Welcome to our news column keeping you up to date with what’s happening at TreeWorks and what you should be doing to keep your trees looking their best.
Start raking – autumn has arrived in Canberra and the deciduous trees are looking amazing thanks to all the rain we’ve had. So get outside and rake up all those autumn leaves and throw them on your compost or you can mow (smash up) the leaves and then put them around your trees as mulch. Pile the mulch up around 75mm high making sure it does not touch the trunk of the tree and then add some dynamic lifter or cow manure to help break down the leaves. One of the reasons trees shed their leaves is to replenish the soil around their dripline.
Prepare for new planting – April is the time to start thinking about which bare rooted trees will best suit your garden. You can start preparing the the tree’s new home by digging up the area where the new tree will go and adding some compost to the soil. The tree hole will need to be 3 or 4 times the size of its root ball so be generous with the area you are preparing. In heavy clay soils add gypsum.
Our tree surgeon Steve Griffiths (Canberra tree guru) will be back to you before July with a list of his favourite bare rooted trees suited to Canberra backyards:
Remove dead wood from deciduous trees – Give TreeWorks a call and get a quote to remove any branches that are dead before they all lose their leaves and you can’t remember which ones have died. TreeWorks can mulch the dead wood for you or take it away.
Order your firewood – make sure you are buying properly seasoned hardwood so you get the most effective heat. Seasoned hardwoods are grey and the bark pulls away easily. Only buy dense hardwoods that burn slowly and give out a lot of heat – such as eucalyptus box varieties. Don’t be tempted to buy pine – it burns too fast. If you are really serious about your fire – buy next year’s wood this year so you know it’s seasoned. Call TreeWorks on 1300 135 835 to have your firewood delivered.
And lastly, enjoy the colours of autumn – if you are like us and love the colours of autumn here’s where you’ll find some great viewing:
- Walk or rider around the Lake – splendid colours in the parliamentary precinct and around Government House
- Visit Commonwealth Park at sunset
- Check out the autumn colours in Glebe Park
- Get back to nature – pack a picnic and take a drive to Braidwood.
And just in case you can’t get out to enjoy autumn here are some pics on Cool Hunter http://www.thecoolhunter.net/article/detail/1994/getting-back-to-nature to get your autumn vibe happening.
TreeWorks is Canberra’s leading tree services business. We are a fully licensed & insured tree removal company and a member of Arboriculture Australia. Our climbers are fully trained and some of our arborists have over 25 years experience in large scale tree surgery and removals.
TreeWorks …. truly tree-mendous