The right way to plant a tree Additional tree care information Proper tree care A few questions to ask yourself BEFORE planting a tree. Hiring an arborist An Oregon Proper tree care can often be a mystery. Plant a tree and nature What functions will the tree serve? Do you want shade, a When the job is too big for you to handle safely, it’s time to will take care of the rest, right? Not necessarily. windbreak, a screen, or fall color? The answers to these call in a professional. Hire someone who is The trees in our yards, neighborhoods, questions will determine your species of choice. bonded, licensed, and insured in Oregon. Take and cities are a valuable asset, and your time and select a company you know is Homeowner’s What is the soil like? Sand or clay; poorly drained or well- they require our help to keep reputable. Look for a certified arborist, someone drained? Good quality soil that is uncompacted and well- healthy. Trees contribute to the who has passed the International Society of drained, with access to an adequate water supply, will quality of our lives by cleaning Arboriculture (ISA) certification exam. You can find a local Guide to our air, cooling and shading our promote healthy tree growth. certified arborist by visiting: www.treesaregood.com or homes, and increasing property Does the site provide enough room for the tree’s branches www.pnwisa.org. values and the attractiveness of and roots to grow? Make sure there are no utility wires or When choosing an arborist, be aware a good one rarely Tree Care a community. Proper tree care is other obstructions underground or overhead that may recommends topping and will be able to explain why it is no important because trees are an interfere with the tree as it grows. longer an accepted method of proper pruning. In addition, a investment in the value of your home and the livability of your Proper planting steps good arborist will not climb your trees using spikes or spurs as neighborhood. 1. Find the point where the top-most root emerges from these tools open wounds that provide a pathway for disease and the trunk. Remove soil from the top of the root ball so that insects to potentially weaken or kill your tree. This guide will provide you with techniques the top-most root emerging from the trunk is at the surface. Resources on how to properly plant, prune, and care for your trees, so that your trees are healthy and keep working for you. Additional tree care information is available from your local 2. Dig a shallow planting hole as wide as possible. Dig the hole slightly shallower than the depth of the top-most root Oregon State University Extension office, professional How to have the best looking trees in your and twice the diameter of the root ball. arborists, and a variety of online resources. In addition, be neighborhood sure to check with your local government for permits or Practice right tree, right place. Select tree species with 3. Slide the tree into the planting hole and remove requirements related to trees that may need to be followed in synthetic material. Carefully slide the tree in the hole with growth characteristics that match the planting space and site your community. the top most root 1-2 inches above the landscape soil. conditions. For example, because of their height, tall trees In addition to information about hiring a certified arborist, Materials used to transport the tree including twine, burlap, like a Douglas-fir should not be planted under powerlines. the ISA Pacific Northwest Chapter, www.pnwisa.org, and a basket or container should be removed – unless doing contains information on landscape tree care and hazard tree Mulch your trees. Mulching helps keep soil moist and so will void a warranty. prevention. provides a protective barrier about the base of a tree. Apply 4. Backfill the hole and add mulch. Before backfilling, mulch several inches thick and extending out several feet The Arbor Day Foundation, www.arborday.org, also straighten the tree in the planting hole. Backfill the soil into from the tree, keeping it away from the trunk itself. offers tree planting and care information for homeowners. the planting hole breaking up soil clumps. Apply a ring of Give your trees a drink! Newly planted trees and even mulch 2-4 inches deep Learn more about urban and community forestry in established trees need water regularly during drought extending 2 feet out Oregon by visiting Oregon Community Trees at: conditions. from the base of the www.oregoncommunitytrees.org. tree. Keep mulch Keep lawn care equipment away from trees. Injury to a

slightly away from tree’s trunk, roots, and branches from lawn care tools can the trunk. Water your cause decay and may lead to the tree’s decline. Illustration by Edward F. Gilman, Professor, Environmental tree once planted. Horticulture Department, IFAS, University of Florida Oregon Department of Forestry Leave roots alone. Roots support, anchor, supply water and 5. Stake and prune the tree, if necessary. Staking may be Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program nutrients, and store energy for a tree. Damage to tree roots is needed to hold roots firmly in the soil especially if you live in 2600 State Street OregonOregon DepartmentDepartment ofof ForestryForestry a common cause of tree death in urban areas. Salem, OR 97301 a windy environment. Stake the tree until the roots are Phone: 503-945-7200 Make correct pruning cuts. Prune according to national established, but no longer than one growing season. Light www.oregon.gov/ODF/urbanforests Promoting and Practicing standards. This method of pruning benefits your tree’s pruning may also be needed to remove broken or dead health, thus benefiting you! Remember to never top your branches from the tree. This brochure was published with the assistance of the USDA Forest Service Sustainable Forestry PNW region. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. trees! A pruning primer Tree care: do you know?

Making careful and correct pruning cuts and pruning at the correct time of year is one of the best Why topping hurts trees Debunking tree myths things you can do for your trees. Regularly scheduled tree pruning improves tree health and Topping, sometimes called heading or Research has dispelled some long-held tree care form, controls growth, and increases tree strength. Pruning can also help with certain tipping, is the indiscriminate myths. Here are some facts you may not know: homeowner problems such as providing clearance, improving a tree’s appearance, and removal of a majority of a tree’s improving a view. These guidelines and accompanying graphics will help you make the right FACT: Cutting branches flush branches which violates the cuts: with the trunk will rob the tree of accepted methods of proper natural chemicals used to close pruning. Although many Removal cut Reduction cut the wound. This will lead to people think that topping will Prunes a branch back to the trunk or a Shortens the length of a stem by pruning back to a decay in the tree and will shorten help their trees, it is actually one parent branch. Reduces canopy density smaller limb large enough to assume dominance. the life of the tree. and allows light to penetrate the canopy Reduces canopy size and improves the structure of older of the worst things you can do to and encourage growth on the interior branches. trees. Never remove more than 25% of the canopy. your tree! FACT: Once mature, most trees do not have a taproot. They have Not only does topping remove leaves Main Leader Opens foliage Main Leader Reduces branch Don’t let this anchor and feeder roots that are Reduces limb Removed length happen to that supply nutrients to a tree, it mostly in the top three feet of weight Reduces leader your trees! actually creates a more dangerous Retains tree’s height soil and often extend beyond the natural shape Used on large tree! Branches that “sprout” after topping are Secondary canopy width of the tree. Secondary Preferred method trees (Lateral) Branch weakly attached and are more likely to break in a (Lateral) Branch of tree pruning Replaces heading Removed cuts storm event. Topping also makes your tree prone FACT: Painting wound dressing to insect and disease damage because improper on pruning cuts is unnecessary cuts invite decay. Topping is expensive because it and can actually hurt the tree by How to develop a dominant stem in your Limb removal will not keep your tree small unless repeated causing the pruning cut to seal tree There are three steps to making a proper pruning cut that every year, and it will shorten the life span of your slower. Developing a central, dominant leader starts by identifying will minimize damage to the tree. tree. By contrast, the positive effects of proper the stem that will make the best leader. Typically, this is the 1. Make a cut on the pruning will make your tree healthier and extend largest stem. This might be easy for some trees and more underside of the branch its life. about 1 ft. from the difficult for others. If all stems are about the same size in Tree care around Oregon diameter, pick the one that is closest branch collar. Removing a Statewide, newly planted to the center of the canopy to be the competing 2. Make a second cut trees need extra water leader leader. Then determine above the first to In Portland and the to survive Oregon’s which stems are competing remove the branch. Willamette Valley, Oregon drought prone summer white oak trees are increasingly season. Make sure new with that leader and decide 3. Remove the threatened by development, trees get water at least where to shorten or remaining stub making over-watering, and neglect. If once a week during these months. remove these sure to keep the collar you have a native oak tree, take competing stems. intact. extra care to preserve it. * Never “flush cut” a tree by removing the branch collar. Always Pruning the stems use sharp tools and make clean cuts. Use caution with sharp Newly planted trees represented by the tools and power saws. Remember, safety first. along the coast may dotted lines removes When to Prune need extra staking due In the High Desert two of the three codominant to strong winds. region, newly planted Removing a For deciduous trees, prune branches in winter or early trees benefit from winter stems. This helps establish a Remember to remove single dominant leader and competing branch watering. Water when the soil is spring before the leaves form or following growth in staking materials when better tree structure. not frozen so that water can late spring or summer when leaves have developed. the tree can stand on its percolate down to the tree roots. Conifers can generally be pruned any time, using own. caution during their flush of growth in early summer. Illustrations used by permission from Edward F. Gilman, Professor, Environmental Horticulture Dead and dying branches can be pruned anytime. FIRE WISE FACT: In Oregon’s wildfire-prone areas, homeowners need to take steps to minimize the fire hazard Department, IFAS, University of Florida (top and bottom right) and Space for Life, Montreal, Canada around their homes. Fire-resistant plants, carefully placed and maintained, can help protect your home and property. (bottom left).