Your trees and shrubs are a valuable asset on your Cincinnati, Dayton, OH, or Northern Kentucky property. You want to be able to enjoy your trees and shrubs for many years to come which is why it’s so important to take proper care of them. 

But homeowners are often surprised to learn their trees and shrubs require a bit more upkeep and care than they’re often providing…and this can change seasonally.

In this article, we will dive into tree and shrub care in the fall, discussing all of the most important tasks during this season.

We’ll cover:

Fertilization
Mulching
Pruning
Watering
Pest Control

With these fall tree care tips, you’ll be set to ensure your landscape is well-cared for.

Essential Fall Tree and Shrub Maintenance

The following five tasks are important ways that you can ensure that your trees and shrubs are set up for success during the fall season. This is a critical time of the year as it’s also a matter of prepping your trees for the coming winter. 

Making sure that your trees and shrubs are healthy now will set them up for long-term success.

Fertilize Trees and Shrubs in Fall

Fertilizing trees in the fall is important timing, particularly for deciduous trees, as many key nutrients are used up earlier in the year, producing leaves and fruit. To replenish those lost nutrients and prepare your trees for the next growing season, tree fertilization is key. When nutrients are replaced, your tree is in turn much less stressed.

With proper fertilization, you’ll also notice that your trees and shrubs will grow stronger and healthier. With an approaching winter, resiliency is incredibly important. Trees have to be ready with the nutrients they’ll need to grow next spring. Replacing lost nutrients now will have your tree ready to go.

Mulching Trees in Fall

You might also be wondering should you mulch in the fall? 

Fall is a great time for freshening up your mulch rings. This is a task that you’ll want to do before the ground freezes as the mulch can provide an important layer of insulation to protect your roots from those freezing temperatures.

Mulch rings around your trees and shrubs also help to add organic matter to the soil, provide erosion resistance, and retain water.

Pruning Trees in Fall

Pruning is an important cultural practice to care for a plant. Pruning is the process of making strategic cuts to remove dead or dying plant material to improve the overall health of the plant. 

Pruning is an important service for your trees and shrubs, though it’s not something that is typically recommended until later fall or even winter. You don’t want to prune too early as it can stimulate new growth that may not harden ahead of the coming winter months.

Winter is often a great time to prune many trees and shrubs as it puts less stress on them when they’re not dealing with issues like lack of water or extreme heat (as is common in the spring and summer). This is called dormant pruning. Of course, certain tree and shrub varieties have highly specific timing for pruning so be sure to understand the plant species (and its needs) first.

Watering Trees and Shrubs in Fall

Although your trees won’t need as much supplemental watering in the fall, you’ll still need to provide some. We recommend an inch of water every two weeks at a minimum. If Mother Nature is not supplying that, you’ll need to water yourself.

The best approach is to mimic the type of “soaking” that an ample rainfall would provide. You want the water to reach the roots and be taken in. 

Keep in mind that there is no reason to water the leaves of your trees and shrubs. 

In fact, watering from overhead may actually aggravate certain diseases. Instead, water at the roots using a soaker hose, which is an effective way to water since they’re porous and release water slowly. You could also use a regular hose set on a slow trickle or a drip irrigation system if you have one.

Fall Pest Control

Tree and shrub pests can still be active in the fall.

Implementing the best solutions starts with identification. The trouble is, some of the symptoms of tree and shrub insects attacking your tree can be the same as other issues, including tree and shrub diseases and environmental stressors. 

But once a professional does diagnose an insect problem, they can implement the best tree and shrub insect control solution (depending upon what pest you’re dealing with).

Though it’s not a magic bullet cure, many issues can be remedied with the appropriate tree and shrub care solution. And with a comprehensive program, many problems can even be prevented in the first place.

The best strategy is to employ a program that will proactively manage these issues and provide optimum soil health along with regularly scheduled treatments to keep plants healthy.

Choosing Tree and Shrub Care in Cincinnati, Dayton, OH and Northern Kentucky

Hopefully these fall tree care tips have helped set you on the road to success. However, at the end of the day, you’re going to be in better shape if you partner with a professional on some of the services.

While you might think about tackling DIY tree and shrub care, it will be very difficult to get the same high-quality results using store-bought products. Ideally, you want to make sure you are using a pro for effective deep-root fertilization as well as pest prevention and treatment. 

Another benefit to working with a professional is simply the fact that you have an extra set of eyes on your property. Often, they’ll spot a problem brewing before you ever even notice something is wrong.

Whether you have new trees on your property, you’ve just moved, or you really want to step up your game in caring for your landscape, we want to see you get the results you desire. 

By making a wise choice in a tree and shrub care program, you’ll be on your way to having healthy and thriving trees and shrubs that make your landscape beautiful. That means getting the maximum value and enjoyment out of your property that you deserve. 

If you want to learn more about tree and shrub health care for your Cincinnati, Dayton, OH, or Northern Kentucky home, call us today at 513-697-9090 to get your quote, let us help you choose a stand-alone program or bundle it with other services, and then sit back and relax knowing you’re in good hands.