Nothing says spring quite like the sight of a beautiful flowering tree here in Michigan. The lovely colors and heavenly smells attract pollinators from all over, turning your lawn into a thriving ecosystem. Planting a flowering tree or two in your lawn is a surefire way to boost your home’s curb appeal and spring just happens to be the best time of the year to plant a tree in Michigan. Here are a few of the most beautiful flowering trees to add to your Michigan lawn this spring.

With spring fast approaching, we’re coming up on the best time of the year to plant trees in Michigan. Now is an excellent time to start planning which trees will best suit your lawn. One of the best types of trees to add to your Michigan property are shade trees. A shade tree is a quick-growing tree with a large canopy, offering excellent shade throughout the year. Here are a few of the best shade trees in Michigan.

People are always asking, when is the best time to plant a tree in Michigan? For our particular state, with its particular environment and climate, we believe that spring could be the best time to plant a tree in Michigan. Here are a few reasons why and a few tips to help you plant your tree this spring.

Let’s face it, sometimes, our trees need a little help. Whether it be lopsided growth, dead branches, disease, or a dangerously growing branch, there are a few ways we can help our trees. Properly maintaining your tree helps it grow strong and stay beautiful, benefitting both your tree and your curb appeal. Trimming and pruning are two very important pieces to the tree care puzzle. Though they may seem similar, there are many differences between tree trimming and tree pruning. When done correctly, these two essential tree care services benefit the tree in many different ways. Understanding the difference between tree trimming and tree pruning will help you decide which service is right for you and right for your tree.
 

Tree Trimming

When we’re talking about broad measures to protect a tree, that’s tree trimming. Tree trimming is the process of removing dead or dying branches that are causing harm to the tree or are a possible danger. Trimming your tree can be an emergency service if a branch has been damaged in a storm or it could be an aesthetic choice to lift your canopy and get more use out of your lawn.
 

Benefits of tree trimming include:

• Better Tree Health: Trimming away diseased, dying, or dead branches lets the tree send resources to other parts of the tree, encouraging healthy new growth. It also allows better air circulation through the branches and allows light to reach young, interior branches.
• A Safer Tree: A tree with dead or damaged branches can be a hazard. These branches can fall on your home, your car, or even you! Trimming away these big, hazardous branches saves you from a hefty bill or worse. It’s good to be proactive about the safety of your tree. Watch for branches that overhang your house or driveway and check for any branches that are growing close to powerlines. Make sure you always trust a professional with your tree trimming.

Tree Pruning

Tree pruning is a much more precise service. Pruning helps promote healthy growth by removing diseased or unnecessary branches. Typically, when pruning, you use a smaller, more precise hand tool. This allows you to have more control over the overall look of your tree.
 
Pruning is best done in the winter. When the tree goes dormant and loses its leaves, it’s much easier to find the branches that need to be removed. Pruning your tree in the late winter encourages fast, healthy growth in the spring. The tree will have better air circulation and more space to fill in. Pruning in the winter is also a good tree disease control and pest control. The diseases and pests go dormant with the tree, so you can easily remove those diseased and infested branches without the risk of spreading the disease. Just make sure to wash your tools before using them on another tree and properly remove the diseased branches.
 

Common Diseases Removed by Proper Pruning Include:
• Oak wilt
• Dutch elm disease
• Fire blight

Trust the Trimming and Pruning to the Pros at PPM

The best way to help your tree is by trusting the professionals. Here at PPM, we know the difference between tree trimming and tree pruning, and we’ve heard we’re pretty good at both. Trust the trimming and pruning to the professionals at PPM Tree Service & Arbor Care.
 
For more information on how we can start protecting your trees, give us a call at (877) 454-8733. You can also request a quick quote here. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter so you can be the first to know about our special offers. Don’t forget to check out our blog for the best tree care tips around.

Throughout the year, our trees go through a lot. Whether it be fungus in the spring, pests and drought stress in the summer, diseases in the fall, or ice and wind damage in the winter, your trees take a beating all year. Tree maintenance in the winter is a great way to remove, repair, and prepare your trees for the year to come. Here are a few perks of winter pruning, trimming, and tree removal.

Winter here in Michigan isn’t only tough for us, it’s tough on our trees as well. Though they look strong and sturdy, the frigid temperatures, dry wind, roadside salt, and accumulation of ice and snow can really hurt our trees. Luckily, the experts here at PPM Tree Service & Arbor Care have put together a few tips and tricks for winter tree care.

Add Mulch

Two of the biggest threats to your trees this winter are extreme cold and dehydration. When the ground is frozen, your trees aren’t able to absorb water through their roots. Combine this with the dry winds sucking the water out of your trees start to get stressed out and dehydrated.

One way to protect your trees from cold damage to the roots and dehydration is with mulch. Applying a two-inch layer of mulch around the base of your tree insulates the roots and helps retain moisture. The insulation protects the roots from fluctuating temperatures, helping keep your tree healthy this winter. As an added benefit, a layer of mulch helps keep voles away from your trees as well, reducing the likelihood of dealing with vole damage.

Winter Pruning

Pruning a tree by cutting away unhealthy, overgrown, or dead branches is one of the best things to do for your trees. In the winter, when your trees are dormant, pruning is both easy and beneficial. Because the leaves have all fallen, it’s much easier to spot problem spots on your tree that need to be pruned away. Pruning in the winter also prevents tree diseases from being spread because those diseases have all gone dormant as well.

Not only does winter pruning make your tree look more beautiful, but it’s also very healthy. Pruning stimulates new growth in the spring, keeping your tree beautiful and healthy. Pruning away the dead, dying, and overgrown branches frees up resources in your tree to be sent to new growth. It also allows oxygen and sunlight to reach new branches. In the spring, your tree will come back strong and healthy.
 

Wrapping Your Trees

One of the most devastating problems facing our trees this winter is sunscald. Sunscald is caused by the rapid freezing and thawing of the tree bark as temperatures bounce from above to below freezing. Sunscald can permanently damage a tree, even killing it in extreme cases. Luckily, there’s an easy winter tree protection method to prevent sunscald: wrapping your tree.
 
Using a light-colored tree wrap, gently wrap the bark of your tree. The light color helps reflect the sunlight while the wrap helps regulate temperatures around the bark. Not only does tree wrap protect against sunscald, but it also helps prevent damage from deer, voles, and salt spray.
 

Remove the Snow and Ice

Another essential step to winter tree protection is regular snow and ice removal. As ice and snow accumulate on your trees, the weight can prove to be too much. Too much weight from snow and ice can cause branches to break, causing damage to the tree and to the curb appeal of your property.
 
An easy way to fix this is to monitor the build-up of snow and ice. Remove it when the branches begin to sag and strain. If it’s just a light coating, then you won’t have to remove it. Make sure you don’t pull the branches down to shake off the snow as this can cause the branch to snap.
 

Get Professional Help From the Experts

Here at PPM Tree Service & Arbor Care, we know what it takes to keep your Michigan trees healthy this winter. With services like pruning, trimming, and removal, we have the solutions to help with your winter tree protection.
 
For more information on winter tree protection and how you can get started, give us a call at (877) 454-8733 or contact us here. For the latest and greatest tips in all things tree-related, head over to our comprehensive blog. To keep up with our latest news and offerings, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Having a real Christmas tree for the holidays is one of the best holiday traditions. But, what do you do with your Christmas tree after the holidays? There are actually quite a few ways to recycle or reuse your Christmas tree once the holidays have passed. Here are a few of the best ways to reuse a Christmas tree after the holidays.

Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Live Christmas trees are biodegradable, which means they can be recycled. Here in Michigan, different cities and counties have policies for recycling these beautiful trees. For the most part, Christmas trees can be recycled by simply leaving them out on the curb. Usually, Christmas trees are collected during the first two weeks of January. Before you take your tree to the curb, make sure to remove all decorations and tree stands. If your tree is taller than 6 – 7 ft, then you may need to cut it in half. Check out this helpful link for more information depending on where you live.

Make a Beneficial Mulch Out of Your Christmas Tree

One of the best ways to reuse a Christmas tree is by turning it into a beneficial mulch for your flower beds and gardens. With this method, you have two options. First, you can use the needles as their own mulch. Just take the tree outside and shake the needles into your flower bed as added insulation against the frigid Michigan winter. The second method is to use a wood chipper. With this method, you can turn the entire tree into a beneficial mulch to use throughout the year.

Turn Your Christmas Tree Into Outdoor Firewood

A great way to reuse your Christmas tree is to turn it into firewood for your outdoor fire pit. Throughout the holiday season, we have to fight to keep our tree hydrated. They seem to dry up rather quickly, requiring water nearly every day. At the end of the holiday season, you can finally let it dry out. Take the tree outside and chop it into manageable logs to be used as wonderfully fragrant firewood.

It’s important to note that these logs should not be used in your indoor fireplace. Burning pine, fir, or spruce trees produce a chemical called creosote. Creosote burns extremely hot and can cause a fire to get out of control. The chemical can buildup in the chimney, eventually resulting in a flue fire.

Get Crafty

When the holiday season is over, you’ll have an entire tree worth of crafting material to play with. Get creative! Some people use the trunk, or thick branches, to make cool looking coasters. Simply cut 1 – 2 inch slices from the trunk or thick branches and coat them in polyurethane. The crafty possibilities are endless.

Other Christmas Tree Crafts Include:

• Evergreen Wreaths
• Bird Feeder Stand
• Make Holiday Decorations
• Make an Instrument
• Aquarium or Pond Decoration

Replant It

Finally, you might be able to replant your Christmas tree after the holiday season. This option only works if you bought your tree with the roots still attached. If the tree has been cut, then it can’t be replanted. This is a fun option because, after a few years of doing this, you’ll be able to create your own little Christmas forest.

Need Tree Service? Call PPM Tree Service & Arbor Care

After the holidays are over, make sure you recycle or reuse your Christmas tree. If you have need of any tree service, like removal, cabling, or planting, give us a call at PPM.

For more information on which services are best for you, call us at (877) 454-8733. For the top tree care tips from the experts, head over to our blog. If you want to stay up to date on our latest deals and news, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Michigan winters can be cold and long. We spend a lot of our time indoors, trying to keep warm. Having a wood-burning fireplace is a real game-changer. Cozying up to a fire while the winter winds howl outside is one of the best ways to spend a winter day. If you have a fireplace, then safety needs to be on your mind. Here are a few fireplace safety tips to keep you and your family warm and safe this winter.

Choosing and cutting down your own Christmas tree is one of the great holiday traditions. But, which tree is right for you? Are you looking for something with a strong pine smell, the perfect Christmas tree shape, strong branches for ornaments and decorations, or a tree that lasts a long time and retains its needles? We’ve got the guide for you. Here are the five best Christmas trees and what makes them great.

Fall tree care is essential to strengthening your trees before the frigid Michigan winter. While trees may seem huge and sturdy, they do sometimes need us to protect them. Here are a few fall tree care tips that will help set your trees up for success, ensuring they bounce back next spring healthy and ready to thrive.