Tree Care Information

Think of young trees as living sculptures. Trees need a little help developing proper (ideal) structures as they age in an urban setting. Consider these four objectives when thinking about corrective tree pruning. Removing dead or damaged branches, maintaining a single leader(trunk), Select the lowest permanent branch, thin and maintain other temporary branches below the lowest permanent branch until eventual removal.
Something to consider when pruning young trees in Berthoud, is when selecting the lowest permanent branch, consider its orientation. If the branch will be growing over a town-owned sidewalk or road, make sure the branch is at least 8 feet above a sidewalk or 14 feet above a road.
 
For a more expanded fact sheet on pruning young trees, follow this link to the Colorado Master Gardener program for their Structural Training of Young Shade Trees. 

If you have any questions about how to prune your young tree, you can email the town forestry staff at forestry@berthoud.org. We are happy to answer any questions! 

Pruning mature trees is vital to an aging tree’s health and structure. It is also important to recognize and mitigate potential hazards presented by the larger canopy of mature trees. Winter is a great time of year to get a look at your tree’s canopy. Look for broken and dead branches as they are not as structurally sound as living branches and can fail with less stress. Consider protecting all targets underneath a mature tree canopy. For more information on pruning mature shade trees please visit CSU Extension Pruning Shade Trees.

Tips for winter watering for trees and shrubs

Depending on the year, winter watering practices can be just as important as watering during the growing season for the trees and shrubs in your landscape. Even though they are dormant they still need some moisture around their roots to keep the plant healthy through the winter. In Colorado, we can experience droughts even through fall and winter. Supplemental winter watering paired with proper mulching can benefit your tree through the dry fall and winter periods. 

•  If we go a month or more in the fall or winter months without any meaningful precipitation, consider watering your tree and shrubs. 
• Meaningful precipitation means a good rain (.5 inches or more) or more than a couple of inches of snow. Consider this, per NOAA, 13 inches of snow equals one inch of rain (depending on the type of snow). So even if we get a light dusting of snow and it melts the following day, it might not be enough for your tree if it has been extremely dry. 
• If winter watering is needed, water trees and shrubs on their drip lines. (See picture below) Depending on how warm or how long it has been since the last watering, water one to two times per month.

• Water only when air temperatures are above 40 degrees F. Apply water at mid day. Watering on warmer, preferably summer days should warm up the soil enough to allow water to soak in before freezing at night. 
• Try to apply water slowly through a sprinkler or a deep root watering stake so all of the water gets into the soil and doesn't run off. 
• Apply water in many places around the drip line.
• Use the general rule for the amount to water trees. 10 gallons of water per 1 inch diameter of tree at 6 inches above the soil. For shrubs, apply 5 gallons one to two times per month. 

If you have any questions about winter watering or your trees in general, call the Forestry Department at 970-532-4256 or email us at forestry@berthoud.org.

Links for more reading:

Fall and Winter Watering - CSU Extension

The International Society of Arboriculture manages TreesAreGood.org, an educational website that provides the public with quality tree care information. TreesAreGood.org helps increase awareness of the benefits of trees and provides homeowners and other tree owners with access to resources to help sustain trees in an urban environment. Examples of a few resources you’ll find on TreesAreGood.org include:

• Why Hire An Arborist
• Why Topping Hurts Trees
• Find an Arborist                        

CSU Extension - Have a tree or plant related question?  Ask Extension 

CSU Extension - Looking for a trustworthy source for information on trees and plants? Visit the CSU Extension Main Page