FAQs Archives - Barts Tree Service

Winter Tree Care Tips for Connecticut Homeowners

Winter can be tough on trees here in Connecticut, with wind, ice and heavy snow loads, not to mention frigid temperatures. But with proper preparation, your trees can make it through the winter unscathed.

Here are the things we recommend you do before winter sets in, as well as things to keep in mind throughout the coldest months of the year to keep your home and loved ones safe from winter tree damage.

To make it even easier for you, you can download our Winter Tree Care Tips.

And if your tree has been damaged by a winter storm, click here to find out what you should do.

Get Ready For Winter

Check all of your trees for potentially unsafe branches or tree trunks. If anything looks unsafe (see our article on Identifying Hazardous Trees), give us a call.
Any dead, damaged or diseased branches should be removed before winter weather can cause them to break.
If any tree limbs, especially larger ones, hang over your house, car or sidewalk, consider cabling or bracing to keep them stable through the winter. You could also prune them off.
If your trees have cables and braces in them, the hardware should be inspected every few years to be sure it’s intact, in good condition and that nothing needs to be adjusted or replaced due to the tree’s growth. Winter is a good time for that inspection.
Install temporary or permanent rope, cable or twine supports in multi-stemmed shrubs that are susceptible to snow and ice loads. Don’t forget to remove these temporary supports in the spring.

Prune While Trees Are Dormant

Do not prune your trees late in the fall. Doing so forces the tree to put out new growth which can easily be killed by an early frost or freeze, damaging and disfiguring the tree. Wait until all the leaves have fallen and the tree enters dormancy.
After the leaves have dropped in fall, it’s easier to see the structure of your trees and determine whether or not pruning is required to keep your trees safe and looking their best.
Winter pruning can also avoid spreading some serious diseases that are active and spread easily during the spring and summer growing seasons, such as Dutch elm disease and fire blight.
Late winter is a great time to prune, contain or rejuvenate high profile, overgrown plants as they’ll be able to recover quickly in spring with new growth. This will also minimize the negative aesthetic issues that can be associated with rejuvenating plants. But be sure to wait until the risk of single-digit temperatures has passed.
This is also the time to prune fruit trees to maximize fruit production and minimize fungal and parasitic attacks on the tree.

Check for Deer and Rodent Damage

Check occasionally during the winter for signs of rodent damage. Use bait, enclosures or repellents as necessary. You’ll find more details on preventing rodent damage in this article.
Deer can do enormous damage during the winter; when they’re hungry enough they’ll eat almost anything. Use deer spray, fencing or netting to protect your prized trees and shrubs. For more information, see our article on preventing winter deer damage.

Don’t Let Snow Build Up

Wet, heavy snow and ice can easily break tree branches, especially on evergreens. Avoid heavy snow accumulation on shrubs and smaller evergreens by regularly (but gently!) removing snow after a significant snowfall.
If you’re concerned about branches that are bending to the ground on larger trees, remove the snow load on the branches you can easily reach. Please don’t use a ladder or climb the tree; call us to take a look and, if necessary, we’ll remove the snow using the proper safety equipment.
Be careful not break the branches while clearing off snow cover. Lightly brush snow off the branches with your hand or a broom, pushing gently upward and sweeping towards the trunk.
Don’t shake snow-covered branches or hit them with a broom or rake (yes, we’ve seen it happen!). The branches are likely to break if you do that.

Protect Shrubs and Trees

Some shrubs, particularly broad-leafed evergreens like rhododendron, can easily shrivel up in the cold, dry winter wind. Protect them with a burlap wrap or spray with an anti-dessicant. Keep in mind that the weather must be above freezing to spray and you may need to apply it several times over the winter.
Ornamental trees with thin bark and young or newly-planted trees can be susceptible to sunscald when exposed to harsh sunlight after the leaves have fallen. Protect them with trunk wrapping.
The needles on pine trees and other evergreens can turn brown over winter. We describe how to prevent this in our article on winter browning.
You can learn more about using burlap to protect your plants in our article on How to Protect Trees and Shrubs From Winter Weather.
Salt damage is common in areas where salt is used to keep roads, drives and walkways clear of ice. The worst damage occurs to sensitive tree species planted near heavily salted roads with high traffic, especially when they lie downhill, downwind, or have poor drainage. On your own property, we recommend using a less harmful product such as CMA or Iceban^TM, and mixing it with inert materials like sand. For more information, see our article on winter salt damage.
Snow falls. More falls. And then more. And the snow banks pile up. But what happens to the shrubs and trees planted near those huge mounds of snow? We show you how to prevent the chemical and structural damage that typically comes with snow banks in this article.

Do Larger Jobs in Winter

Here in Connecticut, the ground often freezes in winter so we can bring in heavy equipment without damaging your landscape, resulting in lower costs, faster work and better outcomes. This is especially true for large tree removals.

Continue Watering Newly Planted Trees

During the winter, we often have alternating periods of freezing weather and warmer temperatures. Check your new trees during those warm spells. If the ground is clear of snow cover and dry, water thoroughly. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, the tree can take up moisture to keep it hydrated through the winter.

Inspect Regularly

It’s especially important to inspect your trees for structural problems during the winter. Broken branches, split trunks, codominant stems and other issues can quickly go from unsightly to dangerous when you throw in ice, snow and wind.
If you see something you’re not sure about, call us for a no-cost inspection of your landscape by one of our Certified Arborists. Winter is a great time for these inspections.

Plan Ahead

Plan your landscape needs before the spring “rush” to ensure the best service and the best plant material if you will be installing plants.

Fall Tree Care Tips for Connecticut Homeowners

Fall is the perfect time to help your trees recover from the heat and lack of water they probably experienced over the summer. Stressed trees are more susceptible to pests, disease, and winter damage so now’s the time to make sure your trees enter the harsh winter months in the best health possible.

Below are the activities we recommend you do before the snow starts flying.

And don’t forget to download our Fall Tree Care Tips!

Water and Mulch Your Trees and Shrubs

Give all of your trees and shrubs a good drink, especially those that were recently planted. Place a 2 to 3-inch layer of high-quality, organic mulch around young trees and plants. Mulch helps keep organic matter in the soil around the tree, conserves soil moisture, and provides weed control. Don’t over-mulch! For tips on how to do it right, see our article on Mulching Trees.

Clean Up

Remove fallen leaves from beneath trees and shrubs that are susceptible to diseases such as anthracnose, fire blight, and cedar apple rust. Leaving the leaves on the ground over winter will spread the disease and weaken your trees. Be especially vigilant around trees such as dogwoods and crabapples.
For leaves that aren’t prone to disease, consider mulching them in place or turning them into leaf compost rather than disposing of them. Check out our article on what to do with fallen leaves.

Evaluate Trees for Weaknesses

Evaluate trees for weaknesses that can be susceptible to winter weather. Contain heavy ends on limbs too long to support snow and ice loads. Install temporary or permanent rope, cable or twine in plants (multi-stem) susceptible to snow and ice loads (do not forget to remove temporary support in the spring).
After the leaves have fallen you’ll be better able to see the branch structure and condition of your trees. If anything looks unsafe (see our article on Identifying Hazardous Trees), give us a call. Fall is the best time to prune, remove, or cable your tree to protect you and your property over the winter.

Protect Trees and Shrubs

Protect plants susceptible to winter injury by spraying them with anti-desiccants or covering with a breathable burlap type material. You can learn more about using burlap to protect your plants in our article on How to Protect Trees and Shrubs From Winter Weather.

Check for Deer Damage

Check deer susceptible plants for evidence of grazing. Look for things like thinning of a plant’s foliage at the 5 ft level and below (deer head height) or droppings near preferred plants. If you notice deer damage, fall is the best time to spray deer repellent that will protect your trees over the winter. For more information, check out our article on How to Prevent Winter Deer Damage.

Plant New Trees

Fall is a great time to plant new trees and shrubs. The ground is still warm (so plant before the frost starts freezing the soil!) and there’s plenty of moisture, both of which will get your plants off to a quick start. For more details and some planting tips, see Fall is Ideal Tree Planting Time. You might also want to choose one of our recommended 10 Best Trees for Fall Foliage Color in CT.

Pruning Your Apple, Pear and Peach Trees

Have your fruit trees stopped producing fruit? Do you have disease or insect problems on your fruit trees? Has the tree grown too tall to safely harvest the fruit?

Many of these problems are caused by poor or neglected pruning.

A good fruit tree should not make a good shade tree. However, when pruning is neglected, many apples, pears, peaches and other common fruit trees in Connecticut become better shade producers than fruit producers.

Standard-sized trees often outgrow the reach of ladders or pruning hooks. Backyard and commercial growers have come to prefer dwarf or semi-dwarf trees which are not as tall and are easier to prune, spray, and harvest without the use of ladders.

A neglected but otherwise healthy tree will usually show a marked improvement in fruit quality as a result of pruning.

Fruit buds begin developing in the growing season previous to the one in which they mature into fruit, and more are initiated than can be fully developed into fruit. Growing conditions during the season of bud initiation and the subsequent winter will affect the number of buds which flower, and certain cultivars are “alternate bearers” that seldom initiate many buds during a year with a heavy fruit crop.

In any case, by late winter the buds for the coming summer’s crop will be very evident. Buds only appear on two or three year-old twigs or on spurs that are no thicker than a pencil.

Why You Should Prune Fruit Trees

The primary purpose of pruning fruit trees is to increase sunlight penetration, remove less productive wood, and shape the crown into an efficient, stable form.

If fruit trees are left unpruned, the quantity of fruit produced might be greater, but the quality much lower. Pruning increases fruit size, promotes uniform ripening, increases sugar content, and decreases disease and insect problems by allowing better spray coverage and faster drying following rainfall which will help fend off all the different fungal attacks. It also allows easier access for timely harvesting.

For more details, see our article on Pruning Fruit Trees in Connecticut.

The following points apply to pruning all fruit trees:

Prune late in the dormant season to minimize cold injury.
Prune heavily on neglected trees or vigorous cultivars, less so on less vigorous cultivars.
Make all heading back cuts just beyond a bud or branch.
Make all thinning cuts just beyond the base of the branch being removed.
Avoid pruning too close.
Don’t prune a “shade tree” back to a fruit tree in one year. Spread the thinning over several years.
Wound dressings are unnecessary for trees pruned in dormant season.
Match pruning tools to the size wood being removed. Use hand shears for small twigs, lopping shears for medium branches, and a saw for larger limbs.
If there is the presence of any disease and or fungal attacks be sure to disinfect your pruning tools between each cut with a 10% bleach water mix

Give Barts Tree Service a call at 203-240-1302 if you would like a complimentary consultation on pruning your trees or to help in diagnosing or treating any possible ailments.

Spring Tree Care Tips for Connecticut Homeowners

Spring tree March marked the start of our transition from winter to spring. Now that the snow is gone, it’s a good time to examine your trees for winter damage. We often expect our trees to be self sufficient and tend to neglect their well-being.

Spring Tree Care Tips

Here are the things you can do each spring to keep your trees healthy:

If your trees need to be fertilized, wait until the ground has completely thawed. Fertilizer run off wastes money and also contributes to groundwater pollution.
If, and only if, an insect problem exists, dormant oil sprays can be used once the temperature reaches a constant 40 degrees. Dormant oils are used to control some scale insects and overwintering insects.
Tree wraps should be removed in the spring as the temperature warms.
Complete all of your pruning prior to trees leafing out. Storm damaged branches should be removed as they occur.
If you’re planning on adding trees to your landscape, now is a good time to visit our local nurseries and greenhouses for suggestions and recommendations.
- Here are our recommendations for the five best spring-flowering trees to plant in Connecticut.

For more helpful tips, download our Spring Tree Care Checklist.

Tree Facts: Keeping Your Trees Healthy

How can you keep your shrubs and trees healthy during the spring and throughout the year?

For an answer to this question, it’s important to know something about the needs of healthy plants. Facts to consider include a plant’s capacity to make and store carbohydrates, soil moisture, and soil that has adequate nutrients and is conducive to plant growth.

Capacity to Make and Store Nutrients

This is important to all plants and it is not as simple as it may seem. Each perennial plant, including trees, must be able to store adequate carbohydrates, not only to reproduce leaves for each year, but also to “hold in escrow” the energy needed to grow new leaves if they are killed by frost or destroyed by wind or hail.

If you showed it on a graph, the carbohydrate storage curve would be high in early spring, just before trees leaf out. After leaf-out, it would plunge (because the tree has used a lot of stored food energy to put on new leaves). Then, in midsummer or later, the curve would rise again, as the tree begins to build new food stores.

Trees and shrubs use stored nutrients in early spring. By the end of spring, after a tremendous growth spurt, trees have used up a lot of these nutrients. A healthy tree will then begin, through the process of photosynthesis, to make new supplies of nutrients (carbohydrates).

Though summer is hot, the healthy tree will continue to make and store enough nutrients to carry it through the winter. In fall, trees begin to lose their leaves and go dormant for winter, and the tree’s food-making capacities slow down.

By knowing this cycle, you can see that the tree must be healthy enough to manufacture, store,and use adequate nutrients throughout the year. If it isn’t, you will end up with dead branches or even a dead tree. In some cases, a tree may have just enough food stored to begin leafing out, but not enough to continue growing. In that case, the tree will die. Proper plant care, year-round, should prevent this from happening.

Soil Moisture

Too little or too much moisture will result in a tree dying back or dying off. As a rule of thumb, soil needs to be moist to between 12 to 18 inches of depth for most trees and shrubs. The only way to check moisture depth is to check by careful digging or by using a soil probe after watering the root area.

Don’t assume that you’re watering a tree when you’re watering your lawn. Most of the water may go to the lawn, which has many roots competing with tree roots. Thatch in the lawn acts to repel water, and different soil types make water penetration very difficult in many cases. Soaker hoses and root waterers can be useful tools for applying water.

Be sure to apply water during extended winter dry periods, not just during the summer. This is vital to good tree health.

Soil Type

Soils can vary greatly within a short distance. Generally, Connecticut soils tend to be stoney and acidic. However pockets of sandy soils can be found in some areas. You need to ascertain what type of soil you have (send a soil sample to the soil testing lab at the CT Agricultural Experiment Station) and take steps, gradually, to improve it. If yours is a clay soil, aeration will help provide oxygen needed for optimum plant health.

Soil Nutrients

In general, trees do not need as much fertilizer as do lawns. However, in our generally low pH soils, nutrients, such as nitrogen, iron, zinc and manganese, can be added. Note the color of leaves and needles. If they look sickly or light colored, that is a clue that additional nutrients may be in order. If you are concerned about soil health, you might consider having your soil tested.

By understanding these and other plant needs, you will know how to provide healthy plant care, not only each spring, but throughout the year.

Q&A: What if my tree is blown down on my neighbors property?

At Barts Tree Service, we are asked all the time about general liability of a tree falling as a result of a storm and who pays for damages and removing the tree. So I thought I would put up a direct excerpt from the Connecticut Insurance Department website that helps answer that question.

question: If my tree is blown over by the wind and damages my neighbor’s property, does my policy pay to fix the damage? What if the tree damages my house? What if the tree is blown over but no structure is damaged?

Answer: The policy does not automatically pay for the neighbor’s property. The neighbor should file a claim with his own insurer. If the owner of the tree is sued by his neighbor, the liability section of the homeowners policy will respond with defense coverage, and payment if the owner is found negligent. This is where the “Act of God” phrase applies. The tree owner is legally liable for the damage only if his negligence caused the tree to fall. Otherwise, it is an “Act of God” which would be covered under the neighbor’s Section I Property Coverage of the homeowners policy.If the tree falls on your own house, damage to the house is covered. The insurance policy covers the cost to remove the tree from the house. Generally, the cost to remove the tree from the premises is covered up to $500 so long as the tree damaged a covered structure

Contact Barts Tree Service at 203-240-1302 for any emergency tree removals or insurance quotes you might need.

Reference: Connecticut Insurance Department Website – Homeowners Storm Claims

The Problem of Over Mulching Your Trees

Mulch volcanoes are NOT good

Mulching your landscape trees and shrubs can potentially kill if done improperly. A recent and serious trend has been over-mulching landscape plants, also called mulch volcanoes. Not only is over-mulching a waste of mulch, (and a potentially costly one at that), it is rapidly becoming the number one cause of death to shrubs and trees.

One of the most common causes of stress by over-mulching is suffocation of plant roots. Repeated applications of mulch can contribute to a waterlogged soil and root zone by slowing soil water loss through evaporation. Roots must respire (breathe) and take in oxygen, unlike leaves which give off oxygen. When oxygen levels in the soil drop below 10 percent, root growth declines. When too many roots decline and die, the plant will eventually succumb.

Symptoms of Tree Damage From Over-Mulching

off-color foliage
abnormally small leaves
poor twig growth
die-back of older branches

It is most important to remember that the problems caused from yearly over-mulching are not immediate, but progress slowly with time. The symptoms may take 3 – 5 years to express themselves and sometimes longer, depending on the species and sod type. Unfortunately, by the time the symptoms are recognized it’s generally too late to apply corrective measures. At this point, the plant has usually gone into an irreversible decline and will most likely die.

A second major cause of plant decline and death from over-mulching comes from the piles of mulch being placed against the stems of trees and shrubs. The above ground stem and trunk tissue is very different from root tissues. Roots have evolved many mechanisms to survive in continually moist environments, the trunks of most woody species have not. Above ground stems must be able to freely exchange adequate amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide through lenticels. When mulch is piled onto the trunks, gas exchange decreases with phloem tissue eventually becoming stressed and later dying. When the phloem dies, roots are malnourished and weakened to the point where they suffer reduced water and nutrient uptake, which subsequently affects the health of the whole plant.

A third mortality factor which is associated with the application of mulching next to stem tissue involves fungal and bacterial diseases. Most plant diseases require moisture to grow and reproduce. Trunk diseases are no exception and will usually gain entry into the stressed, decaying bark tissue caused by the homeowners unknowingly piling the mulch next to the tree trunk. Once established, even secondary fungal invaders such as Phytophthora and Armillaria species will eventually kill the inner bark, thereby starving the roots, and ultimately killing the plant. Many times, bark beetles and borers (which are also attracted to the stressed trees) will assist in the decline of the tree and allow other fungal pathogens entrance into the tree. This has been observed with clearwinged borers which normally attack higher on the stem.

Excess heat can also be generated when wet mulch layers placed up against the stem begin to decompose. Similar to composting where inner mulch layers may reach 120° to 140° F., the heat may kill young tree and shrub phloem, or, may prevent the natural hardening off process plants must go through to prepare themselves for winter.

The continuous use of the same type of mulch may also contribute to plant stress by ultimately changing the soil’s acidity level, commonly referred to as soil pH. Acid mulches like pine bark may have a pH of 3.5 to 4.5 and when applied year in and year out, may cause the soil to become too acid to grow many alkaline requiring plants. Due to the increased solubility of many micronutrients in acid soil, toxic levels of nucronutrients may lead to additional plant stress which in turn allows secondary pathogens and insects to invade. Conversely, hardwood bark mulch, which is initially acidic, may cause the soil to eventually become too basic or alkaline causing acid loving plants to quickly decline because of micronutrient deficiencies. Soil pH’s above 6.5 – 7.0 usually create micronutrient deficiencies of iron, manganese, and zinc for many common, acid-loving, landscape plants. Small changes in soil acidity can be avoided by periodically monitoring soil pH and rotating the type of mulch used.

Mulch should not be touching the trunk and trunk flare should be visible

Placing piles of mulch adjacent to tree trunks can also kill plants by providing cover and habitat for chewing rodents such as small mice, meadow voles, etc.. With lots of cover from predators, the rodents will usually live under the warm mulch in the winter and chew on the tender and nutritious inner bark to get at the sugars. This chewing off of the bark many times goes unnoticed until the following spring or summer when the tree doesn’t look good. If the chewing is extensive or goes around the whole tree, there is little that can be done to save the tree. Bridge grafting with strips of bark over the girdled area can be done but is time consuming and most arborists are not willing to go to those extremes.

Finally, many fresh or non-aged mulches may cause nitrogen deficiencies in young trees, shrubs, and flowers. Decomposing bacteria and fungi which ultimately break down mulch must have an ample supply of nitrogen to do their job. Most landscaping mulches are comprised of bark or wood which have high carbon to nitrogen ratios and have very little nitrogen available for the decomposing bacteria. Hence, the bacteria in the soil utilize the existing nitrogen to break down the mulch. This process may cause nitrogen deficiencies on new growth. Although nitrogen deficiencies may occur, they are usually considered temporary as the mulch will eventually release its nutrients into the soil and the decomposition will taper off.

Allelopathic mulches are mulches which contain toxic elements which will inhibit the growth of other plants. These toxic chemicals can be produced in the leaves, roots, trunk, or fruit of some plants and will slow the growth of some plants and in some cases, kill the competing plant. The classic case of allelopathy found in nature is the black walnut. This species along with other close relatives produce the toxic chemical juglone and juglonic acid which inhibits the growth of many trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Juglone is found in all parts of the plant including leaves, twigs, trunk and roots. Hence, fresh wood chips and sawdust should not be used as a mulch unless adequately composted and even then, small amounts of juglone can be detected. Besides Black Walnut, other allelopathic mulches include sawdust of Redwood and Red Cedar and the bark of Spruce, Larch and Douglas Fir. All of these materials may reduce root growth and deform or kill some trees and shrubs. Evergreen bark sometimes releases toxic volatile gases that can be especially harmful to plants including tomatoes and other vegetable crops as well. To neutralize the allelochems found in these toxic species, compost the mulch with nitrogen at two pounds of actual nitrogen per cubic yard of mulch.

How Much Mulch Should I Use?

If you have shallow rooted species and those species are growing on somewhat poorly drained soil, mulch depths should not exceed a 2 inch depth. For perpetually wet soils which need as much oxygen as possible, it may be more advisable to control weeds with a combination of a systemic post-emergent herbicide and pre-emergent herbicide such as Round-Up and Surflan herbicides.

On the other hand, if you have more deeply rooted species growing on well drained loams or sandy soils, your plants would benefit from a 2-4 inch depth of mulch. With coarser textured mulches you can go a bit deeper due to the better oxygen diffision through the mulch and ‘into the soil. Be more cautious with the finer, doubleshredded mulches on the market. A 2 inch layer may be all you need to keep weeds down and prevent unnecessary soil drying in the summer. Proper mulching

The best way to determine if you have a problem with excessive mulch piling in your landscape is to go out and simply dig through the mulch layer to see how thick it really is. A light raking of the existing mulch is all that is needed to break up any crusted or compacted mulch layers that can repel water and to give it that finished landscape appearance. As a rule-of-thumb, keep the mulch a minimum of 3 – 6 inches away from the trunks of young trees and shrubs and 8 – 12 inches away from mature tree trunks.

What Can Be Done If My Trees Were Over-Mulched?

Conducting a visual inspection of the root flare is the best way for an arborist to check a tree or shrub for a possible root collar disorder. If no root flare or buttress roots are found, the chances are good that at least some of the root crown has been buried. When burial is suspected, the arborist must first carefully probe downward to determine the extent and depth of burial. If the root collar is buried, you must remove the soil or mulch below the surface of the Junction of the roots and the trunk collar (without damaging the roots or collar) to expose the root collar. This is necessary to allow the collar to dry out and begin respiration of essential oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Arborists may also take a small strip of bark and sapwood from the root collar following excavation to determine the presence of fungal pathogens such as Phytophthora or Armillaria species. The resulting exposed well must be left open unless the root collar disorder is so severe that the resultant tree decline or hazard potential warrants tree removal.

According to tree expert scientists, an amazing number of plants have improved rapidly in color and vigor within months of a root collar excavation. Observations also indicate far less winter injury in such plants because the healthy roots, once an excavation has been conducted, produce the growth regulators responsible for above ground winter hardiness.

Of course, pruning of any dead and or dying branches should be conducted to reduce the introduction and spread of disease in treated trees. A light fertilization with a low salt index, slowrelease, nitrogen fertilizer (at 1 – 2 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet) may also be required of trees treated for root collar disorders to renew vitality and growth.

In summary, over-mulching and root collar burial is needlessly killing many landscape trees and shrubs by oxygen starvation of the roots, lack of gas exchange and death of inner bark, promoting stem and root diseases, prevention of hardening off via increased mulch temperatures and declining root vigor, rodent girdling, development of water repelling mulch layers, allelopathic mulches, potential short-term nitrogen deficiencies, and nutrient and acidity problems from sour mulch.

Fortunately, most of these problems can easily be prevented with periodic inspections.

Don’t Build Up Soil Around Trees

Root crown Avoid tree instability issues when having landscaping done or building a new house. All too often people bring in topsoil or fill and bury the trunk flare of existing trees which will result in a stem-girdling root which destabilizes the tree. You should always be able to see the sweeping radius from the tree trunk to the beginning of the root system. If the tree appears to grow straight out of the ground after backfilling then you have covered the trunk flare and are at risk for it to die. As much as I like to come out and remove dead trees for you lets not induce the death onto good trees we want to keep.

Removing the root, and the fill, dries the root crown and restores the tree to a safer condition.

Inspecting Your Trees for Defects and Hazards

You should inspect all trees on your property every year. Tree inspections can be done at any time of year, leaf-on or leaf-off. However, to be thorough, it’s best to inspect trees after leaf drop in fall, after leaf-out in spring, and routinely after severe storms. Inspecting your trees is an ongoing process that will help you catch any potential problems before they become unsafe or untreatable.

Inspect trees carefully and systematically. Examine all parts of the tree, including the roots, root or trunk flare, main stem, branches, and branch unions. Be sure to examine all sides of the tree. Use a pair of binoculars to see branches high off the ground.

Consider the following factors when inspecting trees:

Tree Condition

Trees in poor condition may have many dead twigs, dead branches, or small, off-color leaves.

Trees in good condition will have full crowns, vigorous branches, and healthy, full-sized leaves; however, green foliage in the crown does not ensure that a tree is safe. Tree trunks and branches can be quite defective and still support a lush green crown.

Tree Species

Certain tree species are prone to specific types of defects. For example, some species of maple and ash in the Northeast often form weak branch unions, and aspen is prone to breakage at a young age (50-70 years) due to a variety of factors, including decay and cankers.

Tree Age and Size

Trees are living organisms subject to constant stress. Pay particular attention to older trees, which may have accumulated multiple defects and extensive decay.

For more information on identifying hazardous trees in your yard go to Barts Tree Service hazardous tree information page. If you’re unsure about the condition of any of your trees, feel free to give us a call at 203-240-1302 for a consult if you are in Danbury, CT or the surrounding area.

What Is “Topping” And Why Is It Bad?

Topped oak tree. Do not do this to your trees.

Topping is defined as “the drastic removal of large branches with little regard for location of the pruning cuts”. Topping provides the illusion of quickly reducing the size or height of the tree. It is not a practice that should be performed by any certified arborist. Instead, there are professional pruning techniques to limit the height of a tree and keep it healthy.

Other names for topping include ‘heading,’ ‘tipping,’ ‘hat-racking,’ and ’rounding over.’

Problems Caused by Topping

Starvation. Good pruning practices rarely remove more than 1/3 of the crown, which does not seriously interfere with the ability of a tree’s leafy crown to manufacture food. Topping removes so much of the crown that it upsets an older tree’s well-developed crown to root ratio and temporarily cuts off its food-making ability. The tree goes into shock and readily produces new shoots.
Weak new growth. The branches that sprout following topping are much more weakly attached than a naturally developed branch. Rot at the severed end of the limb can make a bad situation even worse.
Rapid new growth. The goal of topping is usually to control the height and spread of a tree. However, it usually has exactly the opposite effect! After topping, trees vigorously re-sprout. The resulting sprouts are far more numerous than the normal new growth and they elongate so rapidly that the tree returns to its original height in a very short time.
Insects and disease. The large stubs of a topped tree have a difficult time sealing. Thus the stubs are highly vulnerable to insect invasion and decay.

Six Good Reasons NOT to “Top”

Tree Death: Trees, some more than others do not tolerate topping, the excessive removal of foliage may cause the tree to die within one growing season by limiting the tree’s ability to produce food.
Rapid New Growth: The most common misconception with topping is that ‘it keeps trees small’, on the contrary topping promotes the rapid growth of new vigorous branches known as water sprouts. Water sprouts grow 4 to 10 times faster than normal limbs creating taller, structurally inferior branches than the original limbs.
Increased liability / Hazards: New sprouts develop at the edges of the cut branches. They are weakly attached and prone to failure with there increased growth rate. As the original stub cut rots, the sprouts will fail even sooner, increasing risk and liability.
Ugliness: Topped trees are unnatural and unappealing; the apical dominance genetically programmed within the tree will never return to its original grace.
Pests and Disease: Topped branches have large wounds that cannot seal nor defend the wound from insects and decay. Rot extends into the stem causing the stem to rot, increasing pest and disease which results in tree death or removal.
Cost: At first topping may appear to be the cheaper solution to reduce the size of your tree, trees that die from topping will need replaced, ugly trees reduce property values, dead stubs become liabilities, overall maintenance cost increase with time. Topping is more expensive in the end.

For information on appropriate tree pruning practices click here

How to Select a Tree Service in Connecticut

Choosing a tree care company is similar to choosing most any professional service. The people performing the work must be knowledgeable, properly equipped, safety conscious and have the experience to perform the service.

Outlined below are a few questions that will help you select a tree-care company that provides quality work at a reasonable cost.

Does the company have current personal and property damage insurance?

To avoid liability for hazards associated with tree work, property owners should verify that service providers have insurance coverage for property damage and personal liability. Reputable companies will have insurance certificates available to show you. If there is any question, you may contact the insurance provider to verify coverage. Requiring that the tree service be insured is not a matter of trust; it is a matter of making sure there are financial resources available if something goes wrong. Tree pruning, climbing and removal are very hazardous activities, especially when working with large trees near electric lines.

Will they provide a detailed written estimate of the work needed and the cost?

Most respectable and professional companies will provide detailed work specifications and explain to you why certain work should be accomplished, along with the associated benefits and risks. Estimates with vague descriptions such as — Pruning $400 —- do not tell you much about the how, when, where and why the work should be done.

Keep in mind that good tree work is not inexpensive. A good professional must carry several kinds of insurance as well as pay for expensive and specialized equipment. Beware of estimates that fall well below the average. There may be hidden costs or the professional may not be fully insured or trained.

Is the company a member of a professional organization such as the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), or the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA)? Does the company employ ISA-Certified Arborists?

Membership in these organizations demonstrates a commitment to continuing education and a commitment to stay current with new information and technologies. Certified arborists demonstrate a level of knowledge in the art and science of tree care by passing a comprehensive examination developed by nationally recognized tree-care professionals
and having at least three years of experience. The employment of certified arborists demonstrates a commitment to quality and professionalism.

Will the work be supervised by a CT Licensed Arborist?

In Connecticut, most forms of tree work (except removals) can legally be done only by a licensed arborist. Ask who will be supervising the work and whether he or she has a current license.

Is the cost of the service reasonable?

Getting estimates from several tree care companies will give you an evaluation of costs. Be sure that each company is quoting on exactly the same work. If they recommend different approaches, make sure that you understand why.

Tree care can be rather expensive, especially on trees with large crowns. Most professional services will have similar costs. If there is a divergence of estimates, determine whether similar services are being planned. Professional work usually includes justified expenses. Services done correctly will affect the health, maintenance and longevity of your trees. Substandard work may detract from a tree’s appearance, shorten its life or increase the amount of maintenance required in later years. Although most of the cost associated with tree care is labor, running a business also includes indirect costs such as equipment, insurance coverage and professional training.

Does the company have references for similar work completed?

Tree care can be a major investment. Do not hesitate to ask for references. Companies with a good track record will gladly provide them. Seek references from neighbors, friends and business associates.