Enhanced disease resistance
- Increased fruit production in fruit trees
Emerald ash borer, pictured here, is just one of many tree insects our Southeastern Massachusetts trees have to deal with.
Insect and Disease Control Can Save an Infested or Diseased Tree
Greater South Easton is a beautiful place to live in Massachusetts, but its natural beauty is unfortunately threatened by many tree insects and diseases. While some of these bugs may just cause aesthetic damage to your tree that is recoverable, others can destroy your trees and landscape.
Treating pests and diseases is a cornerstone of protecting our native biodiversity. At Regal Tree, we use a holistic plant health care program that seeks to prevent diseases before they happen and keep trees healthy and better able to fight against external threats.
There may be time to save a tree if you notice any signs of your trees struggling. While every disease and pest will affect your trees in slightly different ways, there are some common warning signs, such as:
- Wilting leaves
- The tree is leaning
- Dead branches or sections of the canopy
- Yellow or otherwise discolored leaves
- Spots on leaves, bark, or fruit
- Mold developing on the leaves
- Holes in leaves
Cabling and Bracing Can Secure Weak Sections of a Tree
Trees may develop structural flaws over time, making them more prone to failure. The weak areas are more susceptible to breaking off during a storm and causing injury or structural damage. These structural flaws include:
- Poor branching
- Weak branches
- Overly-heavy limbs
- Cracked limbs
To assist a tree with these structural flaws, we may recommend cabling and bracing during an assessment.
During cabling, we attach a high-tension cable between weak sections with an adjacent strong limb or trunk. This distributes weight more evenly, limits wind movement, and guides a tree to grow stronger.
Bracing involves installing a rod through two sections of a tree, typically the branches or trunks. The brace strengthens the union and reduces the risk of splitting. Arborists typically use bracing together with cabling rather than as a standalone service for a tree.
PRO TIP: Due to improper pruning and tree care, trees often develop weak sections. Only prune your tree if you know the proper way to do it (or better yet, let a tree care expert handle it.)
Fertilization Can Replace Missing Nutrients in the Soil
Fertilization is something people often think about for their gardens and flowers, but rarely their trees. Trees rely on macro and micronutrients in the soil for growth and development. When the soil lacks these nutrients, targeted fertilization can help.
WARNING: Fertilization is best left to the professionals, as mistiming or over-applying fertilizer can harm trees more than it helps.
A soil test can reveal any deficiencies in your soil that fertilizer can replace. The application should target what your soil lacks rather than just using a general lawn fertilizer (which may contain herbicides that will harm the tree).
Many arborists suggest fertilizing in the early spring as trees emerge from dormancy. Avoid fertilizing in the late summer or early fall, especially with nitrogen fertilizer, as this can encourage new development. The new growth will likely not survive the winter, wasting the tree’s energy and leading to stress.
Why should I preserve a tree rather than remove it?
Trees provide many benefits to us in Southeastern Massachusetts. Removing a tree takes an afternoon, while growing a new one can take a lifetime. Preserving a tree allows you and future generations to enjoy its benefits, such as:
- Lowering cooling costs in the summer
- Providing shelter and nutrition for wildlife
- Cleaning the air
- Cooling urban environments
- Preventing soil erosion
- Reducing noise pollution
- Increasing happiness and beauty
Regal Tree Can Help Preserve Your Trees
Deciding to remove a tree isn’t something you should do lightly, and there may be ways to save your trees that look a little worse for wear. Regular pruning, targeted fertilization, treatment for insects and diseases, cabling and bracing, and tree growth regulators are all parts of tree preservation and can help save weak trees and restore them to normal health.
If you have a tree that needs some help with its health, our team at Regal Tree can help. We can examine your tree, determine what is wrong, and prescribe a treatment plan to bring it back to health. We offer state-of-the-art treatment options to keep your trees healthy and thriving. Call us today at 774-719-2450 or request a quote online!
