A Breakdown of the New Plant Health Care Concept from Your Local Arborist
As a home or business owner, we can all agree that we want healthy, beautiful trees adorning our property. They provide shade, improve curb appeal, and produce oxygen for our atmosphere. They literally improve the air that we breathe. In some cases, they reduce the amount of energy that we need to cool our homes via the shade they provide.
However, what some of us forget is that trees – just like humans – require the occasional check-up every now and again. Trees are susceptible to adverse weather, certain pests, and even diseases. If nature is left completely unchecked, it’s possible that your tree may succumb to a naturally occurring element it can’t withstand. As professional arborists who specialize in tree care, this is something we see far too frequently.
That brings us to the novel concept of plant health care (PHC, for short). You can think of PHC the same way you think about public health for humans. Preventing a health care issue is always easier than treating one. This is why many people opt to get vaccinated for things like the flu and other common medical issues.
Just like humans, it’s easier to prevent health care issues in trees than it is to treat them, which is exactly where PHC comes into play.
What is Plant Health Care?
Plant health care is a holistic approach to caring for trees that focuses on developing and maintaining trees so that they don’t develop health issues.
By routinely checking in on trees and evaluating them every season, it is much easier to help them resist pests, tolerate environmental stress, and avoid diseases and illnesses. It is a proactive method of keeping trees healthy.
So, who exactly is responsible for these check-ins? Excellent question!
When it comes to plant health care and tree service in Wichita, it’s always best to stick with the experts such as a professional tree service or a certified arborist near you. Fortunately, the professional arborists at Huff’s Tree Service are more than capable of performing your quarterly inspections of the trees on your property. Feel free to reach out to them today about implementing plant health care best practices into your landscaping regiment.
What Should I Expect With PHC?
According to the publication Tree City USA Bulletin (#37) on the topic of PHC, this concept can be broken down into a series of five simple steps.
Step #1 – Prevention: Your professional tree service or certified arborist near you will only use best practices when selecting shrubs, trees, and other foliage for your property. This means planting these items correctly as well as allowing adequate root space for growth. By using proper planning and planting best practices, this greatly minimizes the chances of any problems occurring later on.
Step #2 – Tolerance of Pests: Unfortunately, home and business owners will need to learn to tolerate some pests. Since PHC is a holistic form of encouraging tree growth, the usage of harmful chemicals and pesticides is greatly discouraged. Keep in mind, many of these pests are beneficial, often serving as predators to other insects you don’t want on your property.
Step #3 – Regular Monitoring: Careful monitoring is a huge part of plant health care. The frequency of visits required is going to vary because it all depends on the type of trees and foliage you have on the property. The best way to determine your monitoring cycle is by contacting your local tree service in Wichita or a certified arborist near you for an evaluation.
Step #4 – Collection of Data: After your local arborist or tree service in Wichita visits your property and collects data on your trees, their picture of health will begin to take shape. Using this data, your arborist will be able to provide concrete instruction on what needs to be done to further promote the health of your trees using holistic methods.
Step #5 – Treating Problems Using Holistic Methods: Although the PHC method strongly relies upon prevention, trees still develop problems from time to time. Since the PHC program focuses on holistic solutions, treatments will include things like deep watering, fertilizing, mulching, soil aeration, and routine tree maintenance. Speak with your local tree service in Wichita or certified arborist near you for details.
What Are the Benefits of PHC?
There are several benefits to implementing PHC into your normal yearly plant maintenance routine. Some of the top benefits include:
- Being able to proactively detect tree problems
- Improving the overall health of your trees
- Extending the life of your trees
- Saving money by avoiding costly tree issues
- Helping the environment by reducing the use of harmful chemicals
- Reducing the loss of beneficial insects
- Improving your own knowledge of tree health and preventative measures
Ready to Implement PHC? Give Huff’s Tree Service in Wichita a Call Today!
Although we are widely known as arborists who specialize in providing tree removal, lot clearing, and tree trimming services, we have professional arborists on staff that can help you implement plant health care best practices into your home or business.
The best way to get started is by contacting us directly. You can call us at (316) 871-3841 or email us using the contact form on our website.