What To Do in the Winter to Keep Your Trees Healthy?

Winter tree service in Denver

Winter Tree Care

The soil and climate around Denver is perfect for growing grass. Few native trees grow naturally here besides Cottonwoods. The rest are planted, so yard trees in Denver need extra care to keep them healthy. Rule number one is watering. Denver is known for its winter droughts. Homeowners should get their trees’ deep root watered and fed on mild winter days when temperatures are above freezing.

Leave and flower buds set in the summer, so there is no harm in trimming trees during the year’s colder months. Also, our arborists can more clearly see damage and structure issues since trees have no leaves. Please download the Ross Tree Tree Insect Calendar to see what tree insects and diseases can be treated in the winter. 

Ross Tree Insect Calendar 

Need winter tree care? For an appointment, click here to fill out a request service form or call 303-871-9121.

Winter 2023

2023 was a wild year tree-wise in Denver. The City has one of its wettest May and June on record. The rest of the summer was hot. Fungi and diseases rarely seen appeared, including Dutch Elm Disease. Trees actively soaked up the moisture after two years of severe drought, which would have been a perfect time to fertilize. The winter has been bone dry, so hire a professional tree service to water all mature yard trees during mild weather. Young saplings need watering every two weeks. It is also a great time to prune hardwoods because they are bare.

Winter 2022

After two years of drought, Aspen and Honeylocust trees are struggling in the Denver area. Ross Tree offers deep root watering and feeding programs to keep trees’ root systems healthy to withstand drought. If homeowners did not water their trees in the Fall, they should do so this winter. Winter is an excellent time for dormant oil spraying to kill overwintering tree scales and aphids in Elms and Maples.

 

Winter 2021

Lindens got hit hard by drought in 2021. Watering trees in the winter goes a long way in helping Lindens, and other hardwoods ward off fungi infections and drought stress.

 

winter deep root feeding

Deep Root Watering 

Tree root systems store nutrients and water so trees in Denver can survive Denvers dry winters. All trees benefit from supplemental watering during the winter, particularly during droughts. Young trees especially need watering during dry spells. Click here for more information about deep root feeding.

 

 

Winter tree trimming

Winter Pruning

In the winter, it is easier to evaluate tree structure. Winter pruning truly benefits trees and sets them up for a successful growing season. In the spring, the tree directs energy to fewer branches, which improves the overall vigor of a tree. The buds on the remaining branches produce healthier leaves, fruit, and limbs. Click here for more information about Winter Tree Care.

chapstick for trees

Chapstick for Trees 

Anti-desiccants sprayed on evergreen foliage form a soft, transparent, flexible film that protects leaves and needles from drying out during the winter and protects them from winter drought and high winds.

 

 

Tree aphid eggs

Dormant Oil Treatments

Dormant oils control tree aphids, mites, and scales that overwinter as eggs. Dormant oils are sprayed on trees in the winter and are effective against exposed tree insect eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults.

Surprising Rise in Tree Aphids in Denver

Each spring is different in Denver. Ross Tree's General Manager is already seeing aphids in February 2024. Last year, Denver had a wet spring, and an Elm Leave Beetle infestation occurred. In 2022, we had a dry early spring with little snow, but it rained heavily in...

Tree Compartmentalization

Trees are among Earth's most successful life forms in terms of longevity, size, and ecological dominance. They are around 370 million years old and found on all continents besides Antarctica. Lifeforms that successfully have ways to content with harm, rot, and...

Tree Risk Assessment

An experienced ISA Certified Arborist with sound technical knowledge and experience can assess problem trees to prevent injuries and property damage. Tree risk assessment should not assume every tree defect is a hazard but consider the potential for harm from tree...

Two Elms on Elm Street

Planting Elm Trees At one time, the American Elm was the most planted tree in America. Elms were popular because of their size and stately fountain-like shape. Trees planted along streets create an entwined canopy that turns gold in the fall. Unfortunately, most...

Winter Care of Young Trees in Denver

In the fall and winter, trees drop their leaves and become dormant as they prepare for colder temperatures. Newly planted trees benefit tremendously from winter young tree care. Believe it or not newly planted trees experience the greatest growth in their root system...

Denver’s Wet Summer – Too Much of A Good Thing

June 2023 is now the wettest ever in Denver, with a total of 6.1 inches of rainfall. While trees need a certain amount of water to thrive, excessive rain can have positive and negative effects, depending on the tree species, soil type, and other environmental factors....

The Year of the Tree Fungus in Denver

Ross Tree is seeing rare tree diseases and insects this year because of our wet spring and summer. One of our arborists found Anthracnose on Ash trees. The fungus usually attacks Sycamore trees. Anthracnose seldom kills trees but disfigures and weakens them. All these...

Dutch Elm Disease Discovered Again in Denver

American Elms are native to North America. Back in the 1800s horticulturists and city planners across the U.S. planted them in parks and the public right-of-ways, so their modern range is the whole country. These magnificent trees grow 60 to 80 feet tall, with a 40 to...

Emerald Ash Borer Handbook

The Emerald Ash Borer Is Here to Stay To help our customers, Ross Tree, a locally owned and operated Denver tree company, created an Emerald Ash Borer Handbook to inform home and business owners about this troublesome iridescent green beetle. The Emerald Ash Borer...

Large Tree Service Job Handbook

For over 30 years, Ross Tree has been the go-to tree service company for complicated large tree service jobs. Completing difficult tree service jobs near a home, garage, and fence structures requires specialized skills and equipment. A permit is needed for a full or...
Ross Tree tri-level tree fertilization

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Ross Tree Company

80 S Galapago St
Denver, CO 80223

(303) 871-9121

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