Tag pesticide

Arborist inspecting the ground to assess a trees health

What is Tree Care?

by Texas Tree Surgeons Tree Owner's Guide

Trees are living organisms and can get a weakened immune system similarly as an animal or plant would. Watering and mulching are easy first steps to ensuring your tree stays healthy. We have a few more tips to help your tree thrive

Watering

With our hot, dry summers, and tendency for drought conditions, proper watering is the best thing tree owners can do to help their trees.

Mulching

The importance of mulching is often overlooked, especially when trees are planted in an area covered with turf grass, but mulch is an easy way to manage soil moisture, temperature, and contribute nutrients to less-than-ideal soils.

Fertilization and Soil Amendments

Fertilization can be a touchy subject; most readily-available fertilizers are not designed to improve soil and feed trees in the long term. Some products, like “weed and feed” treatments, can actually harm trees. For sustainable, long-term improvement, a balanced mix of organic and inorganic fertilizers and soil additives yield the best results.

Trimming

  • Timing
  •  Maintenance Trimming
    • Maintenance trimming is what most healthy trees need to maintain their health and balanced growth and is generally recommended every two years for mature trees.
  • Specialized Trimming
    • Structural pruning is generally performed on young trees, structural pruning helps to establish balanced, healthy growth.
    • Restoration pruning is generally performed when a tree has been topped, or has sustained other physical damage, restoration pruning can be used to guide it back to a natural shape.
    • Retrenchment pruning is generally performed on older trees that have less vigor and ability to sustain new growth and can often benefit from directed trimming that reduces overall size and weight while maintaining health.

Tree Health Care

At all stages of life, trees can suffer from stress, damage, pests, and diseases. “Tree health care” refers to the use of organic and inorganic chemical application to address a health issue or bolster a tree’s ability to cope with a stressor. Plant health care needs are determined by a certified arborist and treatments are performed by specialized technicians.

Common types of plant health care include:

  • Fertilization
  • Soil Amendment
  • Pesticide Application
  • Disease Management
  • Chemical Growth Regulation

Additional Resources

The International Society of Arboriculture has a guide on tree trimming and plant health care.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our community! We hope this blog on tree care will encourage you to annually schedule an arborist assessment to maintain tree health. 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.

North Texas Tree Owner’s Guide

Hackberry Leafrollers are Back!

by Texas Tree Surgeons Tree Health Care

 In September 2022, we saw an infestation of small, green worms and their webs on hackberries in North Texas. With the reappearance of the hackberry leafroller moth larvae in August 2023, our recommendations for how to deal with them are a little different.

What’s Changed?

While we usually see hackberry leafroller caterpillar activity in the fall, in 2023, we are beginning to see them while we are still in the heat of summer. Additionally, many hackberries in the DFW are are still recovering from leafroller activity last year and have damaged canopies as a result. The intense heat and drought conditions of 2023 have resulted in an urban forest that is already under extreme stress. Hackberry trees that would normally handle leafrollers easily are now less capable of resisting the pests’ damage. Additionally, there are new recommendations for chemical controls.

What Can We Do about Hackberry Leafrollers in 2023?

While there are no insecticidal treatments that are effective against hackberry leafrollers once the webs appear, it is important to take steps now to ensure that trees bounce back from an infestation and are better prepared for next year.

  • Do not apply a spray insecticide to try to kill the caterpillarsThis is not generally effective and will offer no long-term benefits
  • DO NOT USE HIGH NITROGEN FERTILIZERS.
    • These products cause trees to rapidly put out new growth which can use up the energy stores the trees need to resist pest activity
  • NEVER USE “WEED AND FEED” PRODUCTS near your trees
    • Especially during times of drought and reduced moisture, adding herbicides to the soil can be deadly to trees that are already suffering from a lack of nutrients and other resources
  • If possible, remove any visible caterpillars and their webs
    • Properly dispose of leafroller larvae by burning or by bagging in plastic and putting in the garbage.
  • WATER, WATER, WATER!
    • Proper watering, and even aggressive watering during extended dry periods, is the most important step you can take to bolster your trees’ health
  • Apply soil amendments to help increase the amount of nutrients in dry, desiccated soil
    • Organic products can be utilized that do not contain an excessive amount of nitrogen and will not cause unsustainable growth
    • Installing mulch and compost around your trees is always a good idea, as it helps the soil maintain a constant temperature and moisture level, and it adds nutrient-rich organic material
  • Consider applying systemic insecticides in the late winter or early spring that can help inoculate your trees
    • It is important to introduce insect control measures into the tree’s circulatory system at the appropriate time
  • Contact a local ISA Certified Arborist® to evaluate your trees and make specific recommendations
    • Hackberry trees are prone to a fungal root rot caused by Kretzschmaria deusta and are made more susceptible when stressed by other factors
  • In the spring, evaluate trees to remove any dead wood and assess health

Treat for Leafrollers in the Late Spring or Early Summer

Hackberry leafrollers only have one generation per year, laying eggs on tree leaves in the fall, which hatch the following year. In North Texas, this occurs around May. Within a few weeks of the hatching, a soil-injected product containing acephate can be used, with a possible second application after a few weeks if activity is still seen. If you see leafroller webs this year, contact an arborist to get on the schedule for pesticide application next spring.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our community! This summer has been rough on all living things in North Texas and we are saddened to see another threat to Hackberry trees has become active while we are still dealing with drought and heat. Our team of certified arborists is ready to come out and assess your hackberries and all your trees to provide recommendations for soil amendments and insect control tailored to their specific needs. Contact us today!