How to Care for Different Parts of a Tree

Well-cared-for trees can increase property value, reduce noise and air pollution, and cut down on energy bills when strategically placed around a home or building. Providing quality tree care will help protect these assets to our homes and communities. Follow these essential tree care tips to make sure your trees stay healthy.

Transcription of the infographic:

• 1. Mulching from where the roots meet the ground out to the drip line at the edge of the canopy will help mimic a tree’s ideal habitat—a forest floor full of organic debris.
• 2. Roots are like lungs for a tree; they live close to the soil surface where oxygen is rich, but they can extend outward one to three times the height of the tree. Be aware of this hidden root system when planning construction, new landscaping, or any other project that requires digging.
• 3. While romantically inclined teenagers might like to believe their professed love will last longer than the initials they sentimentally carve into trees, the opposite is more likely to be true since injuries to trees are permanent. Instead of replacing injured cells with new ones, the tree will do its best to seal off a dead area, which remains a permanent and often visible scar.
• 4. Trunks naturally grow straight upward, so if you notice a tree leaning, it could be in danger of a host of problems that result from uneven weight distribution.
• 5. Pruning is an essential part of quality tree care, but tree topping—the practice of removing the crown without consideration for the crown-to-root ratio—can kill your trees.
• 6. Trees are either deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves in the fall, or evergreen, meaning they stay green year-round. Know which type you are planting, so that you can be ready for leaf cleanup in the fall.
• 7. The edge of the canopy is called the drip line. Water your tree from the base of the trunk out to the drip line to simulate the tree’s natural watering conditions of rainwater dripping down from the leaves.