A Year-Round Tree Care Calendar for Glen Allen Homeowners

Winter is the best time for structural pruning of most shade trees. With leaves down, it is easy to see crossing branches, dead wood and limbs growing toward the roof. Oaks in particular are best pruned in winter to reduce disease risk.

It is also a good time to plan removals. A pear that started to split, a maple too close to the foundation or a pine leaning toward the house can be taken down on a calm winter day, before storm season and before spring landscaping work begins.

Crepe myrtles, common in Glen Allen beds, are best thinned in late winter. Remove suckers, crossing branches and inward growth instead of cutting every trunk back to the same stub.

This is also the time to grind leftover stumps so the spots can be filled with topsoil and seeded in spring.

Spring is mulch season. Clean the beds, cut fresh edges and spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch, keeping it off the trunks of trees and shrubs. For HOA neighborhoods, fresh mulch is one of the easiest ways to keep the front yard looking finished.

Prune spring-flowering trees like dogwoods, redbuds and cherries right after they bloom, not before.

Before the peak of thunderstorm and hurricane season, walk the yard. Look for dead limbs over the roof and driveway, broken branches still hanging from spring storms and trees leaning toward the house. Light pruning and removal of dead wood is fine in summer. Heavy pruning of oaks is best avoided in the warm months.

Dry spells in late summer stress trees, especially young ones and trees whose roots were disturbed by construction. Deep watering every week or two during droughts helps. Early leaf drop, scorched leaves and thinning crowns are signs to note for a closer look in fall.

Fall is a good second mulching window, protecting roots through winter. Once leaves drop, the dormant pruning season begins again. If your HOA requires approval for tree removals, fall is a good time to submit requests so the work can be scheduled in winter.

We trim, remove, grind stumps and install mulch across Glen Allen, including Twin Hickory and Wyndham. Combining tasks, like winter pruning plus stump grinding, or a removal plus fresh mulch for the bed, saves trips and leaves the yard finished.

When a Bradford pear or an oversized maple comes out of a Glen Allen yard, it is a good chance to plant something better suited to the spot. Native trees like red maple cultivars sized for small yards, serviceberry, redbud, blackgum and smaller oaks do well in Henrico soils. The key is checking the mature size and planting far enough from the house, driveway and sidewalk that the tree will not be a problem in twenty years.

Plant in fall when possible. Cooler air and warm soil help roots establish before summer heat.

Many Glen Allen neighborhoods have guidelines about tree removal, replacement and how yards look. A little planning keeps things smooth: submit removal requests early, mention if the tree is dead or dangerous, and include a photo. After the work, finish the bed with fresh mulch and edging so the front yard looks complete.

When you get estimates, ask whether the crew will protect irrigation heads and landscape lighting, which are common in Glen Allen yards.

Glen Allen summers often bring dry stretches in July and August, and newly planted trees suffer first. For the first two years after planting, give young trees a slow, deep soak once a week during dry weather, aiming the water at the root zone rather than the trunk. A soaker hose or a slow trickle from a garden hose for twenty to thirty minutes works well.

Mature trees that lost roots during construction, such as for a patio, an addition or a new driveway, also benefit from deep watering in drought. Signs of drought stress include leaves wilting in the afternoon, scorched leaf edges and early leaf drop. Watering helps those trees recover and reduces the chance of decline in the following years.

Most Glen Allen yards have a mix of planted ornamentals and leftover forest trees. Crepe myrtles, Japanese maples, cherries and dogwoods in the front, and oaks, tulip poplars, sweetgums and loblolly pines along the back. Ornamentals mostly need careful shaping and the right timing. Big forest trees mostly need dead wood removed, clearance from the roof and a check after storms.

Writing down what you have and where it is makes the calendar above easy to follow year after year.

Even on a schedule, keep an eye out for changes. Dead branches in the top of the crown, leaves that turn early in summer, mushrooms at the base, cracks in the trunk and a new lean are all reasons to call before the next planned visit. These signs are easy to miss from inside the house, so walk around the yard once a month during the growing season.

MG Tree Service works in Glen Allen seven days a week from 8 AM to 6 PM. Estimates are free, and we can put together a simple plan that groups pruning, stump grinding and mulch so you are not scheduling three separate jobs.