How to Care for Young Trees in the Summer

Byron Hays from Davey's Kansas City office shares advice on caring for young trees during the summer, as well as some of his favorite underused and fast-growing trees. 

In this episode we cover:

• Watering (0:38)
• Planting schedule in Kansas City (2:30)
• Mulching (3:56)
• Some of Byron's favorite trees (5:29)
• Soil quality (6:26)
• Pest and diseases (7:42)
• When to take stakes off a tree (8:23)
• Fast growing trees (8:54)
• Can storms affect young trees? (9:50)
• How Byron got into arboriculture (10:35)
• What it's like being a tree climber (11:07)
• What it's like to help clients with their trees (12:04)
• Pruning a young tree (13:01)
• Using the right tools (14:12)

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more about summer tree care, read our blog, Most Common Questions about Summer Tree Care.

To learn more about pruning young trees, read our blog, How to Prune or Trim Young Trees for Structure and Form.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company 

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com. 

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Transcript

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Doug Oster: Welcome to the Davey Tree Expert Company's podcast, Talking Trees. I'm your host, Doug Oster. Each week, our expert arborists share advice on seasonal tree care, how to make your trees thrive, arborists' favorite trees, and much, much more. Tune in every Thursday to learn more, because here at the Talking Trees podcast, we know trees are the answer. This week, I'm joined by Byron Hays. He's a district manager in the Kansas City office for the Davey Tree Expert Company. Byron, welcome to the show. How are you?

Byron Hays: I'm doing really well. Thank you for having me.

Doug: Talking about summer care for young trees, let's start with newly planted trees. First thing I think about is watering.

Byron: Yes, watering is a really important thing for new and young trees. Best thing you can do for yourself is, they're pretty cheap, get a water meter off Amazon or something. There's a gauge. It'll tell you if it's super wet or not wet. Watering a tree that is over-watered will have pretty similar symptoms to being under-watered. The best way to really gauge that is with a device.

Doug: You get, what is it called? A watering meter?

Byron: Yes, just a soil moisture meter.

Doug: Okay. We get that just off Amazon or something like that. How does that thing work? Is it like a probe?

Byron: Yes, it's a probe you stick in the ground, and there'll be a meter that has little indicators, one through eight usually. It'll be green, yellow, red. You want to be around right between green and yellow.

Doug: If I planted a tree last fall and I have a good rain this spring, when am I thinking about watering? Am I just using that moisture meter and it'll tell me when things dry out, when it's time to put some water on it?

Byron: A good standard to go by is about 5 gallons of water per inch of tree. You can measure the diameter of the tree, and throughout the week, slowly add 5 gallons of water per inch there. If you do it slowly, it'll seep into the soil and actually get into the roots. It won't run off. That's a good way to go by.

Doug: Even though we're talking about young trees that are already in the ground, I wanted to pick your brain a little bit about, in your area, what the planting schedule was. When you start planting, and do you continue planting through most of the summer?

Byron: We try to stop around mid-June. It does start to get a little dry here and pretty hot. It's just a lot of maintenance that's required by the homeowner to keep that tree healthy. To make it easier, we stop around mid-June. We'll start again in mid-September. We can plant all through the winter.

Doug: I know that from my standpoint, I'm in Pittsburgh Zone 6. I love planting in the fall, but it doesn't always work out that way. You find a tree or you lose a tree and you want to replace it. Like you said, there's maintenance that's involved when you're planting a tree into June, right?

Byron: Yes. A lot of extra water. You've got to be really careful with over-watering too, though. That's super easy to do, like I talked before. Your water bill rack up.

Doug: Okay. We got our young trees. We're coming into summer here. We want to make sure that they're healthy. What else comes to mind for you besides making sure that they're watered correctly?

Byron: Making sure it's mulched correctly. Mulch is a really big deal. It helps retain that moisture in the soil and keeps the soil cool so you're not baking the roots or the base of the tree. About 2 to 3 inches of mulch maximum. If you do more than that, you can start suffocating the roots. Mulch is a big deal. Soil care. Make sure the soil has good organic material in it. You can fix that by our soil care programs that we offer, Humates or our Davey Arbor Green. Those are great items to make sure the soil is right.

Doug: Well, I'm not going to let you talk about mulching without talking about the thing we talk about almost every podcast. What do you think it is when we talk about mulching?

Byron: Volcanoes.

[laughter]

Doug: Oh, Byron, what are we going to do? Again, we talk about it all the time. When you do bring up mulching, we got to remind people it doesn't go on like a volcano. It should look more like a dump, right?

Byron: Yes. Good, smooth 2 to 3 inches of mulch out to the drip line of the tree, which is where the leaves end. Then, rake out and keep the mulch about 1 to 2 inches away from the base of the tree. That way, you're not retaining moisture against the base of the tree and promoting rot and aerial roots and issues like that.

Doug: I want to pick your brain a little bit about what kind of trees that you like. We always say right tree, right place. In your area, is there anything, a couple varieties of trees that aren't getting used as much as they should when you can find the right spot? Is there something that you like?

Byron: I'm a real big fan of green gable black gums. They're beautiful trees, super healthy and vigorous. Nice branching structure and a beautiful red color in the fall.

Doug: Oh, you arborists and your black gums.

Byron: Yes. Black gums, ginkgos, you just got to be patient. Those are my favorite trees. They're unfortunately the slowest growing trees.

Doug: Talk about the black gum. You've mentioned it. That fall color, come on.

Byron: Yes, it's gorgeous. It can't be it.

Doug: Fire engine red.

Byron: Yes.

Doug: You did discuss, we did discuss a little bit about the soil quality. If you could expand a little bit more on-- we've talked about it, but I guess I'm not really clear on the humates. Is it a fertilizer, basically? Is that what it does? It just helps things out?

Byron: The way we use it, we also include what's called phosphonates in it. In conjunction with the humates, it adds organic matter back into the soil. It mimics a forested environment where you have leaf litter decaying and adding back into the soil. It has different acephates in it, which naturally occurs, but it's usually robbed out of urban soils. Acephates stimulate roots, allowing them to take in nutrients easier. PP30, which is the phosphonate, it promotes better secondary meristem growth versus primary. You get more root shoots versus tree height. More stability. Heals wounds faster. A lot of benefits.

Doug: Oh, yes. Generally, a great thing to put on any tree, right? Young tree or one that's been around for a little bit.

Byron: Absolutely.

Doug: Then how about this time of the year when thinking young trees? Just making sure they're healthy when we're thinking pests and diseases.

Byron: Pests and diseases. Typically, you're not going to see it too often in young trees, but it can happen. A mower knocks into a tree or something, and then it makes a real good opening for something to get in there that you don't want. Just got to keep a real close eye on it. Try to take care of it. If you're in a high-deer area, either put some deer deterrent on the tree or put some deer guards on it. Just really try to prevent any wounds from opening up.

Doug: Let's go back to a tree that was planted in the fall, and maybe it was staked. At what point this next season does that usually come off?

Byron: You only want to keep stakes on a tree for one to one and a half years maximum. If you go more than that, the tree won't build its natural resistance to wind. They're just like us trying to build muscle. You use it, stretches out, tears a little bit, and then rebuilds stronger. You want it to be able to move and be able to create its muscle.

Doug: What are some of the trees that you plant that are fast-growing trees? You've already talked about the two you love that are slow growers. What's something that grows fast so I can block out my neighbors?

Byron: Most common would be a red maple. I could do some hornbeams. Those are really good, too. Let's see.

Doug: Tell me a little bit about the hornbeam. I put one in. In the podcast, I'm always talking about living in this declining oak forest. I put in a hornbeam, and I really love it. Sometimes they call it, I think, musclewood, just because of that cool bark. How often does it get planted when you're on a property?

Byron: Not very often around here. Back when I worked in Chicago area, we planted a lot more. For some reason, it's not as prevalent around here. You can't find them as often in nurseries.

Doug: For our young trees, how about as far as summer storms are concerned? For a young tree, are we in pretty good shape, because it's not big enough, really, to be blown over or whatever might happen?

Byron: It can definitely still be blown over. Just got to really make sure it's been planted correctly, did have the time to establish right, and it was staked the proper amount of time, keeping it healthy. Like I said, make sure there's no ways for pathogens to enter the tree, healthy roots with proper soil conditions, and shouldn't really have many problems if all those things are covered.

Doug: How'd you get into this? Why is this job right for you?

Byron: I went to school and studied forestry, wanted to be a park ranger. Once I got into that and actually looked into, it didn't really appeal to me much anymore. Heard about urban arboriculture from a friend who was also in the forestry program at SIU. It just really sounded good to me. I started doing that and learned about tree climbing and got into tree climbing, and everything went from there.

Doug: Tell me about learning how to be a tree climber, because it scares the heck out of me.

Byron: Unfortunately, I started with the fear of heights, which is counter-intuitive, but I worked through it.

Doug: How do you work through it? I have a terrible fear of heights. I once did a trip to Costa Rica where they have these bridges where you can look through them. I couldn't walk across it. In your profession, you have to. How do you get over it? How do you do it?

Byron: Personally, I did it through exposure. I just jumped right into it and got over it. I just had to push myself. Eventually, it didn't really take very long. It's real fun being up there. When you get comfortable swinging around, it's a lot of fun.

Doug: That's awesome. Then if you could discuss a little bit about the interactions you have in your job with clients. I always like to ask arborists about the good days when you can go someplace and tell them, "It's going to live, there's nothing wrong with it," or, "I know how to fix it." I know there's days where it's the reverse, but those good days, to me, that sounds like a great day to be an arborist.

Byron: Oh, absolutely. Unfortunately, you definitely can be the bearer of bad news, and it really makes those good days pop. Go to a site, and it's their prize tree their kid planted 20 years ago. It's got a little bit of dieback, and they're really worried about it, and give them the solutions. After a year or two, they start to see improvements, and just so happy, and it's so wonderful to see and experience.

Doug: With a young tree, we're starting from the beginning. Let's talk a little bit about pruning for shape. To me, I always say pruning is, first off, a mystery, but also art and science. That's how I look at it. When you look at a small tree, it's in the ground. It's been in there for maybe a year or so. Let's talk a little bit about how to make sure it's growing the right way via pruning.

Byron: Definitely. You don't want to do too much pruning before a year. You can do little things here and there, but after a year, you want to really take a look at the tree and see how the branches are going to grow. You make sure it's not going to be a co-dominant stem. That can cause real big issues down the road. We want to make sure there's not going to be branches crossing and rubbing each other as it grows. That'll create wounds, which can allow pathogens and funguses and stuff in as well. Just a good structure prune is really beneficial to the long-term success of a tree from an early age.

Doug: Then just talk about the right tools and sharp tools. How important are they?

Byron: Sharp tools are very important. Make sure you haven't done any cutting on an infected shrub or branch. Make sure the tools are sterilized before you do the cutting so you're not transferring anything. Sharp tool, so you get a good cut and that wound can heal correctly. Hand pruners are great for small trees or just a little handsaw. Really don't want to get a chainsaw in there. You're probably going to cause more damage than good.

Doug: Then a pruning saw is different than a wood saw for cutting boards. People don't understand that. A good pruning saw, it makes all the difference in the world. As you said, a good sharp pruning saw.

Byron: Very important. It's worth your while, I think, to spend a little money, get a good pruning saw. It'll last you your whole life, pretty much, if you're just doing homeowner work.

Doug: All right, Byron. You were in Chicago, but I see in the background here, listeners can't see it, but I can see it, there's a Kansas City Chiefs thing back there.

Byron: Yes.

Doug: You're a Chiefs fan.

Byron: Honestly, I'm a Broncos fan, but I always try to support my local team, no matter where I'm at.

Doug: I'm in Pittsburgh. It's easy to be a Steelers fan, but I'm a Browns fan. Imagine with a Browns fan. I'm not supporting the Steelers, even though you're supporting those Chiefs. It's easy to be a Chiefs fan, too.

Byron: Yes.

Doug: All right, Byron. Hey, thanks very much for your time and the information. It was great. I'm sure we'll talk a little bit down the line, too. Thanks so much.

Byron: Yes, of course. Thank you.

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Doug: Tune in every Thursday to the Talking Trees podcast from the Davey Tree Expert Company. I'm your host, Doug Oster. I need you to do me a favor. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss a show. What do you think of what we're doing here on the podcast, and what should we be covering?

There's a couple of different ways to reach us. You can send us an email to podcasts@davey.com. That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T-S@D-A-V-E-Y.com. You can also click the link at the end of our show notes to text us a fan mail message. Your ideas could be on a future podcast, and we'd love to hear from you. As always, we like to remind you on the Talking Trees podcast, trees are the answer.

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