Here is your Phoenix winter tree care newsletter. If you have any questions about your trees or would like to schedule a free estimate, please give us a call at 480-218-0826 or simply reply to this email. Thank you! 

~Dan and Heather Stevens, Owners of Living Tree Service
Winter 2016 Tree Care Newsletter


Careful not to over-water this winter
We have seen a lot of rain already this year. Be careful not to over-water your trees this winter, particularly if we continue to get excess rain water. Trees should typically be watered one time per month in the Phoenix area during colder periods.
Treating frost damage
We've had some freezes already in the mid-20's, and we've already seen some frost damage on sissoo trees. This usually doesn't require any treatment. It's mainly just the leaves that are affected and they should grow back fine. Ficus trees, however, are very frost sensitive, and can benefit from pruning out any frost-damaged branches. We recommend waiting until the March-April time frame to prune ficus trees. Pruning them in the cold weather can make them more susceptible to frost damage. Waiting for warmer weather ensures that we can remove any frost-damaged branches from this year.
Winter pruning: deciduous trees and pines
Pine trees and deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves, such as ash and mulberry) are best pruned during cooler months. When the leaves are off, it makes it easy to see the structure of the tree to know where to prune and it's also a low stress time for the trees.
Optimal citrus pruning season (Feb-Apr)
Citrus season is in the late winter or early spring. It's best to prune citrus trees just before the flowering of the new year's fruit. Fertilization of citrus should be done just after fruit sets and fruit is about ΒΌ" in diameter. 
Ask us about free mulch
Our mulch consists of 1/2"-4" chippings of mixed varieties of trees. It's great for gardening, ground cover, erosion and weed control, and mulching around trees. We can deliver it wherever you want as long as there is a large area to dump it. Also, we can only deliver full loads, so it's quite a bit of mulch. Call or email us to let us know you're interested and we can deliver a load of mulch to you when we are in your area. Thank you!