THE LEAFLET

Do you ever feel like trees can speak to you? Well they might not being speaking to you, but they are talking to each other!

Professor Suzanne Simard of University of British Columbia discusses in this video how all trees in forest ecosystems are interconnected, with the largest and oldest trees — “mother trees” serving as hubs. Similar to the human nervous system they can fire chemical signals through roots and even help give what other trees lack!

What’s even more impressive is when a mother tree die’s it begins to pass along information and resources to the younger healthier trees around them!

While our young and newly planted trees are not connected yet we hope that one day they will grow to be! Tree care for newly planted trees is vital. Here are a few tips for being the best mother—or father tree possible!

• Mulch every season to keep soil moist and weeds in control—use shredded bark or leaf compost. Apply using the 3-3-3 rule: 3 inches of mulch in a 3-foot ring with a 3-inch space around the tree trunk. Avoid volcano mulching (when a mulch piles close, center and high on the tree flare).
• Keep weed whackers, lawn mower and wildlife clear form tree! Trunk guards can protect from small animals looking for food during the fall and winter months!
• No matter what the season look for broken, diseased or damages wood on your trees.
• Structural pruning is best done in late fall and winter when the leaves are down from the deciduous trees so you can best evaluate its structure.

Check out more tips for year round tree care here, as well as videos tutorials and more!