A note from our Urban Forester Rachel McGregor
January 2023’s winter storm most likely will not have any lasting affects on our trees. As long as soil moisture was adequate, and trees were healthy, several days in the 20’s should not be an issue for most of our native tree species. As we continue to move into February, maintaining proper tree health will be important and vital to prepare for our Texas summers. As usual, water trees when necessary and do not saturate the soil or allow the soil to become too dry. Feb 1 is the cut of for pruning oak trees in Texas to decrease the risk of oak wilt, but most other tree species you can prune any time of year with the exception on maples. Maplese may bleed or cause excessive sap flow from wounds during the spring. Maintain a 2-3 inch layer of mulch around your trees (not touching the trunk) to conserve soil moisture and provide other benefits.
Homepage image courtesy of: Matthew T Rader, MatthewTRader.com, License CC-BY-SA