PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A tree service company in Portland is hoping people inspect their trees ahead of storm season.
Dash Schenck, the district manager of the Portland office of The Davey Tree Company, spoke with KOIN 6 News about the importance of inspecting your trees before spring. Schenck said unexpected snow or ice storms – like we had last year – can create havoc for homeowners.
“Going out and inspecting your trees to make sure that there is no dead in them or there’s no hazards,” Schenck said. “We can address those problems before they become a bigger problem. For example, if something were to fall or break and land on your home or car.”
He added that this is a great time of year to have an arborist inspect a tree to check for mushrooms or bumble growth – also known as tree fungus — on trees.
As for other garden maintenance, Schenck suggests making a plan for the spring for planting a new tree or hiring a landscaper, designer or arborist to help you with your goals.
A more do-it-yourself approach, he said, is to lay down mulch around the base of your trees to help with drought stress.
“[Mulch] keeps the moisture in the ground and keeps the roots cool. It helps maximize the water that you do put on the trees or on your landscape,” Schenck noted. “Another benefit is that it helps with compaction. Soil compaction is a big problem for trees. So, mulch and wood chips around the root zone and dripline up to the trees helps to minimize that sort of thing.”
Other gardening tips include watering your garden in the early morning, planting native trees to help with water usage and watering trees around the dripline once or twice a month. According to thespruce.com, the dripline is the area directly located under the outer circumference of the tree branches.