On November 3, we celebrated Texas Arbor Day, a day when we celebrate all the ways trees enrich our lives and support the environment. Arbor Day kicks off the season to focus on several aspects of tree care in Texas.
The Texas A&M Forest Service, our partner agency, recommends planting trees in the fall and even into winter in Texas. Trees are not actively growing in the winter, giving newly planted root systems time to grow and develop. This extra time allows the roots
to better support the tree when the growing season begins. Temperatures usually warm up in a hurry in spring, so trees need a strong, healthy root system to take up water and nutrients to supply to the tree as it grows new foliage.
The coming winter months are a great time to prune trees if they need it. The extreme drought, freezes, and ice storms throughout the last few years have been stressful for trees, and many trees have lost branches or died back. This is a good time to visually inspect trees to prune out any dead limbs or trim back limbs that might be rubbing against your house or roof. December and January are ideal times to prune trees because they are not actively growing and storing carbohydrates, so the pruning is not as stressful to the tree.
While the weather is nice this fall, take some time to refresh mulch around your trees. A three-inch layer of mulch will help keep soil moist, add nutrients to the soil, and help regulate soil temperatures. Be sure that the mulch is not touching the tree trunk where it can hold moisture against the tree and potentially cause decay issues. The mulch layer should only be three to four inches deep and at least three feet in diameter.
As the leaves start to fall throughout the next month or two, remember that those leaves are a great source of nutrients and organic matter. You can mow the leaves with your lawn mower on the mulch setting and leave them in your lawn as a great source of natural fertilizer. You can also mow your leaves with the bag attachment on; the shredded leaves that you capture are great to add to the compost pile or to spread out in your flower beds as an extra layer of mulch.
We have a great list of trees recommended for Williamson County on our website at Williamson.agrilife.org/. For more information about trees, lawns, and gardens, contact Kate Hajda, Williamson County AgriLife Extension Horticulturist, at 512-943-3300.
