March Fruit Tree Care

Getting antsy to start fruit tree care for warmer months? For many in Utah, buds start to swell this time of year, particularly if you have plum, cherry or apple trees. Pruning fruit trees and sowing seeds are two vital March activities. Immediately after noticing swollen buds, start pruning (or hire an expert to do it for you). Plum trees need special pruning to reveal an open center, but apple and cherry trees prefer a modified leader, where the center is closed off and the tree is upright. Diseased, broken and dead branches should be removed, as well as crossed branches and any twig-like branches not conducive to growth. Soon, trees will be lush with leaves, and it will be tough to tell the quality branches from those desperately in need of pruning. Spring Cleaning Pruning l

Tree Removal 101

Tree removal is a big, often dangerous, undertaking that only an expert arborist should manage. It is also usually costlier than trimming, especially if you include stump removal. In many cases, homeowners choose to leave stumps (especially large ones). Stumps can double as stools and provide a rustic charm to a natural landscape. However, sometimes homeowners need to remove stumps for safety, or they choose to for aesthetic reasons. It’s a good idea to get an estimate for tree removal ahead of time — cost per tree can vary widely, due to size and location. A reputable arborist will be happy to provide a complimentary estimate. On tree removal day, the tree is “fallen” and limbs are chipped or loaded into the truck. If you have fencing, sections may need to be temporar

Put Quaking Aspens in Your Tree Services Plan

Tree services include working with an arborist to choose the best native plants and trees that will thrive in your yard. For many Utahns, planting a quaking aspen is a matter of pride. As Utah’s official state tree, the quaking aspen, also known as the populus tremuloides, looks like the European aspen, but don’t confuse the two. Native to cool regions in North America, this deciduous tree is one of the many aspen varieties. You might also see tree services pros calling them trembling aspens, Quakies, white poplars, mountain/golden aspens, popples, and simple American aspens. Quakies have trunks reaching up to 82 feet and feature a smooth, fair bark, often marked with black scars. Tree Services: Planting and Caring Utahns love Quakies for their shiny green foliage that t

Arborists Warn Against Tree Carving

Arborists know it’s tempting to carve your and your beloved’s name into a tree, but they warn that it can be damaging. The practice isn’t new; in fact, archaeologists guess that carving images into trees has been going on around the world for several centuries. However, most living trees aren’t that old, so historians need to rely on research to estimate the details when it comes to tree carvings. History shows us that carvings in trees were historically indicative of the loneliness of sheep herders. Ranging from dates and names to explicit images and heart-wrenching passages like “Es trieste a vivir solo” (It’s sad to live alone), which was featured in Steamboat Magazine, these “arborglyphs” were especially popular with Basque immigrants who came to the U.S. to

Arborists Know Romance

Everybody knows flowers have their own language, but only an arborist knows the secret romance symbols of trees. Look to the landscape artists of the 18th century who were smitten with nature in what John Ruskin, an art critic, called “modern-day cloud worship.” Meanings were given to trees and other plants, as in the case of the well-known Victorian “flower language.” Rev. William Gilpin, who was also an artist, said, “It is no exaggerated praise to call a tree the grandest, and most beautiful of all products of the earth.” Trees can represent themes of life, death and the afterlife. “Blasted trees” were popularly depicted in the 18th and 19th centuries, often struck by lightning or otherwise wearied. It sounds ominous, but the real message is that of survival