The trees around your home do a lot for your property and your family and when heavy snow and ice accumulation begins to take its toll you owe it to them (and yourself) to get them the care they need. With all the whipping winds, freezing ice, and crushing snowfall which the season brings to much of the country, winter is easily the most dangerous times of the year for your landscaping and trees, in particular. Without the proper care and preventative measures taken, severe, lasting harm can come to all the trees in your yard and lead to highly dangerous situations to your home and potentially life threatening conditions for your family. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive overview of the snow and ice tree care you should make sure to do this winter to ensure that your trees, home, and family are well protected through to spring.
Professional Tree Pruning Services
If you still have time before the worst winter has to offer hits your neighborhood then now’s the time to invest in professionally performed tree pruning services. Your local arborists have the training, equipment, and experience needed to assess your trees and safely trim them. These tree trimming services will help to prevent branches breaking and falling off and all the risks of disease and pest infestation which follows. It’s important not to attempt this on your own, however, particularly if some ice buildup has already begun. Doing so could cause even worse damage to the health and safety of the tree than the weather would have.
Regular Snow Removal
What you can handle on your own when it comes to winter tree care services is keep a close eye on the amount of snow lingering on your tree’s branches and quickly provide snow removal when it grows to be too much. In both deciduous and evergreen trees heavy snow accumulation can lead to a huge amount of stress on the branches of the entire structure, leading to broken branches and, in some cases, downed power lines, damaged property, and unsafe conditions. When the snow first settles on your trees, before it has an opportunity to freeze solid, lightly tap on especially covered branches with a broom, shovel, etc. This relieves weight and reduces the threat of breakage. If the snow is left to freeze, however, do not shake or poke at the branches. Frozen snow and ice accumulation will also freeze the branches they’re resting on and trying to freeze them can often cause more damage than good.
Respond to Damage Before it Worsens
If you begin to notice signs of damage like low hanging branches, cracked limbs, or cracking noises during particularly windy times then get in touch with professional tree care specialists as soon as possible. These professionals will help to mitigate the damage which develops after the the initial problem arises. Additionally, however, quickly getting in touch with tree service professionals will help ensure that health and safety threats like damage power lines, and barely hanging branches don’t lead to dangerous situations when the first spring thaw begins to release the grip on frost on your trees.
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