It’s December, and Christmas is right around the corner! Everyone is organising their holidays, doing last-minute Christmas shopping and finally enjoying the warm weather.
Like many other kiwis, we love spending time in our gardens. So the start of summer is the perfect time to walk around your yard to inspect your trees and plants.
If you want your natural space to look good, healthy and tidy before the holidays, consider watering consistently, adding mulch around your trees, pruning, inspecting your trees for any pests or diseases and examining your soil.
Learn more about these summer tree care tips below.
Irrigation
The hot and dry summer season only means one thing, trees will need more water, especially young trees. They need to be watered regularly to encourage the growth of strong roots. When watering, focus on the root zone of the tree. If you water with sprinklers, it will only water the soil’s surface. So the trees’ roots won’t be strong enough over time. We suggest watering in the morning as it won’t evaporate.
If you have a busy schedule, we recommend installing an irrigation system. Although, it’s essential to check your system regularly to ensure it works well.
Look out for signs of curly leaves and browning at the edges. These are linked to drought.
If you are concerned about the health of your trees, please contact our team of professional arborists for advice.
Mulching
Mulching is a necessary step after planting trees. It maintains moisture, reduces weeds’ spread and stabilises soil temperature.
We suggest adding more or replenishing your mulch around your trees at this time of the year. If you don’t have any mulch, now is the best time to do it. It is a straightforward process: cover the soil with a 3 to 5-inch layer of mulch and create a circle around the tree.
We recommend getting old mulch since it has had time to break down if you purchase mulch for the first time. Also, it will add more organic matter and nutrients to your soil than new green mulch.
Pruning
Pruning improves the tree’s health and encourages strong growth.
In summer, pruning your trees is ideal when diseased, dead, or damaged branches are present. So, we suggest you examine your trees for health and safety reasons.
Contact our team of professional arborists to prune your trees correctly to avoid any issues.
Tree Inspection
Throughout summer, examine your trees regularly and check for pests or diseases.
Common pests in New Zealand gardens: aphids, carrot rust fly larvae, codling moth caterpillars, cutworms, leafroller caterpillars, mealybugs, scale insects, slugs and snails, spider mites, thrips, white butterfly and diamondback moth caterpillars and whitefly.
Contact our team of experts to examine your tree’s health if you have any concerns or questions.
Soil Care
Residential properties' most common soil issues are a lack of nutrients, acidity and soil compaction.
Soil compaction directly impacts air and water flow in the soil, which is essential for a plant’s root growth. Check your soil for these common signs of compaction: hard ground, standing water, water runoff, poor plant growth and development of the surface crust.
To improve your soil, we suggest adding compost and organic fertilisers.
If you have more questions about soil conservation, please contact our team.
Summer tree care is something we recommend to all residential or commercial property owners. Start your maintenance with these simple steps to take care of your garden.
Your trees and plants are an investment, so it’s beneficial to take care of them.
Our team of expert arborists are always available for advice. Get in touch today!
