The Redmond area, as with many cities around Puget Sound, is chock-full of beautiful trees, both deciduous and coniferous. But, with our recent snow, some of them have toppled over, been uprooted, or have had broken branches due to the weight of the snow. So what are some security tips we should be looking at now and what happens if there’s more snow?
Even in very cold season trees need to be maintained to make sure they’re ready for spring and are growing at their best. Here are some tips to keep in mind this winter.
Tomwsulcer [CC0]
Don’t remove the snow.
When trees have a dense layer of snow you might be tempted to brush it off and evergreens in particular can look overloaded with this heavy snow. But believe it or not, most trees are fine unless they’re completely breaking off or toppling over as in small or tender Arborvitaes. If it’s a solid tree, brushing off might do more damage than it’s worth.
Do remove the ice.
If there is a thin layer of ice on your trees it could break or damage the tree due to its weight and can be incredibly dangerous. Climbing trees this time of year can be treacherous so if you have ice on your tree or you’re concerned that branches or limbs are breaking because of heavy ice, it’s time to call in a tree professional.
Don’t prune.
Pruning is a piece of winter maintenance you should definitely be paying attention to. Not every tree will benefit from winter pruning. However, some trees appreciate being pruned in the winter, but not many, so it’s probably just a waste of energy and you may be wasting valuable nutrients that are trying to grow within the tree over winter. Open cuts that cannot quickly be grown back are at risk of disease and infection.
Do check the soil.
With all of this snow are soil is getting drenched and this might mean that in heavy windstorms, trees are likely to topple over. If you feel that young trees are getting pushed beyond their breaking point, it may be time to brace them, just for a couple of weeks or so. Any longer and you are risking the structure and integrity of the tree itself. The tree can usually maintain its stability, but with a lot of melting snow and winds, that combination could be deadly.
For more information on tree care in Redmond Washington or anywhere surrounding Puget Sound please call Lineage Tree Care.