Evergreen Tree Care
Evergreen trees, true to their name, are trees that retain their foliage all the year round, No matter what season; these trees bear their greens all through, adding life and color to your surroundings all year long. Evergreen have been used as a landscape plant since early civilizations. In Renaissance Europe evergreens were fashioned to form elaborate sculptures. The early Chinese cultivated dwarf evergreens, a skill that was developed on by the Japanese with the bonsai tree. New England homesteads in early America used pines as a handsome windscreen. The evergreen trees were used as Christmas tree, as early as the sixteenth century. Evergreen trees are best suited for landscaping, as they offer unfailing look year-round. Although the evergreens do not shed their leaves in the fall like other deciduous trees, they shed gradually that makes it necessary to clean them often. While these trees grow easily and require little maintenance, it is important to be acquainted to the little ways to care for your evergreen trees. Read on for more on how to care for evergreen trees.
- While some may argue that spring is the ideal time to plant your evergreen tree, fall certainly has its own list of advantages. Planting evergreen trees during fall is easy and less stressful as evergreen trees consume less water and need little sunlight during this time of the year. Planting your evergreen trees during this time will give them enough time to adjust to their new environs and allow the dirt to properly settle around the roots.
- Evergreen trees tend to run dry during winters, due to low humidity and high winds. Also seedlings are likely to dry out during winter. To check desiccation, you need to keep the ground moist until frost sets in, and spread mulch or woodchips as an added moisture retainer.
- Evergreen trees are easy to maintain since they need little fertilizer and mostly survive on just sunshine and water. Don’t try fertilizing your evergreen trees unless they turn pale due to dearth of nutrients. In that case, you can sprinkle a tablespoon of balanced fertilizer on top of the ground around each tree. Never put fertilizer directly into the planting hole, as this might kill the trees. Let water bring the nutrients to the roots at a natural pace.
- Newly planted evergreen trees are often the vulnerable targets of deer and rodents like mice and moles, who when starved, don’t mind feeding on tender new growths. The best way to protect your trees from getting ransacked by these animals is to spray synthetic coyote urine. This is likely to keep the nuisance away from the trees.
- If you plan to plant your tree in a pot, remember to water your pot religiously every day. The pot where you plant your tree should have a hole to allow drainage. It’s best to go for a light colored pot to protect your plant from the sweltering temperature. A light colored mulch or woodchips on top of the pot dirt will help to reflect sunlight and keep the pot cooler.
- If you plant your tree during fall, they are likely to be ready by summer. Pines can be pruned in summer, while Spruce and Fir should not be pruned until next fall. If you notice your trees are not as deeply coloreds as they used to be, sprinkle a tablespoon of 12-12-12 balanced fertilizer on top of the ground around each tree, but let the rain or your sprinkler slowly transfer the nutrients to the roots.
- Evergreen trees don’t need any special soil to flourish. Though these trees flourish quite well in ordinary soil, using well-drained soil is indeed a plus point, as it ensures that the roots get sufficient amount of water.
- Evergreen trees tend to get parched and lose water during hot dry weather. Hence, it is important to water your plants extensively during this period. While watering the tree, you should provide a substantial amount of water, which would at least percolate 6 inches deep into the ground.