Tag Archives: westchester tree life tree care

Branch Breakage

 Start the new year on a safe note!  Winter weather is here and that means it’s the season for branch breakage.  Branch breakage happens during winter storms and can cause potential property damage.  Stay safe with Westchester Tree Life!

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Branch Breakage:  Understanding the Problem

Westchester’s winter storms can be abrasive.  Minimize property damage and ensure your property is safe by taking the time to check your tree branches on a clear day.  If you need help identifying branches which are susceptible to breaking, our professional arborists are more than happy to help.

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If you have deciduous trees planted on your property, take note that their wood hardens during the winter, making branches more apt to snap.  Once ice and snow accumulate, the branches are further weighed down, causing potential branch breakage risks.  Evergreen trees are also prone to branch breakage due to snow and ice accumulation.

Minimizing Branch Breakage

Routine tree maintenance is the best way to minimize tree branch breakage.  Our tree care professionals offer concise plant health care plans tailored to the specific needs of your trees, plants and shrubs.  Year-round tree maintenance is essential in protecting and preserving your trees, plants and shrubs.

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Prepare for next year by scheduling your tree maintenance, especially for fall 2017.  Good fall tree maintenance is key; this is when we prune weak and vulnerable branches.  Do you have a question or concern?  Request a consultation with one of Westchester Tree Life’s arborists with our easy-to-use online form here

Anti-Desiccant Spray

Westchester county arborists Westchester Tree Life want to ensure your trees are healthy throughout the upcoming winter.  Protect your broadleaf evergreens from winter desiccation with anti-desiccant spray!

About Desiccation or Winter Burn

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Winter desiccation, also known as “winter burn” is a common plant injury which occurs once the amount of water lost by the foliage has exceeded the amount absorbed by the roots.

Symptoms of Winter Desiccation

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Symptoms of winter desiccation include the browning and discoloration of leaves, as well as leaf spots.  These visible signs of damage are linked directly to harsh environmental conditions.  If the damage from winter desiccation is extensive, the tree or shrub’s leaves will drop.

Protect Your Broadleaf Evergreens with Anti-Desiccant Spray

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via gardensolutions.com

The solution to ensuring the health of your beautiful broadleaf evergreens is anti-desiccant spray!  Westchester Tree Life’s professionally trained arborists can apply anti-desiccant spray to your broadleaf evergreens, trees and shrubs before the cold weather strikes.  Anti-desiccant spray is the perfect way to maintain the moisture-level of your broadleaf evergreens throughout dry, brisk weather.

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Contact Westchester Tree Life today to schedule your anti-desiccant spraying!  Ask about our plant health care program and how it can help you.  Request a consultation online here or call Westchester county’s leading arborists, Westchester Tree Life at (914) 238-0069.

Best Trees for Fall Foliage

The best way to personalize your home in Westchester county is by planting a garden, trees and shrubs.  Add a splash of color to your landscape with trees that will produce vivid foliage during fall; here is the first part of our list of the best trees for fall foliage!  Stay tuned for our complete list next week.

The Japanese Maple

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The Japanese Maple is a beautiful tree come autumn, due to the vibrancy of its leaves!  This is a great ornamental tree to add to your pre-existing garden or walkway area.

The Sassafras Tree

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The Sassafras tree is interesting, if only for its strange leaf shape, which is softly rounded.  A medium-to-fast growing tree, the sassafras can be trained to grow as a single-trunk tree or a dense and bushy thicket.

The Black Tupelo

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Scientifically known as the nyssa sylvatica, the black tupelo is a trademark autumn tree for its renowned fall color.  In addition to its beauty, the black tupelo is an important late-spring food source for bees!

Connecting Children with Nature

Screen time has changed how children learn, advance, develop their attention span and connect with nature.  In a world where we are more prone to let Netflix or “educational programming” babysit our children, connecting children with nature is increasingly important. Here are some great ways to get your kids to lay off the screen time, and explore the trees and nature of Westchester County.

Kids Playing Westchester County Trees

Set the Example

Let’s be honest, children learn by example.  Set a positive example for your child by making a point to unplug and stop screen time, and opt for an outdoor activity.  When you have free time, try to spend it outside.  My mother would set aside time each day to weed, water and otherwise tend to her garden; this routine became so normal that I began to appreciate the beauty in the serenity of the process and eventually joined her.

Fun Outdoor Activities

When weaning a child off of screen time, realize that you have to make the new activity just as interesting and exciting.

Westchester County Tree Planting

Planning a day trip to a local tree nursery is a great way to show your child the visual growth of a tree (without a time lapse, of course)!  This hands-on experience will invite your child to connect personally with nature.  If you are so inclined (and have tested the soil, mapped out a proper zone to plant your tree, and have researched the tree’s needs) purchase a tree to plant together!

Westchester County Tree Care

The Magic of a Blooming Garden

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Never underestimate the magic of a blooming garden.  As adults we are aware that flowers come in a variety of beautiful shapes and sizes, but to children, this can be amazing.  Visiting a local butterfly garden is a great way to introduce your child to the beauty of nature as well.  The variety of bright, eye-catching plants and excitement of fluttering butterflies is sure to keep your child asking questions about nature.  Take the day trip a step further by shopping for a tree or shrub which will attract butterflies in your area!

View information regarding the American Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Conservatory (located in New York) here.

Trees Are Cool

You are the coolest person your child knows (Batman does not count).  Set the example by sharing how cool trees are!  If you are going to use screen time, make it educational; watch a Netflix documentary on the rainforest with your child during the next movie night or check out live images of California’s breathtaking redwood forest on Google Earth without leaving your living room.

Westchester Tree Life Family Tree Care

Simply placing a leaf underneath a microscope and letting your child observe will feed their curiosity and imagination.  Once you set the groundwork for a positive relationship with nature, your child will likely nurture that their entire life.

Lyme Disease and Borrelia Mayonii

Lyme disease is enough to scare people into tick-repellent and caution against hiking in the woods unprotected, but scientists have just discovered a new bacterium which causes Lyme Disease.

Westchester Tree Life Tick Safety

Scientists from Rochester, Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic have reported a new bacterium which has recently begun to make people sick.  While Borrelia burgdorferi is the predominant causative agent in Lyme Disease, Mayo Clinic scientists have discovered a new genome of bacteria now called Borrelia mayonii (“Mayonii” pays homage to the scientists of the Rochester, MN Mayo Clinic.

The Symptoms of Borrelia mayoniiWestchester Tree Life

Similar to Borrelia burgdorferi, researchers believe Borrelia mayonii is also transmitted to humans through black-legged ticks (commonly known as deer ticks).  The symptoms of Borrelia mayonii are:

  • nausea and vomiting
  • diffuse rashes (rather than a single bull’s-eye rash associated with Lyme Disease)
  • higher concentration of bacteria in the blood

Treatment of Borrelia mayonii

Patients infected with Borrelia mayoni who underwent treatment for their symptoms recovered.  Treatment included antibiotics used to treat Lyme disease.

The CDC recommends that health care providers who are caring for patients infected with Borrelia mayonii follow the antibiotic regimen described by the infectious Diseases Society of America.

Read more about Borrelia mayonii from this informative NPR article, here.

Mature Tree Care

Mature trees bring more than just beauty to your property.  They provide shade that can reduce cooling costs and increase your overall property value.  Mature trees are a sign of longevity and endurance.  It takes decades for a tree to grow to its mature, stately height. Caring for mature trees takes knowledge and experience.  Mature trees face problems we don’t typically see in smaller trees.  With their lofty height, larger limbs, and often sprawling root systems, your most majestic trees are often most at risk.

mature tree careThe first step to ensuring the health of your mature trees is to have them inspected.  At Westchester Tree Life, we take a proactive approach and complete a careful inspection of each tree from crown to root.  We look for signs of pests, damage, and disease, as well as any indications of weakness or rot.  The inspection will tell us the extent of any necessary pruning or if the tree is at risk of falling or dropping large limbs.

Mature trees can benefit from mulching.  Mulching protects your trees roots from temperature and moisture extremes as well as damage from lawn mowers.  Plant based mulch decomposes over time, providing nutrients to the tree.  Before you pile on the mulch, it’s important to know what you’re doing.  Mulch should cover as much of the root system as possible with a depth of 2 to 4 inches.  You don’t want the mulch to pile up against the base of the tree where it can decay the bark.  Instead, leave a mulch-free area a couple of inches wide around the trunk.

mature tree care 2Other, more complex, issues are important to the health of your mature trees.  Soil composition and density affect the nutrients your tree has access to and its stability.  Drainage is another crucial element to consider.  If you aren’t sure how to determine the pH of your soil or whether or not it is too loose to securely anchor your tree in place, Westchester Tree Life can assess the soil and advise you on any needed changes.

With their larger, higher branches, mature trees pose a challenge when they need to be pruned.  Attempting to prune a large tree yourself can be dangerous for both you and any nearby structures.  Pruning mature trees requires knowledge of how trees heal; branches and limbs should be removed only when necessary.  Because of the danger involved, this type of pruning job requires special equipment and training.  You should always leave the pruning of mature trees to an expert arborist.

Pruning fruit trees by pruning shears

Sometimes, the removal of a mature tree is necessary.  Mature trees, in spite of their size, aren’t immune to disease, pests, rot, and other types of damage that can lead to falling.  A downed tree can cause extensive damage and injury.  Westchester Tree Life can not only safely remove mature trees, but can advise you on suitable replacements.

With proper care and maintenance, mature trees can add great value to your property.  Trust experts like Westchester Tree Life to keep your trees in their best condition!