TreeNewal’s Summer Prep To-Do List for North Texas Yards

Here comes the sun! Although spring was unusually wet in North Texas this year, the driest and hottest part of the year is right around the corner. Most of our trees, shrubs, and flowers are accustomed to the relentless heat, drought, and sunshine that a Texas summer typically brings, but it’s still a good idea to prepare your yard as best you can. Below is a checklist of things you can do to help your North Texas landscape thrive this summer instead of merely survive.

A checklist for preparing your trees and shrubs for summer:

• Watch out for pests and diseases: All trees in Texas have a unique set of pests and diseases they are prone to attract. Take some time to research and learn about your trees and shrubs and what their particular vulnerabilities are. Most pests will first infect your tree during the spring and continue to plague the tree throughout the year. By now, your trees or shrubs might be showing signs of infestation, but plan to monitor your trees and shrubs throughout the summer for signs and symptoms. Many pests are visible to the naked eye. It would help if you also were on the lookout for eggs and larvae. Some pests create the entrance and exit tunnels in the trunk, so routinely check your tree for those. Also, take note if you see discolored, spotted, or malformed leaves. Large patches of yellow, brown, or dead leaves or places where the tree appears to be damaged or the bark is falling away are all causes for concern. Reach out to an ISA Certified Arborist if you notice any of the things mentioned above or anything that seems like a red flag.
• Establish a supplemental watering plan: Most trees and shrubs will need supplemental water during the summer months when Dallas-Fort Worth can go for weeks at a time without any major precipitation events. Young trees are especially vulnerable to harsh weather conditions and will need special attention during the worst of the summer, but even your mature trees will need to be monitored. If you haven’t already, you should start watering your trees now in preparation for the upcoming heat and continue throughout the summer to boost your yard’s overall health. It’s best to water your trees twice a week to give the soil time to dry between watering. Soaker hoses or drip irrigation is ideal. If you have a sprinkler system, use it early in the morning so avoid as much evaporation as possible. During weeks of heavy rain, skip the supplemental watering.
• Soil conditioning: One of the best proactive measures you can take with your trees is soil conditioning. Trees are living organisms, and, like all living things, they need a healthy diet to thrive. TreeNewal has a maintenance program that can assist you in this area. An ISA Certified Arborist can visit your property to assess your trees and soil and determine a customized soil conditioning solution for you. Trees soak up nutrients from the soil through their roots, so ensuring they have a healthy root system is also key to their success. We use a special soil health blend that we highly recommend to all our customers. It’s a natural plant growth stimulator designed to boost your tree’s ability to absorb nutrients and develop a deeper, stronger root system, bark, and canopy. With this blend, your trees will be significantly better prepared to handle stressors like hot or freezing temperatures, drought, disease, and pests.
• Mulch your trees and shrubs: Once you’ve conditioned your soil, you’ll want to add a layer of mulch to your flower beds and around your trees and shrubs to seal the deal. Adding a fresh layer of mulch keeps moisture and nutrients in the soil for longer. It also helps keep the soil cool, which will really come in handy when the summer heat and drought-hit hard. Mulching isn’t difficult, but it can be done improperly, and incorrect mulching can cause many problems. Just spread a layer of mulch about two inches thick. If it’s too thick, it could keep oxygen from reaching the soil and choke your plants. Also, keep the mulch a few inches away from the base of your trees and shrubs.

Tips for prepping your flower beds for summer:

• Selecting plants and flowers wisely: When you’re preparing your yard for summer or doing central Texas gardening any time of the year, the best thing you can do is choose Texas flowers. Texas native flowers and other plants Texas are more likely to be tolerant of heat, drought, and sun. By choosing flowers in Texas for your Texas gardening, you’re choosing flowers and plants that are more likely to thrive in our soils and not require extensive soil conditioning. They will overall require much less maintenance.
• Here’s a quick Texas plant guide to help you determine the best flowers to plant in Texas: For annuals, consider zinnias, gomphrena, cosmos, celosia, sunflowers, Mexican sunflowers, periwinkles, pentas. For perennials, try autumn sage, mealy cup sage, perennial verbena, rosemary, and white rain lily. You might also consider tropical or semi-tropical plants or succulents. Keep in mind that many of these flowers do not survive winter in North Texas. They will need special care or to be replanted the following year.
• Mulching your flower beds and containers: When prepping your flower beds or containers for Texas planting before summer, you should always remember to add a light layer of mulch. This will keep the soil moist and cool. Any annuals growing in containers will need to be cleaned up, moved to a larger container, and top the new container with a fresh layer of mulch.

TreeNewal’s ISA Certified Arborists are here to help!

If you have questions about summer tree care and you’ve been Googling “tree doctors near me” to find some answers, you’ve landed in the right place! We offer a full range of tree care Texas services. TreeNewal is a certified arborist tree service with multiple ISA Certified Arborists on staff and a team of highly qualified tree care experts. If you need professional tree care, our tree doctors in Dallas are the best in the business. They can make knowledgeable recommendations for optimizing your tree’s health. We care about tree health care at all stages of the tree life cycle. We are experts on both young and mature trees, and we offer a variety of expert tree care services, such as tree trimming, tree pruning, pest and disease control, root aeration, and tree removal in Texas. For more information about our tree care services, go to our website at treenewal.com. To set up an appointment, call us at tel:(817) 592-6846.

To learn more about TreeNewal’s Summer Prep To-Do List for North Texas Yards, TX, call our Argyle and Southlake-based teams

at tel:(817) 592-6846 or send us a message.

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Learn more about TreeNewal’s ISA Certified Arborists!

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