Tree and Plant Health Care
Tree & Plant Health FAQ
Why should I have a tree/shrub care program?
Dream Greeners tree/shrub program offers year-round protection of your most valuable uninsured asset on your property, your trees, and shrubs. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing trees and shrubs offer environmental benefits including air purification, prevention of soil erosion, and provide noise reduction. They also offer economic benefits by reducing heating and cooling costs, improving property values, and manage water in poor drainage areas.
What does the tree/shrub program do for my landscape?
We offer a comprehensive series of visits tailored to the needs of your landscape. Starting with dormant oil to control insects before hatching and damage occurs, spring and fall fertilizer will boost plant vigor, and blooming, and spring, summer and fall insect/disease controls enhance leaf and foliage health by reduction of insect feeding.
Are the products harmful to my family or pets?
The products used at Dream Greener are all available at most home care stores. They present a negligible risk when used in accordance with the manufactures label and all concentrates are pre-mixed before leaving our facility. Our tree/shrub care program reduces the need for you to buy, transport, and store products in or around the home eliminating a much greater risk of contact.
Will spraying my trees harm birds or bees?
Our arborists do not spray when adults or baby birds are present in or around trees. Although it is unlikely that any contact would cause harm, it is our practice to inspect your trees for wildlife before applying products.
Due to an alarming number of bee colony collapses and greatly reduced pollinator populations, we take pride in our pollinator protection policy. Using the EPA’s guidance, we strive to control damaging insects and disease without any detrimental impact to our local pollinators. With a full program of 8 visits, 5 of our applications are all natural and the other three are applied using an integrated pest management approach. This means using product only when and where needed after a complete inspection of your landscape.
How many tree/shrub visits do I need per year?
Establishing the needs of your specific property will be determined following a site visit by a trained arborist. Each program is individually designed based on current plant health, age, and location. Due to service needs changing, yearly re-evaluations will be completed.
What if I notice damage between visits?
Minimal feeding is normal due to the migration of flying and tree hopping pests. Controlling feeding pests usually involves the pest needing to initiate feeding to ingest the control. Although some feeding will occur it is generally unnoticeable with leaf surfaces remaining full allowing the plants to thrive.
Concerning amounts of feeding between visits should be reported to the office to initiate a supplemental inspection.
Does this guarantee that my trees and shrubs remain healthy and show no signs of decline or damage?
Our program is designed to give your landscape the best possible conditions to thrive. Unfortunately, with the vast amount of varieties of plants that have soil, water, and location requirements, if would be false for anyone to claim being able to guarantee full and prolonged health. Some diseases enter through the soil and root system, while new and invasive insect species are unknowingly being imported much more frequently causing uncontrollable damage. Having a trained arborist inspecting and servicing your landscape will provide coverages for the common Pennsylvania pest and disease issues and offer early diagnosis for issues causing decline that may not be preventable. Fertilization and insect and disease control can greatly prolong the life span of a declining tree when diagnosed early. Our trained arborists can also offer insight on proper pruning and mulching practices, as well as identify hazard trees that may be on your property.
Maintaining the health of your plant material is a vital part of your landscape health and aesthetic. There are more than a few services that should be prioritized to enable this, like fertilization. Adding nutrients to the root zone of your plant material keeps plants, roots, and soil well fed. Like your turf, there are many pests and diseases out to get your plant material, such as insects. Keeping damaging insects away with horticultural oil, specifically designed for plant pests is a best practice and part of our program. We like to perform two oil treatments, once during dormancy, and again in the fall. Active monitoring of your plant material, including trees and shrubs, will allow for treatment to be swift and effective.
Remember, do not forget the importance of your soil health when it comes to the growth of any plant material, so consider soil testing and treatment to maintain it. For further protection, anti-desiccant spray is a protective wax coating sprayed onto evergreens to reduce water loss. The longer water is able to be retained, the healthier the plant. With this combination of tree and plant health services, your landscape is sure to inspire those lucky enough to see it. Our program consists of 8 visits throughout the year, covering all of the aforementioned services.
Although our tree and plant health program is the best in the business, that does not make it infallible. When other issues arise, from planting to location problems, our team is able to offer the highest level of guidance on how to extend the life of your plant material.
Landscape Plant Analysis and Inspection
In order to get a general understanding of the current state of your plant material, our team will always begin with an initial inspection. We will observe and note urgent needs, as well as highlight those things that need to be addressed on variable timelines. Click the link to learn more about the Integrated Pest Management process and how it will continue to help the health of your trees and plant material.
Flea, Tick and Pest Management Program
Mosquito Management Program
Deer Deterrant
Root Zone Fertilizer
Fertilization is commonly used to maximize potential growth, especially in turf. However, your plant material can also use fertilizer, more specifically in their root system. As these larger plants such as shrubs and trees are much bigger in size, they need a greater number of nutrients. In the natural environment, pieces of larger plant material are able to gather significant nutrients from native soil. The soil in urban and suburban areas is not nearly as nutrient-rich in comparison, so we apply fast-acting fertilizer to quickly disperse nutrients for use in growth. This is done two separate times, during the spring and fall, in round 2 and round 6 of our tree and plant health program. Giving trees a quick burst of energy before spring, as well as nutrients to hold the plant over through the winter ensures earlier green-up and less winter damage.
Horticultural Oil – Insect Control
Managing insect problems requires both preemptive, and proactive treatment. This is why our tree and plant health program consists of two horticultural oil treatments, during late winter dormancy, and in early fall. Applying horticultural oil during dormancy is an ecologically friendly way to remove overwintering pests before they get to do damage in the spring. The fall application keeps the population low before the winter treatment so that numbers never rise too high to manage. Dormant oil treatment is round 1, while fall oil treatment is round 7 of our tree and plant health program.
Disease Monitoring and Control
Active evaluation of the health of your trees and plants is necessary to keep on top of any issues. Right after fertilization, round 3 of our program will allow for our arborist to come in and identify everything from insect activities to possible diseases. Leaf surfaces will be healthier after initial control is applied, and they contribute to the harvesting of photosynthetic light and thus plant growth. During the 4th round program visit in the summer, our team will be on the lookout for increased activity, as the metabolism and feeding habits of insect populations skyrockets due to the heat. When issues are found, they will be taken care of. They cannot be taken care of quickly if they aren’t found out in a timely manner.
Soil Health
Equally important as with your lawn, the health of your soil is paramount to growing healthy plants. Everything from acidity and possible lime treatment, to aeration and compaction, must be considered if soil conditions are bad. The healthier your soil, the healthier your trees, and plants. Healthy soil can breathe, is rich with nutrients, and has a balanced pH. There is no better team than Dream Greener to get your soil there.
Anti-Desiccant Protection
Desiccation is the phenomenon that occurs when water is lost through the leaves of a plant, faster than it can be absorbed by the roots. This is not uncommon during the fall, especially if the soil is particularly dry. As part of our round 8 visit, our team will apply anti-desiccant, a waxy protective coating for broadleaf evergreens. This will slow the transpiration process, enabling your plants to retain a more significant percentage of water.
Specialty Treatments
The comprehensive, 8 round tree and health program should cover everything your plants need, although we sometimes find special cases. For those with Borer insect problems, Borer injections may be required. Additionally, spotted lanternfly sprays can be used in similar cases. Trust your team at Dream Greener to let you know if these specialty treatments are required, or call us today if you deal with either of these problems in your landscape.
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“I was BLOWN AWAY when I got home. Seriously could not be happier!! Very happy to have found Dream Greener and looking forward to using their services throughout the summer and fall. Jon was super responsive, easy to work with, and came right on time. If you are looking for help with your yard, hire Jon and his team!”
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