Keep My Garden Green

Struggling to keep your garden green? Here are 3 tips for the lazy gardener on keeping your plants alive during Winter. A big thanks to the team at Tree Lopping Ipswich for their advice, you can visit their website here.

You know what it’s like. During a hot Aussie Summer, your lawn grows so fast you can barely keep up with the mowing and your garden bed practically waters itself. However, come Winter, the arid climate and decreased rainfall means that maintaining lush, healthy plants can become a chore.

If you don’t have time nor inclination to slave over your garden but would like to keep your landscaped curb appeal, read on…

1.    USE ORGANIC MULCH

Organic mulch can be particularly useful in helping your garden bed survive Winter for a number of reasons:

–      A decent layer of natural-material mulch will help retain water and decrease evaporation caused by the sun. This means that your plants will be able to survive on less rainfall and you won’t need to manually water as often.

–      As the mulch breaks down it enriches the soil—giving you a better base to work with and increasing the health of your plants coming into Spring.

It is important to ensure you select the appropriate mulch for your garden type. Some mulches repel certain insects, whilst others can attract them. Customising your choice of mulch to the plants and even surrounding building structures you are working with, ensures that you reap the maximum benefits from this technique. If you’re unsure what mulch to use on your particular garden, have a chat to an expert at your local garden center.

Before you lay your mulch, deep water your garden bed—making sure your soil is saturated. Once the mulch is laid, all that goodness will be trapped in…and you’ll be able to get away with doing a deep-water of the soil every few days. No more daily watering!

Deep watering refers to saturating your garden bed with at least an inch of water rather than a light sprinkle—referred to as shallow watering.

2.    SETUP A DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM

Installing a basic drip irrigation system is cheap, easy weekend project that can be completed with products found at your local hardware store. For its water efficiency properties, drip watering systems are the preferred method of plant watering in drought-prone Australia…meaning you’ll save not only time but money too!

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Drip irrigation works through slowly dripping water onto your soil exactly where it is needed—directly at the plant’s roots. This system allows water to soak in before it has had a chance to evaporate and encourages the roots of your plants to grow longer and deeper—which can build greater drought resilience. This system will benefit most gardens—especially those in dry conditions—but may not suit rainforest-style landscaping.

3.    CONSIDER USING SHADE CLOTH

If you are finding the tips of your plants turning brown and can’t seem to keep up with their water consumption, it might be worth considering installing a small amount of shade cloth over your garden bed.

BENEFITS OF SHADE CLOTH

–      It provides shelter from the harsh Aussie sun which in turn reduces your plant’s water consumption.

–      Installed correctly, it can provide some protection from devastating weather events such as hailstones.

WHAT SHADE CLOTH TO USE

–      For general plants and vegetables, a 30% to 50% shade cloth will suit

–      For plants that thrive in shade (such as orchids and ferns), 75% shade cloth may be required.

–      Sun-loving Aussie natives may do worse under shade cloth.

Ultimately, deciding whether or not to install shade cloth over your garden bed will come down to the plants you are working with. Have a chat to a local expert to determine if this is right for your specific landscape situation.

Tree Stump Removal – The Safest Way To Remove a Tree Stump

Leaving tree stumps in your yard may seem harmless but the fact is they pose safety risks to people. It can be a tripping hazard and liability, and you can do something to prevent human injury due to stump trip. Stump grinding is the step to take.

While you may attempt to remove the stump themselves, why not leave the job to the experts? There are good reasons to use an expert to do remove the stump for you.

If you choose to do it yourself, it is necessary to have the right equipment to use to remove stump effectively. Stump grinders can effectively remove tree stumps. If you know how to operate the cutting equipment, you can just rent the it from the equipment rental company.

The challenging part about renting a stump grinder though is the that it calls for special effort especially if you have not used it before. The equipment is heavy and you will have to wear protective glasses and gear as you can expect debris to fly everywhere. You will also need other equipment like chainsaw and rake when the grinder is not able to completely remove the stump.

The safest way to remove the stump is to hire an expert in stump grinding. It may cost more than doing it yourself, but hiring a professional to do the job for you is a smart choice. You will want to get a quote from the company you intend to hire to know much the work will cost you since the size and width of the stump are determining factors of the price. Once the job is done, you will have a better-looking yard.

Arborist Services – Symptoms Of Stressed Trees

arborist services pine mountain

Fungal diseases and pest infestation can cause for a perfectly healthy tree to become sick and even die. Knowing how to find the signs of pests diseases is very important in keeping your trees thriving, strong and healthy.

So how do you know if your trees are stressed and that they are infected by fungal diseases and insects? Here are some symptoms to look for:

· Grubs or caterpillars that goes through and eat on wood

· Discolouration on leaf or leaf loss

· Ripped leaf edges

· Blisters or spots on leaf

· Splits or cracks in the bark

These are mostly signs that your trees are infected by leaf-chewing beetles, termites and mites, and other damaging insects and even diseases. It is best to keep your trees in check since pests can infect both mature and immature foliage.

How to keep your trees healthy

Regular pruning. By regularly pruning your healthy trees, you are possibly avoiding insects and diseases to infect them. This will also stimulate healthy branches to grow and will encourage air circulation of the tree and can reduce the chances of fungal infection.

However, if pruning is not done right, this could also lead for the tree to get sick and even lead to its early death. To avoid this from happening, make sure to only have a certified arborist to aid your trees. They will be able to know if your trees need pruning and what branches they need to focus on.

Regular inspection. To avoid for your trees from getting sick, inspect your trees regularly. This will include the branches and leaves. If you find that your trees are in possible danger, contact an arborist right away.

Should Tree Branches Hang Over Your Roof?

tree removal woodendHaving some trees in your yard has a lot of great benefits. But when the branches hang low or reaching your roofline, they can become hazardous to you and your property. When you notice your tree’s branches are extending to your roof, then you have to remove them right away.

Tree branches reaching your roof can be dangerous to you and your home. This can cause mould and the falling leaves may clog the roof gutter. Long tree branches also present danger during a storm where the limbs may fall down the roof. And on a windy day, it may damage or scrape against the part of the house that is touching.

It is also important to consider the possible hazards of the tree as it continually grows. It may pose danger to the people around and to the nearby property. In some cases, the tree branches from the neighbour may overextend to your property area. When this happens you have the right to cut the branches that extend to your property. However, you may want to talk to your neighbour first before you take it out to avoid problems with them.

Should you cut the tree yourself? While hanging branches on your roof present hazard cutting it yourself can cause more damage especially if you do not know the proper way to do it. Even the slightest mistake in trimming have a detrimental effect to the tree so it is better to call an arborist to do the job for you. Once you noticed the tree branches touching your property, do not hesitate to call an arborist for help.

Why It’s Best To Hire A Professional To Remove Tree Stump?

stump removal collingwood parkAfter an arduous tree removal, you go down to the last part which is stump removal. Removing the stump is another challenging task and things can be much harder when you choose to do it during the winter months.

But is it possible to do stump grinding in winter? Yes, winter stump removal is a doable task. The cold season may make any kind of lawn work more difficult, but with the help of a good shovel and all the right equipment, the work can still be achievable.

Stump removal is best handled by a professional since they are well equipped with all the right tools needed for winter tree services. Also, consider the fact that you do not have to get cold outside as they will do the job for you.

Why hire a professional to remove tree stump?

Removing stump in the middle of winter may be more difficult for those who are not really an expert in stump removal. Most tree service professionals use a heavy stump grinder and wear protective gears as debris will fly everywhere. This will mostly consume their time plus the added obstacle of the snow getting in the way of their work. When stump removal gets tough, other equipment may be needed to remove the roots when the grinder is not able to take everything.

Hiring a professional to do winter stump removal for your is just practical as you do not have to worry about everything. They will take your worries away from you while you just watch them take the stump away.

Tree Lopping – Steps To Manage Your Trees Properly

tree lopping blackstoneTree pruning, trimming or cutting is mostly an ongoing process these days as the winter is the perfect season to give your trees extra care. For those who are taking care of a young plant, early pruning can be a good practice for them.

Pruning during its dormancy months (in winter) is also a good practice. When trees are pruned during winter especially after the coldest part of winter has passed can result in a vigorous burst of new growth when spring comes.

Before you prune your trees, you will have to follow these steps to make sure that the trees are properly managed.

Assess the tree. Assessing the tree will include if it is still growing and healthy, the species and the place where the tree is located should be assessed as this will determine how the arborist will trim the tree.

Get rid of the bad branches. Get rid of the three ‘Ds’ which will include damaged, dead and diseased branches. You should also look for branches that are weakly attached and that is rubbing from each other.

Reduce competing branches

Once you have assessed the tree and get rid of the unwanted branches, you will also need to remove or reduce competing branches. You will have to focus on multiple branches that are connecting to the trunk at the same place as you want the tree to create better branch spacing by removing one each year.

Strategically pruning your trees with the use of the right tools, you can help your trees to be healthier as they know that you are taking care of them well.

When Is The Right Time To Remove A Tree?

tree removal purgaWhen is really the right time to remove a tree from your property? Remember that your local arborist will still assess whether the tree can be saved or if it really needs to be removed. If your reasons for tree removal is because the tree does not look good in your property or you just don’t want it there, the specialist may not go along with you.

Here are some clear reasons why you should consider tree removal.

Internal decay. If a tree has been suffering internal decay, it is probably going to be difficult to save it. Visual signs of decay could indicate that the tree is also dead. Some signs of fungal organisms like seeing mushrooms at the base of the tree or conks that appear on the branches and trunks could indicate that the tree is already afflicted with fungal infections.

The tree suddenly leaned. A little bit of leaning is normal for most trees and it happens because the tree roots are promoting stability as it continues to grow. But if the tree suddenly leans, this could indicate that the root system has become unstable. You will need to consult with a tree specialist to see what help they can do for your tree.

Maybe a fire hazard. Some trees are flammable because of their sap and if you live in an area where wildfires happen, better consider if the tree is really safe or not.

Once a tree care specialist comes to your property, he or she will do a proper assessment of your trees and what best practices can be applied to them.