Tree Care Tree Care Protecting Your Trees Tree Care: Mature Trees Tree Care & Maintenance Big, full-grown trees are very lovely to behold, especially if they are well cared for.  Keeping your large, mature trees healthy may not be the simplest thing to do but it is a smart thing to do in order to protect the investment you have in your trees.  A normal tree care maintenance routine for mature trees includes an annual tree inspection, mulching, fertilization and tree pruning.  Routine Tree Care Inspection It is important to inspect your trees on a regular basis, typically one time per year.  Keeps your eyes open for anything that looks suspicious, such as bark that is peeling or branches that are dying.  Look for anything that might resemble insect infestation or possible tree disease.  If you find something you are not sure about, call a Poteet Tree Service for all of your tree care needs. Tree Care Mulching Spreading mulch round the base of large trees is a simple tree care task that offers for much protection for the tree.  Mulch gives the tree an environment for growing in that is more dependable.  It helps to trap moisture into the soil which in turn keeps it cooler.  It also keeps other plants and weeds from negatively affecting the tree’s growth.  To properly mulch around your mature tree, place a two inch thick covering around the base of the tree.  Be careful to leave a space between the tree’s trunk and the start of the mulch.  The mulch should also completely coat the drip line of the tree. Tree Care Fertilization If a tree’s soil is not naturally nutrient abundant, then it may be necessary to fertilize the tree, especially if it is large in size.  You can hire a professional tree care company to administer a test that will determine the soil’s nutrient substance.  The tree care expert will also advise you as to which specific fertilizer the tree will need.  This is especially important as not all fertilizers are the same.  Applying the wrong kind of fertilizer could be deadly to your tree.  But, with correct selection and use, fertilizing your tree will boost the tree’s root growth and cause the tree to produce a canopy that is beautiful and strong.  Remember to make the most of fertilizer every season throughout the year.  Tree Pruning Pruning large, full-grown trees is a process that is done with much care.  It is inadvisable to perform heavy pruning on mature trees, so it is particularly important that a professional tree care specialist carry out this procedure.  When chosen carefully, the removal of diseased and dead branches will actually have the end result of longer, healthier tree branches.  Again, it is important to remember never to put too much stress on a large, mature tree by over-pruning.  This can actually cause the tree to die prematurely.  Hiring an Arborist to watch over the care of large, mature trees is most preferable. Tree Irrigation Lastly, to guarantee that you are properly maintaining your large trees, make sure that they are getting enough water year around.  In dry climate zones with little rain, it is especially essential to create a program for watering your large trees.  It is not necessary to install an irrigation system to satisfy this need.  One can easily have a water hose dripping on top of the root zone of the tree throughout the night.  Do not water the tree trunk or sprinkle the roots of the tree because this can cause the roots to begin growing upward in the direction of the soil’s surface. Keep your mature trees happy and healthy by keeping watch for insects and disease, maintaining their water supply and soil nutrient levels, providing fresh mulch and tree pruning only when fully necessary.  Doing these things will make for big happy healthy trees as well as happy tree owners.