Urban legends have a way of spreading faster than the truths they obscure. Because they sound true, and they’re repeated often, people tend to believe them without verifying the details. These “facts” are shared and repeated so often, sometimes even by people that really ought to know better, that it’s understandable that they’re regarded as “true”, even though they decidedly aren’t. These “false facts” about tree and garden care can cause real problems, and they are often practiced by people who are really trying to do the right thing. That lack of good information means that you could be spending a lot of time, effort, and even money-making things WORSE for your trees, rather than better.
Getting to the Bottom of Tree Care Falsehoods
1. It’s Only Safe to Prune Trees in the Winter
Although it’s best to prune your trees during their most dormant time, which is after they’ve dropped their leaves (if they’re deciduous trees) in the fall and before they begin to bud with new growth in the spring, you can actually prune your trees year-round, if you’re conscientious about it. The moral of the story here is that it’s better to prune your trees at a less opportune time than to skip it altogether – MUCH better, in fact. Trees are more likely to suffer from not being trimmed than by being trimmed on a less-than-ideal schedule, so worry less about WHEN you’re pruning, and more about WHETHER you’re pruning.
2. Young Trees Must Be Staked
In most cases, young trees actually don’t need to be staked at all, and staking trees that don’t require it can harm them or hinder their growth. Unless the tree in question is at particular risk due to high winds or other adverse weather conditions, you’re better off skipping the staking and keep an eye on your young tree’s development instead.
3. Trees Don’t Need Additional Water During Wet Seasons
This is one that might surprise even the most adept backyard gardeners – you can’t always tell just by the recent precipitation levels whether or not your trees require supplemental watering. Although it’s true that in most cases, regular periods of soaking rain will mean that you can lay off of watering your trees with the garden hose, there are some circumstances where this isn’t the case. If the soil around your trees’ roots is significantly impacted, it can prevent water from soaking into the hard soil, which may necessitate supplemental watering. Also, if the rain you’ve been getting has been from intense but short cloudbursts (such as from classic summer thunderstorms) most of the rainwater may have run off before it had the chance to soak in and supply your trees’ roots, so additional watering might be required.
4. Cutting the Tops Off of Trees Is a Good Way to Restrict Their Growth
This is one of the biggest sins in DIY tree care. Cutting the top off of a tree’s crown, or “topping” the tree, DOES shorten a tree, but in the least helpful and healthy way possible. This damages the tree’s structure, and it can be very hard to help a tree recover from this type of arboreal abuse. PROPER pruning is the right way to limit a tree’s growth, and “topping” a tree is a sure sign of someone who has been misinformed about correct tree care techniques.
5. Tree Roots Mostly Grow Deep Underground
This is one of those pervasive myths that everyone seems to believe, even though they’ve probably seen plenty of evidence to the contrary in their day-to-day lives. If you’ve ever tripped over an exposed tree root in a backyard or stumbled over a sidewalk that’s been displaced by tree root growth, you might consider that if the tree roots were really growing deep under the earth, would this be such a common problem? Most tree root growth (more than 90%) is actually just under the surface of the soil, which is why they sometimes break through and disrupt sidewalks, driveways, roads and patios. This fact of tree growth should help to discourage the related myth – that since tree roots grow so deeply, regular watering of mature trees isn’t needed. It is true that more mature trees need less assistance in the hydration department than young, developing trees, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t need the occasional hydration assist from the garden hose.
How many of these common tree care falsehoods had you heard? Did you believe any of them? Have you ever harmed your trees by trying to implement these false facts?
Never fear, we’re by your side to help correct any accidental damage caused by these tree care myths. If you’re looking for a Cincinnati area tree care company, give us a call here at Tree Images and we can set you, and your trees, on the right path.
