Growing shade trees in your yard has many amazing benefits. Underneath a large shade tree is the perfect place for a backyard BBQ or for kids to play outside. A shade tree will also keep your home cooler when temperatures rise.

To get all of the benefits of shade trees, you have to plant the right species of tree and care for them correctly.

FL Tree Trimming has recommendations for the best trees to plant for shade, and some expert advice on taking care of your shade trees so they continue to grow strong and healthy.

Planting Trees for Shade

All trees can provide shade, but there are some species that are built for the best shade. These types of trees often have a thick, wide canopy that extends out about as far as it does upward.

In the following paragraphs, we’ve provided examples of shade trees depending on whether they would be best suited for your back or front yard.

Back Yard Shade Trees

Shade trees in the back yard are typically for your own benefit. Neighbors and passersby usually won’t be able to see these trees very much, so they can be purely for your enjoyment.

Besides just shade, these trees can provide year-round color and some additional privacy.

Here are popular options:

• Magnolia
• Sugar maple or silver maple
• Weeping willow
• Weeping cherry
• Red oak

If you have the space, a live oak is another fantastic choice. Live oaks are considered the fastest growing shade trees, and they can get very big. A mature live oak can grow up to 80 feet tall and up to 100 feet wide.

A lot of these back yard shade tree recommendations get very large, so you need to do your research to find out if the tree is going to have enough space to reach maturity.

If there is not enough space, its root system can destroy your fencing or home. You will also have to prune the tree every year to keep it manageable. A tree that is too large for its yard will probably have to be cut down, which is an unfortunate and sometimes expensive situation.

Front Yard Shade Trees

In the front yard, you are planting trees for your enjoyment as well, but these trees will be much more impactful for increasing value and curb appeal to your home since they can be seen.

Purchase shade trees for the front yard that are somewhat smaller so they don’t overpower your home. These trees should pair with your landscaping in size and color, while still providing lots of shade for front yard play and relaxation.

These are some of our favorites:

Red maple
River birch
Dogwood
White oak
Ginkgo tree

These types of trees are beautiful throughout the year, and they’ll display even more color in the fall months.
Another great choice for your front or side yard is the ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae. This tree looks like a hedge and can be planted in a long row with others to create privacy as well as shade.

With this advice in mind, we recommend that you plant what you like. In reality, any tree can be a “shade tree.” As long as the trees you choose are suitable for the weather in Florida, they will provide your home and landscaping with some shade.

Benefits of Planting Shade Trees

The benefits of having shade n your yard are numerous — there are some that you maybe wouldn’t typically think about.

Shade, Obviously – When temperatures get too hot, you won’t need to hide indoors if you have a nice, shady yard. Set up a chair or hammock below your biggest shade tree and enjoy time outside as long as you want.

Climate Control – Trees can regulate the temperature in your yard and inside your house. Not only will trees protect you from the hot sun, but they can also make it feel 10-15 degrees cooler underneath their protective canopies. This translates to less solar radiation on your home as well, which should also result in lowering your energy costs!

Better Air Quality – Trees produce oxygen and filter out pollutants from the air, so there is healthier air surrounding your home. Arbor Day Foundation research reports that one mature tree absorbs around 48 pounds of CO2 out of the air.

Safety for Animals – If you’re into bird watching or think squirrels and chipmunks are cute, your shade trees can provide them all they need to build a habitat, find nearby food and raise babies.

Fun – What kid doesn’t love a backyard tree house or tire swing? If you have children, shade trees can offer hours of fun and joyful memories.

How to Care for Shade Trees

Maintaining shade trees is simple as long as you’ve chosen the right species for the climate in Florida. Trees are strong and hardy after a couple of years, demanding little attention or care.

Consult a local arborist from FL Tree Trimming if you have any questions about the care of your shade trees, or even to help you select the perfect tree for your yard.

As soon as you have chosen the perfect shade tree(s) for your yard, follow this easy care guide until your shade tree is fully grown.

Planting Your Shade Tree

The south, west and east of your yard always get the most sun, so plant your new trees on one of these sides of your yard. This is two-fold: 1) the trees will provide the most amount of shade and 2) they will also receive the most amount of sun for healthy growth.

Trimming Your Shade Tree

Trim during the first year or two after planting the tree to help to shape it and help it develop a strong foundation. To be safe, and for the best results, call FL Tree Trimming for tree trimming in Florida. A certified arborist will arrive at your home and deliver professional care for the tree.

Watering Your Shade Tree

Watering a new tree is crucial. This helps them form a deep root system and will give the tree more stability over the course of its lifetime.

Fertilizing Your Shade Tree

Homeowners should fertilize a shade tree just like you would any other tree in order to support healthy growth. Fertilizer is not necessary for caring for a shade tree, but it can help your tree to grow faster and blossom more leaves, which are the source of your shade.

We hope this blog post was helpful! Remember, when it comes time to prune or trim a new shade tree, FL Tree Trimming can help! Call and a certified arborist in Florida will visit your home, assess the tree and formulate the proper care plan for its long-term growth and health.

Trees are living things, so it stands to reason that they can become “sick” like people and animals. A disease or other tree problem might take a little while to show appear because of the overall size of the tree, and once symptoms become obvious, it could be too late to restore the tree.

A certified arborist from FL Tree Trimming can help you identify and treat tree problems so that there is a much greater chance of saving the tree. Learn about our service here. Not only can an arborist help to prevent a tree from dying, but they can also help trees get healthier growth and bloom more flowers or fruit.

Have you noticed a tree on your property that has always seemed healthy but suddenly seems like something is wrong? In the next blog post, we’ll explain some of the most typical tree problems and diseases and what these symptoms mean for a tree.

If you spot any of these things on any of your trees, act fast to have the best chance of saving the tree and the ones nearby it.

Tree Diseases & Common Problems

These 7 things are the most typical problems addressed by certified arborists in Florida. The moment you think one of these things might be wrong with your tree, reach out to someone with the training and equipment to help!

Tree Diseases

Leaf Rust – Leaf rust is actually a fungus that is common in both trees and plants. The name comes from the brown and yellow spots this disease causes on the leaves.

Leaf rust is dangerous because it interferes with the leaves’ photosynthesis, the process by which it breathes. Leaf rust can be treated with fungicides and selective tree trimming of the affected leaves. It could be recommended to cut off whole limbs with leaf rust.

Witches’ Broom – This common tree disease results in a large mass of twigs, dead leaves and branches that form a a broom shape. It is caused by pests, unusually wet weather or fungus. The construction of a clump of twigs and leaves is the tree’s reaction to infection or danger.

Some cases of Witches’ Broom are deadly for the tree, others are only considered a growth malformation. An arborist can tell you for sure.

Mildew – Mildew is a type of fungus that grows on almost anything in wet conditions, but even when the moist conditions are over with, mildew can continue to thrive. It appears as a powdery substance, usually white, and it usually appears on the leaves of the tree first.

The trick to eliminating mildew is to apply a fungicide that contains sulfur. This will eliminate the current mildew and help to stop future mildew growth on the tree. You may also need to trim the tree to remove branches, fruit, flowers and any leaves that have been affected by the mildew

Gall – Gall is a type of tree disease that happens when pests or rodents build small nests on the leaves or branches of a tree to lay their eggs in. Most types of galls are not dangerous for the tree, but none of them are attractive.

Gall will appear as bumps on the tree, in varying sizes. They are often white, brown, gray or some color in between.

It is not necessary to treat the tree if there are galls, but they can limit the growth of recently planted trees. Treat galls by killing the insects. You should also clean out from under the tree after the leaves fall off, since this is where the pests live during winter months.

Other Tree Problems

Improper Trimming – There’s a science to tree pruning, as well as many types, and if you don’t know what to do, you could harm the tree past the point of recovery. Consider the type of tree, season and other factors. Under-pruning (or a lack of pruning at all) is just as big of an issue. Only a trained arborist should be trusted to trim trees to keep them healthy.

Lack of Water – New trees can be significantly affected by drought. If you plant new trees on your property, you will need to supplement how much water they get from rainfall. A tree that doesn’t get enough water can have its growth stunted. The first sign you are likely to noticed is scorched or dry leaves. Find more tips for new trees here.

Too Much Sun – Do your planning before planting trees in a sunny area. Most species of trees can handle it without issue, but too much sun can happen to any tree if the sun is too hot for a long period of time and rainfall is light. A tree that is getting a lot of sun needs extra water to prevent wilting, drooping leaves.

Certified Arborist Services in Florida

A trained arborist from FL Tree Trimming will be able to quickly identify what’s going on with your sick tree and come up with a plan to rescue it.

Here are the things an arborist is qualified to do:

• Inspect trees from the ground and from the limbs of the tree if necessary. Climbing into the canopy is usually necessary to identify exactly what is creating the symptoms.
• Treat your tree through additives and fertilizers in the soil or solutions applied to the leaves. This person will have knowledge about the disease impacting the tree and the best treatments for it.
• Prune tree limbs to eliminate dead or damaged branches and to encourage healthy growth. Even if heavy trimming is necessary, they will know how to cut off branches so that the tree can survive both the disease and the pruning.
• Remove the tree from your lawn if there is no chance to save it. The worst case scenario is that the tree is dying, and cutting it down is the only way to protect your home and surrounding landscape.

They can also educate you about the other trees that you have om your property and how to best maintain them so you don’t find yourself in the same situation in the future.

Some tree issues look similar to each other, requiring an expert opinion to accurately determine and treat the issue. If your trees appear to be dry, unhealthy or disfigured, call a certified arborist from FL Tree Trimming for an inspection before it’s too late.

When it comes to the question, “Which season is best for tree tree pruning?” The answer is sometimes indirect.

The type of tree will dictate when many species can be pruned, along with insect population and activity, local tree and plant diseases and other species of plants and trees in the landscape.

With the guidance of a certified arborist in Florida, you can decide which season is ideal for pruning your trees to set them up for success next season and beyond.

Best Season to Trim Trees

Without any other context, FL Tree Trimming recommends pruning trees during the winter. This ranges from November to March in most areas. Winter is best because the trees are mostly dormant, so pruning will lead to a minimal amount of damage, if any.

There are many benefits to pruning trees during the winter:

Less chance of insect damage and disease – Pests and plant diseases are mostly inactive in the winter in Florida. During the remainder of the year, anything from insects to fungus can harm a freshly trimmed tree because the tree is most susceptible and these issues thrive in warmer weather.

Easier to see the shape of the tree when the leaves are gone – Leaves stop your arborist from seeing the overall shape of your tree. When tree branches are bare, it is a lot easier to identify dead or diseased branches and branches that are touching versus those that are just close together.

Trees have time to heal before spring – By doing this major tree trimming in the winter, your trees have several months to rebuild callus tissue on the tips of the remaining branch collar. By the spring, you’ll barely be able to notice where the branches were removed, and the tree will be able to focus its energy to produce new, healthier leaves, fruit or flowers instead of healing new cuts.

Less chance of damaging nearby landscape – Most of the surrounding trees and greenery will also be dormant during this time, so there is a lower risk of damaging them. Many times, a tree is surrounded by annual plants in the spring and summer, but there are no plants to be disturbed in the winter months since these annuals have already died out.

Do All Trees Need Pruning?

Yes, all trees benefit from trimming. Tree pruning every winter is good for the trees, but it is also a precaution for the safety of your property and your family. Let us explain:

Trimming Makes the Tree Healthier

Dead and diseased limbs are removed, as are branch stubs that are prone to pests and disease. Limbs that can rub one another are also trimmed so that they don’t weaken each other or create an open wound on the tree.

Pruning trees every winter is also a great way to get expert eyes on the health of your trees so that early warning signs of decay, disease and insect problems can be spotted and dealt with as soon as possible.

A Cared-For Tree Serves Its Purpose Better

When a tree is overgrown, it starts to be hard for water and nutrients to reach every limb. This can leave the tree looking scraggly and sick and definitely not doing what it’s intended to do.

Pruned trees, on the other hand, produce more fruit, healthier leaves and provide better shade. They are much fuller and healthier and less likely to create landscaping problems. So regardless of why you decided to plant a new tree, pruning each winter will maximize the results you desire from it.

Trees are More Beautiful After Pruning

If the view of your yard or landscaping is important to you, tree trimming is important! Pruning trees results in an attractive, uniform shape and size. This is very important if you have many identical trees on your property.

Trimming lower branches and upper branches that grow at improper angles enhances the overall look of the tree while also promoting tree health.

Less Chance of Dropping Branches

Tree trimming – done the right way – encourages the remaining branches to grow stronger and healthier. Therefore, storms and high winds won’t damage your trees the way they would an unkempt tree. Your home and family will be much safer living under and around pruned trees.

Another safety concern for overgrown trees is that they can impede the view of traffic lights, road signs and driveways. Tree pruning, crown raising and other specialized tree care services will keep the tree at a good size and prevent it from blocking various views.

Call FL Tree Trimming for Tree Trimming

Hiring a certified arborist in Florida gives you access to their knowledge on tree pruning. We strongly recommend relying on their expertise if there are trees on your property that you’d like to keep healthy for awhile.

An arborist doesn’t just consider the current situation. Instead, he or she will take time to inspect your trees and understand their unique scenario (including their location and factors that could put them at risk). After gathering all of the information, an arborist will create a long-term plan based on the trees’ needs and stick to that course of action until your goals for your trees are achieved.

This plan could require many years to implement, but rest assured, it will lead to healthy trees that you and your family can enjoy for many years to come.

This type of annual maintenance will result in healthy tree growth, help your entire property resist plant diseases and improve flower or fruit production from your trees. It will also strengthen your trees so there is not as much risk of falling trees or branches.

Being proactive about tree care will save you a lot of money too. Preventative maintenance is much more cost-effective than the cost of emergency tree services, storm damage cleanup or curing a sick tree of a disease that has gotten out of control (and one that was easily preventable).

If you care about the health of your trees and the beauty of your property, trust a certified arborist for tree pruning and maintenance from FL Tree Trimming. Find our service area here. We work with arborists across the entire state of Florida. Call today!

Tree pruning in Florida is an important professional service that beautifies and reinforces trees so they will fight off insects, diseases and severe weather – and look breathtaking while doing it!

Pruning has to be completed if you want a healthy tree, but it needs to be done correctly by someone who knows what they’re doing. Like a certified arborist from FL Tree Trimming. Homeowners may be able to prune trees safely while they are still small, but you also may be doing permanent harm to the tree.

To correctly prune trees, you need to know all of the following:

• When to prune your types of trees
• How much of the tree should be trimmed at at once
• Where to cut each branch so you do not harm the tree

Taking too much off of a tree could kill it or result in structural damage, but conservative pruning done annually benefits trees in a lot of ways. Pruning improves the appearance of trees, makes them healthier, eliminates dead or diseased branches and assists in fruit or flower production.

For the best results, pruning must be done annually, but as trees mature, you may be able to wait two years between major pruning services. Regardless of how often you have your trees pruned, be sure your arborist is qualified to do the type of tree pruning your trees need. This won’t be an issue if you call FL Tree Trimming in Florida!

Types of Tree Pruning Methods

There are 7 ways to correctly prune a tree so that it grows stronger and healthier year after year.

Depending on the size, type and health status of your trees, one pruning method could be more effective than another, but each technique has distinct benefits.

Crown Thinning Your Trees

Crown thinning is popular for older, overgrown trees in Florida. This method eliminates weak branches within the crown of the tree to allow more sunlight and air flow within the crown. Air flow is important for disease prevention.

This tree pruning technique also gets rid of branches that are touching so they no longer rub up against one another and break or cause weaker areas that can be an access point for insects and pests. Branches that grow at odd angles are almost always cut off during crown thinning.

Crown Raising Your Trees

This trimming technique only removes branches and limbs at the lowest part of the crown so limbs start higher up on the trunk of the tree. Allowing low branches to get too big makes them very difficult to remove, and they can pull nutrients away from the top of the tree, which leads to less fruit and a weaker tree.

There are a variety of reasons you might want to raise the crown of a tree. Frequently, it is done to clear the line of sight for automobiles and pedestrians, but it can be done to create space for landscaping under the tree.

It is a common method for overgrown trees that are too close to homes and other buildings.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction reduces the overall size of the crown from its outer edge. It shortens limbs vertically and horizontally to keep the tree at a manageable size. By lowering the size of the crown, you can eliminate the need to cut down the tree because it won’t come into contact with traffic lights, power lines or street lights.

Even when the tree isn’t near structures like those listed above, crown reduction will make the tree look neater because it eliminates irregular growth. This is a great idea for trees that are different ages but you want to look uniform.

Crown Cleaning

Also known as deadwood pruning, crown cleaning is a minimally invasive type of pruning method that gets rid of dead, broken or diseased limbs so that the remaining parts of the tree may continue to grow normally. These branches can only cause problems in the future.

Crown cleaning helps to make the tree look much better, and it prevents branches from rubbing together. It is also a safety practice that lowers the risk of branches falling, because healthy branches do not usually fall.

Crown Restoration

Crown restoration is an intense pruning method used on trees that were significantly damaged (either by pests or weather). It should only be performed by an experienced arborist who knows where the tree is likely to grow over time and how long it’s restoration will take.

Unlike most other tree trimming services, crown restoration occurs throughout a longer time period with conservative trimming that reshapes the tree. The arborist will have a definitive plan to restore the tree, but also must be flexible as the tree starts to grow and reshape on its own, adapting to the tree’s new growth.

Vista Pruning

If you want trees to help improve curb appeal, you are probably interested in vista pruning. The goal of vista pruning is to make the tree more visually pleasing from a particular viewing point.

It entails several pruning techniques including crown thinning, crown cleaning and crown reduction – anything that makes the trees look prettier. Remember, though, that a professional is not going to jeopardize the health of a tree, so the focus of vista pruning is still to maintain strong, healthy trees.

Espalier Pruning

Espaliered trees are pruned heavily to grow flat against a wall or a trellis. It is a different style of pruning that is going to draw a lot of attention to your lawn. Espalier pruning needs to be started when the tree is very young and then done consistently throughout the tree’s life span.

Some of the benefits of espalier pruning include facilitating maximum sunlight to reach the trees, as well as making it much easier to produce fruit.

Professional Tree Pruning in Florida

Tree trimming can be harmful to a tree, your landscaping, and, of course, for you! FL Tree Trimming highly suggests professional tree trimming over attempting DIY.

Aside from the many dangers of tree trimming, you can do a lot of harm to a tree if you don’t know how to trim it properly. Excessive pruning is one of the most typical errors made by homeowners trimming their own trees.

Trees in Florida that get annual care from a professionals are usually much better off, and hiring an experienced arborist from FL Tree Trimming to trim trees on your property is a decision you won’t regret. Locate your town in our service area. We work with arborists throughout the entire state of Florida!

Planting a tree on your property has many benefits. Trees create summer shade, create privacy, filter contaminated air and increase property value.

Once full-grown, most trees are pretty simple to maintain: another benefit! Trees are hardy and tend to continue growing despite minimal care. However, if you want to see your trees achieve their full potential, they need a little more effort.

Lack of care for growing trees might lead to rotting, disease, under watering or pest problems.

The good news is that tree care isn’t too difficult, but you do need a little information to do it correctly. Research the trees you plant in order to know what they need to succeed. Then care for them and watch them flourish.

Here, we’ll describe the five best practices for planting a new tree and seeing it thrive. You probably know the basics, so let’s dive deeper and detail how to complete each step correctly.

Tree Care Tips for New Trees

These tips will not only help keep your trees alive, they’ll help them grow much faster, resist extreme winds, fight off diseases and pests and produce more leaves, buds or fruit.

Water Your Tree

New trees need more water than well-established ones. The trees you plant are no exception.

The root of the tree and the soil around it need be kept moist, but don’t let it get soaked, as this might cause the roots to rot.

The best practice is 4-10 gallons of water every week. Rain water counts, and although it’s difficult to get an exact reading, a rain gauge can help get you close enough to supplement the rest. Your new trees need this much water for the first 2-3 growing seasons.

Mulch Around Your Trees

Mulch is much more than an attractive landscaping product. It helps protect new trees, especially the roots underground. But laying mulch the wrong way can sometimes cause rotting and decay – so much so, that the new tree will not survive.

Place mulch exactly 3 inches away from the tree trunk and spread it out to completely cover the ground under the longest branch. For new trees, this won’t be very far, but as the tree continues to grow, your mulch area will continue to grow substantially.

Keep the mulch 2 to 4 inches thick in all areas. Be vigilant in keeping it spread out consistently and away from the trunk of the tree so it does not impede air flow around the trunk.

Fertilize Around Your Tree

Fertilizer provides many nutrients your soil may not have naturally. Most young trees can benefit from fertilizing, but you have to use the correct products and doing it at the correct time in order for fertilizer to be most impactful.

The ideal time of year to fertilize is during early spring. Sometimes early summer also provides good conditions (comfortable temperatures and moist soil), but don’t count on it.

If you aren’t certain about which fertilizer to use, consult a tree care professional for recommendations. Slow-release fertilizers are typically a good idea because they feed your trees over time rather than all right away.

Follow through with these things in the first growing seasons after planting a tree, and then reevaluate your watering, mulching and fertilizing needs as the tree gets older. As time goes on, there will be additional tree care projects that are more important for your young trees.

Trim Your Tree

Tree trimming is very important – yet very challenging – in the early years after you plant a new tree. As the tree grows, you may see several little branches take off, attempting to become the trunk of the tree. While you may think this means that the tree is healthy and that it is growing well, but it can actually lead to a weak tree in the future.

Early pruning helps to shape the tree into what it is going to look like when it becomes much larger. As tiny branches emerge on the lower trunk, they have to be cut off so they don’t suck water and nutrients away from the branches at the top.

So long as you have trees on your property, they need to be trimmed regularly. When the trees get too big for you to trim them safely, you can rely on FL Tree Trimming to do it for you.

Monitor Your Tree

New trees are at the most risk for damage, disease and pest issues. But you’re never truly safe from these issues. As your tree grows larger, monitor it carefully for evidence of disease or bad nutrition, including the following:

• Leaf color change out of season, with leaves turning brown or yellow
• Premature leaf falling, regardless of whether these leaves look healthy or diseased
• Withering, even with adequate watering
• Single branches dying
• Peeling bark

These signs likely mean a health issue. It is likely going to need professional care if your plan is to keep the tree alive. A certified arborist can typically diagnose the issue by just looking at the tree, although they will perform testing if deemed necessary.

If you identify the problem early enough, you will likely be able to save the tree from dying. Being proactive is the best course of action to protect your younger trees.

The tips above are basic yet effective. Don’t underestimate the value of the basics! When your new trees have pruning, fertilizer and more,, combined with sunshine and barring any severe, damaging weather, the odds are good that the tree will survive and will look wonderful!

Of course, you may already have a full schedule and don’t really want to take on these additional tasks. In many cases, homeowners don’t have the physical ability to give their new trees the necessary maintenance.

Whatever the situation, it’s ok to hire a tree company for caring for new trees. A professional arborist in Florida can advise you about the course of care for each type of tree you plant. They enjoy sharing their expertise and skills with people planting new trees, and can be the difference between trees that struggle and trees thriving.

Call FL Tree Trimming now for information on routine tree care in Florida – including tree trimming – for new trees and older trees. A local tree service will determine the best plan for your trees! Locate your city in our service area here.