Tree Health Care
Air Spading
How Does Soil Aeration Help?
Urban soils differ dramatically from their forest counterparts in many ways. First off urban soils typically have low nutrient content, putting stress on trees and plants. Forest soils on the other hand are replenished by the decay of organic material such as fallen leaves, and this breaks down nutrients and improves the soil structure.
Urban soils lack this beneficial cycle because organic debris are usually removed which considerably slows down the natural processes. Additionally urban soils also have an immense competition for resources from grass and other landscaping, reducing the nutrients, water, and air from surrounding soils. This causes the soil in urban environments to be heavily compacted from general construction activities, turf installation, routine irrigation, and mechanical and human traffic. These activities compact the soil, reducing root expansion and water penetration. This results in tree and plant stress.
Effects of Compaction
- Reduced growth
- Dieback
- Tree or plant loss
- Poor color
- Increased susceptibility to insects and diseases
Key Benefits of Root Zone Aeration
Drastically improves tree health by increasing the tree root’s access to air, water, and nutrients through soil fracturing thus allowing easier root development.
Aeration also relieves soil compaction by decreasing soil density to support better absorption of moisture and nutrients.
Let Texas Tree Surgeons Help
Airspading involves specialized equipment that uses pneumatic air to fracture the compacted soils, allowing air and water to easily penetrate the root zone. If needed, we will Air Spade to remove and loosen the compacted soils around the base of your trees.
A Texas Tree Surgeons Certified Arborist can assess your property for tree care issues including compaction and recommend a course of action to remedy the issues. Diagnosing compaction involves an understanding of local soil types, property information related to activities affecting the soils, as well as a thorough knowledge of tree types and common issues.
Take a Look
Tree Health Care
View Photos of our Arborists Providing Different Types of Consultation
TREE SUPPORT SERVICES
Depending on the size of a tree there can be multiple cables in addition to bracing to support the weight. Each tree is different, and not all trees are candidates for tree support systems due to their structure.
ISA CERTIFIED ARBORIST
Certified Arborist are tree care professionals who have achieved a high level of professional distinction through their knowledge and experience in the field. This knowledge helps them diagnose any issues your trees might be having.
PREVENTATIVE EAB TREATMENT
If there is EAB activity within a few miles of where you live or property you manage we recommend preventative systemic insecticide treatment applied by a licensed TDA tree health care technician. EAB treatment lasts for 2 years and must be applied regularly to protect ash trees from infection.
OAK WILT TREATMENT
As oak wilt is a systemic, vascular disease, the most effective treatments consist of injecting the infected trees with a fungicidal chemical. The only currently recommended fungicide is Alamo®, a formulation of the fungicide propiconazole. The fungicide is administered through holes drilled in the root flare of the infected tree and should only be applied by Texas Department of Agriculture Licensed Applicators.
SOIL AMENDMENTS
Our uniquely developed mixtures promote stability and growth for trees efficiently and safely, without the worry of harmful chemicals that some companies use that can be damaging to the surrounding environment.
STRESSED MAGNOLIA | BEFORE
This magnolia tree is one of many that were in decline on a single property. This photo is from April 15, 2024 prior to the tree receiving a tree health care plan.
STRESSED MAGNOLIA | AFTER
This after photo was taken June 27, 2024 of a magnolia tree after receiving multiple interventions to improve its health. In addition to a tree health care plan of a deep root fertilization with Biopack plus and Sea3 applied by our TDA licensed technician the owner also fixed the irrigation and cleared the root flare. The difference in health is beautiful.
TDA LICENSED
Our technicians are TDA licensed and use science based treatment when implementing a Tree Health Care plan. These plans are put in place under the guidance of an ISA Certified Arborist.
DIAGNOSING TREE
Our ISA Certified Arborists use several different types of tools to help them assess a trees health. The arborist is "sounding" the tree. Different sounds can indicate areas of decay or other defects.
FERTILIZATION
Our Tree Health Care Programs are designed to deliver the right nutrients at the right times throughout the year. We use the highest quality soil conditioners and fertilizers that are delivered at critical points throughout the seasons to optimize the growth and health of trees.
DEEP ROOT INJECTION SERVICES
At Texas Tree Surgeons our deep root injection services provides fertilization deep into the soil. Our unique mixtures combine macro- and micro-nutrients, root growth stimulators, soil conditioners, beneficial biotics (both mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria), and organic materials to cultivate the optimum natural growth environment.
AIR SPADING
Air spading helps improve tree health by increasing the tree root's access to air, water, and nutrients by decompacting the soil. Soil compaction occurs in urban environments during turf installation, construction, improper planting, and mechanical and foot traffic.
ROOT PRUNING POST AIR SPADING
To correct this improperly planted tree our Tree Health Care Technicians air spade to expose the root flare and to prune away girdling roots. You can learn more about how to properly plant a tree here.
GIRDLING ROOTS
This tree was planted too deep and has several girdling roots (roots that circle the tree and do no flare out) that left unmanaged would eventually kill the tree. After air spading our Tree Health Care Technicians are pruning the roots and adjusting the soil around the tree to expose the root flare to improve tree health.
TREE HEALTH CARE
Director of Tree Health Care Development, Steve Barrett pointing out sections in the tree that need to be addressed for improved health.
INSPECTING FOR POSSIBLE DECAY
Sometimes issues with a tree aren't clearly visible on the outside so an arborist will need to inspect the interior. An arborist does this by probing with a small knife to see how extensive the decay in a region of a tree is. Arborists are able to use this information along with other signs to determine if there are potential structural issues or possible increased chances for failure.
MEASURING DBH
The best way to approximate the size of a tree is to measure their dbh, (diameter, breast, height). This enables our arborists to estimate the amount needed for Tree Health Care products or pricing for Tree Removal.
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