Sustaining Trees

• Virginia Department of Forestry’s Tree Care Page covers maintenance from newly-planted to pruning, mulching, etc. at https://dof.virginia.gov/urban-community-forestry/learn-about-urban-community-forestry/tree-care/ .

• The Tree Owner’s Manual from the U.S. Forest service is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of tree maintenance. View or download it at https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5368392.pdf

• Arlington County’s Tree Care Tips discusses pruning, mulching, water, invasive plants, and other useful actions that can be taken.

• Humans and Trees Share a Common Enemy: Stress! - PlantNOVA natives eye-opening article on how to avoid ongoing stressors on your trees. Outlines some human-caused stressors - ones that we can control - and at environmental tree stressors such as drought, where we might be able to help. Read the full text for detailed techniques to care for trees and enjoy the time in nature to relieve our own stress.

Winter Tree Care

• Casey Trees, Washington DC - “Tips for Healthy Winter Trees” Covers watering, invasive plants, mulching, and structural pruning. See https://caseytrees.org/2024/01/tips-for-healthy-winter-trees/.

• Davey Trees - “How To Protect Newly Planted Trees In Winter” and associated posts on watering, mulching, wrapping, and pruning all young trees, and fruit trees in particular. See https://blog.davey.com/how-to-protect-newly-planted-trees-in-winter/

• Gardening Know How - “Cold Weather Damage To Trees - Pruning Winter Damaged Trees And Shrubs” Discusses damage don from snow, ice, cold, etc. that can show on trees or be hard to spot. Tips on keeping tree healthy and growing. See.https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/winter-damaged-trees-shrubs.htm

Finding Arborists

• Recommendations from friends are useful, so is seeing how a tree looks after it has been pruned by a company. Se arborists have a better eye than others. An app like Nextdoor can be a good place to ask for recommendations. 

• For a list of certified arborists, Arlington, County recommends a service of the International Society of Arboriculture, Mid-Atlantic Chapter, called Good Tree Care. Go to http://www.goodtreecare.com, click “accept” and look for the Find an Arborist tab at the top of the page.  

•  For selecting and working with an Arborist, try the thorough discussion and tips at https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/how-hire-tree-care-professional#:~:text=An%20arborist%20should%20be%20certified,credentials%20and%20proof%20od%20insurance (Yes, this is from Minnesota but the advice is good!)

  Damaged or Deteriorating

•  Decision-making guide for Storm Damaged Trees: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/decision-making-guidelines-for-storm-damaged-trees . 

• How to decide when to remove a tree can be found at the U of Maryland Extension Page https://extension.umd.edu/resource/how-do-you-decide-when-remove-tree .

• Guide for preserving storm or Ice-damaged trees and planting the hardiest species by TreesForever.org.