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Winter has a delicate beauty. The deep browns of bare trees, muted greens and grays of frozen ground, and cool whites of snowfall combine to create a subdued color palette. This quieter landscape offers great inspiration for those gardeners and homeowners who want to show off a touch of flair through winter-flowering shrubs. Winter shrubs with bright blooms and sweet scents, colorful berries, and textured, glossy green foliage are perfect for sparking winter interest and creating a nice contrast to the cooler winter landscape. For those interested in tree care in West Chester, PA., take a quick look at some favorite shrubs that create interest in winter.

• Winterberry. Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) is a deciduous holly that loses its dark green leaves in late fall and leaves behind long, spectacular sprays of fire-engine-red berries. Sometimes called ‘sparkleberry,’ this fantastic holly specimen’s bright red berries are real attention-getters in winter.
• Witch hazel. Witch hazel is another deciduous shrub with keen winter attributes. During even the harshest fall and winter weather in West Chester, PA, this shrub will dazzle passersby with its clusters of rich red and yellow flowers. But the blaze-like beauty of its petals is just half of the appeal as witch hazel shrubs also emit a lovely fragrance, a very desirable surprise during the frozen days of winter.
• Red Osier Dogwood. This North American shrub, sometimes called Red Twig Dogwood, is incredibly hardy, known to grow and thrive as far north as Alaska. This dogwood features red stems and brilliant, fiery branches of gold, orange, and red in winter, an incredible array of colors that make it a great complement to evergreen landscapes. Plus, this shrub has the added benefit of attracting a host of pollinating butterflies, including the eastern-tailed blue butterfly. The richest of the dogwood’s twig colors occurs on young branches, and so part of the tree care in West Chester, PA for this species should include regular pruning between late winter and early spring.
• Leatherleaf Mahonia. Mahonia is a hardy and adaptable evergreen shrub native to China but has since come to many American gardens. During the winter months, bright yellowish-green buds erupt from the tips of the shrub’s stems, and each new growth blooms into a dozen or more spires of bright yellow flowers. In warmer winters, gardeners can expect to enjoy a nice early fragrance to break up the monotony of winter. Note though that the leather mahonia is a self-sowing plant that is non-native to the Americas, so proper tree care in West Chester, PA is important to prevent the unwanted spreading of the species.

Contact Stein Tree Service to Learn More about Winter Tree Care in West Chester, PA

You can always add some shrubs that create interest in winter to your lawn for added beauty. Start planning your spring planting and tree and lawn care now. Contact us for information about tree care in West Chester, PA, winter tree trimming and pruning, or a free consultation about your tree or plant health care.

Right after Thanksgiving is a common time in the holiday season for homeowners to begin holiday decorations, and many of them love to string lights around their trees. Did you know that holiday lighting displays can be used for more practical uses than simply festive outdoor lighting and decor? Properly wrapping certain types of outdoor lights around your tree trunks and large branches is one method of winter tree care in Wilmington, DE to keep vulnerable trees warm and protected from frost damage. The following is a quick guide to tree holiday lighting: what works best and how to protect your trees from damage while integrating those lights into your winter tree landscape.

How to Add Holiday Lighting to Trees

1.Get the right lights. The best type of holiday lighting to use around your trees if you are attempting to warm them is the kind with non-LED light bulbs, as LED light sets emit too little heat. Older lights are typically good for this task. Be sure to choose a plug-in option with a timer and ample extensions.

If you are only considering ease of use, the best type of holiday lights to use around your trees is rope lighting, consisting of LED mini lights that are ensnared in the plastic rope. This style of exterior lighting is easy to bend and wrap around your trees and the waterproofing provides durability and safety. Net lights are also great for shrubs and evergreen trees. LED lights present less of a fire hazard and can be found with more natural colors, like warm white, than were available a few years ago.

2.Begin high and wrap down. Start with one end of the strand of lights set high in a crook between the tree trunk and a large branch. Use a large zip tie to secure this end to the branch and then, once secured, begin wrapping the lights slowly down the tree to its base, securing periodic loops in place with zip lines on other large branches or similar spots. Take care to avoid wrapping wiring, zip ties, and lights too tightly around your live trees as this can damage the bark and sensitive tissue underneath.

Whether you are trying to protect your trees or just decorate for the holidays, you will want to be careful to protect your trees from damage. A few tree holiday lighting tips to keep in mind are:

• Avoid compacting the soil around trees.
• As already mentioned, avoid wrapping too tightly and constricting trunks or branches. If you damage the tree, especially in the winter, you will make it more susceptible to disease.
• Use tree lights that are rated for outdoor use and in good, high-quality condition, especially the wiring.
• Avoid using too many strands of lights together or using extension cords unrated for outside use.
• Avoid stapling or putting holes in the tree. These can damage the trunk or limbs and open the tree up to infection. Instead use tree clips.

Contact Stein Tree Service for More Tips on Winter Tree Care in Wilmington, DE

Tree holiday lighting is a festive way to enjoy your trees in the winter. For more information on how to protect your trees and other plants when the cold and snow arrive this winter, contact us today. We are dedicated to excellent tree care in Wilmington, DE and surrounding areas and offer a variety of tree care services including trimming, pruning, removal, and emergency tree removal.

Many homeowners or business owners have certain ideas about tree care that are tree care myths. Some myths relate to specific techniques and applications when planting new trees, such as staking or pruning. Others involve general tree care practices, such as tree topping or applying mulch around trees. And some are misguided ideas, like filling up a tree with concrete. Here are 5 tree care myths and the reality behind each one of them.

1. You Need to Stake a Newly Planted Tree

One of the most common tree care myths is that you need to stake a newly planted tree. While some trees do benefit from staking, the practice is optional and may even have consequences. Trees need to develop strong root systems and good trunk tapers for long-term health, both of which can be hindered by staking. The qualities that indicate a tree needs staking are the following:

• Abnormally small root systems
• The stems bend excessively without support
• A very windy planting site that can uproot trees

The tree needs to become accustomed to the environment in which it lives, and be able to withstand the conditions of that environment.

2. Prune a Tree Heavily When First Planted

Another one of the famous tree care myths regarding planting trees is that you need to prune the tree heavily when planting. Trees need a full crown to produce food and plant hormones, which promotes root growth and health. and a healthy crown helps. Some pruning helps promote good shape and growth when done properly, but large or improper cuts leave wounds that may be hard for the tree to heal while using its energy to recover and grow in its new space. For newly planted trees, pruning should be structural or to remove damaged branches, and the crown should remain full.

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3. If A Tree Is Too Large, Topping Is Required

Tree topping is one of the worst possible ways of pruning a tree, despite the fact that many people engage in this practice. Topping removes a large part of a tree’s canopy, which has numerous downsides such as:

• Significantly reducing the ability of the tree to collect sunlight and create nutrients
• Causing great stress
• Creating many wounds that will be hard for the tree to heal

All of those downsides increase the chance of the branches becoming diseased and infected, or breaking and falling off. Tree topping is a poor practice often used when trees are growing out of their provided space, and should be replaced with careful pruning or assessment from a certified arborist.

4. Mulch Should Be Piled Up Against the Tree

One of the most common tree care myths for homeowners is that mulch has to be piled right up against the tree. Though mulching is good for trees, a typical mulching practice is to stack the mulch up against the tree trunk, which is also known as “volcano mulching.” Volcano mulching creates a pest-friendly environment and increases the chance of girdling roots. The mulch should be applied in the shape of a doughnut rather than a volcano. Avoiding volcano mulching can go a long way to improving a tree’s health and growth.

5. Tree Cavities Should be Filled with Concrete

Filling tree cavities with concrete was a common practice in the past, but we now know this to be a poor practice. The idea behind filling a cavity with concrete was that the concrete could strengthen a tree. Trees move with the wind and continue to grow, so the concrete ends up irritating the tree instead. Hurting the tree in this way can lead to further harm such as decay and disease. The real solution to tree cavities depends on the tree, and contacting a certified arborist is the best course of action.

Contact Stein for Tree Care Services

If you are looking for tree and plant care services for your landscape, contact Stein Tree Service. Stein’s ISA certified arborists and other tree care professionals are dedicated to providing exceptional plant and tree care services. We have been in business for over 35 years, serving many communities in Delaware and Philadelphia. Our equipment is state-of-the-art, and our staff is ready for emergency dispatch. For more information on tree care myths, or a free consultation, contact us today.