Category Resources

Ask Texas Tree Surgeons: How Should I Water My Trees?

by Texas Tree Surgeons Ask Texas Tree Surgeons, Resources

Another installment in our series of posts where Texas Tree Surgeons answers your tree questions. Are you having problems with your trees and want to know what’s wrong? Let us know!

I have a sprinkler system in my yard. Do I need to do anything special for my trees?

We have discussed the watering needs of trees before, but proper watering is something that cannot be reinforced enough. Even when North Texas is not in a drought condition, the summers are long and hot and take their toll on every yard and green space.

While in-ground sprinkler systems can do a great job of providing water to turf grass and smaller landscape features, trees need particular care and attention when it comes to watering. Most sprinkler set-ups, unfortunately, do not provide enough water in the right areas to keep large trees hydrated. However, the simple addition of a garden or soaker hose to your watering routine can keep all your trees healthy during the hottest parts of the year. The best method of watering depends upon the age and size of the tree.

How Should I Water A New Tree?

Newly-planted trees are already in a vulnerable state, having been stressed from the transplantation process. Even when properly planted, a young tree can easily succumb to under- or over-watering.

  • Young trees require watering more often than older, established trees.
    • It can take some time to properly determine the best watering schedule for your trees.
  • To start, use a garden hose to water all around the root area of the tree.
    • If the tree has been well-mulched, you may have a small “basin” around the trunk.
    • Fill this area, let it soak in, and then fill it again.
  • After this initial watering, check the root area soil every two to three days for moisture.
    • Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!
    • You need to feel how wet the soil is to a depth of 12 to 18 inches.
      • A screwdriver can be useful to test the firmness of the soil, but using your hands to feel for moisture is best.
    • If the soil is dry, water again.
    • If the soil is still wet, wait another day or two and check again.
  • The exact watering schedule for your tree depends on
    • Composition of the soil
    • How well the soil drains
    • Other plants competing for the water
    • Weather
  • Ideally, you want to keep the entire root zone moist, but not soggy, to a depth of 12 to 18 inches.
    • As the weather changes, be sure to adjust your watering routine accordingly.

How Do I Water a Mature Tree?

Watering a mature, established tree allows for a greater margin-of-error than tending to a newly-planted one. As trees grow, they develop the ability to store more water in their root systems so they can survive periods of drought.

  • It is important to water the entire root zone, under and beyond the canopy dripline.
  • Wet the soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches.
    • Use of a screwdriver or other probe can be helpful in determining soil moisture below the surface.
  • Once the root area is properly watered, it may not need to be watered again for one to two weeks or more, depending on the weather.
  • Regular monitoring is key to maintaining the proper level of moisture.

Can I Water a Tree Too Much?

Trees, both young and old, are as stressed by too much water as they are by not enough. The signs of over-watering can often be mistaken for under-watering.

  • Soggy soil is the first and biggest sign of over-watering.
    • If there is standing water, or the ground is squishy, the soil is waterlogged and needs time to dry out.
  • Yellowing leaves can be a sign of both over-and under-watered trees
    • If the leaves are leathery, rather than dry, or hard to pull off the tree, it is likely that the tree has been watered too much.
  • Visible fungus activity, such as mushrooms at the base or on the trunk of the tree, is a sure sign that there is too much water present.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our community! The wet spring we had in 2020 caused a lot of fungal issues with trees in North Texas. Over-watering during the summer can extend the duration of those issues, or cause them to get worse. Under-watering during the hottest parts of the year can lead to tree decline and death. Don’t rely on your sprinkler system to do all the work! Check your trees regularly for signs of over- or under-watering and make adjustments as necessary. If you have any questions about your watering schedule or your trees’ health, let us know! We are always happy to have one of our arborists out to evaluate your tree and provide recommendations for how best to care for them.

Grow A Tree from an Acorn!

by Texas Tree Surgeons Resources

We had a bumper crop of acorns recently. While this is good for squirrels, it also presents a great opportunity for a fun project that can be educational and help our urban forest! Growing your own oak from an acorn and planting it where it is needed is a great, easy way to combat the severe tree loss and damage we had in 2019.

Step One: Find an Acorn

This seems like the easy part, but you have to make sure to find acorns that are still able to germinate and grow.

  • Gather several acorns (from different trees, if possible), to improve your chances.
  • Avoid acorns that are cracked or have holes in the shell.
  • PRO TIP: You may be able to find acorns that have already begun to germinate, as in the Step Two photo. These will give you a head start!
  • Once you have a selection of acorns, an easy way to see if they are viable is to soak them in water for 24 hours.
    • If the acorns float, they are not going to germinate successfully and should be discarded.

Step Two: Prepare Your Acorn for Planting

While you can plant the acorn right away, taking an extra step can lead to greater success down the road and is a more exciting way to see the early growth stages. 

  • Take a viable acorn and carefully insert three toothpicks, equally-spaced around the circumference, about half way between the top and bottom of the acorn.
  • Set the acorn on the top of a small cup, glass, or jar (clear is best!), balancing the toothpick on the rim.
  • Fill the container with water, so that the bottom half of the acorn is submerged.
  • Put the acorn and container in a warm, sunny spot (a windowsill works great).
  • As the acorn germinates, it will begin sending a large taproot down into the container.
  • If you have a clear jar or cup, you can see its progress.
  • After the root has grown, the acorn will begin to send up a green shoot from the top.
  • PRO TIP: Given enough time, the shoot will put out a few familiarly-shaped leaves!

Acorns can also be germinated in bulk in a bag filled with moist potting soil. Keeping the bag in the refrigerator can help prevent mold growth. Once they have put out roots, they are ready to plant.

Step Three: Planting Your Acorn

Once the acorn has germinated, it is ready to be planted! It is best to start the oak in a pot, so that temperature, light, and moisture level can be easily monitored. 

  • Use a flower pot or similar container.
    • Make sure that there are holes for drainage!
  • Fill the container most of the way with regular outdoor soil, leaving an inch or two space at the top.
    • For native oaks, it is best to start them in native soil, rather than pure potting soil.
    • If you have some compost or potting soil, you can mix this in with the top third of the planting soil.
  • If your acorn has germinated, plant it root down, about an inch or so below the top of the soil.
    • If there is a shoot already sprouting, be sure not to plant it too deep.
  • Keep the pot in direct sun in the morning, but shade in the afternoon.
  • Water regularly so that the soil does not dry out.
    • Adding a little compost tea or organic fertilizer can help the young tree get extra nutrients.

Step Four: Plant Your Tree Outside!

Once the oak seedling has become established, you can plant it outside to give it room to grow! It is best to plant a new tree in the fall or winter.

  • Find a spot where there will plenty of room for the tree to spread its roots and canopy.
  • Dig a hole about the same size as the container the seedling was in.
    • Unlike planting a larger tree, there should be no root issues requiring a larger hole.
  • Remove the entire contents of the container and place in the hole.
    • PRO TIP: If you let the soil dry out a little bit, it should pull back from the sides of the container and slide out easily.
    • Make sure that the top of the container soil is at ground level; don’t plant it too deep.
  • With the leftover soil from digging the hole, you can make a small ring around the tree, about a foot away from the stem.
    • You can also put down a some mulch, but make sure not to put any too close to the seedling’s stem.
  • Placing a flag nearby will help you remember where the seedling is and keep it from possibly getting mowed down.
  • If you are worried about animal activity or other damage, you can use a tomato cage or similar fence to protect your seedling as it grows.
    • Once it has grown about 18 inches tall, you can remove the cage.
  • Be sure to keep the growing young tree watered and monitor it for signs of insect activity.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our customers! Growing your own seedling from an acorn is a fun way to learn about trees and is a great way to get free trees for your yard. With a little prep and a little patience, you can soon have your own forest! Also, you can use a similar process to grow other acorn- or nut-producing trees, although oaks (especially red oaks) are often the quickest and easiest to start with. As always, if you have any questions about how to care for your trees, young or old, let us know!

Fun Tree Activities for Kids!

by Texas Tree Surgeons Resources

With school out and a lot of our community staying at home, now is the perfect time to spend some quality time outdoors! Texas Tree Surgeons is a family-owned company and we wanted to share a few fun tree-related activities we have been doing with our kids:

Leaf Painting

What you need:

  • Dry Leaves
  • Paint
  1. This one is super easy: paint designs or solid colors on the leaves!
  2. Thread the painted leaves together into a garland, or tape them on the wall for decoration!PRO TIP: You can also use rocks instead of leaves!

Leaf and Bark Rubbing

What you need:

  • Leaves
  • Bark
  • Paper
  • Crayons or colored pencils
  1. Lay the paper over the leaves, and rub gently with the crayon or colored pencil. The pattern of the leaf will be transferred to the paper!

You can also take bark rubbings from trees, or from pieces of bark that you find on the ground.

Use the leaf and bark patterns as components in a drawing, or use the designs to decorate signs, cards, or paper airplanes!

Spirit Sticks

What you need:

  • Sticks or twigs
  • Glue or tape
  • Yarn or ribbon
  • Leaves or feathers
  • Beads, sequins, glitter
  1. Look around your yard for fallen sticks or twigs
  2. Pick one that you think represents you or your school the best!
  3. Find some pretty leaves, stones, or maybe even a bird feather!
  4. Attach the leaves or feathers to the spirit stick with tape or glue
  5. Add some ribbon or yarn, and beads or other decorations!
  6. Hang your spirit stick where everyone can see!

Make a Simple Tent

What you need:

  • Trees
  • Rope or Clothesline
  • Sheet or Tarp
  • Stones

For a fun outdoor hideaway, you can use simple materials to make an easy to put up and take down tent!

If you have two trees, or a tree and a nearby structure:

  1. Tie a rope between them
  2. Put the sheet or tarp over the middle of the rope so that it reaches the ground on both sides
  3. Weigh down the corners of the sheet with stones or pieces of wood.
  4. Enjoy your cozy outdoor hideout!

PRO TIP: Decorate the sheet with painted leaves or leaf rubbings, and display your spirit stick!

Acorn Gathering

What you need:

  • Just your hands!

With our bumper crop of acorns last year, your yard is probably full of them!

  1. See who can gather the most acorns(PRO TIP: Offering a penny an acorn is a great incentive!)
  2. Paint the acorns for decoration or thread them into a garland or necklace!
  3. You can even grow a tree from an acorn!

Different types of trees produce different types of acorns: how many are in your yard?

Tree Scavenger Hunt

What you need:

  • Scavenger Hunt List (see below)
  • Paper bag or basket

With a little prep work, you can have a fun outdoor scavenger hunt!

  1. Make up a list of tree-related itemsHere’s our arborist-approved suggestions:
    • Acorn
    • Green Leaf
    • Brown Leaf
    • Flower
    • Twig
    • Branch
    • Catkin
    • Pecan
    • Bark
      PRO TIP: If you have unique trees in your yard, you can add items (like magnolia seed pods or horse apples) to personalize your list
  2. Print out your list or write it on the paper bag
  3. See how many of the items you can find!
  4. Draw a picture of each item you found next to its name on the list!

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our families! During uncertain or difficult times, it is more important than ever to recharge with fresh air and nature. Fun outdoor activities can help break up the boredom and monotony of being stuck at home, and can help kids (and parents, too!) learn about the environment around them. If you enjoy any of our suggestions, let us know by posting your photos and tagging us! And as always, if you have any questions about your trees, get in touch!

What’s Blooming in North Texas?

by Texas Tree Surgeons Events, Resources

As the weather warms up in the spring, we see trees begin to bud out in at different times. Most of our North Texas trees don’t have colorful blossoms in Spring, but there are a few notable exceptions.

Saucer/Tulip Magnolia

An impressive early spring bloomer is the saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangena) or closely-related tulip magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora).  Much smaller that the common southern magnolia, this tree grows to about four feet tall. While it shows green foliage through much of the year and may be overlooked, the highlights of the saucer or tulip magnolia are its namesake pink and purple blossoms that show in early spring before the new leaves open. These trees thrive in alkaline soils, like we have in much of the DFW area.

Purple Leaf Plum

The purple leaf plum is a non-fruiting tree with brilliant purple leaves that look beautiful summer long. In the spring, delicate pink flowers bloom on the branches, creating a dramatic scene before the new leaves begin pushing out. The purple leaf plum will have more flowers and darker purple leaves when planted in direct sunlight.

RedBud

Whether you have an Eastern redbud, Texas redbud, Mexican redbud, or another cultivar, you are likely seeing its pink or purple blossoms appearing. An early bloomer, the redbud’s blossoms are often the first herald of spring. Even after blossoming, however, the redbud’s heart-shaped leaves and attractive seed pods make it a stunner all year long.

Flowering Dogwood

Flowering dogwoods are understory trees that do best in the shade from larger species. Their white flowers in the spring and red berries in the fall are a common site in Southern gardens. Dogwoods can grow in the North Texas area but tend to do better in the sandier soils of East Texas. If you do have dogwoods, we recommend adding iron and other nutrients to the soil to help keep them healthy and blossoming.

Fruit Trees

There are few fruit trees that can thrive in North Texas due to the generally hot and dry climate and ill-suited soil conditions, but you will still see a few putting our blossoms in the spring. The more flowers a tree has, the more fruit it can produce, as the flowers are the starting point for fruit development. If you have a fruit tree, it may need special care, fertilization, and soil amendments.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our customers, and we are happy to see spring flowers starting to appear! If you are looking for recommendations of ornamental trees for color variety in the Spring or year-round, check out our previous posts for some suggestions! As always, if you have any questions about blossoming trees, ornamentals or anything else, let us know!

“Arborist” vs. “Certified Arborist”

by Texas Tree Surgeons Resources

It seems at times like there are as many tree care companies as there are trees. Sifting through the flyers, business cards, yard signs, and truck logos we see around North Texas can be overwhelming. However, whether you have many trees or just a few, it is always best to hire a tree trimming company that has ISA Certified Arborists on staff. Using a tree service with certified arborists is the easiest way to ensure that your trees are properly taken care of.

WHAT IS A CERTIFIED ARBORIST?

  • ISA arborist certification indicates that an individual has demonstrated both experience in the field of tree care and knowledge of diseases, pests, environmental stressors, plant health care protocols, and other critical areas of arboriculture.
    • ISA arborist certification is the international standard for the professional practice of tree care.
    • To maintain ISA certification, arborists must participate in continuing education classes to ensure that they are using the latest in practices and procedures and must renew their credential every three years.
    • Each ISA Certified Arborist has a unique certification number, tied to the state in which they were initially certified.
      • Certification numbers and credentials can be verified online by visiting https://treesaregood.com.
      • If a person claims to be a “certified arborist,” make sure to ask for their ISA number to check.
    • In Texas, unlike some other states, there is no state licensing board for arborists, so beware of people claiming to be “Texas licensed arborists.”

WHAT IS AN ARBORIST?

  • The word “arborist” can be used to identify individuals who perform any aspect of tree care: tree trimming, tree removal, plant health care, etc.
    • In a broad sense, “arborist” can refer to anyone in the tree care field, like we might use “teacher” to refer generally to people who work in schools. However, just as not every school employee is trained to do the same things, not every tree service worker is equally qualified to perform every task.
  • In many cases, the arborist (or sales arborist) is the person who comes out to initially assess the trees’ needs and prepare a work proposal.
    • From that point, the arborist is the main point of contact for our customers, and coordinates with our operations manager to assign a crew, ensure the work is done properly, and answer any questions.
    • Arborists are the key personnel for tree assessment, diagnosis, and customer communication.

What is a Board Certified Master Arborist?

Certification as a master arborist by the ISA Credentialing Board is reaching the pinnacle of the field of arboriculture.

  • The ISA BCMA credential requires extensive experience in the tree service industry, as well as thorough knowledge of all aspects of tree care demonstrated through examination.
    • As of 2020, fewer than two percent of all ISA Certified Arborists are BCMAs.
    • To maintain this certification, BCMAs must complete continuing education courses and renew every three years.
    • Certification status can be verified through https://treesaregood.com.
  • The owner of Texas Tree Surgeons, Amy Langbein Heath, became an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist in 2018, and was the first woman to become a BCMA in Texas.

What is the ISA?

The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) is dedicated to the promotion of the professional practice of arboriculture. The ISA is the premier education and certification authority for workers in the tree care field. In addition to serving tree care professionals, the ISA has extensive resources for tree owners. For more information about the ISA, visit their site at https://isa-arbor.com. If you are a tree owner, and want to find a certified arborist in your area or learn how you can better take care of your trees, visit https://treesaregood.com.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we are happy to employ ISA Certified Arborists or, simply, “certified arborists.” All of our arborists are either certified by the ISA or are in training to become certified.

We currently have Eight ISA Certified Arborists on staff:

Additionally, we have three ISA Board Certified Master Arborists on staff:

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Best Way to Top a Crape Myrtle? Don’t.

by Texas Tree Surgeons Resources, Tree Trimming

The most common mistake made in caring for crape myrtles is the practice of “topping.” Topping involves removing branches and trunks from the top down, trimming all material above a certain height. Usually, all leaves, blooms, and other green material are removed, leaving only bare trunks. Because of their resilience, topped crape myrtles do not die, but begin new growth from the height to which they were trimmed. As the topping is repeated year-to-year, the lower trunks of the crape myrtle age, while the top can remain twiggy.

Don’t Top Your Crape Myrtles!

  • Topping a crape myrtle destroys the natural balance and beauty of the tree.
  • Improperly trimmed multi-trunk crape myrtles have weakend immune responses and cannot fight off disease and insects as well.
  • As the topping continues, the crape myrtles can respond by growing more trunks, worsening the problem.
    • Topped crape myrtles have weak branch connections and are prone to breaking.

Why Do People in Texas Top Crape Myrtles?

  • We don’t know! It looks terrible, is terrible for the health of the tree, and causes long-term problems.
    • Some companies even advertise crape myrtle topping as a service — just another reason to make sure you use a tree service that employs local certified arborists who know how best to care for trees.

Doesn’t Topping Crape Myrtles Help Them Bloom?

  • Not in the long run! While it is true that crape myrtles bloom on each year’s new growth, a healthy and properly-trimmed tree will have more and stronger new growth, leading to more blossoms.
    • If a particular size or shape is desired, or it is necessary to reduce the trees’ height (for example, under power lines or eaves), proper trimming with care and attention can yield the same results without topping.
  • With the variety of crape myrtles cultivars available, examples of different sizes and growth rates can be found that are suited for various applications in North Texas landscapes.

For more information on crape myrtles, read our recent post.

Crape myrtle that has been topped. New growth is twiggy and uneven.

Properly-trimmed crape myrtles exhibit even structure and look beautiful year-round.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our customers, and we hate to see a beautiful crape myrtle topped and turned into a twiggy mess. Even if a crape myrtle has been topped for many years, it can be restored through a simple care program. Proper trimming, combined with allowing new growth to mature, can go a long way toward repairing the damage caused by topping. Fertilization can also help with encouraging healthy growth. Ask a certified arborist to evaluate and make recommendations for your specific trees.