Bringing You Professional Tree Care Solutions
Natural Form Pruning
Is a three-part equation – part art, part science, part common sense. If any part of the equation is missing, the results can be disastrous – causing damage that can last the life of the tree, compromise its structural integrity, and shorten the tree’s life.
Natural Form Pruning is an approach that ideally when the work is completed, the tree shouldn’t look like it was worked on, it should look like it just grew that way. We remove branches that are dead, dying, diseased, insect-infested, broken, poorly attached, interfering with structures, or are too low over sidewalks and streets to meet city codes.
Pruning is the most common tree maintenance procedure. Proper pruning is essential in developing a tree with a strong structure and desirable form. Trees that are correctly pruned when they are young will require little corrective pruning when they mature.
In a landscaping setting, we sometimes need to modify the trees so people and the trees can co-exist. Safety is of paramount importance, and how this is achieved to complement other landscape plantings, structures, and lawns can be a delicate balance to achieve and maintain good tree health and structure while enhancing the aesthetic and economic values of our landscapes.
Understanding tree biology is critical in determining the approach to pruning. The leaves are the “food factories” for the trees. That is what separates the plant kingdom from the animal kingdom. Plants produce their own food through a process called photosynthesis. This occurs in the leaves. The leaves also store energy. The leaves are essential for the tree to produce the sugars used as energy for growth and development. Heavy pruning can severely stress a tree, making it vulnerable to failure and unable to fight against insects and disease. If too much of the foliage mass is removed by heavy pruning, the tree will have a defensive reaction to replace those leaves, and it does this by producing rapidly growing suckers and sprouts. These suckers and sprouts are not true branches (originating from the parent wood) but are superficially and weakly attached. I think of their attachment kind of like a rubber tipped arrow or dart. They are very prone to failure.
Each cut has the potential to change the growth pattern of the tree. Many factors need to be considered before any cut is made. How the cut is made is also critical. Trees do not heal like people. They compartmentalize the injury. They actually build walls around the injury, and this stays with the tree forever. Young trees are approached differently than mature trees. With young trees the emphasis is on developing structure and form. If done correctly, the tree will require little corrective pruning when it’s mature. If done incorrectly, the tree will require constant maintenance and will be compromised throughout its lifetime. When pruning mature trees, the main focus should be for safety, removing dead branches, crowded limbs, and eliminating hazards. With mature trees, the structure is already in place.
Tree Removal
There are circumstances when tree removal is considered necessary. Mortensen Tree Service can help you decide whether or not a tree should be removed. We have the skills and equipment to safely and efficiently remove trees.
With proper maintenance, trees can add significant value to a property. A tree that has been neglected or poorly maintained can be a significant liability. They will often have very poor structure, can be hollow, or areas of decay. This will make them considered a high-risk or hazardous tree.
There are some types of trees that are very invasive that just seem to propagate on their own from the roots of other trees or wind cast seeds. We commonly refer to these types of trees as “volunteers.” They often occur in a very inappropriate location.
Trees also die. If a tree is dead or dying, it is also best to remove it. Sometimes trees need to be removed to allow for new construction. Although tree removal is a last resort, there are circumstances when it is necessary.
Trees are often planted in honor of a newborn family member or in memory of a loved one who has passed away. We know there is often a personal connection with people and trees, and it can be a difficult decision to remove a tree in the event of storm damage. Sometimes the damage is so severe it is impossible to correct by pruning.
Tree removal is dangerous work, and especialaly large trees should only be removed by competent professionals. We are happy to evaluate your tree.
I am generally an advocate for the trees and prefer to preserve them or “save them.” But I also want to be a proper custodian of your money and advise you wisely.
Mortensen Tree Is a Distributor for Solutions 4 Earth
Nourish your trees with EnviroTree™ by Solutions 4Earth™, a revolutionary tree fertilizer specially formulated for nurturing your healthy trees and helping to heal sick or diseased trees.
EnviroTree™ is a patented mix of liquid fertilizer, plant nutrients, and soil amendments blended specifically for trees. It also works great in plants to replenish the nutrients lost over time and helps to restore the soils’ biological balance. EnviroTree™ contains many beneficial nutrients including Norwegian Kelp and humic acids.
EnviroTree™ liquid tree food uses only biologically sound, food grade ingredients that trees can easily digest with no harmful bi-products for you or your family. Our process is simple. By spraying directly onto the bark, the tree naturally takes the product in through its skin, or cambium layer. It sends the nutrients to the roots, stabilizes the soil in the process, then sends the nutrients and energy back to the top of the tree, giving the tree stunning new growth and color. EnviroTree delivers a liquid product, but it is being applied to the largest living tissue on the tree – the bark.
Giving your trees exactly what nature intended can cause a complete shift in the health of your entire landscape!
Since EnviroTree™ provides a balanced diet, a tree’s fruit, nuts, and flowers will benefit greatly from this nutrition. Just look at the difference in the apples. The apple on the left came from a tree that had been treated in the spring. It was picked and eaten in the fall … it was juicy and delicious! The apple on the right is from an untreated tree. Although the color is nice and red, the size is noticeably smaller.
Benefits of Using EnviroTree™
EnviroTree™ liquid tree food is the world’s one and only tree product with benefits like this:
- The ability to add new growth at any time of year
- Promotes plant health
- Enhanced root development
- More yield to fruit-bearing trees
- Resistant to frost damage
- Increases the carbon level in the soil
- Soil microbes and bacteria for soil rejuvenation
- Can help the tree become resistant to insects and disease
- Safe for humans and animals
- Mostly organic, biologically sound formula
- Unparalleled health and vigorous growth
All ingredients are biologically sound and environmentally friendly, so it’s completely safe for you, your kids, your pets, and all wildlife!
There’s a reason the U.S. Department of Agriculture created a food pyramid, and mothers harp about balanced meals – humans require a host of nutrients at varying volumes to promote and maintain good health.
Trees may be less complex, but they require a variety of nutrients at varying levels. The problem with most fertilizers is that they contain too much macronutrients – nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium – and too few, if any, micronutrients.
Remember Popeye? Huge forearms and calves, but no upper arms, quads, or chest muscles. Apparent strength at the extremities with little to nothing at the core. In other words, outrageously unbalanced.
Eating excessive amounts of spinach while neglecting other nutrients is a metaphor for the story of nitrogen in the plant world. Nitrogen is the nutrient needed in greatest quantity for above-ground growth. Which explains why we use so much of it; we love fast-growing, rich green foliage.
Ultimate Turf™ by Solutions 4Earth™ is a complete, balanced, precision blend liquid plant food formulated to duplicate the sap of a plant. It feeds the plant and improves the soil by increasing the growth of microorganisms that are critical for maximum plant development. This results in:
- Disease control
- Insect control
- Higher yield
Ultimate Turf™ is a detoxifier in the soil, it reduces the need for harmful chemicals, and it removes salts, leaving your yard looking green and beautiful!
Benefits of Using Ultimate Turf™
- Promotes the activity of beneficial bacteria
- Restores the soil’s biological balance
- Increases the carbon level in the soil
- Increases root mass
- Reduces salts and nitrates in the soil
- Decreases water usage
- Reduces contaminants in the soil
- Reduces insect and disease damage
- Balances the soil pH
- Promotes richer color, and denser, thicker blades
“Ultimate Turf has improved my root system and turf like no other product. It’s exciting to finally have a product that helps me get my field ready for opening day and the rigors of a full season…”
Mark Razum, Head Groundskeeper Colorado Rockies, Coors Field
Mortensen Tree Service can help you rejuvenate any lawn and maximize its life and vibrancy for years to come by employing the EnviroMoist™ Injection System from Solutions 4Earth™.
Super-absorbent acrylamide polymers help hold moisture and nutrients in the root zone until the plant can utilize them. EnviroMoist™ is a sub-terrain liquid which is injected into the roots of your existing lawn or sprayed onto the ground prior to sod applications or planting shrubs and trees.
It was designed for mature turf grass and pre-sod applications, but it is effective on:
- trees
- houseplants
- lawns
- crops
Benefits of using EnviroMoist™
- No damage to the surface of the turf
- Reduces salt and contaminants in the soil
- Effective for all plants, trees, and turf
- Reduces soil compaction
- One application lasts up to 8 years
- Great for residential, commercial, or municipal turf
- Water savings up to 50%
EnviroLagoon™, by Solutions 4Earth™, is a revolutionary waste treatment system that will change the way you keep your water clean. Specially formulated to perform in all weather conditions, EnviroLagoon™ will work for you in every season!
It is effective for cleaning lakes, ponds, and irrigation components. It is aerobically healthy, eliminates algae, and balances the pH levels. Its formula of energized aerobic microbes increases oxygen levels while digesting the unhealthy elements in the aquatic system.
Benefits of Using EnviroLagoon™
- Increases available nutrients during land application
- Breaks down salts in effluent water
- Increases water structure capacity
- Reduces agitation and other mechanical processes
- Reduces the breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes
- Reduces odor
- Is environmentally friendly and non-toxic to humans and aquatic life