Community Tree Care

University of Florida
IFAS Extension
By: Edward F. Gilman

Fertilizing - Fertilizer helps to maintain healthy trees. Fertilizing some urban trees can be difficult and best done by an arborist. It is best to spread fertilizer over the surface of the soil, but it can be injected 4 to 6 inches into the soil with specialized equipment. This technique helps reduce runoff on sloping ground and in compacted soils. Trunk injections and implants can be used to temporarily correct micronutrient deficiencies in trees which are over 4 inches in diameter if they do not respond satisfactorily to soil treatments.

Fortunately, fertilizing is usually not necessary for trees growing in or near lawns and adjacent to shrub beds treated regularly with fertilizer. This is because most of the tree's fine feeder roots are located near enough to the soil surface to utilize the fertilizer spread on the lawn and landscape beds. On the other hand, trees growing in confined soil spaces such as islands will benefit from a regular fertilization program.

Tree pruning is a special service which should be performed by professionals. Homeowners should only prune from the ground. Non-professionals should never climb a tree to prune because of the danger of falling or injury from pruning equipment.
(a link to the complete article can be found on the web site).

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Fertilizing Landscape Plants - Why Fertilize

Clearly, plants grow in the wild without any help from humans. However, we have learned that some plants respond to fertilizers in ways that we may consider desirable, such as faster growth or improved appearance. The value of these outcomes is subjective.

For example, faster growth may be desired in one circumstance but may lead to unwanted pruning in another. Improved appearance is important to some and unimportant to others.

Thus, the reason for fertilizing plants should be to supply nutrients to achieve a clearly defined objective, such as the following:

1. Increasing shoot growth, root growth, flowering, or fruiting;
2. Establishing newly planted trees and shrubs;
3. Enhancing foliage color and plant appearance;
4. Correcting or preventing nutrient deficiencies.

Untreated Buffer Zones Near Bodies of Water

Except when adjacent to a protective seawall, always leave a “Ring of Responsibility� around or along the shoreways of canals, lakes, or waterways. This avoids fertilizing too close to a body of water. It is important to ensure that fertilizers and other lawn chemicals do not come into direct contact with the water or with any structure bordering the water, such as a sidewalk, brick border, driveway, or street.

What To Look For When Hiring A Contractor To Treat Your Lawn, Ornamentals, and Trees

The health and beauty of your residential landscaping requires proper sun light, water, pruning, fertilizer, and pest control.

The lawn maintenance and pruning should be performed by your landscape professional. Landscapers may want to fertilize your lawn and ornamentals and this is legal. They are not permitted to apply any pesticide to your property. This prohibits then from even using a “weed-n-feed� application, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture.

Fertilization and pest control of your lawn, shrubs, ornamentals, and tree’s should be performed by your pest control professional.

Tree trimming should be performed by your tree care professional or an arborist.

Tree Trimming companies or Arborist are equipped, trained, licensed, and insured for tree care.

Home Water Purification System - Maintenance

The contact information for Sun Pure Water Systems was not incorrect on the web site and newsletters.

The correct phone number for Sun Pure Water is (954) 784-9100 or (800)400-2323 or www.SunPureWater.com.

Go to the community website and there is a link to a discount coupon for service or new equipment.