Spring is here

Now that spring has sprung it is important to know how to care for your trees, which, like all plants, require care and attention to reach their full potential.

Spring is when all the flowering trees are out, and some people consider their gardens to look their best, with the garden bulbs complementing the trees.

This is the time where people come out of hibernation and start to venture back into their gardens, especially with daylight savings around the corner.

As arborists, we are coming into our busy season. Avid gardeners are coming outside in droves and start to notice that their trees need attention. Tidying your garden for summer starts with dealing with your trees. For example, you might be wanting to plant out a border with perennials or annuals, however the trees are blocking all the light from this area. Other scenarios are that a certain tree is getting far too large for the confined space that it is in, or maybe a tree is in major decline so needs to be removed.

As an arborist and previously a landscape gardener, I love the challenge when dealing with my gardening clients to come up with a resolution in regards to tree removal, thinning, lifting or maybe pruning to allow for underplanting. If you are looking to plant some flowering trees then now is a good time to do so before it gets too hot. This will allow the trees to establish and get their feet set firmly in the ground.

Early spring is also a good time to transplant small trees or shrubs that may not be in the right spot in your yard. Some examples of trees with incredible flowers are deciduous magnolias, dogwoods and cherry trees to name a few. I recently went to Leaf Lands and was very impressed with the wide variety of trees they have. Leaf Lands is a family run wholesale tree nursery located on Napier Road in Palmerston North.

I’m looking forward to planting my own garden out soon, and am looking to plant a grove of Betula utilis ‘Silver Shadow’ birch trees which have a stunning white bark on the trunk. I like to plant in groups of odd numbers, underplanting with small maples, rhododendron or even daffodils.

If you want to kick your landscaping up to the next level, consulting a professional arborist is a great idea.