As with most enquiries about the health and growth of trees, there is no single answer to the question ‘can I plant trees in winter?’. The answer will of course depend on a number of important variables. Some of the most influential factors are the tree species that you wish to plant, the location and climate in which you wish to plant it, and the temperature of the soil. Below we will run you through these three factors to help you determine whether you should proceed with your winter planting ambitions, or whether it would be best to wait until the arrival of more hospitable conditions. Read more
The warm weather is departing and the leaves are changing, so what should you be doing to prepare your trees for the autumn and winter cold? In this guide, we will give you our top five autumn tree tips to help your trees and garden to look their best. Read more
You’ve likely heard that mulching your garden bed is a good idea. But, if you’re like most homeowners then you’re probably still a bit unsure of what mulch actually means and why it’s beneficial. So let’s just take a moment to get on the same page about mulch. We’ll look at what mulch is, where it comes from, what the advantages of mulching are and how you can use the offcuts from your trees to mulch your garden beds.
What is mulching?
Mulching is the process of covering the surface of soil with a layer of material. Sounds broad right? Yep, that’s because there are many different types of mulch you can use to cover the soil, different methods for how much to apply, different reasons you might do it and a heap of benefits for doing it. Mulch is usually, though not always, organic material like grass clipping, woodchips, hay, animal manure or any number of things.
Where did mulching come from?
The practice of mulching is derived from the natural process of green waste or animal waste that falls on the soil and protects it from drying out from the sun. Today this practice is adapted to our home gardens so that we can recreate the healthy processes found in nature to protect plants and encourage healthy growth. This is particularly important in the harsh Australian climate which would otherwise be inhospitable for the many introduced species of plants we have in our gardens.
The advantages of mulch
There are many advantages to mulching your garden beds. It helps to protect your plants and soil from harsh conditions such as heat, frost and wind. It also helps to prevent the soil in your garden from erosion and compaction, which can hurt the health of your plants. Mulching restricts the growth of weeds from too much light, while also reducing water loss, which ensures you maintain the moisture and fertility of the soil. By covering the soil and protecting it from external conditions, you also help moderate the soil temperature, which encourages plant health and growth. Protecting your soil with mulch can help protect your garden from invasive insects and protect from damage that can be caused from weed eaters and lawnmowers. Mulching with organic materials can also benefit your soil’s health and fertility as the organic matter breaks down over time and adds its healthy compounds to the garden. As you can see, there are many great advantages to mulching your garden beds.
Making use of green waste when you get your trees cut
When our arborists perform routine tree maintenance services (like tree pruning, lopping, crown raising, crown thinning etc), there is a lot of green waste created in the process. Our teams will feed this green waste through an industrial wood chipper. By doing so, they transform the green waste into fresh, organic woodchip mulch. This type of mulch is ideal for mulching your garden beds. It is free of chemicals, sourced from your garden and able to be directly applied to your soil to start reaping all the advantages of mulching. So next time you get your trees cut, ask about how you can use that fresh woodchip mulch for your garden beds.
Tree care is a year-round job.
Neglecting the health of your trees during the long winter months is a sure-fire way to kill off their chances of healthy growth throughout the rest of the year. Winter tree care keeps your trees strong through winter, protects them from the tough conditions and sets them up with the best chances for success for those warmer months.
In this guide, we will take you through the best strategies for taking care of your trees in Winter. We look at why Winter is a great time to get on top of tree maintenance, plus we explore the hidden benefits of taking action while everyone else is hibernating.
The Winter Cut
Winter is an ideal time to get on top of your trees’ pruning schedule. A regular pruning schedule is important for keeping your tree healthy, happy, vibrant and growing strong. However, many people neglect this task with the onset of the cold climate. Our arborists say that pruning during Winter actually has a number of advantages:
Precision Pruning
First of all, without all of the excess foliage, it is far easier to be precise and accurate when pruning. The absence of leaves allows for quicker identification of healthy branch structures, which enables a tree surgeon to better navigate the tree and determine which parts should be trimmed, lopped or left.
Reduce Risk
Pruning and lopping during Winter reduce risk in two distinct ways. Firstly it removes dead and dying branches which pose a threat to safety during high winds or storms. Secondly, pruning during winter has less chance of attracting insects with disease, bacteria or fungi that can cause nightmares for your trees and plants. Therefore winter pruning can help to make you and your trees safer.
Promote Growth
Trimming your trees during the coldest months of the year places less stress on the tree than at other times of the year. By getting on top of your tree care in Winter, the tree has time to recover and begin growing by the time the sun is out and spring is in bloom. In addition, pruning during winter can remove the shade from your property and enable more sunlight to reach the rest of your plants. This can help the rest of your garden to weather the cold and prepare for the prosperous months.
The Cost of Frost
While there are a number of advantages to pruning during Winter, it’s also important to put in place strategies to protect your trees from the bitter cold. Our professional arborists have plenty of experience in protecting trees from the elements. Here are their top tips:
Protect the weak
If you have young saplings, delicate trees or potted plants, get them ready for the frost. Freezing temperatures can badly damage the shoots, leaves and core of your tree, affecting their ability to grow and fight off disease. Protect these by bringing them inside if you can, or by covering them to the ground with sheets/tarps that can trap the warmth during the night.
Mulch
Mulching helps to regulate the moisture levels and temperature of the soil and your trees. Cover the base and roots of your trees with 5-10cm of fresh wood chip mulch to help them retain warmth even during the coldest parts of the month.
Keep the fluids up
Keep watering your trees during winter, especially if there has been no rain. Young saplings should be watered every week or two while more mature trees should be watered every month or two.
“There are always lessons in business,” says Niko, “it takes time to up-skill yourself in any new business and it won’t happen overnight.”
Niko Kurta is well-versed in the realities of work within the tree industry. He has been running Jim’s Tree & Stump Removal since 2012 and in that time he has helped the franchise to generate over 100,000 new leads. In this article we discover exactly what it takes to run a successful tree business.
Getting Started
One of the very first decisions you will have to make when starting out is whether you create your own business or buy an existing one. The advantage of buying into an existing business is that you start with a platform to grow your business from. This is a result of the good will that comes from a mature brand with a good client list.
“Business is so much easier if it has goodwill,” says Niko.
When buying into a franchise like Jim’s Trees, you have this same choice but with a stronger platform. You can buy a new franchise, giving you the opportunity to start your own business with the benefits of the Jim’s brand to give you public awareness and the Jim’s network for support.
Alternatively, you can buy an existing franchise, which allows you to take on their client list. Generally the longer the business has been around, the better the quality of the clientele and the good will of the business within the community.
Clients
Once you’ve decided whether to buy into an existing business or to start your own, you then have the core challenge of every tree business, clients.
- How do you acquire new clients?
- How do you keep them?
- Are they all worth keeping?
- How far should you travel to keep them?
- How do you keep them happy through winter?
These questions must be considered and there are no simple answers. Instead, you’ll need to experiment, iterate and adapt. As a seasonal business, it is important to retain your clients through the low winter months. This is where prioritisation of clients can be important, as you will want to make sure your best clients are kept happy through summer so that they’ll be there for you in winter.
Location
Tree businesses aren’t confined to any one location, which can be both a benefit and a challenge.
“Distance is crucial, downtime needs to be taken into consideration,” says Niko.
Being unrestricted to a single location poses challenges. Each council has different laws around tree maintenance and removal. As such, you will need to be familiar with a number of different variations of similar rules.
Different suburbs also have different challenges in terms of demographics and accessibility. Some regions might have dense urban forests, but tight streets. Others may have demographics less inclined to pay for tree maintenance. The best way to plan for this is to do your research, familiarise yourself with the area and speak to local professionals familiar with the region.
Expenses
Any business has to deal with expenses, a tree business is no different. It is essential to have a good team of employees who are happy and hardworking. To achieve this, staff wages and superannuation must be a priority.
Travel time represents another large part of your business expenses. “Managing downtime is very crucial,” says Niko, “the more you travel, the less productivity in a day which will affect your bottom line.”
The final component of your major expenses is equipment.
“Equipment maintenance is key to running any business with machinery and will serve you better for the long run,” says Niko.
Your tools and your machinery are the foundation of your business. Premium tools that last a long time will always provide your business with more value than cheap tools that deteriorate quickly.
Managing the business
Once you’ve set up your business, you then need the management skills to keep it running smoothly.
“Not everyone is cut out to run a business,” says Niko, “time management is key, but so is business management, staff management and customer service.”
A successful business owner needs to be able to manage all of the areas we have discussed, while also having the humility to admit that you have more to learn. While not everyone is cut out to run a business, anyone can do it if they are willing to jump into the deep end, learn from their mistakes and persevere.
Are you Ready?
Whether you are an existing Tree business looking to improve, a new startup looking to grow or you’re thinking about starting a new business – we would like to hear from you. You can contact us through our franchise enquiry page or call 131 546 to register your interest.
When it comes to removing a tree on your private property within Australia, it is best to assume that you do need the permission of your local council. The specific tree protection laws and their requirements vary between councils. Despite this variety, most municipalities across the country require residents to apply for a permit before they can carry out significant tree works. Read more
The Australian summer can be a tough time for your plants and trees. There are many strategies to protect your garden through the hottest months, from mulching and irrigation, to pruning and health assessments. We have assembled the top 10 tips from professional arborists for keeping your garden looking great all summer long. Read more
Proper garden and tree care can add value to you home by making it aesthetically pleasing and offering a safe and pleasant place to live. Pruning, if done properly, is one of the best ways to refresh a tired garden and encourage a flush of new life in spring.
Of course, bigger jobs should always be left for your local arborist but there’s plenty of smaller pruning jobs lower to the ground that can be done in the meantime to keep your garden looking beautiful. Read more
Tree removal and maintenance services have been classified as essential by the government during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic due to their role in keeping the community safe and the environment healthy.
Arborists play a crucial role in protecting us from the risks associated with dead, damaged and dying trees. Trees that are neglected can quickly become fall-hazards for nearby residents, passing pedestrians, traffic and wildlife. It’s important that even during this chaotic time, we maintain our trees to ensure our communities remain safe. Read more
Recent rainfalls have transformed many parched landscapes into seas of green, and flora and fauna are flourishing once more. This is also a time when weird looking fungi rises up, seemingly from nowhere, before mysteriously disappearing. Read more
