Some Tree Issues To Look For This Winter
Category : Tree Care , Uncategorized
As November is quickly coming to an end, winter is right around the corner! Trees can take a hit from colder weather. It can damage their bark, kill the branches, and harm the roots. Winter threats definitely take a toll on your backyard trees. What causes these tree issues each year during the colder months?
Damage From Salt
The salt that is thrown on roads, sidewalks, and stairs can harm trees each winter. It gets into the soil around the trees and makes its way to the roots. The tree’s health will eventually decline, even if it seems slow at first. Salt is known to stunt the growth of trees and ruins foliage.
Animals During the Winter
In the winter, animals have a more challenging time finding sources of food, so they end up turning to trees and eating the bark. These animals include rodents, rabbits, and other smaller animals. Eating the bark exposes the tree’s inner layers, which can cause the tree to die. As well as the bark, animals also can eat the branches. Deer are known for doing that the most.
Drought During the Winter
When the ground is frozen during the winter, trees have a more difficult time getting water. To help, be sure to mulch and water your tree during the fall to help them be able to get enough before the ground freezes.
Frost Heaving
When soil is frozen and thawed over and over again, frost heaving happens. It can push plants with shallow roots out of the ground, which will harm them in the cold, windy temperatures. Adding extra mulch before the colder weather sets in can end up helping them. It will help keep in moisture as well.
Winter Burn
Winter burn is when evergreen foliage is bleached or turned brown during the colder months. This can happen for a few reasons.
- The colder temperatures in the later fall or even late spring can end up killing tree tissue.
- Warmer days can warm up the tree tissue, but the activated tissue ends up dying when it gets colder at night.
- Wind and sunshine can make the tree lose some water during the winter, and frozen roots can’t replace it. The tree’s tissue ends up turning brown.
- When the sun is out during a winter day, the foliage is photo-oxidized and doesn’t re-synthesize when temperatures are below 28 degrees. This ends up causing bleaching of the tree.
Contact Dudley Tree
Dudley Tree is here to help you with tree care, tree removal, trimming, pruning, and stump grinding. Contact us to learn more about our tree services in Haverhill, MA. Call us today or fill out our online contact form to reach our tree experts!