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First aid for trees before you call 911

June 2009

Our recent volatile storms have inspired me to alert you to some of the steps you can take to protect your largest and most valuable investment – your home. It is your rock of stability where you find your rest, peace, and happiness. It is also where you're most likely to seek shelter from a storm.

But it might be the worst place for you! If you do not properly maintain and nourish your trees – some of the most valuable components of your investment in your home, you and your family could be in danger. In my 25 years as a professional firefighter I have learned this lesson too often. I am the one who shows up to see first hand the devastation when a tree crashes through the roof – usually in the middle of the night. When we get the call we always hope that we'll be dealing just with property damage. But all too often we have to deal with serious personal injuries – even death.

Each time our fire truck pulled away from a fallen tree incident, my inquisitive mind would go into action. I just couldn't help wondering, “Why did that particular tree blow over?” Invariably there were other trees nearby that were still standing. These experiences inspired me to study trees - to become a certified aborist. Now I hope I can save your home, and perhaps life, by saving your trees. If you aren't following proper tree procedures, you are your trees' biggest pest! Here are my recommendations.

1. Trim trees only as needed.

Get qualified help. Trimming a tree never benefits the tree. Every leaf is like a solar cell capturing energy from the sun and carbon dioxide from the air to make energy to feed the tree and its roots. But there are times that you must trim a tree. Hire a licensed arborist. I can't tell you how many trees I destroyed in my pre-arborist wood butcher days. And a butcher is what you're getting if you hire some guy who shows up at your door with a chainsaw.

Please: No flush cuts, no pruning paint and never trim more than 25% of a tree. Thin from the top down not the bottom up. This will allow more sun in, and will reduce the wind drag on the upper canopy of the tree. If you trim the bottom branches significantly, the tree will be top heavy and less able to redistribute the energy during a storm. Look at trees in natural environments. They have branches much closer to the ground and are wider at the bottom than typical trimmed trees on residential properties.

2. Turn off your automatic sprinkler or at least back off the water.

Most of our native trees need only 25- 35 inches of water a year. Our rain fall averages 35 inches annually. When you combine this with about 70 inches our automatic sprinklers supply that's 3 to 4 times the amount of water trees need. We are drowning our trees, robbing the soil of carbon, killing beneficial microbes and restricting the healthy root growth that is required to provide stability for the tree. Over-watering also increases disease and insect problems.

A very prominent client was going to fire me. They were very passionate about their landscape and a bit impatient. In the 30 days I had been on the job, I hadn't delivered the results they expected. I knew that the problem wasn't what I had done – or hadn't done. It was that, like many homeowners, they thought that the best solution to any landscape problem is MORE WATER.

I convinced the husband to give me 30 more days, but under one condition: I would control the sprinklers. I literally locked up the sprinkler controller. I provided no more than 1 inch of water a week. Within that month the diseases and insects disappeared and the landscape revived.

3. Never use synthetic fertilizers.

At the big box store you can buy a bag of synthetic fertilizer that is labeled with an NPK of 15-5-15. That means it contains, by weight, 15% elemental nitrogen (N) , 5% elemental phosphorus (P), and 15% elemental potassium (K) for a total of 35% of the weight of the bag. What makes up the other 65% of the material in the bag? That would be salts and other toxic waste that is labeled inert material. Those salts destroy the microbial life in the soil. That microbial life is essential to the health of trees. When you buy organic fertilizer, you are applying 100% beneficial natural material to your landscape.

I will agree with the chemical pushers on one thing. You can apply their weed and feed in the Spring and enjoy a lush bright green lawn earlier than your organic neighbor. But it is such a short term victory. That green top growth is at the expense of root development. By early summer those shallow weak root systems are getting fried. That means endless watering. And, your trees and shrubs are slowing being poisoned.

I converted to organics because I had read so much about how organics improved the soil. I just thought it was going to magic for the grass. But I soon realized how beneficial the organic program was for the trees and shrubs. Think about it: If your turf disappeared tomorrow, you could re-sod or reseed at a reasonable cost and have a viable lawn within a month. If all your trees and shrubs die, you have a major problem.

Unfortunately most people think that applying applying synthetic fertilizer and toxic weed killers to their grass won't affect their trees. They tell me, “My grass is here and my trees and shrubs are over there in nice beds covered by mulch. I'm not spreading the fertilizer on the beds. No problem, right?”

Wrong! Trees and shrubs do not grow a root like a carrot straight down into the soil. Tree roots grow out just under the surface of the soil. Almost all of their roots are within the top 18 inches of soil. Their most important feeder roots are withing the top 6 inches. And the roots spread out well beyond their longest limbs.

4. Inspect and respect your grade level.

Let's start at the tree trunk. It should not go into the soil like a telephone pole. There should be a distinct flare. If not, living trunk tissue that is supposed to be exposed to the air will eventually deteriorate. An arborist can safely clear away excess soil with an airspade.

But it is not wise to disturb the grade level just a yard or more from the trunk. The tree's root structure thrives within inches of the surface. Excavating just two or three inches of soil will severely damage that root structure. Or if you change the grade by adding soil you'll suffocate the roots. And it is a strong root structure that keeps a tree from toppling over in a strong wind.

Properly maintained trees add significant value to your property - comfort and enjoyment. Improperly maintained trees are a liability. Following these four simple recommendations will substantially improve the health of your trees – and reduce the chances that I'll have to show up during some storm to rescue you and your loved ones.