Palm trees are one of the most decorative and unique trees that you'll find in the warmer, more tropical climates. When properly cared for, these trees can be beautiful and full of foliage. However, knowing how to care for them isn't always easy. That's probably why you're here. If it is, then you're in the right place. This site is dedicated to the care and maintenance of all sorts of trees, including tropical varieties like palm trees. The information on this page can help you to understand which of the basic care steps you can do yourself and which steps are best done by a local tree service.
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Tree Care: An Introductory Guide
4 Tips for Drought Resilient Trees
Same Peterson
A drought can affect much more than just your lawn. Landscape trees can also suffer, even those that you normally don't irrigate. This is because these trees are used to getting water from rain or from lawn irrigation, so a drought affects their moisture access as well. Proper care, both before and during the drought, can increase your trees' resilience to dry periods.
1. Annual Pruning
One of the best ways to prevent unnecessary drought stress is to keep your trees properly pruned. An annual pruning does more than remove dead wood and shape a tree. Weak growth, such as diseased branches and those that rub together, are removed so that the tree only has to support healthy branches. Suckers and other shrubby growth along the trunk and around the base of the tree is also removed. This is less material that needs water during a drought, so the tree can support its healthy branches with what moisture it can soak up.
2. Nutrient Management
Healthy roots can seek out groundwater better, and healthy foliage can collect energy for later use during a drought much more efficiently. Your tree develops this healthy growth in response to proper nutrition. Applying a tree fertilizer to your mature trees once a year, usually at the onset of the spring growing cycle, helps make them more resilient to stresses such as drought in the future. Just avoid fertilizing during a drought, since the nutrients won't dissolve into the soil very well. This can burn the tree.
3. Proper Mulching
Mulch can be the one thing that stands between your tree and major drought damage. It helps in a couple of ways. First, mulch insulates the soil against evaporative water loss, so the soil won't dry out as quickly. It also suppresses weed growth over the tree roots, so there is less competition for what water is available during a drought period. Apply the mulch so it is several inches deep and make sure it doesn't rest against the tree trunk.
4. Pest and Disease Protection
Any additional stresses during drought can be fatal to a tree. If your trees have shown any signs of pest or disease problems, have these treated ASAP so they are not still a problem during a drought period. It's also important to protect trees from animal pests during a drought. Place cages around young trees so that animals can peel off the bark or munch on the leaves.
Contact a tree service in your area if you need more advice on caring for trees during a drought.
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