Tag Archive for: tree damage

What To Do if Your Tree is Dying

If you have trees in your yard, chances are you love them for their beauty, the shade they produce, and the value they add to your home. The last thing you want is to see one of them start to wilt and die! 

Our experts explain what to do if your tree is dying or if you sense your tree is unwell. 

First Things First: Identify if Your Tree Is Dying 

Spotting a dying tree can be trickier than you think! Here are some tell-tale signs that a tree is dying:

  • There’s a long crack on the trunk. 
  • The tree appears to be extremely dry and the branches crack easily under pressure. 
  • The tree isn’t standing upright. 
  • Little or no leaves grow on the branches. 
  • Fungi and mushrooms have made a home on the tree. 

Figure Out What’s Killing Your Tree

This step might require outside help, as it can often be difficult to determine for yourself what’s harming your tree. The potential culprits include pests, diseases, and weather damage. If you need assistance in monitoring the health of your trees, our experts would love to help! Reach out to us to schedule an appointment today with one of our Certified Arborists and ask about our Plant Health Care Program to learn more. 

Try Out Different Tree Saving Methods 

If you know your tree is dying and it’s not because of the major health issues mentioned above, try some of these tactics to bring life back into your tree. 

Water More or Less 

Issues with watering are hands-down one of the biggest reasons trees meet an untimely end. The key to doing it right is to find the middle ground between not watering too much or too little. You want to stick to somewhere between one minute to two minutes of watering per day and stop before water puddles on the ground. You also want to ensure you have proper drainage around your tree, so your soil doesn’t retain too much water. 

Boost with Fertilizers

Sometimes all your tree needs to bring it back to life is a boost with fertilizer. Grab a trusted brand and then use it on your tree following the instructions on the packaging. You might see a difference in just a few weeks! 

Mulch Can Help! 

Mulch is a fantastic tool for trees, as it can provide extra nutrients. Again, the trick is to use the perfect amount for your tree, not too much and not too little. You want to ensure that you dig close enough to your roots to allow the mulch to touch them, but you don’t want to bury the roots so much that they can’t breathe. Usually, somewhere around 1.5 inches of mulch works perfectly. 

Pruning Can Give Your Tree a Second Chance at Life

We talk about pruning in most of our tree-of-the-month infographics, and for a very important reason! Pruning a dying tree has the potential to bring it back to life. 

How does it work? If the trunk is still alive, you can cut off any dead branches or areas you notice have died. Doing so will prevent the dead cells from spreading anywhere else on the tree. 

Have any questions about tree care? Feel free to reach out to us by clicking here or by giving us a call at 404-252-6448.

Summer Storms Got Ya Down? We’ve Storm Cleanup Services

When people think of summer, they usually think of sunshine and time spent by the pool. However, summertime is also the season for thunderstorms, especially if you live in the south where in a matter of minutes storm clouds can take over. Sometimes, this means a nice, gentle afternoon shower to cool things off. Other times, it’s a fierce storm that does a lot of damage, particularly to your trees.

That’s where our experts are proud to step in. After a particularly bad storm, our company will step in and clean up any leftover debris from a nasty thunderstorm or, even worse, tornado or hurricane. But what exactly does that mean? We’re explaining our storm cleanup services below and how we can clean up any messes that mother nature might produce on your property.

How Premier Tree Cleans Up Storms

When violent storms or tornadoes rip through your property, we show up ready to work. Our services cover a large variety of cleaning options. Whether you have a tree that’s fallen over and needs to be removed, or you just have a large amount of branches and leaves strewn about, we do it all. Our expert team will arrive and pick up all debris for you, without you having to get your hands dirty.

Especially when it comes to removing uprooted trees, you need someone you can trust to ensure the process doesn’t do any further damage to your property. We treat your property like it was our own and we’ll leave nothing behind, including no signs of a storm. You also can rest easy knowing that our prices will not increase when a storm catosphere arises.

In short, when your property is at its worst, we are at our best. Have further questions about our storm cleanup services? Feel free to reach out to us by clicking here or by giving us a call at 404-252-6448.

Make Up Your Mind! What Changing Weather Can Do To Your Trees

Fluctuating weather is a common occurrence in Georgia. One day it might feel like spring is right on the horizon, other days a chilly freeze comes back making you snuggle up on the couch. You might even notice how some trees start to blossom too early, say around February, when the warm weather comes out to tease them and their biological systems. But, when frost comes back to bite, what will happen to those gorgeous trees with flowers ready to bloom?

The experts at Premier Tree Solutions are taking a look at how changing weather can do to your trees. 

When Are Sudden Weather Changes Most Common?

Before we dive into the effects changing temperatures can have on our trees, let’s first take a look at when these weather patterns are most common. The answer to that is winter. So on top of having to worry about strong winds and bitter temperatures, you also have to worry about when spring comes in a bit too early, only to leave just as quickly as it comes. 

In fact, most often than not, the biggest threat of danger to our trees is the fluctuating weather. When the temperature drops suddenly, trees and plants can really suffer since they won’t have the proper time to prepare for cold weather. The amount of stress this piles onto our trees causes some damage, which we’re about to discuss now. 

What Changing Weather Can Do to Your Trees

Distorting Leaves 

If leaves have already begun to appear thanks to false warmer weather, they may end up being distorted by the time all of the cold temperatures finally leave. The frost causes the new leaves to burn, have holes, and look smaller or with less concrete shapes than they might usually have. 

The good news is that most of the time trees will grow out of the distortion and normal looking leaves will appear again with time. 

Frost Cracks

Most commonly found in the sides of trees that face the sun and therefore face the biggest jumps in temperature, these are long cracks in the trunks that appear thanks to changing temperatures. Why does this happen? When the weather suddenly drops, it causes the outer layer of the trunk to contract quicker than the layers deeper in the tree do. That’s why a crack may appear. 

Sunscald 

Similar to what was described above, sunscald is where bark is exposed to intense sun during changing temperatures reddens, toughens, and then eventually cracks. Most commonly this happens to trees that have little foliage to protect their trunk from strong sun, such as when trees blossom too early and then those flowers die due to a sudden drop in cold weather. 

Winterburn 

Most commonly seen on evergreens, winterburn looks like scorched and brown leaf tips. When these trees are exposed to warm sun and dropped temperatures in the night, their leaves dry out. This happens more frequently when the water in their roots aren’t able to reach the leaves, such as if they freeze over due to the fluctuating temperatures. 

Have any more questions about how changing weather can affect your trees? Premier Tree Solutions has been providing quality, professional tree services to the metro Atlanta and surrounding areas for more than ten years. Click here to contact us or give us a call at 404-252-6448. 

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (A Tree to Fall)

Trees are a perfect addition to any space. They clean the air, provide us with extra oxygen, and even add value (and a little pizzazz) to our homes! Unfortunately, trees can also be a huge hassle when they’re about to fall – sometimes toppling unexpectedly, giving you no advance warning. Luckily, trees that are about to tip over do display a few signs that are easy to spot if you know how to look for them. Check out these common signs that your tree might be readying to go timber.

Keep an Eye on Certain Species

Some trees are much more susceptible to dropping limbs or snapping than others. These include willows, silver maple, box elders, oaks, and sycamores. While any tree can drop a limb, these species may be brittle or subject to summer limb drop, which is when hot temperatures cause them to cast off branches. Keep an extra close eye on these species.

Look for Leans

It is natural for a tree to lean, but when it goes too far, it is more likely to fall. This is especially true when severe weather hits, but a fall can happen any time the tree can no longer support its weight at the unstable angle.

Scan for Splits and Breaks

Split or cracked bark and partially broken limbs are sure signs that your tree is unstable. Particularly when the split or break occurs near the base of the tree, it is in danger of falling.

Check for Dead Areas

Trees with bare or dead-looking branches that don’t leaf out or branches that seem otherwise sickly may have internal damage that reduces their structural integrity. This may be due to disease, old age, or simply due to damage. If you see dead branches but the rest of the tree looks healthy, your tree may need deadwooding, the process of removing dead, diseased, or dying branches from the tree. If the whole tree appears to be dead or dying, contact Premier Tree Solutions for assistance in removal.

Beware Construction Damage

Construction can take a heavy toll on trees, especially if workers aren’t careful. Digging up the ground around roots can shock the tree, and while it may look normal for a while, it might become unstable. Disturbing soil beneath or around roots can also lessen the tree’s stability, leading to a fall later on.

Now that you know the signs, you can watch your trees to keep your home, family, and property safer. Think you’ve got one that’s ready to go any day? Get professional help by calling Premier Tree Solutions today at 404-252-6448 or get in touch online.