Plant Health Care
What is Plant Health Care?
Most people call an arborist because “something is wrong” with their trees. Problems can range from insects and diseases to poor soil or planting conditions. Often, these problems can be prevented or more easily solved if detected early.Appropriate plant health care involves the use of effective, cost-efficient, and environmentally safe practices. The goal is to improve the beauty, health, and vitality of your trees and surrounding landscape.
What Work Does PHC Involve?
The heart of plant health care is monitoring. Each tree species has different potential ailments. Meanwhile, certain disorders (such as drought or soil compaction) can affect all species of trees but to differing degrees. Effective monitoring knows which issues your trees may encounter and when to monitor for the problem of concern.In addition to monitoring, there are certain maintenance items that a Certified Arborist may suggest. Examples include: Pruning, fertilization, and soil remediation / aeration. Properly used, these practices can be incredibly beneficial to the health of your trees. Should your trees experience a stress such as drought or insect infestation, they will be more likely to survive the stress if they are healthy to start with. Acceptable plant health care looks beyond your trees. In all likelihood, your home’s landscape includes trees, shrubs, bedding plants and grass. You want all of these to be as healthy and beautiful as possible. Communication among the managers of these (whether that is you or specialized professionals) is important for the health and beauty of all the others.
Is Plant Health Care Expensive?
While plant health care does involve some up-front cost not encountered by those only calling when “something is wrong,” well-implemented plant health care can result in long-term savings. Well-maintained trees have fewer problems, and therefore reduced (or eliminated) costs associated with corrective actions.
