Planting

  • Questions to ask:

    a.      What is my purpose – shade, beauty, fruit, wildlife, etc.?

    b.      How much space do I have?  Are there utilities that I need to account for?

    c.      Are there any disease/insect or environmental concerns I need to be aware of?

    Resources:

    Texas Tree Selector

  • Often it is best to choose a tree small enough to plant yourself. TreeFolks has a free tree program that provides 5 gallon trees, which most homeowners can easily plant on their own.

    The most important thing to remember is that trees need wide, shallow holes. Even one inch too deep can greatly affect the health and survival of the tree. Often, when you receive a container grown tree, the tree will already be too deep in the pot, you must find the "root flare" to determine the depth of the hole you need.

    While planting, look for circling roots. If you see circling roots, take the time to pull those roots straight. If they cannot be pulled straight, cut them at the point where they start to circle. Circling roots will eventually turn into girdling roots and limit the tree's growth and health.

    Resources:

    Tree Planting Tools

    Tree Planting Specifications

Ongoing care

  • Not/hire a professional:

    • If your feet have to leave the ground (ladder, step stool, etc)

    • If the piece you’re cutting is larger than 5 inches in diameter and is over a structure

    Use care/potentially hire a professional:

    • If you’re using power tools

    • If you’re cutting sections larger than 5 inches in diameter

    • If you’re cutting a tree over 20 feet tall

    Yes/do it yourself

    • You’re cutting smaller branches

    • Your feet are on the ground

    • You are using manual/hand tools

  • OSHA requirements for professionals:

    • Safety glasses rated Z87 or Z87+

    • Long sleeves and long pants

    • Closed toe shoes

    • Hard hat rated ANSI Z89.1-2014, Z89.1-2009 or Z89.1-2003

    • Gloves are recommended but optional

    When using a chainsaw:

    • Hearing protection

    • Chainsaw protective pants or chaps

    • Chainsaw protective boots are recommended

  • Drought is a perennial problem in Central Texas. Many times we have incredibly wet springs, with standing water which causes the fine absorbing roots of trees to rot and die, followed by extremely hot and dry summers, preventing the tree from reestablishing the necessary fine absorbing roots. Supplemental watering is often necessary for mature trees in residential lots.

    In general, there is nothing to be done about drought other than providing supplemental watering. However, you will want to be careful about fertilizing during drought, especially using products like “weed and feed” for lawns. The broadleaf herbicide in commercial “weed and feed” products are detrimental to trees, as trees are “broadleaf plants”. We also recommend that you limit pruning as much as possible, pruning only to remove dead wood and damaged branches.

    We can mitigate the effects of drought by using mulch

  • Most mature trees don’t need supplemental watering in Central Texas unless we experience long periods without rain (defined as less than one inch of precipitation over a two-week period). Newly planted trees should be watered weekly during the summer, using a slow-release watering method (either a soaker hose under mulch, a water hose turned to a very slow drip, or any other method that can deliver water slowly enough that doesn’t run off). In general, you should plan to water newly planted trees each week. Plan for ten gallons of water for every inch diameter measured at six inches off the ground.

    In general, I recommend watering established trees after two weeks of little to no rain. Focus the water to be in the area of the ground directly under the tree, starting with about a foot out from the trunk. A question often asked is “I water my lawn several times each week, is this sufficient?” and the answer is “maybe”. If you water enough that the water soaks into the soil below the roots of the grass, then it is possibly sufficient to maintain your trees. If you only water for a short time and the water is absorbed by the grass or runs off the property, the tree may be getting very little of this water.

  • I can’t stress the importance of mulch enough. Mulch reduces competition from grass, remediates the soil temperature, holds moisture in the soil and prevents soil compaction. An organic mulch, such as wood chips, also adds nutrients to the soils as it breaks down, as well as encouraging macro- and microbiological life that help reduce and remediate soil compaction. I recommend a coarse ground mulch no deeper than two inches deep and no closer than two inches from the trunk. If aesthetics are a concern, a top dressing of finer, decorative mulch can be used, as long as the depth is not more than two inches. The type of mulch is an aesthetic choice and other mulches such as pine straw, pecan shells and rock are acceptable as well.

    When you mulch, it is important to make sure the mulch is not piled up against the trunk of the tree. This is called “volcano mulching” and it can hold moisture against the trunk, encouraging fungal rot and adventitious root growth (roots that grow from other tree tissue). Also, make sure that you annually “fluff” the mulch and reapply as necessary to maintain two inches.

  • Tree roots need oxygen to complete their life processes.

    • For large trees hire a qualified Certified Arborist

    • For smaller trees, homeowners can perform this service themselves.

    o The most important thing is to be very careful not to damage the roots

    o Many people use plastic gardening tools intended for kids

    • If you encounter roots that are growing in a circular direction:

    o Carefully excavate the root as close to the tree as you can.

    o Using a sharp saw or clippers, cut the root at the point it starts to curve.

    o If you encounter more than 3-4 large (2 inches or larger in diameter) roots, only cut 2-3 and come back to cut the others the next year.

    • Excavate the tree to the point where you see the graceful curves of the main structural roots emerging from the soil.

  • Oak wilt (Bretziella fagacerum) is spread by a small beetle (the nitidulid beetle), which is attracted to sweet scents, such as are released after an oak tree is pruned. Once infected, an oak can spread the infection through root grafts, leading to “Oak Wilt Centers”.

    Oak wilt fungal mats form exclusively on oaks in the red oak group (which include Shumard oak, Texas red oak, black oak, cherrybark oak, pin oak, blackjack oak, water oak, and laurel oak), which also succumb to the disease more rapidly than oaks in the white oak group (which include burr oak, mexican white oak/Monterrey oak,post oak, chinkapin oak, shin oak, bastard/Durand oak and lacey oak). Live oaks are neither red oak nor white oak and have some of the best and worst qualities of each.

    Treatment for oak wilt consists of prevention, removal of red oaks and treating with fungicide through trunk injections. The best treatment is to prevent the spread of oak wilt through cultural practices.

    • Pruning: The time to prune oaks is between July 1 and January 31. Care should be taken to sterilize equipment and to paint the wounds immediately. Many tree care companies prune the entire tree and then come back to paint the wounds, but this is not sufficient.

    • Removal: since the fungus reproduces on red oaks, red oaks should be removed as soon as they are diagnosed and the wood should either be burned, chipped or otherwise destroyed. If you’d like to save it for firewood, the wood should be carefully stored away from healthy oaks and covered with clear plastic (clear plastic is preferred as it makes it harder for insects to find holes to escape) which is buried in the ground on all sides. Red oaks generally cannot be saved after they show symptoms.

    • Firewood: only buy firewood that has been well seasoned (bark falling off the logs) and only buy it from within your county. Moving firewood has the potential to spread lots of diseases and insects, so it’s best to be move it as little as possible (I know it’s hard to pay the prices for firewood at campgrounds, but for the sake of our trees, please do not bring your own).

    • Tool sterilization: the oak wilt fungus is very heat sensitive so chainsaws are considered safe to use, however all other equipment should be sterilized between trees. Most arborists use Lysol, as it is least likely to damage equipment, but bleach and rubbing alcohol are also considered sufficient.

    If you have an oak in the white oak group or a live oak and live near an oak wilt center, watch for signs of the disease and call a Certified Arborist for diagnosis and treatment when the tree shows symptoms. White oaks and live oaks can successfully be treated for oak wilt with fungicide injections. Make sure the arborist you use is qualified. More information can be found at https://texasoakwilt.org/

After a Storm

  • Assess the tree for safety

    a. Are there broken &/or hanging limbs?

    b. Are there visible cracks in the tree?

    c. Is the tree leaning? Is the soil on the side away from the lean lifted?

    d. If the tree or part of the tree that is damaged were to fall, what would it hit?

  • 1. Remove any damaged tree part (branch or whole tree) that is more likely than not to impact a “high value” target (High value = people, expensive property, etc)

    2. Remove damaged tree parts that could impact a high value target, or that is more likely than not to impact a target other than high value (car, road, sidewalk, storage building, etc)

    3. Make the cut where it broke, if it’s an oak, paint the wound

  • 1) Reconstruction/restoration pruning

    a) Sprouts are good!

    b) Ignore sprouts until they are thick enough to compete for space with each other

    c) 1/3 rule – remove 1/3, reduce 1/3 (prune in half), leave 1/3

    2) Structural pruning. Most of the tree and limb failures could have been prevented with proper structural pruning.

    a) Look for included bark

    b) Look for “over-extended limbs”

    c) Look for codominant stems

    3) Aesthetic pruning

    a) Aesthetic pruning is pruning we do which creates a better appearance but isn’t necessary for the health of the tree or the safety of others.

    4) Things to keep in mind:

    a) Pruning is usually an ongoing process and major restoration and structural pruning will usually take several years.

    b) Wildlife needs some dead tree parts.

    c) If there is no target, there is no risk.

    d) We are normally pruning for our own benefit, not the benefit of the tree.

    e) Removing interior sprouts (called “lions tailing”) is bad for the tree and is likely to result in overextended branches.

  • There are a variety of things to consider when selecting an arborist which include:

    Look for membership in a professional organization such as the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) or the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA).

    Check in the phone directory yellow pages for those arborists who advertise as ISA Certified Arborists or display the official logo of the ISA Certified Arborist.

    Use the “find an arborist” tool at ISATexas.org - https://isatexas.com/for-the-public/find-an-arborist/, or the tool at https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/findanarborist.

    Verify credentials at https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/verify.

    Ask for proof of insurance, both liability and worker’s comp, and then phone the insurance company if you are not satisfied.  Remember, if they do not have insurance for their workers or for damage they cause, you could be sued if someone gets hurt.

    Ask for references to find out where the company has done work like the work you are requesting.

    Unless you know and are comfortable with the arborist, get more than one estimate.  Be wary of individuals who go door-to-door and offer bargains for performing tree work.  Good arborists will only perform accepted practices.  For example, practices such as topping a tree or using climbing spikes on live trees are not necessary.

    Don’t only accept the low bid. Compare all of the above to the bids.

  • This is a list of arborists who I’ve worked with and been generally happy with.

    Arbor Vitae Tree Care, Guy LeBlanc - https://treecarebyguy.com/

    Austin Tree Experts, Keith Brown - https://www.austintreeexperts.com/

    Full Canopy Tree Care, Brennon McGee - https://www.fullcanopy.com/

    Heritage Tree Care, Vincent Debrock -https://www.txheritagetreecare.com/

    Just Trees, Markus Smith -https://justtrees.com/

    Oak Wilt Specialists Paula Johnston https://www.stopoakwilt.com/

    They Might Be Monkeys, Nevic Donnelly -https://theymightbemonkeys.com/

    Tree Weaver, Jackson McIntosh - http://www.treeweaverarborist.com/