Fall and winter are special times for trees. The vibrant colors of fall along with cooler weather, pumpkins, festivals and holidays remind us of earlier times and home.
Some of our most colorful trees include maples, black gum, poplar, ginkgo, hickory and dogwood. The color change is caused by the loss of chlorophyll in the leaves as the cool weather slows growth and the trees enter their winter dormant period.
Now through early March is the best time to plant new trees. These young plants will have several months to set roots and acclimate to their new home before the hot, possibly dry months of summer. The survival rate of newly planted trees increases when planted this time of year. If you have mostly older, larger trees on your property, you might want to consider adding a few young trees. This gives you trees for the future as well as providing a mixed forest type for birds and other wildlife. A mix of tree sizes and species is recommended; diversity is the key.
This is also the best time of year for pruning trees. As trees enter dormancy, cutting limbs now through early March puts less stress on trees. Birds are not nesting right now either, so there is less chance of harming wildlife. In many cases, removal of limbs is an alternative to complete removal of a tree, costing less and allowing you to keep the benefits of the tree. Speak with a Certified Arborist to determine the best approach to providing a safe environment for you and your family while retaining beneficial trees and other vegetation.
Keep a small portion of your yard natural for wildlife. Leaves and wood mulch, even in an area as small as 10 feet by 10 feet will provide cover for ground-nesting bees, fireflies and other beneficial insects. You can find more information at bringingnaturehome.net and at georgiaaudubon.org/wildlife-sanctuary-program.html.
“Today, we can see the beginning of a new way of thinking about the world—as sets of relationships rather than separated objects... We tend to think of a tree as the brown and green bit sticking up above the ground. Even if you include the roots, you are excluding most of the tree. The air that moves around it, the water that moves through it, the sunlight that animates it, the earth that supports it are all integral parts of the tree. What about the insects that fertilize it, the fungi that help it draw in nutrients, and all the rest of the life involved with that tree? Is the visible solidity the only ‘real’ part, or does it exist as process, relationship, connection as well? We know the answer very well.” —David Suzuki in “The Sacred Balance”