In the winter, the tree care professionals at Bradley Trees are doing a lot of tree preservation, making sure those gentle giants make their way to next year. Part of preservation is tree consulting on WNY construction projects, ensuring the work you want to be done doesn’t interfere with the trees you have planted. Before beginning a construction project, please call a certified arborist to assess your Buffalo landscape.
Caring for plants is a year-round job for Bradley Tree and Landscaping, just because the growing season is done doesn’t mean we are. In the offseason, we switch to a maintenance mode, doing a lot of tree consulting, pruning and trimming rather than landscaping and planting.
Oftentimes, the step of contacting an ISA Certified Arborist is a step that gets skipped. Then years later we have to remove a tree that was healthy but had its lifeline severed by improper planning. Having that licensed arborist present to consult could save you thousands of dollars by increasing your property value.
The certified arborists and tree care experts at Bradley Tree can provide professional tree services in Buffalo; tree risk management, tree consulting services, tree preservation, and more. When you’re having construction done, give a local arborist a call. We want to make sure your WNY landscape remains its looks after the contractors leave.
How do contractors adversely affect trees?
Construction contractors can cause tree damage in a few ways. The most common cause is root damage. This is because most of the roots of a tree are in the top one to three feet of the soil, so a single pass by a heavy vehicle can crush or cut the root. If a tree loses 40% or more of its roots, then it’s likely not going to last very long. That tree can’t get the oxygen or nutrients it needs, and it should be removed by an expert.
The best care for root damage is prevention, and the best prevention is having a consulting arborist at your construction site. Failing that, there are signs that you can look for afterwords such as scraped trunks, broken branches and wilted leaves.
Scraped trunk
Small trunk wounds are often not serious but can be an entry point for disease or fungi. Larger wounds can be more immediately threatening and require a tree to be removed.
Broken branches
Broken branches should be trimmed back to their main branches. We have a pruning guide for you to look through before making any cuts to the tree. Remember, unless the tree you’re cutting is an oak tree, don’t use wound paint or sealer.
Severed and poisoned roots
Now, these are more tricky. Since the roots provide water and nutrients, the stored food supply of the tree is eliminated and the stability of the tree might be compromised. When soil grade is lowered by a couple of inches, feeder roots are mangled and topsoil is removed. Your options are to find the damaged roots quickly and cut them to promote wound closure. Ideally, you should have a local arborist do this, if the tree can be saved, they will know what’s your best course of action.
Roots can also be poisoned by improper disposal of materials during construction. The best way to prevent poisoned roots via chemical spill is to do as much disposal prep as possible as far away from the tree drip line. Debris and waste should be hauled away rather than burned on-site.
Different trees have different abilities to adapt to environmental changes. Colorado State University has a quick table to look over here regarding the adaptability of different tree species.
In WNY Tree Consulting, Prevention is the Key.
The best way to not have to deal with contractors ruining your trees and landscaping is preventative measures. Consult with an ISA-Certified Arborist to determine if you have any unhealthy trees before you start that can be removed, freeing up some space. Another way to maintain the prime landscaping you’ve done is to have that same arborist determine which tree pockets are healthiest and which individual trees might need to go.
Remember, it’s significantly less costly to prevent damage to your trees and so much easier to plan around them than to try and fix problems after the fact. Especially if they go unnoticed for years. You should be doing tree risk management and assessments anyways, but around construction times for sure.
Contact us!
For all your tree services, give the local expert arborists at Bradley Tree a call. You can also fill out a contact form online! Don’t forget to stay up-to-date with our blog for more posts like this and a haul of helpful hints. We also have a Facebook page you can follow the fun on!
The arborists at Bradley Tree and Landscaping are happy to help and educate. As Jared Webber says,
“Our best customer is an educated customer.”
So don’t hesitate to give us a call today! Our favorite days are when we help and educate a customer and don’t have to do any tree removals, so remember to consult with a certified arborist before having any construction done.