ADVERTISING: ADVERTORIAL - Winter 2025/26, part two

I established last week that Arborists DO NOT have special prognostication skills when it comes to future weather. Better suited to our industry knowledge however is sage advice on preparing your trees for the arrival of Old Man Winter.

I also mentioned that it is critical to water your evergreens well before putting the hose away. Evergreens, unlike deciduous trees (leaf bearing trees) do not drop their needles or leaves and will continue to lose moisture through them. Severe cold snaps and wind can quickly strip evergreens of moisture and with the ground being frozen, absorbing water is no longer an option. This can lead to dieback called Winter Desiccation.

Another tip that I wanted to address this week is pruning. Specifically reduction or containment pruning. A week ago, we saw our first snow arrive and woke to the surrounding mountains capped in stunning white. There was even a chance we could have woken to snow in the valley had temperatures been just a degree or two colder. My big worry was heavy wet snow on all the deciduous trees that still had their leaves. In my career of 28 years, I have seen what I call an “October Surprise” twice in the last eight years. That is the arrival of snow before leaves fell and what a widespread mess of broken limbs on deciduous trees.

Many of our ornamental and shade trees have long upright or spreading crowns and are more susceptible to significant branch damage when this happens. Because this has become a bit of a pattern in the last decade, we as a tree care company have begun to approach maintenance pruning differently by taking into account containment and reduction work when prescribing pruning. We look for long, thin and overextended limbs that are more likely to fail under early snow load. While beautiful spreading crowns like Kwanzan Cherry are magnificent in bloom, we are now taking more consideration in reducing length of limb and overall spread of crown, and reducing them to improve their chance of surviving early snow. Many columnar trees like the Chanticleer Pear, while typically very narrow and upright in overall form, are splayed and spread apart. While their limbs may not be broken, they are bent to the point of deformation. These trees are especially susceptible to snow load damage.

I hope we make it past leaves falling before our first snow this year here in town, but in preparation for something that seems like a developing pattern, it is important to consider reducing limb weight and length in certain pruning situations.

Thank you for following and as always, for further questions, quotes or consultations, give us a call today, 208-762-5800!

For more information on Grace Tree Service, check out our website at gracetreeservice.com.