Tag - treecare

26 Apr

Storm Damage: What to Do: A Step-by-Step Plan

Storm Damage is stressful. Waking up to a tree down in your front yard, a limb on your house or your car is just not the way anyone wants to start their day. amiright? 

Tis the season for heavy, wet snow that breaks your tree limbs and causes that unwelcomed headache. How should you handle it and what can you do to prevent it?

Prevention is always key to preventing these spring storm problems. 

  1. Always ensure you are keeping your trees happy and healthy by trimming them when necessary, removing them when they need removal, or treating them before they are infested.
    1. When trees are healthy they are less likely to snap under the pressure of heavy spring snow.
  2. We are always available to access the health of your trees and make any suggestions to ensure they stay that way.

When the snow comes.

  1. Check to make sure the tree is safe and clear of all utility lines prior to removing snow. If they are laying on a power line: DO NOT TOUCH OR TRY AND MOVE IT. CALL EXCEL ENERGY.
  2. If the tree is clear of utility lines, use a broom to remove as much snow as possible from branches by brushing off or gently shaking. Do not bang broom on tree limbs as this could cause the limb to break.
  3. Do not attempt to climb a tree or use a ladder to reach higher limbs, this is dangerous and will cause bigger problems than just the tree being hurt!
  4. If the tree is between the street and the sidewalk on your street – call your city official as this is more likely their responsibility.
  5. If your limb has landed on your house, fence, car, shed, another tree DO NOT attempt to move them.
    1.  Take photos of the damage to the best of your ability.
    2. Call you insurance and report the damage.
    3. Call Colorado Trees or fill out the work request form and we will get you on the schedule asap. Be sure to include “storm damage” in your details so we can mark as urgent.
    4. Do not attempt to move (if small enough off car or fence etc) until you are told to do so by your adjuster.
  6. Do not attempt to remove broken branches or trees by yourself.
    1. If the job requires running a chainsaw overhead, sawing from a ladder or removing large branches or entire trees, contact an insured, ISA- Certified arborist like Colorado Trees. We have multiple certified arborists on staff, are licensed, insured and we prioritize safety and client satisfcation.
    2. PLUS for every tree or trim or remove this year we are planting one tree with our partner One Tree Planted in burn areas in Colorado to reforest.

 

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denver tree trimming
05 Oct

Denver’s Urban Forest and Colorado Trees

If you live in Denver, you live in an Urban Forest Environment.

Much of Denver’s urban forestry efforts were founded by a recent college graduate named Al Rollinger, in the summer of 1969. He walked around the city noting the types of trees that existed on 3×5 index cards. That fall, his secretary typed up Rollinger’s “Tree Pioneers of Denver.” A fifty year project with Denver’s Botanic Garden began shortly thereafter. This project keeps tabs on tree species thriving (and dying) in Denver, giving city foresters insights into what urban forestry might look like as we move into the future. 

Historically, and today, trees are an extremely important asset to any property for aesthetic and functional reasons. In Denver, trees provide for attractive streets and properties. They also share vital shade from the sun at this mile-high altitude. We have a lot to thank trees for, like cleaning the air around them, and turning carbon dioxide into usable oxygen! On the same hand, tree populations help fight climate change for this reason. 

Through cooling homes and beautifying our local landscape, trees do a lot. They increase property value, create character in neighborhoods, improve water and air quality, and reduce hot summer temperatures through shading the land. The city of Denver valuates the annual ecosystem benefits of our trees at over fifteen million dollars annually! This information is quantified and kept in a really interesting tool, the Denver Treeport Card. You can check it out here!

Denver really cares about its environment.

It’s one of the only major cities in the United States with a City Forester. We love that! This being said, we’re here to help where the city doesn’t — at your home and commercial properties. 

The most prevalent tree species in Denver are Maple, Ash, Locust, Linden, Oak, and Elm trees. There’s thousands of them! Basic tree care you can do at home includes making sure your trees are watered, and making sure you can see the sky if your standing underneath the tree’s canopy. Dense, tangled branches are more prone to breaking, dying, and falling. 

Denver’s City Forester takes care of all trees located on streets and in parks. The city relies on property owners to properly care for their own trees. This is where Colorado Trees can help!

It’s important to know an arborist! If you have established, larger trees on your property, we’re able to come check them out, just because! Right now, we’re offering a Vitality Treatment Soil Application. This helps your tree get through dormant and drought periods for a longer amount of time then it would on it’s own. This treatment helps the transpiration process, increases leaf thickness and root density, and helps the microbiome on the roots and in the soil work more effectively. 

 

If you still have questions, contact us! We’d love to chat. 

 

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Elm Leaf Beatle in Active Season
11 Sep

What is an Elm Leaf Beetle, and Why Do I Care?

Elm Leaf Beetles are an invasive species in the Denver Metro area, as well as the rest of the lower 48 states in America.

In case you didn’t know, there are over twelve thousand elm trees in Denver. They make up eighteen percent of Denver’s canopy cover in our urban forest ecosystem. They’re a well studied pest in forestry, because they’ve been a known invasive species for a really long time — and seriously damage elm trees. 

Elm Leaf Beetle

Both adult beetles and their larvae eat elm leaves on the surface. The green-and-yellow adults lay eggs on the leaves. When the babies are born, they eat the leaves, leaving them looking lacy and dead. Loss of foliage from the trees is both an aesthetic and functional setback, as it reduces shade cover, and can increase the tree’s susceptibility to diseases, like Dutch Elm Disease. 

It’s hard to prevent an infestation, because of how widespread the pest is. One cure-all for keeping any tree healthy is keeping the soil at the base of the tree saturated with water, as long as weather will allow it.

There are few natural (or ecologically preexisting) enemies of Elm Leaf Beetle populations. Certain small parasitic wasps and breeds of fungi can reduce population sizes at the pupal stage. However, these species aren’t nearly as widespread as Elm Leaf Beetles are.

If your trees are experiencing an infestation you’ll want to schedule a consultation with a certified arborist from Colorado Trees.

By treating an infestation, you’re reducing the beetle population, and ensuring improved tree health for the following season. For instance, this year (2020), Colorado has seen a huge impact from elm leaf beetles. 

Elm Leaf Beetles are known to seek shelter inside homes and other buildings for harsher winter months, and more often than not, they don’t make it back outside. That’s just icky! 

It’s important to treat an Elm Leaf Beetle infestation sooner, rather than later. Just like you’d rather see a doctor with the sniffles and a headache, rather than in a more dire situation. Trees can be treated early on!

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Icicles on branch
11 Sep

Can Snow and Ice Damage My Trees?

Ice buildup on tree branch

Here in Colorado, winter weather is a given. Between seasons, snow can come at what seems like any moment. While some arbor species were meant to handle this harsh climate, the climate is changing, and so are the weather patterns. Extreme fluctuations in the weather can seriously damage your trees! 

Any deciduous tree can be damaged by the snow and ice storms which frequent the Denver Metro area. Softer trees like elm and birch trees can be damaged by the weight of ice accumulation on branches. Trees with a single trunk that splits into two can even crack right down the middle!

When trees and branches break, they can impair buildings and power lines. This can create a dangerous situation for your family or business. If a tree is damaged in any way, you’ll want to call a certified arborist from Colorado Trees. We’re happy to come give you an estimate or assess storm damage on more immediate notice.

There’s not too much you can do to prevent storm damage on your older, more established trees before a big storm except regular maintenance. They’ve been through a lot, but with proper care you can set them up for success before a storm comes. Younger, smaller trees around twelve to fifteen feet tall might fare a little worse at the onset of an extreme temperature drop or winter storm. You can loosely wrap a tarp, burlap, or thin plastic around these guys if they still have leaves.  

If one of your trees or branches is starting to crack due to winter weather — don’t worry! Just get in touch. We’re certified, licensed, insured, and not to mention, pretty good at what we do! We’d love to make sure your trees are ready for a wild winter, and we’re here to help in case of immediate tree damage, too.

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