Treeology | Blog
DONOVAN ARBORISTS
Our goal is to provide a valuable resource for people who are interested in learning more about trees. We want to help people understand the importance of trees and how they can play a role in protecting our environment.
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Our ISA Certified Arborists ensure that you get the highest quality tree care.
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We offer free estimates for tree planting, trimming, removal, cabling and bracing.
Plant Health Care Services
We believe in being proactive in preventing insect infestations and disease outbreaks.
Be Careful With Deicers
With recent heavy snows and record low temperatures, it’s important to remember that misuse of chemical deicing compounds can cause serious damage to your trees and plants. And you might not know how much damage they’ve done until spring when grass, plants and trees are dead and walks and driveways are riddled with pits and cracks.
When is the Best Time to Prune Your Trees?
Experts agree that the best time to prune most landscape is from mid-February until early March. The trees are still dormant but are nearing the time that new growth will emerge. Late winter pruning allows enough time for the wounds to heal without exposing them to a full winter of stress. Plus, it encourages new growth to occur in places you want it.
Anatomy of a Tree: The Trunk
Just as knowing your body and how to take care of it, learning the parts of a tree and the roles they play can help you keep your trees healthy and in good shape. Today, we’ll take a look at the tree’s most fundamental structure, it’s trunk and branches.
Plan Now for Summer Pests
The time to treat pest infestations and diseases in your landscape is before they occur. And early spring is a good time to start with a program of Integrated Pest Management.
Trees to Avoid Along Colorado’s Front Range
As springtime approaches, homeowners’ thoughts turn to Colorado’s great outdoors and ways to enjoy it. Often that’s right in their own back yards, so it’s important to build a space to enjoy for years to come. And one of the things that can have a big impact on that enjoyment is the choice of trees.
The “Life Zones” of Colorado
The US Department of Agriculture publishes a list of Plant Hardiness Zones to help gardeners determine which plants are likely to survive in a given geographical location. But these zones are based on average minimum winter temperatures and don’t take other factors like precipitation and soil condition into account. Most of Metro Denver falls in USDA Zones 4-6, but with the wide range of growing conditions facing Coloradans, knowing a climate zone may not be enough information for successful planting.
The American Sycamore
The next time you check your 401k give a nod to the American sycamore. It was under the shade of one, also known as a buttonwood tree, that financiers gathered in New York City in 1792 to sign the Buttonwood Agreement, creating the New York Stock Exchange.
Don’t Neglect Storm Damage
The strong winds of early April left a lot of tree damage in their wake. Broken branches and fallen trees were common across the metro Denver area. Now that the worst of the damage has been cleared up it’s time to take a look at the aftereffects.
Walk around your property and look for leftover damage such as exposed wounds where branches were torn away and partial breaks that have weakened limbs. Check around root areas to see if there are signs of partial uprooting.
The Colorado Blue Spruce
The mountains of Colorado kept an arboreal secret for centuries until botanists identified a variety of blue spruce unique to the Rocky Mountains in 1862. Today, the Colorado blue spruce is one of the most popular ornamental and landscape conifer trees in North America. It’s also the official state tree of Colorado.
The English Oak
From the mythical forests of Robin Hood to the parks of Denver, the majestic English oak has graced temperate climate landscapes for centuries. And centuries is a key word when talking about English oaks—they live for hundreds of years, especially when well cared for. The oldest living specimens are in Bulgaria and Lithuania, estimated to be around 1,500 years old.
The Pinyon Pine
When Spanish explorers reached the southern Rockies, they were greeted by a familiar sight. Large stands of short, bushy evergreen trees reminded them of the Stone Pines native to their homeland, so they called them by the same name—pino piñonero—a name they still go by today, albeit in a shortened form. And like its European cousin, the piñon, or pinyon, pine had been around for centuries, providing an important source of nutrition to ancient hunter-gatherer populations.
Plan Ahead for Spring Planting
Banish your winter blues by thinking ahead to spring. Avid gardeners know that winter is the best time to plan for the warm weather to come and get a head start on plentiful crops during Colorado’s short growing season. It’s also a great time to reassess your landscape plan.