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RTEC Treecare

Expert Tree Care in the DC Metro Area | Call 703-573-3029 to talk to a Tree Care Expert.

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Preparing Your Trees For Cold Weather

Resources: Seasonal Tree Care

As this cold front descends on the DC Metro Area, it looks like we’re departing from the chilly nights of fall and moving into the freezing days of winter. During the next few weeks, your trees will be preparing themselves for a season of cold weather, winds, and snowfall. To minimize the winter stress your tree will experience, help your tree prepare for winter using the tips below.

How Your Tree Prepares For Winter:

Step 1: The first step in preparing for dormancy is to limit the energy needed to survive. Trees do this by releasing a chemical called ABA (Abscisic acid). It suspends growth and is what makes your tree shed its leaves.

Step 2: The second step is to prevent freezing. They do this by making a natural anti-freeze. In late fall, trees pump natural sugars through their systems which lower the freezing point inside their cells keeping the water from freezing and causing damage.

Tips To Help Your Tree Prepare For Winter:

Proper Mulching ImageMulch:

Mulching insulates a tree’s roots helping protect it from cold weather. It also helps the soil retain moisture and organic matter throughout the seasons but especially in winter when these nutrients can be hard to come by. Mulch your tree’s critical root zone about 2 to 3 inches deep but DO NOT pile the mulch up around the tree’s base/trunk.

Learn More About Proper Mulching & Its Benefits.

Fertilize:

Applying organic fertilizer (bio-stimulants) in the fall provides your tree with the nutrients it needs to promote root growth and protect itself from winter damage. This will help your tree stay healthy throughout the winter and push out beautiful new growth in the Spring.

Learn More About Organic Fertilizer (Bio-Stimulants)

Prune Deadwood:

Dead, dying, and diseased branches are prone to snapping off trees and falling during winter winds and storms. Not only does this pose a threat to your safety but it also hurts your tree. Unlike pruning, when branches snap it doesn’t make a clean cut. Instead, the bark rips and tears creating open wounds that attract insects and diseases looking to overwinter in your tree. Instead of letting this deadwood snap during storms, proactively prune these branches for your tree’s health and your safety.

Learn More About Pruning

Anti-DesiccantsSpray Your Evergreens:

Most of the negative effects of winter stem from the fact that trees and shrubs lose moisture through their pores which are located on their leaves/needles. During the winter months, the dry air and wind accelerate this effect leading to leaves increasing their water demand from the roots in order to survive. However, the root system usually has a hard time keeping up with the leaves’ demands. The result: leaves and needles turning brown and dying. This cycle is called winter burn, or desiccation.

Anti-desiccant treatments can solve this destructive cycle. Anti-desiccants coat the upper and lower foliage in a protective wax coating reducing the moisture lost through the leaves. Similar to the moisturizers, lotions, and humidifiers we use to keep our skin hydrated in the winter, anti-desiccants provide trees & shrubs with the protection they need to flourish during winter instead of fighting to survive. On an aesthetic note, this means no more brown and dying evergreens!

Learn more about Anti-Desiccant Treatments

Wrap Your Young Trees:

Sunscald is winter damage that is commonly seen on young trees, newly planted trees, and thin-barked trees (cherry, crabapple, honey locust, linden, maple, mountain ash, plum). Sunscald caused the tree bark to dry and crack. The University of Minnesota explains that “On cold winter days, the sun heats up bark to the point where cambial activity is stimulated. When the sun is blocked by a cloud, hill, or building, bark temperature drops rapidly, killing the active tissue” creating sunscald.

To combat this you can wrap your susceptible trees with tree wrap this winter. We suggest purchasing burlap tree wrap and following simple application tutorials online to protect your trees in winter.

Damage From Deer Rutting

Prevent Stress From Deer Damage:

Deer damage can be costly, unsightly, and even pose a health risk to your family and your tree. During the harsh winter months when the food supply is low, deer will feast on your plants and tear apart your gardens. This damage will stress your tree and can weaken its defenses. Annually this damage exceeds $2 billion nationwide. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also bring deadly disease-carrying travelers into your yard threatening the safety of your loved ones.

Fortunately, because deer go after the best tasting & easily accessible foliage, simple precautions can be taken to deter them from your property. However; this means if your neighbors have a deer protection program and your property doesn’t, your trees & shrubs will be the most appealing to hungry deer.

Learn more about our Deer Management Program

Need Help With Preparing Your Trees For Cold Weather? 

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Google Reviews

Grey Burkhart
Grey Burkhart
March 29, 2022.
Verified
Very professional review of our requirements and an accurate estimate. Showed up on time and were finished quickly. Cleaned up all of the debris and sawdust. Great job all around.
Dennis Bruns
Dennis Bruns
March 8, 2022.
Verified
We have used RTEC Treecare for several years. They do excellent work. Their staff is extremely knowledgeable and take great care in explaining the various options available for your particular situation. I highly recommend them.
Annette Iannucci
Annette Iannucci
February 23, 2022.
Verified
We have been using RTEC for years and were very pleased with the recent tree maintenance work they did for us. As always, we got good advice from their arborist Ben,. The crew that did the work is highly skilled, and they did a great job trimming our trees. They worked safely and efficiently, in addition to leaving the yard clean after they finished the work.
Susan Crawford
Susan Crawford
January 26, 2022.
Verified
RTEC was at my house today to removed a large Magnolia that was badly damaged by the recent snow. They did a fantastic job at a very reasonable price. They arrived right on time, worked efficiently and quickly and cleaned up so well it was hard to tell anything have been disturbed. Over the past several years, I have used RTEC for all the services I checked above, and have always been very pleased with their service and professionalism. I also appreciate that they are not eager to take down trees that don't need to come down. In this case, the damage was too extensive for the tree to recover.
Kenton Morgan
Kenton Morgan
January 20, 2022.
Verified
Once again, RTEC has done a great job. The team showed up right on time and performed all the work that we agreed to. They kept us informed as to progress, coordinated with us concerning our maple, and made recommendations concerning ongoing support for our trees. At the end of the day, they thoroughly cleaned up the debris and left our yard in pristine condition. WELL DONE.
Jean Kluttz
Jean Kluttz
January 3, 2022.
Verified
Not our first time but this time was tricky removal of a large dead tree leaning on a healthy tree. Quick response for estimate, good timing to removal, all clear and healthy tree still fine.
Jerry Haggin
Jerry Haggin
December 16, 2021.
Verified
Very good work while ensuring that I was aware of status of my work order and planned completion.
Mike Iger
Mike Iger
December 16, 2021.
Verified
David Roberts
David Roberts
December 15, 2021.
Verified
We’ve used RTEC for many years for tree maintenance and can’t say enough good things about their service. We use them for tree trimming and for regular treatments to maintain our trees’ health and deal with pests and prevent disease. Their arborist Ben has been especially helpful with advice. RTEC also been especially helpful in emergency situations, once coming to cable a massive, heritage oak in our yard right before a hurricane was about to hit. Highly recommend.
Travis Larson
Travis Larson
December 10, 2021.
Verified
RTEC did an excellent job onsite of removing dead branches from our 80+ year old trees, and trimming other growth too close to our home.
Google rating score: 4.8 of 5, based on 185 reviews.

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  • Seasonal Tree Care

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