Trees are your best antiques.
~Alexander Smith |
| |
Save 10%
Can you name this tree? Send your answer to [email protected] and you'll receive 10% off of your next estimate! Here are some hints:
1. It's native to the midwest of North America.
2. This is a relatively fast-growing tree and generally grows in parks and along city streets for ornamental purposes.
3. Among the trees of the eastern United States, there are two others with similarly large leaves: the Honey Locust and the Devil's Walking Stick.
GOOD LUCK! | | Offer Expires: upon the release of the next issue of Branching Out |
|
|
Boutte Tree NewsWe would like to thank our wonderful customers for another great year of tree work - thank you! You've kept us busy with your pruning, removals, plantings, sprays and fertilizations, and arboricultural needs. Thanks to some of our newest team members, we've been able to keep up! In March of this year we brought Virginia White onto our team as our Office Administrator. She has done an amazing job answering your calls, scheduling your work, and keeping our crews' schedules organized and efficient (not to mention putting together our newsletter!). Jay Parker came on in May as our Sales Arborist, so many of you may have met him by now. He is out there in Atlanta day in and day out looking at your trees and providing proposals with our competitive pricing and high quality tree work standards that you - our customers - expect and deserve! 
|
|
Boutte Family Update
Our company is family owned and operated, and Jessa and Tierson Boutte continue to work at building Boutte Tree and providing the highest quality tree services that we can. Our daughters Sayre and Eleanor are now 4 and 2 respectively, and they are both firm tree lovers! In addition to our chickens and our dog Hobi, we now have a new family cat named Catcher.
~Jessa Boutte |
|
To Prune, or Not to Prune . . .
There is a time and a place for everything, and pruning is no exception. More often than not, the optimal pruning time is dictated by the type of pruning being done, rather than the type of tree. With some flowering trees, the timing of pruning is essential to ensure the maximum amount of flowers. With most trees however, the best time to prune is determined by what kind of pruning you are performing. The following are some of the most common types of pruning and the best time to perform them.
Crown Cleaning: A crown clean involves removing limbs that are broken, diseased, split or dead. Since crown cleaning is generally performed to ensure safety, and no live tissue is being removed, crown cleaning can be performed at almost any time of the year. This is the most common type of pruning for landscape trees.
Crown Thinning: Periodically, trees need a "hair cut". Thinning the crown allows for light to penetrate through the crown (which is usually helpful for the plants below) and for air and light to move more freely through the crown. If trees are not periodically thinned, their crowns can become like a huge sail in a windstorm and are more susceptible to breaking. Proper thinning helps maintain a natural appearance and promotes a good structure for the tree. Since crown thinning usually involves removing a percentage of live tissue (usually 15-20%) it is best to do in the winter, after the leaves have fallen off the trees so as not to put too much stress on the tree.
Crown Reduction: Sometimes, trees do not grow into a natural shape. Their canopies are off-balance and too much weight may be distributed to one side of the tree. When that happens, a crown reduction prune is required. Crown reduction involves pruning back the farthest reaching limbs but leaving the lateral limbs. This reduces the size of the canopy and brings it into a more uniform shape. This is a sort of balancing act that helps the tree stabilize and guards against uprooting. Because the tree is being pruned heavily, and because so much live tissue is being removed, it is best to do this type of pruning in the winter to help protect the tree.
Crown Raising: Sometimes, tree limbs are just in the way. Some limbs are mis-shapen and grow down instead of up, or the canopy of the tree is just too low and interferes with pedestrians, buildings, signage and vehicles. When this occurs, these low limbs can easily be pruned to provide adequate clearance. It is important not to remove too much! Doing so reduces the tree's ability to produce food for itself and can stress the tree. If crown raising is done properly, it can be done almost any time of year, but still is best to do during the tree's dormant season: the winter.
The type of pruning chosen is a decision best made between the homeowner and the arborist. It is important to take into account what your goals are (safety, aesthetics, health of the tree) and decide the right type of pruning for the tree, and then the best time to perform the work. When done correctly, pruning is an essential part of keeping your trees healthy and safe for years to come.
~Jay Parker |
Fall & Winter Tree Planting
There is nothing as sad as having a beautiful old tree removed. It can be very sad to lose a tree, especially if there are memories associated with it. The most memorable trees are those planted by a father or grandfather, or those associated with childhood. If you are in the position of having lost a tree, don't worry! Building new memories is within your power! All good things must come to an end, but through tree planting you can start another 100 years of new life, upward growth, outward branching, shade, leafy protectiveness, autumn splendor, and natural architecture!
If you're convinced about re-planting, then it's important to remember that whatever trees you plant could eventually dominate the property - they will also anchor the landscape. Tree planting is an important decision. Trees, more than any other part of the landscape, will GROW. At Boutte Tree we can help you think about the different species of trees and how they will impact the property, and what a good expectation is for each planting. In general, tall shade trees such as Oaks, Maples, Elms, Sycamores, Tulip Poplars, Ash trees, and Hickories (just to name a few!) should be planted on the West side of structures to bathe them in shade during the hot summer afternoons. The eastern side can be adorned with shorter trees and shrubs, flowering or fruit-producing, that may not grow as high but do well with sun and provide amenities besides shade. Examples are: cherries, peaches, apples, serviceberries, fringe-trees, dogwoods and more. There are other arrangements as well, but since trees are very difficult to move, it's best to think things through. Your arborist can help you understand how time will change the trees and how they can be expected to fit into place.
After you've decided if and where you're going to plant, it's very important to make sure that you know how to plant. For starters, planting is best done in Fall or Winter because the trees are dormant and so transplanting shock is minimized. Also, the cooler weather means that the newly planted trees won't be immediately subjected to desiccating heat, but will first have time to establish more roots that will collect water and cool the tree when summer does come.
When planting, a hole should be dug slightly less deep than the soil portion of the tree, so that the root ball or container soil protrudes an inch or two above grade. This minimizes the risk of planting too deep and ensures that the tree will develop a good root flare. The width, however, of the planting hole should be 3 times the width of the rootball. This will ensure plenty of loose soil around the root ball where new growth can extend, allowing the tree easy initial access to water, anchoring space, and oxygen-rich soil. At the time of planting, any girdling roots or potential girdling roots can be pruned to ensure healthy future growth as well. Perhaps the most important thing when planting a new tree is water. Trees should be watered when first planted, and then watered weekly through the winter. Once summer comes the watering should be increased to compensate for the heat, to as much as 4 times a week. Watering should be thorough to allow water to saturate the soil.
Planting trees is fun and memorable, but if you're too busy to do it, or not sure that you'll plant it just right, contact Boutte Tree for an estimate. We love planting trees and will gladly give you a proposal for planting. We charge only for the tree and the installation, the century of memories is yours at no charge!
~Tierson Boutte |
|
Trees are much like human beings and enjoy each other's company. Only a few love to be alone.
~Jens Jensen, Siftings, 1939 |
|
|
