Wisconsin Tree Care Tips

Winter in Wisconsin is hard on trees. For best protection, begin in fall with our Winterizing Trees with Fall Tree Care in Wisconsin tips.

During winter, ice, heavy snow, drastic temperature fluctuations and freezing ground and air temperatures affect trees every day. This is why winter tree care is important. Residential trees are more exposed to all these natural hazards since they are not surrounded by many other trees and plants. There are simple winter tree care steps you can take to help your trees survive winter in Wisconsin.

PRUNING TREES IN WINTER

Pruning trees in winter has many benefits and along with late fall tree pruning, winter tree pruning is the best time of year to prune your trees.  One advantage when pruning trees in winter is that there is no foliage cover so it is easy to see any damage and areas that need special attention.  Winter tree pruning is a protective step for your trees since the smaller, weaker and more brittle branches that are more likely to break from heavy snow or ice are removed and the remaining stronger branches can handle the weight better without breakage.

WATERING TRESS IN WINTER

Trees can suffer from drought in winter as well as summer.  This can happen when trees lose more water than they can absorb from frozen ground.  Tree roots continue to grow until the ground freezes so continue to water your trees until the ground freezes.  Rock salt makes it even more difficult for trees to absorb water, so it is a good idea to use sand instead of salt for the  protection of your trees.

MULCH

Winterizing trees with the addition of a fresh layer of mulch in late fall or early winter will have numerous benefits for your trees.  The mulch will act as a temperature buffer to protect tree roots and reduce the stress of repeated thawing and freezing, and mulch will also slow moisture loss.  Do not place mulch directly up to the tree trunk but leave a small space between the tree trunk and the edge of the mulch.  This will prevent small rodents from burrowing too close to your tree and gnawing at the bark. 

TREE REMOVAL

Winter storms and heavy snow are hard on all trees.  A dead or diseased tree is more susceptible to breakage from wind, snow or ice which can in turn damage other foliage and surrounding structures.  When trees need to be removed, winter is an excellent time to have them removed by the specialists at Buckley Tree Service.  Since the ground is frozen and hard, equipment can be situated closer to the trees.  Damage to the surrounding ground, plants and lawns is minimized because the heavy equipment cannot sink in.  If removal of a dead or diseased tree is part of your winter tree care needs, choose Buckley Tree Service Wisconsin.

SNOW ON TREE LIMBS

Heavy snow can be a stress on tree limbs.  Our Buckley Tree Service specialists recommend that you always brush snow off of tree limbs gently and never shake branches or try to knock snow off branches by hitting the tree.  Shaking or hitting can break branches made brittle by ice, freezing air and snow, and this is exactly what you are trying to protect against by removing snow from the branches.

CORDS AND TREE LIGHTS

As part of winter tree care, make sure to remove cords holding games, laundry lines and tree light cords from trees each season and replace them only when needed again.  If cords are left wrapped around branches or trunks, they can girdle the tree by cutting in to the bark and creating suffocation of wood tissues.  This is especially important on younger trees that are still growing in height and girth.  When the bark is suffocated it causes more stress on the entire tree to try to recover and heal.

Contact Buckley Tree Service Wisconsin for a winter tree care consultation preparing your trees for winter ensuring they flourish next spring.