Healthy trees are valuable for the ecosystem benefits and natural beauty they provide. Regular tree inspections and maintenance can help your trees weather storms, lower your energy bills, and increase your home’s value by as much as 15 percent.
Are my trees healthy?
To keep access and track tree health, homeowners should keep a photo log of their trees and conduct periodic self-surveys. Make a note of:
- the location and species of each tree in your yard
- changes to its structure over time, such as small or discolored leaves, premature leaf loss and the presence of mushrooms or fungus
- wounds from lawnmowers
- leaning
- decayed wood
- wood splitting or cracks
- large dead branches
- cavities
- damage to roots from construction or trenching
- soil mounding at the base
- ivy or vines growing on the trees
- changes to the environment
- other trees in the vicinity
How can I keep my trees healthy?
Basic maintenance required for optimal tree health includes:
- watering
- pruning
- mulching
- fertilizing
- always use a certified arborist to perform pruning, removal, and clean-up work on your trees.
Homeowner Resources
Check out these resources for maintaining your trees, how to select an arborist, search for certified arborists and more.
| Title | Description | Document Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1. GA Tree Owners Manual | From Planting to Maintenance | |
| 5. How to Plant Trees – A Homeowner’s Guide | “How do I plant a tree?” This is a common question, and tree planting and establishment guidelines have changed considerably over the past 20 years. Learning how to plant a tree and following proper practices when planting trees can lead to long term benefits from well established plants. | |
| Assessing Soil Water Resource Space | Trees require high quality resources in the correct proportions to perform best. Water, and the soil volume which holds water, are critical to great tree growth. | |
| GFC UC&F Species Selection List | Recommended Tree Species Selections for Urban and Community Forest Sustainability | |
| Healthy Trees, Healthy Lives Research | Take care of the forest, and it will take care of you. As research is being conducted and becoming available, findings reinforce what much of the urban forestry community already knows — that trees have a positive impact on human health. Check out research on why Healthy Trees make Healthy Lives. | External Website |
| Homeowner’s Role in Maintaining the Urban Forest | Download this guide to get tips on maintaining trees, selecting an arborist and a homeowner tree survey checklist. | |
| How to Water Your Trees | Summer heat often prompts us to wonder how our trees can survive when too little rain falls to keep the grass alive. There are important tips to follow for proper watering and maintenance. | |
| Managing Storm Damaged Trees: Do’s and Don’ts | Check out this resource for the Do’s and Don’ts on how to manage damaged trees from a storm. Includes: how to hire a professional for clean up, chainsaw safety, pruning and maintenance for damaged trees and more. | |
| Planting Container Trees | Containerized trees may come in many different sizes but and are usually available in 1,3,5,7 10 or 15 gallon-sized containers. Ideally, the size diameter of the container should be 8-10 inches for every inch of trunk diameter measured at 6” above the ground. | |
| Proper Tree Mulching | Mulch is organic material placed on the soil’s surface around trees and plants to enhance their growing conditions. Mulch helps maintain soil temperature and moisture, reduce water loss from soil, reduce weed competition, improve soil structure, and give landscapes a clean appearance. Often overlooked, spreading mulch around your trees is one of the easiest and most beneficial techniques that can have great impact on the health and vitality of your trees. | |
| Save Energy – Plant Trees! | This video provides insights into the value of planting trees. | Video |
| Storm Damaged Trees – Pruning Decision Guide | Right after a hurricane, communities and homeowners need to decide what to do with storm-damaged trees. Although damaged trees may seem to be dying, some trees can be restored, others will need to be removed, and still others will not require any special treatment and can be left alone. | |
| Trees and Drought | Drought is a main contributing factor to shade tree decline. Extended drought can influence the health of shade trees by the loss of absorbing roots. |