Growing healthy trees in your yard depends on several different factors, but starting with the right tree for the right place should be the first consideration.
The Urban Forestry Ecosystems Institute located at Cal Poly in California, has a data base that will help you select the proper tree for your location and your needs. You can search the site by entering your zip code and the attributes of the tree that you want here: ufei.calpoly.edu/index.lasso
Planting Your Tree
Once you have selected the tree that is best for your location, it’s time to plant. Like everything else, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Following the correct planting steps is important to growing a healthy tree.
First, make sure you select the right location in your yard for your tree. Make sure the tree you are planting has plenty of room and will not outgrow its location. Then determine that the soil in which you are planting is compatible with the tree you have chosen. Also, make sure that your tree will have the right amount of sun and shade that is recommended for your particular type of tree.
Prepare a hole that is twice as wide as the root ball (some landscaping experts recommend a wider hole, up to three times as wide.) A wide hole will insure fast growth of the tree. The depth of the hole should be determined by the height of the root ball. The right depth will prevent settling.
Remove the wire basket and burlap from the root ball.
Add a starter fertilizer and fill around the root ball with the soil you removed for
planting.
Deep water the tree, and water each day for seven days; then water twice a week for week two, and once a week afterwards.
Care and Feeding Mulching: It is important to know that mulching is very important to the health of your newly planted tree. Mulch acts to retain water, preventing the roots from drying out, and provide protection from the heat and cold. It keeps weeds away from the tree roots and prevents compaction of the soil around the tree.
Watering: For newly planted trees, water right after planting. Not enough water will damage a tree, but over-watering is harmful as well. The proper amount of watering can be determined by feeling the soil around the tree. The soil should be moist but not soggy. Allowing the soil to dry for a short time between waterings, is good for the tree because it allows the soil to oxygenate. After the first two years, the root structure of the tree should be well established and will not need the kind of monitoring that a newly planted tree requires.
Pruning: Care must be taken when pruning newly planted trees because poor pruning can damage a tree for the rest of its life. The pruning of these young trees should be done to remove remove dead or broken branches. More aggressive pruning should wait until the tree is two to three years old.
Signs of a Healthy Tree
Is There New Growth: If you have had your tree for a year or more, there should be new growth appearing each year.
Check for Dead or Broken Branches: Since dead and broken branches invite insects and make the tree more susceptible to disease, they should be pruned off. Hint: If a branch is green underneath the bark when scraped with your fingernail, it is alive.
Check the Tree’s Bark: The bark should be intact. If it is loose or peeling, there is probably a problem. The truck should not have large cracks or holes and should be free of fungi.
Examine the Leaves: Leaves should be the appropriate color for the season. Wilting of the leaves indicate stress caused by too little or too much watering, or too much or too little sun. Evergreens should not have bare patches without needles, and deciduous trees should be full of leaves in the blooming season. Areas where leaves are missing can indicate damage or disease.
A proper tree care program will allow fluid growth patterns and wind penetration. This will condition your trees for long term healthy development. All of our pruning practices are based upon the International Society of Arboriculture industry standards.
Our Pacific Vista Tree Service' professionals will provide your property with a complete inventory of all trees and organize these trees on a multiple year tree care plan. We will place the trees on an appropriate frequency to best suit a given species.
It's springtime! Spring is a wonderful time to plant new flowers to add color to your garden. In some cases though, brightening up a shady part of your landscape can be a challenge. Take heart! There is a way to introduce that bright spot of colorful blooms and green plants to the shady parts of your landscape. All you need is a little knowledge of what to put in your garden.
How Shady is the Space?
Before planting your garden, take into consideration just how much shade or sun that space gets. Keep an eye on the area for a little while as the amount of sun exposure can influence how well certain plants do in that space. The categories for shade usually are described as:
Partial Shade: Different parts of the garden receive exposure to direct sun for part of the day and in shade for at least half a day (or three hours during the hottest part of the day).
Filtered or dappled shade: Sun is largely filtered through a tree canopy leaving dappled light on the plants below.
Light or open shade: This space is often bright with fairly even shade throughout the day. These shade spaces are open to the sky but are surrounded by walls, tall trees, or other shade structures.
Full or deep shade: These plants are in areas with little to no direct sunlight. Often beneath dense evergreen trees.
How Much Room Do You Have?
Take into consideration just how much room you have to plant your garden. Are you limited to urns or flower pots? Do you have a large amount of space to fill with flowers and greenery? This can determine the type of plant you can use as some plants will grow quickly and fill the space, while others will stay small and can be planted a bit closer together. Knowing exactly how much room you have to plant can also prevent multiple trips to the store if you under or overestimate just how many plants and flowers to buy.
Mulching
In a shady space, mulching your garden can be an important step. It can help retain moisture, keep the beds sheltered from cold, and add much needed nutrients to the soil. When mulching your beds, be sure to add 3-6 inches of an organic mulch while keeping it clear from the base of any tree trunks or stems. Don’t forget to replenish the mulch once a year.
Consider your Plants
Now that you’ve figured out your garden’s location, picked out your mulch, and observed how much shade the garden will receive you can now delve into what types of plants that will work with the space. Nurseries and home improvement stores can help guide you in knowing exactly what plants to use in the space you have. Of course, Pacific Vista Landscape is here to help. We can help you design your garden scape to make your spring gardens look fantastic!
Happy Planting!
As the weather changes to fall and the nights in Southern California become cooler, a great way to continue using your backyard is with the addition of a fire feature like a fire pit or fireplace. They add warmth and ambiance to a cool evening and extend the amount of time you can enjoy your outdoor spaces.
There are so many options to consider when adding a fire feature to your landscape. The best thing is that you have a myriad of options to best fit the space you are designing. Plus you can add outdoor living space around your fire pit or fireplace, designing seating with comfy and colorful cushions, outdoor furniture, or even built-in benches. The sky is the limit when designing your outdoor space focused around a fire feature.
Here are some ideas of what to consider before planning a fire feature and dreaming of those cool nights around a warm file:
Consider Your Cost
How much you want to spend on your outdoor area can largely influence the direction which you take your fire feature design. Costs can be as low as $100 for a small fire pit, one where you buy your own stones and dig the hole yourself, or comes as a kit purchased at a big box store. At the other end of the scale, a large built -in fireplace can run several thousand dollars, especially when seating design is added.
Permanent or Portable
A good idea when planning your fire feature space is to determine how portable or permanent you wish to make the space. Do you want the fire pit to be a focal feature in the yard, or something lightweight and potentially portable?
For permanent designs, you generally want to take into consideration the materials that are used on the house or in the garden and try to match those materials. Permanent can be a DIY job where you use a pre-made kit from the store, or you can fully customize with a landscape professional to do your design and build it.
Options for portable fire pits are also varied, there are fire bowls, fire tables, and chimney-style options and all come in a range of materials and can fit anyone’s needs.
Anyway you go, you should ensure you are using the proper stones and materials to ensure the safety of your space. Make the fire pit proportional to the size of your yard, and be sure you have room for seating and circulation.
Consider the Requirements
Many communities have minimum guidelines of distance from neighboring yards, and from your home. There may be permitting requirements when designing and installing a permanent fire pit. Finally, check with local officials to see if there are bans on certain styles of fire pits, such as open fire designs.
Of course, Pacific Vista Landscape is available to make your fire feature design plans come together without the major headache of figuring out all the design, and permitting requirements all on your own. Just make a call and we will help you get setup with your dream fire pit or fireplace, and before you know it, you’ll be relaxing in your new outdoor area, enjoying a nice warm fire, and making s’mores!
