Monthly Archives: October 2022

 

As autumn approaches, be sure to take full advantage of the season. It is widely spoken that fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs. Here are a few things to consider when planting trees at your home.

 

1st: Planting trees in the fall

• Planting trees in the fall is the best time of the year for plant growth, because of the cooler temperatures and most deciduous trees are dormant allowing less stress and damage to the tree.

2nd: Planting deciduous trees

• Many deciduous trees provide beautiful foliage and if planted in the correct spot, they can help reduce your energy bill. Consider planting a deciduous tree like a Red Oak, Cedar Elm, Bur Oak, or Lacebark Elm on the northwest side of your home. This will cool your home in the summer and allow sunlight to heat your home in the winter.

3rd: Planting trees along the North and South side

• If you are looking to plant a screen for vegetable gardens or screen from harsh winter winds, consider planting a row of trees, like Eastern Red Cedars, Magnolias, hollies, junipers, or other full to the ground growth type trees to protect from the cold northern winds.

• Planting tree rows along the south side of your property will provide a good wind break as they mature.

4th: Do not plant large stature shade trees close to the foundation.

• Most large-stature trees, like Red Oaks, Live Oaks, Magnolias, Cedar Elms, and Bald Cypress, need room to grow. Their roots grow outward to stabilize them as they mature. They require water and can reduce moisture near the foundation. It is important to not plant a tree within 25-ft of a foundation. These large tree species can have roots that grow out 3-5 times the width of their canopy.

5th: Do not plant large shade trees beneath utility lines.

• Selecting the right tree for the right location is very important. Never plant a large stature tree beneath a power line or within 25-35 ft of an overhead line. As these trees mature, they will grow into utility lines and require invasive pruning.

 

If you have any questions about your trees, feel free to contact the professionals at Fannin Tree Farm. Our number is (972) 747-9233 and we have a team of experts ready to serve.

Fall is one of my favorite times of year. Not only is the weather cooling down (we hope in Texas), hockey, college football, and tailgating is in full swing, but Texas Arbor Day is the first Friday of November in, which is prime time to buy and plant your favorite shade or ornamental trees. You might be thinking, “Isn’t Arbor Day in April?” Yes, if you live in most of the country. The first Arbor Day in the United States was celebrated April 10, 1872, in Nebraska, and the idea of an official day promoting and planting trees quickly spread throughout the country.

One hundred years after its first celebration, National Arbor Day was declared as the last Friday in April. The only problem with this is that many times (including this past National Arbor Day), North Texas can see temperatures well into the 80’s with heat indexes into the 90s during late April. Although Fannin Tree Farm has a year-round 98% success rate of planting trees, fall is most often a better time to establish trees. Cooler temperatures create more favorable conditions for a successful transition into the tree’s permanent home. Which is why in 2013, Texas established Texas State Arbor Day, which falls on the first Friday of November.

There are lots of things that you can do to celebrate Texas Arbor Day. In Texas, the official state Arbor Day celebration is held in a different host city each year on the first Friday in November. On National Arbor Day, Texas A&M Forest Service announced that this year’s state celebration will be hosted in Plano, Texas. “The idea is for everyone in Texas to take one day – the same day – to truly appreciate trees and plant one,” said Paul Johnson Texas A&M Forest Service urban and community forestry program coordinator. “Planting a tree leaves a legacy for future generations while beautifying the spaces where we live, work and play today.”

Today, above all, Arbor Day is for children, parents, and grandparents to strengthen the bond between generations by planting trees together. It presents a tremendous opportunity to teach fundamental lessons about stewardship of our natural resources and caring for our environment. There is no more powerful demonstration than helping children plant and care for trees that their own children and grandchildren will enjoy.

 

 

Here are some things you can do with your family, school or community for Texas Arbor Day:

• Celebrate by planting a tree.

• Take a class of students on a tree identification hike around campus or within your community. Fannin Tree farm has a program to work with girl scouts, boy scouts, and other groups.

• Plant trees on your school campus.

• Challenge schools within the local districts to create Tree Trails on their campuses.

• Have a contest for students to find the oldest trees in the community and research the history of the tree. For example, when the tree was 10 years old, what was going on in your community, the nation and/or the world.

• Hold an essay contest where students describe the importance of trees to their community

• Select special trees to plant as a memorial or honorary trees (link to the celebration tree graphic with the tree types and meaning.)

• Invite a local arborist to give a tree-climbing demonstration.

• Ask an arborist or Tree Company to come out and give a talk on trees, how to maintain trees or other tree-related topics for your school, community group, church, or scouts group. Fannin Tree Farm will do this for your group.

• Take a Family walk at a local park and talk about the trees and what trees provide to our world.

Fannin Tree Farm would love to spend part of your Arbor Day with you, come out on the 4th, 5th or 6th of November for our Texas Arbor Day Sale. All of our trees will be on sale. We will have Arbor Day Activity Books for the Kids, The Ticket broadcasting live from 12:00pm to 7:00pm, a food truck on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and lots of great Texas Shade Tree’s to choose from.

 

Sources for some information:
https://www.dallasnews.com
http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/arborday/

 

 

 

 

 

1. Never forget to water during the Fall and Winter months.

• • It is a common misconception, that there is no need for watering in the Fall/Winter months. However, trees require water always throughout the year; we recommend to water as needed to keep the soil moisture at an adequate level always during the colder months.
  • To properly prepare for freezing temperatures in the Fall and Winter, make sure to water the trees an adequate amount the day/night before a freeze to maintain the soil temperature and decrease the chance of plant decline.
  • Visit our website to find our post-planting tree care guide and watering instructions.

 

2. Rely on mulch.
   • Put mulch under your tree in the fall or early winter to help retain water and reduce temperature extremes in the soil.
   • A thin layer of mulch will act like a blanket and give the tree’s roots a little extra protection. Never put more than 1 to 1.5” of mulch over the root ball.
   • If you have a Fannin Tree with a tree well, now id the time to refresh your tree well by turning over the mulch and refreshing the tree well.

3. Prune your trees.

• • Late fall is a good time to prune your trees. Not only are trees dormant in the colder months, but it is also easier to see a tree’s structure when there are no leaves on the branches.
  • Proper pruning is vital to the health of trees and plants, in part because it helps relieve stress on trees and keeps them growing. Just be aware that each tree is different and pruning at the wrong time or the wrong way can injure a tree making it more susceptible.”
  • Fannin does not recommend pruning trees for 2 to 3 years after the tree was planted. This allows the tree to recover from planting stress. It is ok to prune dead branches from a newly planted tree.

 

4. Plant more!
   • Since autumn is the time of year for colorful, falling leaves, many people do not realize that it is also a prime time to plant new trees.
   • After cooler weather has set in, conditions are perfect for stimulating root growth in new trees. Once roots are established throughout the fall and dormancy of winter, spring showers and summer warmth encourage new top growth.

 

If you have any questions about your trees, planting trees, need a quote for pruning or tree well clean up and mulch, feel free to contact the professionals at Fannin Tree Farm.  Our number is 972-747-9233 and we have a team of tree experts ready to serve.

Some of this content provided by the International Society of Arboriculture, a non-profit organization dedicated to tree-care research and education. Fannin Tree Farm is a member in good standing with ISA.