Custom Climber Services

Happy Arbor Day! Celebrate Arbor Day this year by planting a tree to help make this planet healthier for everyone. Use and the Arbor Day Foundation will plant a tree for each hashtag, up to 100,000 trees 🌱🌳

Winter is here. Every time you look out your window you see the stark contrast between the empty branches of deciduous trees and the green needles of evergreens. Although trees can withstand the severity of winter, they still need some maintenance to remain healthy. Here are some tips to keep your trees happy and nourished until spring arrives:

1️⃣ Water your trees. Do it regularly until the ground freezes, then keep an eye on the precipitation. If it’s a dry winter, then plan to water one or two times a month. New trees need to be watered every couple of weeks, depending on the weather. Make sure to water when it’s above 40°F and in the morning so the water doesn’t freeze during the cold nighttime temps

2️⃣ Add organic mulch in the fall

3️⃣ Trim dead, diseased or broken branches which are much easier to spot in the winter than in the summer

4️⃣ Check on your trees after a storm and remove any broken branches

5️⃣ Don’t clear snow by shaking branches on your trees. If the branch isn’t broken, it’ll be fine

6️⃣ If your tree was damaged during a snow or ice storm, consult an arborist

If you’re unsure how to deal with dead or damaged trees and/or branches, we’ll be glad to come out and take a look. Our expert advice is always free of charge. 🌳

Do you know of larger cones? Imagine a pinecone as heavy as a bowling ball and the size of a chihuahua. Believe it or not, such pinecones exist—and they belong to the coulter pine (Pinus coulteri), a conifer that can be found in parts of North America including California and Mexico. Infamous among loggers and foresters, this tree is nicknamed "the widowmaker" because of the unlucky individuals who met their fate as a result of its falling pinecones. This species produces the largest pinecones on the planet, weighing up to 11 lbs (5 kg)!

Photo: damontighe, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
h/t American Museum of Natural History