Tag fruit tree

Tree inside of container with a person in the background digging a hole.

Tree Selection Fundamentals

by Texas Tree Surgeons Tree Owner's Guide

Things To Consider for a Healthy Tree Environment

When selecting a new tree for your home or property there are several things you should consider; location, growth speed, maximum size, critical root zone, soil, light and shade, water, surrounding plants, evergreen vs deciduous, flower/fruit/seed production, native vs nativized, and source stock. Below are some guides to help you determine the best tree for your property and your needs.

Location

The location a tree will be planted will determine how big it can get. Take into account potential obstacles for growth, such as:

  • Overhead utility lines
  • Structures
  • Underground irrigation or utility placement
  • Drainage
  • Soil composition
  • Light availability
  • Sidewalks, driveways, or other surface features
  • Pools, septic tanks, or other in-ground features
  • Planned construction or renovation

Growth Speed

Different tree species grow at different rates and faster isn’t always better. Growth speed can be related to age at planting as well as environmental factors.

Maximum Size

While it may vary, certain species of trees usually have a maximum and minimum expected height, as well as expected canopy spread. It is important to consider nearby buildings, signage, overhead utilities, and aesthetics when selecting a specific species of trees. It can be difficult and dangerous for the tree and for people to try to reduce the size of an already-mature tree. We do not recommend topping trees as a way to manage size.

Critical Root Zone

Related to the canopy spread, the critical root zone is the area around the base of a tree where vital underground roots are present. Both large, stabilizing roots and smaller feeder roots must be considered. Restricted root space or regular ground disturbance can stress a tree and cause premature failure.

Soil

Soil acidity, moisture, and composition determine what species can grow and thrive in North Texas. Much of soil found here is dense, alkaline clay. Trees that are not suited to this type of soil will not be able to get the required nutrients it needs and will eventually show signs of stress.

Light and Shade

Some trees are well-suited to the understory (beneath the top canopy), while other need full, all-day sun. Keep in mind that sunlight intensity and direction changes through the seasons, and can be affected by the growth of nearby plants, as well.

Water

Newly-planted trees need careful watering, but even established trees have a preferred level of soil moisture. Excessive soil moisture can help some species thrive, but contribute to disease in others. Consider where water pools during heavy rains, and where runoff goes when deciding where to plant your tree.

Surrounding Plants

Turf grass, other ground cover, and other plants contribute to the competition for water and nutrients in the soil. As a tree grows, it may cast different shade or cause surface distortions that affect surrounding plants.

Evergreen vs Deciduous

Deciduous trees that drop leaves every fall can feature fall color, but often create more leaf litter. Evergreen trees, whether broad-leafed or needle bearing do not drop all their leaves at once, but are generally the same shade of green throughout the year.

Flower, Fruit, and Seed Production

Spring blooms and seasonal fruit can attract birds and pollinators, contributing to the landscape’s beauty. Some types of flowers and fruit can cause concrete staining or be hazardous to pets.

Native vs Nativized

Native species generally do better than imported species, but there is a limited selection. Imported species can be adapted to climate and soil, and give a variety of size and foliage options, but may become invasive.

Source/Stock

Nursery stock from a specific tree farm or source can be prone to particular structural issues and diseases. If not cared for properly at the nursery, trees may need a long period of rehabilitation after planting. Selecting a larger tree over a smaller one is not always better.

While it may seem logical to plant the largest available specimen of a desired tree species, research has shown that planting smaller trees leads to more growth in the first year, and likely to better early establishment. Planting younger trees gives the tree owner more chances to provide the best care.

Tree Recommendations

We have a blog dedicated to helping you choose the best trees for North Texas.

Additional Resources

The Texas A&M Forest Service has published an online tree selector. On their website you are able to select a county and tree size for quick recommendations. In addition the International Society of Arboriculture offers user-friendly guidelines for choosing the right tree for your yard.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our community! We hope this blog on tree selection will help you choose the right tree for your home. We have additional resources on our North Texas Tree Owner’s Guide. If you would like immediate assistance with your trees please contact us today.

Ask Texas Tree Surgeons: What’s Wrong With My Fruit Tree?

by Texas Tree Surgeons Ask Texas Tree Surgeons, Tree Health Care

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!

Why is it that my peach trees get loaded with peaches every year, but the peaches only get so big (about the size of a golf ball) and stay that way till they fall off? Can I do anything to help them grow better?

Growing fruit trees in North Texas can be a tricky undertaking. While we don’t have the well-suited conditions of other regions, there are some steps that fruit tree owners can take to help their trees produce the best fruit.

For fruit production, pruning is key

If you have a stone fruit (peach, plum, etc.) tree that is already established and producing fruit, proper pruning can be a big help in managing fruit production.

  • Fruit trees naturally produce more fruit than can be sustained, and need a helping hand.
  • One way to help fruit mature fully is to remove a portion of the fruits after they begin to grow.
    • For best results, remove the fruit by hand about four weeks after blooming.
    • Leave only one fruit every six to eight inches along a branch.
  • As the fruit matures, it is important to manage pests and diseases that can prevent proper growth.
    • Remove any dead or diseased wood or fruit as soon as it appears.
    • Consider fertilizer or pesticide application, and consult a certified arborist for good product recommendations.

Planning ahead for best fruit

Of course, some types of fruit trees are better-suited to our North Texas climate and soil.

  • If you are looking to plant a peach tree, or another type of stone fruit, consult this guide from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension program.
  • Once you have picked a tree, be sure to plant during the winter dormant season and to prepare the planting site properly.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our customers! There may not be many fruit trees in North Texas, but we love helping our community take care of what we have. We are always happy to offer suggestions and guidance in the tree selection and planting process. We offer comprehensive plant health care programs to help control diseases and pests, including organic options. If you have any questions about your fruit trees or any other trees, let us know!

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!

When is the Best Time to Trim Trees?

by Texas Tree Surgeons Tree Trimming

Tree trimming or tree pruning in Texas is generally best when done after temperatures cool off in the fall and before buds begin to grow in the spring. Removal of dead, broken, or damaged limbs can be done anytime. The worst time to trim a tree is in the spring just after it has budded out. The tree will already have used its energy to start new growth, and will not be able to recover from the trimming as well or as quickly. At Texas Tree Surgeons, tree trimming is the most common service we provide, and is essential to maintaining health and safety in our urban forest.

Why is it best to trim trees in the fall and winter?

Trimming trees at the right time is crucial to keeping them healthy. During the fall, the tree’s internal systems begin to slow, as it prepares to go dormant (similar to hibernation in animals). Entering a dormant state helps the tree survive the winter cold, frost, and ice. As the weather cools, the water in tree tissue begins to be converted to starch, which insulates cellular tissue against freezing damage. During this period of dormancy, trees are able to heal the wounds made from pruning before the stressors of spring, like disease and insects, arrive.

Proper trimming is not just a matter of timing, however, but also of technique. Trimming your trees at the proper time in the fall or winter cannot compensate for the damage done through over-trimming, lion-tailing, or topping. Even though a dormant tree can better withstand these damaging types of trimming, the overall health of the tree may be irreparably harmed.

Should cuts be sealed or painted after trimming?

Sealing or painting wounds after pruning cuts have been made is no longer the best indicated practice for routine trimming. Sealing paint can interfere with the tree’s natural healing process. Allowing the tree to form wound wood and seal cuts itself leads to increased tree vigor and quicker recovery. However, when there is a risk for certain diseases, like oak wilt, painting tree trimming wounds is an important protective measure.

Why is it important to use a company with certified arborists to trim your tree?

Every tree is different. Two trees of the same species planted next to each other may still react differently to their surroundings. Having an ISA Certified Arborist examine your trees before trimming is crucial to ensuring proper care. In a yard with different tree species, there may be a range of trimming needs. A certified arborist can assess each individual tree to make the best recommendations for trimming, taking into account species, environment, disease or pest activity, and the tree’s natural life cycle. Improper trimming at the wrong time of year can cause a tree’s health to decline substantially. A certified arborist’s knowledge of tree biology and trimming best practices leads to the best trimming recommendations for your trees.

Is there a best time to trim a particular species of tree?

While it is generally best for all trees to be trimmed in the fall and winter, it is important to be aware of issues particular to a given species.

 

Oaks:

  • The best time to trim oak trees in Texas is in the fall and winter.
    • It is critical to avoid trimming during oak wilt season (February-July) if at all possible.
    • Live oaks typically do a leaf exchange in late winter so it is better to trim them in late fall or early winter.
  • Dead and broken branches can be removed at any time.

Maples:

  • The best time to trim maples is fall and winter.
    • Pruning in the early spring can lead to sap leaking from the pruning cuts.
    • Maple trees are one of the few trees that have fall color in Texas so pruning after the leaf drop is usually preferred.

Elms:

  • Elms are hardy and native to Texas. They are typically the first to get their leaves and the first to lose their leaves.
    Trimming elms in the fall and in the winter is best to avoid sap leaking.
  • Elms are prone to rotting where large pruning cuts are made or poor puts are made so conservative trimming is best.
  • In the parts of North America where Dutch elm disease is present, elms should be trimmed before March.

Crape Myrtles:

  • Crepe Myrtles produce flowers on each year’s new growth.
    • Trimming in the fall leads to more blossoms in the spring.
    • Trimming in the late spring will reduce the number of flowers the following year.
  • For the health of the crape myrtle, the best time to trim is winter.
    • Topping crape myrtles is never a good practice.

You Should Never Top Crape Myrtles

In our previous post, we discussed why topping crape myrtles is an improper practice. Topping not only destroys the natural beauty of the tree, but can leave it more susceptible to disease and insect infestation.

Bradford Pears:

  • Bradford pears can be safely trimmed at any time.
  • Proper structural pruning when needed is very important for Bradford pears because their natural growth patterns often lead to weakness at branch joints.

Fruit Trees:

  • Structural pruning for fruit trees should be done in the winter.
  • Trimming for fruit production should be done just after bloom in early spring.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our customers. In the winter, it can be easy to forget about our trees, as their leaves are gone and we spend less time outside. However, remembering that winter is the best time to trim trees can lead to healthier, more beautiful trees in the summer. We are always happy to come out and assess your trees for their particular trimming needs. When tree trimming must be done out of season, we are able to make sure that best practices are followed to minimize any negative effects. One of our certified arborists can make personalized recommendations based on your trees. Get in touch today!