The 3P’s of Healthy Trees

PRESERVE . . . space for trees to grow

Trees within our urban environment face many stresses and difficulties not faced by those growing in a natural forest. They have to compete for growing space with roads, sidewalks and buildings, as well as underground and overhead utilities. Preserving soft ground surfaces, where water and air can infiltrate, is extremely important to the health of the trees in our neighbourhoods. Remember that tree roots spread out in all directions and that 80% of the roots are in the top 10 inches of soil. Preserving those valuable soft surfaces is also essential in order to ensure places for future tree planting. Paving over front yards for parking or laying interlocking brick in your back yard, destroys potential tree planting space. Once paving is down, it’s unlikely it will ever come up!

PROTECT . . . mature trees

Our urban forest provides a multitude of benefits. Large, mature trees have a greater leaf surface area, and therefore offer the greatest benefits in terms of cooling temperatures and improving air quality. Protecting these majestic trees is essential to maintaining the benefits we receive from our urban forest.

The single most important thing your trees need is water! Even mature trees have been suffering from drought for the past few years. Letting your hose run on a very slow trickle for about 40 minutes once per week at the base of your trees, will greatly improve their health and vigour.

Monitoring your trees’ health regularly is important. Prevention is the best policy when it comes to physical damage, pests or disease. A tree that has adequate growing space, moisture, light and nutrients will be much less vulnerable to attack. When you do see a problem, identify exactly what it is before treating it. Leaf damage is not necessarily a cause for alarm. Boring insects are more serious as they open wounds in the bark. When in doubt, consult a qualified arborist to determine the problem before taking action.

PLANT . . . new trees

Planting new trees is essential to maintaining a continuous canopy cover. Remember that it takes years for trees to reach maturity so planning ahead is important. Planting the right tree in the right place is key to your satisfaction as well as to the tree’s long-term tree survival. Once a tree is planted, it does not take kindly to being moved! Assess the conditions of your yard including light, soil type, moisture, and available soft ground surface. Research the species that will thrive under your site conditions and try to select a native species. Imagine the tree at its full height and spread, and ensure that there will be no conflicts with structures or other trees in the future.

For information on LEAF’s subsidized Backyard Tree Planting Program, call 416-413-9244 or visit www.leaftoronto.org

To inquire about a free city street tree, call 416-338-TREE or visit www.toronto.ca/trees