Month: November 2021

Have you noticed cracks and splitting in the trunk of your tree? Is your foliage located in a spot with exposure to frigid winters? If so, it could be a frost crack! These appear as a vertical crack along the trunk of your tree. This damage can be dangerous to a tree because it is severe enough to split through the tree.

Luckily, with a few extra care steps throughout the year, you can prevent these and help your trees stay healthy and in one piece! Read on for advice on how to prevent and treat frost cracks.

Frost Crack Causes

These vertical cracks form when a tree trunk is exposed to extreme changes in temperature between winter and summer. The repeated heating and cooling can cause the molecules to slightly expand and contract just enough that a bark crack can form as a reaction to the extreme changes. Below are ways of helping your tree survive the winter months.

Reversing the Damage

If you notice the cracking, should you do anything about it? Not necessarily, because in most cases, the tree will be able to recover on its own through the natural processes of healing.

However, you can help it recover, and prevent a split trunk, by sealing the crack with plastic. The plastic seal protects the opening from potential infections caused by bacteria and pests. Be careful, though! You should remove any wrapping you place on the tree before summer. Otherwise, it may foster infections instead of preventing them.

Frost Crack Prevention Methods

Insulation – Because frost cracks arise from the changing temperature, you can help prevent the tree trunk from cracking by insulating the base.

Insulation includes wrapping the trunk with a thick protective layer. Ideally, you’d want to use something that would keep warmth, like a tarp, burlap, or cloth.

You can also help insulate your tree’s trunk by planting evergreen plants and bushes around the base. Keeping the bottom of the tree lush with plants and bushes will help keep it warm during the winter and prevent deep freezing.

Keep Trees Healthy – A healthy and vigorous tree will be more capable of healing after a crack and more resistant to bark cracking in the first place. Read on to learn ways to keep your foliage healthy.

Every summer, make sure you give the soil a fresh layer of fertilized dirt to mix into the already present substrate. On top of that, layer some mulch or bark pieces to help pack in the new soil. This mulch technique will also work as a form of insulation during the wintertime.

Watering your tree during dry winter periods is very important too. Even when it’s cold out, your foliage will need to have an ample water supply to stay healthy.

Pruning or trimming the foliage can also encourage it to sprout new healthy growth, improving its overall health status. However, you should hire a professional, as it can be dangerous to do it on your own.

Be Careful Where You Put Your Tree – Location plays a massive role in the health of your foliage during wintertime! To avoid having a split trunk, be careful that your tree is not exposed to strong winter winds because this will cause the bark to become even colder and has a higher chance of cracking.

Shallow and porous soil/substrate is a bad idea because of how important hydration is for your foliage in winter. Stick to locations where the tree’s roots can extend very far downward for more support and a healthier root system.

Choosing a location with a proven water-retaining soil system always works best. These locations already help your tree stay healthy enough to avoid cracks and heal any cracks that it may have in the future!

Trees Prone to Frost Cracks

Like all organisms, trees have adapted to survive in various climates. Some have adapted better than others to areas with intense winters and are less likely to experience a split trunk.

If you are undecided on what tree species to use, here are a few that are less resistant to winters and more likely to experience bark cracks:

• linden

• sycamore

• oak

• walnut

• willow

• maple

As a rule of thumb, the thinner the bark on the tree, the less resistant it is to cracks. In cold climates, choose trees with thick bark like aspens!

Final Thoughts

Frost cracks result from trees going through extreme cold and heat. The slight expansion and contraction of the molecules inside the tree result in the bark cracking on the surface of the tree.

If you see this happening, it is good to prevent infections and pest infestations by wrapping them in plastic. Consider insulating your tree trunk with either burlap, a tarp, or evergreen shrubbery to avoid cracking in general. Keep your tree healthy by fertilizing, watering, pruning, and adding a mulch layer.

If you keep these tips in mind when placing and taking care of your tree, you will be set for it to resist vertical cracks even in the harshest winters!

This article was first published on: http://www.72tree.com/crack-in-your-tree-trunk/

When they’re getting a new lawn, people often don’t think hard enough about the type of grass they want to put down. There’s a wide range of grass types out there, varying in price, quality, and availability.

Whether you want something easy to maintain that the kids can play on, or a yard that looks great all year round, it’s important to know what landscaping options are available to you in Georgia. In this blog post, we’ll bring you a list of the top 7 types you can get in Georgia.

Georgia’s Climate

First, it’s essential to get a sense of the unique climate in Georgia to understand why not all types of grass in the US are suitable for landscaping here.

Situated in the South, Georgia is much better suited to what is known as warm-season grasses, that is, varieties that perform best when they are exposed to hotter temperatures with greater sunlight.

That’s why the majority of varieties on this list are warm-season grasses. toddsmariettatreeservices.com advises against buying cool-season grasses for landscaping unless you’re adding them to a mix with warm-season varieties.

1. Bahia Grass

Bahia grass is a resilient, coarse grass that’s especially useful for soil conditions with a poor level of nutrients. This type can survive where other varieties might not.

Bahia grass doesn’t mind being in the shade, so long as it’s exposed to a regular dose of sunlight.  You can leave the grass to grow two or three inches, meaning you won’t have to mow it every week.

2. Bermuda Grass

Bermuda grass is one of the oldest and most popular choices for lawns, thanks mainly to its resilience after heavy footfall. It’s especially ideal for sports fields. It’s fast-growing, though, so make sure you’ve got the time to mow it regularly.

Bermuda grass loves the sun, so it’s not the right choice for you if you have a lawn in a shady environment. And because it’s fast-growing, you’ve got to make sure you keep it in check by mowing regularly.

3. Centipede Grass

Centipede Grass has a moderate texture and is low-growing. It doesn’t even mind being in the shade for extended periods. Plus, this type is easy to manage and won’t grow out of control.

Don’t buy this variety if you’re looking for something that’ll grow fast – Centipede grass takes its time to reach its full potential. It’s also delicate and can’t withstand lots of activity.

4. St Augustine Grass

St Augustine Grass has a dark green color and a somewhat rough texture. Aside from being watered from time to time, this variety does not require lots of maintenance, and its blades can be left to grow. It doesn’t mind being left in the shade, either.

However, this isn’t the type of grass that can withstand lots of activity – it’s likely to get compacted and damaged if it’s trodden on regularly.

5. Zoysia Grass

Although it thrives best in hot, sunny conditions, Zoysia grass can also withstand cooler temperatures without any problems. This variety is soft to touch, and the blades usually grow together into densely-packed clusters.

However, don’t get Zoysia grass if you’re looking for something that’s low maintenance. This variety grows very quickly and is prone to spread into flowerbeds and other parts of your garden if it’s not carefully maintained.

6. Fescue Grass

Fescue Grass is best suited to areas deprived of shade, where other varieties might be unable to thrive. It has a smooth, thin shape which helps it grow quickly.

This variety is known for its resilience. It’s capable of surviving under a range of different temperatures and can withstand periods of drought. However, it does need regular watering in the summer, or it ends up receding and going dormant.

7. Blue Grama Grass

Blue Grama Grass is a bit of a wildcard on this list. It’s not a traditional type of grass used for lawns, and historically it was more likely to be found on unmanaged fields. However, it’s grown in popularity for garden landscaping in recent times due to its naturally unkempt appearance.

This grass type is not suitable to cover an entire lawn with, but it is useful as a decorative plant to surround the edges of a property or replace thin strips of grass in your garden. Best of all, it requires next to no maintenance, so you can let its long silky blades grow out to their full length.

Grasses In Georgia

Remember, the most critical factor in having an impressive, consistent lawn is the amount of time you spend on maintenance. Regardless of the grass type, no yard is going to look good if you neglect it.

That’s why when you choose a grass type for your landscaping, make sure you have a clear idea of how much time you’re able to commit to maintaining it, as some types require a lot more work than others.

Some people take great care to winterize their landscape, because they know that if they don’t, their trees and bushes might not look right– or live– come Springtime.

Winter brings with it a host of challenges for landscaping. Besides the cold temperature, there’s ice, snow, wind, and even salt to deal with. It’s a tough season for any yard to take!

What are some ways you can winterize your landscaping? With evergreens, consider making a barrier of burlap to cover the windward side(s) of your trees and bushes. Leave the top open for light and air penetration. If you have new shrubs or trees in your yard, mulch them with about six inches of wood chips around the base. If possible, water your landscaping before the ground freezes for the season. Should you see any open spaces/cracks in the soil whereas roots are slightly exposed to the elements, fill those areas in with soil.

To protect against snow and ice damage, consider wrapping small trees up in cloth, carpeting or even nylon stockings to give them protection and support for the winter. For bigger trees, consider having a professional from Big Foot Tree Service cable together main branches, if needed, especially if you’re worried about a storm messing with an already less-than-stable tree in your yard.

What about pests? In the winter mice, rodents, rabbits and deer can mess with your landscaping. Deer, in particular, like to rub their antlers on trees, damaging them. So, find ways to put up barriers around trees and bushes that you don’t want animals bothering this winter. For example, you could add a cylinder of ¼-inch mesh hardware cloth around the trunk of a tree. The cylinder, ideally, would go about three inches below the ground line and about two feet above the snow line in order to protect the tree from pests. Plastic tree guards as well as chicken wire fences can also help keep pests away from your landscaping. Some people use store-bought pest repellents to make their landscaping taste or smell undesirable to critters. Regarding deer, a combination of repellent and fencing around landscaping seem to deter them.

The post Blog first appeared on Big Foot Tree Service. This post first appeared on https://www.bigfoottreeservice.com