Whether you’re an urban forester, a property manager, or a homeowner trying to keep trees safe through summer, tree care can make a big difference. Both newly planted and established trees have specific summer care needs, and before the heat really kicks in, we want to make sure you’re keeping your trees thriving!
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While summer tree care is important everywhere, out West, trees face a unique combination of region-specific environmental stressors. In Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, and across the West, summer brings intense sun (aided by elevation in some areas), dry air, hot winds, and sometimes long stretches of limited to no rainfall. When paired with urban stressors like compacted soils and heat islands, every tree, young, old, newly planted, or well-established, can struggle with heat and drought over the summer months.
In summer, these stressors can make trees more vulnerable to tree pests and tree diseases. Aphids, spider mites, borers, and other problems tend to show up when trees are already weakened by environmental pressures like heat and limited nutrients or water.
Providing appropriate seasonal support can help trees stay resilient against seasonal stressors. In summer, that means watering, mulching, pest monitoring, and, when necessary, early intervention to help trees cope with hot, dry conditions in the West.
One of the places where these stressors have the biggest impact is, unfortunately, some places we can’t monitor as easily. While summer stress is easy to see in the canopy, the real issues typically start below ground. Healthy roots are essential to tree care, and caring for them is even more essential in hot, dry Western summers.
Because of low humidity, high winds, intense sun, and limited rainfall, Western soils can dry out quickly. In urban areas, shallow, compacted, and rocky soils, especially those surrounded by pavement, can make it difficult for roots to reach or receive water, especially if supplemental watering is limited. When roots struggle to meet basic needs, the whole tree suffers, making it more vulnerable to stressors we see in the canopy, such as leaf scorch, pests, and diseases.
For young and newly planted trees, root support is especially important. While young trees may look okay above ground, what’s happening below ground is still fragile. Roots are still developing, and consistent deep watering and mulching over its first few summers can help protect it from heat stress and, ultimately, make the difference between a tree that simply survives and one that thrives.
Even a tree that starts with healthy roots, like trees grown in an air pot, needs support. Ensuring healthy roots during establishment can build resilience, and if you’re seeing issues above ground, consider what’s happening below ground first.
Step one for summer tree care is proper watering. It may seem simple, but watering is one of the things most people get wrong. First, assuming rainfall will meet water needs is a big mistake in the West, or any region.
Trees need water that reaches the root zone, and that means deep watering rather than surface watering. Deep roots make stronger trees, and shallow watering encourages shallow roots. Deep watering means trees are better equipped to handle western stressors such as heat, wind, and drought.
Ultimately, you want to water so that the moisture soaks into the soil rather than running off onto the lawn, pavement, or street. Translation: that means slower watering! This is especially true for newly planted or young trees that have smaller root systems and are really working to develop them in the first few years.
A few summer watering tips to help you and your trees:
Proper watering doesn’t mean daily watering. Instead, it means mindful watering. Slow, deep watering will support strong roots, consistent soil moisture, and, in the long term, more resilient, healthier trees.
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Some people tend to see mulch as decorative, or giving beds and trees a cleaner, more polished appearance, but it’s really doing way more than that, especially in hot, dry landscapes. In fact, a properly placed mulch ring stabilizes soil temperatures, helps maintain moisture, and improves soil conditions as it breaks down over time.
Mulch is particularly helpful in the summer, as it can keep soil cool and extend moisture retention after watering. To get those benefits, though, you must mulch properly:
If you think about mulch as a light blanket for the soil and roots rather than a turtleneck for the tree, you’re on the right track!
If you’ve ever had a sunburn, you know how relentless summer sun can be. Trees feel that too. And as you can get sunburn, trees can get sun damage too, with the impact ranging from mild to severe, just like sunburns. Trees can get burned too, especially out West, where the heat is compounded by dry air, wind, and heat-radiating rocky landscapes or, in urban areas, pavement.
When we’re out in the sun too long, our skin burns, we get tired, and dehydrated. Again, trees are the same, and heat stress may show up as curling, wilting, or dropped leaves. Sunscald on trees, however, shows up on the bark, which might look damaged, cracked, or even sunken. This usually happens on the S/SW side of trees where sun exposure is often the most extreme. As one can imagine, young trees with thin bark are most vulnerable.
To help trees manage heat stress and sunscald, ensure you’re watering and mulching, but avoid pruning or pushing any new growth (no fertilizer). These will reduce stress on the trees. For young and newly planted trees, some trunk protection may be necessary.
In cases where damage is severe or worsening, or where there’s also canopy decline, you’ll want to contact a certified arborist to come look at the tree and determine if it’s time for tree removal.
One concern with a stressed tree is that it becomes more vulnerable to other problems, such as tree pests. A healthy tree can often tolerate moderate pest activity, but one that’s already stressed? They often don’t fare as well.
Common summer pests include:
While not every tree pest is an emergency, and not every infestation can take a tree down, when trees are already struggling, pest damage can make things much worse. You’ll want to carefully monitor the tree(s), the pests, and overall tree health. If you’re concerned or can’t identify the pest, call an arborist!
We’ve touched on a few of the more common symptoms of tree stress, but catching it early gives you the best chance of reducing tree stress.
Keep an eye out for:
Of course, one of the best ways to take care of trees in the summer is by making sure they head into the season healthy. And, when you see a tree struggling in summer, quick fixes can often create more stress, so best to avoid those mistakes too!
A few summer tree care mistakes we see often:
If your trees are looking stressed, start with the basics: check the soil, check the mulch, look at the leaves and trunk, and consider what other stressors the tree might be exposed to (heat islands, compacted soils).
If you’re struggling to identify the problem, contact a certified arborist near you. Not only can they help you appropriately diagnose the problem, but they’ll also be able to help you implement the right support.
For property managers and municipalities, hiring tree services over the summer to provide supplemental watering is a good start, as it starts with strong, healthy stock. SuperTrees can help with both.
With thousands of trees and hundreds of native varieties and cultivars, we can help you start with the trees that are right for your community, from drought-tolerant to fast-growing. We’re ready to help you see your urban forest or managed landscape thrive, so reach out to our team today!