The summer heat, sunshine, and dry spells bring a lot of challenges for our urban and suburban trees around Ann Arbor. If you want to ensure your trees are healthy, strong, and growing during this season, providing you with much needed shade, then there are a few summer tree care tips to keep in mind.
Read on to see what challenges our trees face here in the summer, and what you can do to proactively care for your Ann Arbor trees.
Key Takeaways
- Discover how changing winter snowpack patterns in Ann Arbor are impacting your trees’ summer health and learn how to provide extra care to help them recover.
- Master the art of deep watering with soaker hoses to ensure your trees thrive during Ann Arbor’s long, hot summer days with infrequent rain.
- Unlock the secrets of proper mulching to boost your yard’s appearance while helping your trees retain moisture and maintain consistent root temperatures.
- Learn to spot the signs of heat stress in your trees as Ann Arbor faces more 100°F+ days, and discover simple strategies to create a cooler microclimate for your urban oasis.
- Protect your piece of “Tree Town” by identifying common summer pests and diseases threatening Ann Arbor’s beloved trees, and find out when to call in the experts for help.
Tip #1. Pay Attention to Winter Snowpack
Most residents aren’t aware of the effects that winter snowpack has on the health of our trees in summer. But as our winters are warming, the effects are becoming more apparent.
During the winter, snowpack has historically remained on the ground for months at a time. This thick layer insulates the soil, which ultimately protects tree roots from frost damage when the air temperatures drop well below freezing.
But our winters have become less reliable, leading to less consistent snowpack. After a warm winter, we can expect many of our trees to have root damage that will affect the health and vibrancy of our trees in the summer. This means trees will need extra care in the summer months to help them recover.
Tip #2. Water Your Ann Arbor Trees Deeply
Once summer hits, the most important thing you can do for your trees is water them. Long hot days with infrequent rain means you will need to irrigate your trees regularly.
Consider purchasing a soaker hose, which is more effective than traditional sprinklers or spraying with a garden hose. Soaker hoses apply water directly to the soil, keeping the trees and other plants dry, which can help prevent the growth of harmful bacteria or fungi.
They also soak the soil deeply if you let water flow over a long period of time. This ensures water gets down to where the bulk of the roots are located, rather than water sitting on the soil surface.
Deeper, less frequent waterings tend to be more effective in keeping trees healthy than shallow, frequent waterings.
Tip #3. Mulch Properly for Moisture Retention
Summer is a great time to refresh the mulch around the base of your trees. Mulch is needed to help the soil beneath your trees retain and manage water more effectively. It also helps to shade and insulate the roots, keeping a more consistent temperature.
And since you’re spending a lot more time outside, enjoying the beautiful summer evenings here in Ann Arbor, fresh mulch will boost the appearance of your yard as well.
Just make sure to apply mulch correctly. You’ll want to spread a layer of organic mulch, such as wood chips, between 2 to 4 inches deep. Keep it about 6 inches from the trunk of the tree and allow the root flare to show (the area where roots attach to the trunk).
In the best-case scenario, mulch will extend to the drip line of the tree (the outermost edge of the canopy). If you can’t extend your mulch that far, 5 to 6 feet is a good middle ground.
Tip #4. Prune Trees When Necessary
Summer isn’t a great time to prune your trees. However, an exception should be made for dead, dying, or diseased branches. Anytime you see signs of these problems, the affected branch(es) should be removed promptly.
Pruning these branches now will help minimize hazards that can fall during one of our sudden summer storms.
If you notice large branches that are cracked or dead, call your local arborist to have these safely removed.
Tip #5. Fertilize Trees in Need
Trees in natural forests and rural areas rarely need supplemental fertilization because the soil in these areas tends to be rich in organic matter. But urban and suburban areas, such as the city of Ann Arbor and some of the surrounding communities, have less than ideal soil.
When land is cleared to make way for development, the rich topsoil that has developed over many generations is cleared away. Left behind is a soil devoid of life and unable to adequately provide the nutrients needed by your trees.
In our small residential yards and urban greenspaces, the nutrients in the soil often need to be replenished for trees to thrive. This is usually done in spring or fall, but if you haven’t fertilized your trees recently, they may need a gentle boost to help them through the stress of summer.
If you’re using a granular fertilizer, be sure to water it in well to ensure it reaches the tree roots.
PRO TIP: Always test your soil before adding fertilizer to be sure you’re adding the correct type and amount of nutrients. More is not better! In fact, over-fertilization in summer can burn tree roots and harm it’s overall health.
Tip #6. Watch for Signs of Heat Stress
As average temperatures increase, and as urban heat islands become larger, trees are more and more likely to succumb to heat stress. This happens when the hot days of summer, coupled with very few summer showers, put a strain on trees.
The heat risk for Ann Arbor is moderate which, for a city its size, is better than most. It’s more treed and grassy than many cities and is surrounded by more agricultural areas, helping keep temperatures down. Still, we’re likely to face more days of 100F+ temperatures each year, putting both people and trees at increased risk.
Older, well-established trees will usually be fine, even in periods of drought. But younger trees, especially those planted in the past few years, will need some extra care to beat the heat.
When trees suffer from heat stress, you may notice leaf curling, changing leaf colors, or premature leaf drop. Conifer shoots may start to droop, or interior needles may begin to fall in droves.
To remediate these symptoms, increase either the amount of water you give your trees or the frequency of waterings. Mulch also helps trees better handle heat stress. You can also plant understory trees, shrubs, clump grasses, and flowers around the base of your trees to create a cooler microclimate for the root zone of your trees.
Tip #7. Watch for Summer Pests or Diseases
Summer’s warm dry air is a favorite of both Michiganders and pests that like to cause damage to our beloved trees. In the summer, it’s important to inspect trees regularly to look for signs of the pests and diseases that run rampant during this time.
A few common problems to look for include:
- Lecanium scale – These insects suck sap from leaves and branches, weakening the tree and making it more susceptible to disease and other pests.
- Emerald ash borer – The larvae burrow into ash tree bark, disrupting the flow of nutrients and water, and eventually killing the tree.
- Oak wilt – This fungal disease blocks water-conducting vessels, causing leaves to wilt, branches to die, and ultimately leading to the death of oak trees.
- Hemlock woolly adelgid – These tiny white insects feed on the sap of hemlock trees, depleting the tree’s energy reserves and causing needle loss, branch dieback, and eventually tree death.
- Asian long-horned beetles – While we don’t yet have confirmed cases in Michigan, these pests are present in both Ontario and Ohio, and should be on the radar of tree-loving Michiganders.
If you notice potential pest or disease problems but aren’t quite sure what you’re looking at, call your local tree experts to have them inspect and diagnose the trees before too much damage is done.
Tip #8. Monitor Trees Weekly in the Summer
Summer is probably the most difficult time for our trees here in Ann Arbor. If you want to keep your yard shaded and beautiful and contribute to the extensive urban canopy here in “Tree Town,” then it’s important to keep close watch on your trees this summer.
Take one morning a week to walk through your yard and look closely at your trees. The sooner you identify a problem, the easier it will be to fix it and support the health of your tree.
Call Highland Tree Services – We’ll Keep Your Trees Healthy This Summer
Not sure if your trees are struggling? Want to ensure you do what’s best for your trees so they can thrive this summer, rather than just survive?
Then reach out to your local Ann Arbor tree service experts at Highland Tree Services. Our goal is to help home and business owners in the Ann Arbor area maximize the health and beauty of their trees, while also making maintenance as simple as possible.
Call us at (734) 999-3880 or request a proposal today using our online form.
