Trees, with their graceful presence and natural beauty, play a vital role in our environment and daily lives. From providing shade and oxygen to enhancing the landscape with their vibrant foliage colors, trees are a cherished part of nature. As the seasons change, so do the needs of trees, making it crucial to understand when the peak tree service season occurs. In this comprehensive article, we will explore the various factors that influence peak tree service season, the importance of proper tree care, and how to make the most of the stunning fall foliage.
The Natural Cycle of Trees To fully grasp the concept of peak tree service season, it is essential to understand the natural cycle of trees. Trees, like all plants, undergo a process known as photosynthesis, which allows them to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, using the energy from sunlight. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in leaves, is responsible for capturing light and initiating photosynthesis, giving leaves their verdant appearance during the warmer months of spring and summer.
Fall Foliage and the Science of Changing Colors As the days grow shorter and temperatures drop during autumn, trees prepare for the winter months. The reduced sunlight causes chlorophyll production to slow down, revealing other pigments present in the leaves that were masked by the green chlorophyll. Carotenoids, which produce yellow and orange hues, become more visible, while anthocyanins, responsible for reds and purples, are synthesized in some species. The combination of these pigments creates the spectacular array of colors that make fall foliage such a breathtaking sight.
Timing and Factors Influencing Peak Tree Service Season Peak tree service season varies depending on the geographical location and climate of an area. In the United States, the peak season for fall foliage typically occurs in the northeastern states, including Maine, Vermont, and New England, where trees like maples, oaks, and beeches create a stunning kaleidoscope of colors.
The timing of peak tree service season is influenced by several factors, including:
1. Weather and Climate: Temperature, sunlight, and rainfall play significant roles in determining the onset and intensity of fall colors. Cooler temperatures and sunny days with adequate moisture result in more vivid and prolonged displays of fall foliage.
2. Day Length: As autumn approaches, the days become shorter, signaling trees to prepare for dormancy. The reduction in daylight triggers the slowing down of chlorophyll production and the subsequent unveiling of other pigments.
3. Tree Species: Different tree species exhibit distinct color changes and peak at different times. For instance, sugar maples boast brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows, while oaks often display deeper reds and browns.
4. Soil and Nutrient Availability: The health and nutrition of trees are influenced by the soil they grow in. Trees with access to rich, well-drained soil tend to display more vibrant colors than those in nutrient-poor environments.
5. Climate Change: As climate change impacts global weather patterns, it can also alter the timing and intensity of fall foliage. Warmer temperatures and extreme weather events may disrupt the natural progression of colors.
Importance of Certified Arborists and Proper Tree Care During the peak tree service season, the role of certified arborists becomes paramount. A certified arborist possesses the knowledge and expertise to assess the health of trees, identify potential issues, and provide appropriate care. Proper tree care ensures that trees remain healthy, resilient, and able to withstand environmental stressors.
Tree trimming, pruning, and removal are essential aspects of tree maintenance during the peak season. Trimming helps shape the tree, removes dead or diseased branches, and reduces the risk of limb breakage during strong winds or winter storms. Pruning, when done correctly, promotes healthy growth and can enhance the tree’s overall appearance.
However, tree removal should only be considered when necessary, such as in the case of diseased or hazardous trees that pose a threat to property and safety.
Full Service Tree Care and Conservation Efforts Full service tree care companies offer a wide variety of services, including tree trimming, pruning, and removal, as well as consultation and preservation techniques. Their mission is to promote the well-being of trees while ensuring the safety and aesthetics of the surrounding environment.
In conservation areas, such as national parks and state parks, maintaining healthy trees is crucial for preserving biodiversity and protecting natural habitats. The National Park Service and various conservation organizations work diligently to manage and protect trees in these areas, taking into account the delicate balance between human interaction and nature preservation.
Making the Most of Peak Color and Fall Foliage As the peak tree service season arrives, it presents an opportunity for individuals and families to enjoy the splendor of fall colors in parks, forests, and gardens. Exploring national parks like the Smoky Mountains during this time offers a breathtaking experience, with vast stretches of vibrant foliage.
Whether it’s a day trip or a weekend getaway, planning a visit to central Maine or other picturesque locations during the peak color season allows for memorable experiences and remarkable photo opportunities.
Conclusion The peak tree service season, particularly during the fall, is a time of transformation and celebration of nature’s beauty. Understanding the factors that influence fall foliage colors and timing enables us to appreciate the cycle of life that trees undergo each year. Certified arborists play a vital role in caring for trees and ensuring their health and longevity. As we embrace the wonder of fall colors, let us also commit to preserving and protecting our natural surroundings for generations to come. By fostering a deep appreciation for trees and their significance in our ecosystem, we can work together to create a sustainable future for our planet.
Service berry bushes (Amelanchier spp.), also called June berry or shad bush, are large deciduous ornamental bushes or small trees that vary in size and form depending on the species. Service berry varieties, which are native to North America, are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 2 through 9. Gardeners plant them as border shrubs or specimen plants, or use them to attract wildlife. Servce berry bushes offer year-round ornamental appeal, as well as yielding an edible and flavorful berry that works well in jellies and pies.
Service berry Tree Identification
Most types of service berry bushes are multi-trunked. Their bark color varies from tan to pale gray; some varieties also have dark lines on their branches and trunks, and most have reddish-brown twigs that grow in a zigzag pattern.
The leaves vary In shape from oval to oblong depending upon the species, with finely serrated margins. Young servce berry leaves are purple or greenish-gray, but mature to medium or dark green. Native servce berry offers an attractive fall foliage display when its leaves change to orange, yellow or red, and the silvery bark adds to winter interest.
Flowers and Berries
Servce berry is one of the earliest bushes to produce flowers each year. Early in the spring, hairy, silvery flower buds emerge before the leaves. These buds remain closed for two to three weeks before opening into clusters of showy white blossoms. The petals usually only last between one day and one week, quickly falling from the tree as the foliage begins to appear.
Heavy clusters of small, round, green berries replace the blossoms. The green gives way to red, blue, purple or black as the fruits mature. Servce berry fruits vary in size between ¼ and 3/8 inches in diameter depending on the shrub variety.
Servce berry Varieties and Cultivars
Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Regent’ or regent servce berry is an early-flowering shrub that grows best in zones 2 through 7. Also called alder-leaved servce berry, it usually reaches heights of 4 to 6 feet with an approximately equal spread and yields rich purple berries, advises Missouri Botanical Garden. Amelanchier canadensis or shadblow servce berry shrub size is between 6 and 10 feet high and it produces sweet black berries.
This species is available in a number of cultivars including ‘Spring Glory,’ ‘Rainbow Pillar’ and ‘Tradition.’ Amelanchier arborea, or common servce berry, is a small tree or tall shrub that reaches heights of 15 to 25 feet, advises Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Database. Sometimes called the downy servce berry, a coating of soft hair covers its emerging leaves.
Cultivation and Potential Issues
Servce berry shrubs or trees grow best in partial shade. These hardy plants can tolerate a wide range of growing conditions, but they thrive in nutrient-rich, well-drained, moist acidic soil, with regular amounts of water. Serviceberries do not do well in soggy or poorly drained soil. They benefit from an occasional pruning after they have bloomed to remove dead or dying branches.
Several diseases such as fire blight and leaf spot occasionally infect servce berry plantings. Borer insects sometimes burrow into the wood and create tunnels below the bark, weakening the internal structure and killing limbs or entire plants. Heavy infestations of sap-feeding pests such as aphids and spider mites can speckle, yellow or distort the foliage.
Amelanchier arborea
Amelanchier arborea (downy servce berry or common servce berry), is native to eastern North America from the Gulf Coast north to Thunder Bay in Ontario and Lake St. John in Quebec, and west to Texas and Minnesota.
Other common names are “shadberries” (as their blossoming coincides with the shad runs in New England), “Juneberries” (because the berries usually set on in June), and “Service” or “Sarvice” berries because their blooms mean that the muddy back roads into the “coves and hollers” of Appalachia will soon be passable for circuit-riding preachers and the communities will be able to have Sunday services again. (Some say, more morbidly, that it means the ground is soft enough to dig, which means that those who died over winter can be buried and have services said over them.)
Amelanchier arborea is generally 5–12 m (16–39 ft) tall. Occasionally, it can grow up to 20 metres (66 ft) tall and reach into the overstory. The trunk can be up to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter (rarely to 40 cm or 16 in). The bark is smooth and gray.
The buds are slender with a pointed tip, and usually more than two scales visible. The leaves are ovate or elliptical, 4–8 cm (1+1⁄2–3+1⁄4 in), rarely 10 cm (4 in), long and 2.5–4 cm (1–1+5⁄8 in) wide, with pointed tips and finely serrated margins. A characteristic useful for identification is that the young leaves emerge downy on the underside. The fall color is variable, from orange-yellow to pinkish or reddish.
Flower details
It has perfect flowers that are 15–25 mm (5⁄8–1 in) in diameter, with 5 petals, emerging during bud break in early spring. The petals are white. Flowers are produced on pendulous racemes 3–5 cm (1+1⁄4–2 in) long with 4–10 flowers on each raceme. The flowers are pollinated by bees.
The fruit is a reddish-purple pome, resembling a small apple in shape. They ripen in summer and are very popular with birds. The fruit is eaten by over 40 species of birds and various mammals, including squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, mice, voles, foxes, black bears, deer, and elk.
It also commonly hybridizes with other species of Amelanchier, the hybrid Amelanchier × grandiflora being one example, and identification can be very difficult as a result.
Cultivation
This species tolerates varying light levels, but is at its best in full sun. It requires good drainage and air circulation and should be watered during drought. It is often confused with other species in the nursery trade. Propagation is by seed, divisions and grafting.
The edible fruit is drier than some other serviceberries, and it is harvested locally for pies and jams, and has been known to be used for wine; they were also used by Native Americans to make bread.
Some report that the sweetened juice tastes like Dr. Pepper and some nurseries sell them as “The Dr. Pepper Tree”, but the fruit is not used in the soft drink.
Service Berry Care
Successfully growing service berries requires carefully balancing several factors: heat, light, and fertilization. Plants that are over-fertilized and grown in warm conditions, but not given enough light, will stretch out looking for more. Plants that are given too much light without a corresponding increase in fertilizer and water will scorch. The right balance indoors likely means a bright corner, with plenty of water, and less fertilizer than you probably think.
Service berry has a reputation for being somewhat of a temperamental plant. Although service berrys are understory plants in their natural habitat, indoors it’s a good idea to provide as much light as possible. Plants that are stretching and bleached should be moved into a brighter spot for a few weeks, but don’t expose them to full sunlight.
Soil
These palms are acid-loving plants that do best with a pH level as low as 5.0, so don’t worry about a peat-based mixture acidifying and hurting your service berry. A standard potting mix, with some extra peat mixed in, is an ideal growing medium for service berrys1. These palms need good drainage to prevent water-logged roots.
Water
Keep the potting media evenly moist, but not waterlogged. Don’t let the plant’s soil get too dry between watering or you’ll start to lose lower leaves.
Temperature and Humidity
This plant will grow fairly well in temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It prefers high humidity but can survive in ordinary household humidity levels. In colder climates where winter air can get very dry; running a humidifier can make the plants happier. Misting the plant daily will also ensure it gets the humidity it craves. Low humidity levels can encourage insect pests.
Some of the Garden hybrids
Since classifications have varied greatly over the past century, species names are often used interchangeably in the nursery trade. Several natural or horticultural hybrids also exist, and many A. arborea and A. canadensis plants that are offered for sale are actually hybrids, or entirely different species. A. × grandiflora is another hybrid of garden origin, between A. arborea and A. laevis.
A taxon called Amelanchier lamarckii (or A. x lamarckii) is very widely cultivated and naturalized in Europe, where it was introduced in the 17th century. It is apomictic, breeding true from seed, and probably of hybrid origin, perhaps descending from a cross between A. laevis and either A. arborea or A. canadensis. While A. lamarckii is known to be of North American origin, probably from eastern Canada, it is not known to occur naturally in the wild in North America.
To decide which types of landscape trees are best for your yard, you have to think in terms of the different seasons of the year. Begin by looking at those that are valued for their spring display and end with those trees that offer visual interest in winter. The goal is not simply to have a collection of great specimens in the yard, but rather to have at least one specimen per season that will add pizzazz to your landscaping.
Landscaping Trees for Spring
Magnolia Trees
Spring is for flowers. You have the rest of the year to fuss over the foliage of a tree, the novelty of a tree’s bark, or the pattern in which its branches grow. But when the snow recedes, and life returns, you want color—and lots of it. That is one reason why you can forgive the glorious golden chain tree (Laburnum × watereri) for being a one-hit-wonder. Its critics point out that it is useless outside of that short period of time during the spring season in which it blooms. But nothing furnishes color quite like flowers, whether annuals or perennials, shrubs or trees. Any well-planned yard will contain at least one flowering landscape tree of exceptional beauty. Magnolia trees (Magnolia spp.) are among the showiest specimens. While star magnolias often bloom earlier, saucer magnolias provide a larger bloom.
Apple Trees
You do not have to be a farmer to want to grow apple trees (Malus spp.) in your yard. It is about more than just fruit. Apple trees are beautiful bloomers in their own right. The fruit is a bonus. If you do not care about growing edible fruit, then crabapples will serve your purposes better. A type with rosy-red flowers that reaches a height of 20 to 25 feet is Malus x ‘Centzam’ or Centurion, which can be grown in zones 4 to 8.
Dogwood Trees
You will likely want more than just flowering landscape trees that provide a floral extravaganza in spring. Fortunately, sometimes you get a two-for-one deal (or better) in landscaping. In this case, that means versatile specimens that earn their keep during more than just one of the four seasons. Dogwood trees (Cornus florida and Cornus kousa) offer such a deal: blooms for spring, colorful foliage for fall, berries to attract wild birds in winter, and an interesting branching pattern year-round.
Landscaping Trees for Summer
Shining the sunlight
Japanese Maple Trees
Some Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are very versatile, too, but in a different way. They are great not only in autumn but also during the summer season. They display the vibrant red color we associate with fall foliage when most other trees still bear green leaves.
Maidenhair Trees
Maidenhair trees (Ginkgo biloba) are very delightful in both summer and fall due to the delicate and interesting shape of their leaves. They are mostly all green in the summer and all golden in the fall.
Gingko tree with yellow and green leaves
Landscaping Trees for Fall
Sugar Maple Trees
The Japanese maples may seem somewhat precocious, giving you fall colors in the summer. But some maples native to North America or Europe are equally beautiful as autumn trees, and they are larger. For example, the great size of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) allows the tree to fulfill another task of landscape trees: providing shade in summer. The imposing dimensions of these plants (80 feet or more in height, with a spread of up to about 60 feet) also help accentuate their fall color. Even on a cloudy fall day, maples can light up the yard like giant torches.
Katsura Trees
But bigger isn’t always better. A big tree can overwhelm a small yard and actually pose a danger to its inhabitants. A smaller tree is usually better suited to such a yard. Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) is one such choice. The ‘Rotfuchs’ cultivar is one of the best for foliage color. Standing 30 feet tall (with a spread of 16 feet), it bears purplish-bronze leaves in spring, greenish-bronze leaves in summer, and orangey-bronze fall foliage.
Red Maple Trees
The problem with the wild red maple trees (Acer rubrum) is that their fall leaves do not always turn out red. If you want a color that you can count on, select a cultivar, like ‘Autumn Blaze.’ Maples do not have a monopoly on autumn colors; there are many types of trees that offer autumn splendor.
Landscaping Trees for Winter
Close up of Blue spruce (Picea pungens)
Blue Spruce Trees
It is clear that landscape trees play a role in providing visual interest in the yard for spring, summer, and fall. Winter is tougher. When the fall foliage is gone, many yards are left looking drab. But if you have selected your trees wisely, then, when Old Man Winter darkens your doorstep, it is time for your evergreen trees to shine. Take your cue from the holiday season and plant those Christmas classics, the blue spruce trees (Picea pungens).
Dwarf Alberta Spruce Trees
Also popular as an evergreen tree is another kind of spruce, the dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca ‘Conica’). You will often see them used in pairs to flank the entryway to a house for a formal look that strives for balance. Because dwarf Alberta spruce trees will remain relatively small for a number of years, people sometimes treat them (at least initially) as container plants.
Three spruce with dense foliage that resemble dwarfs
Arborvitae Trees
Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) does more than just look pretty year-round. This evergreen is widely planted to create living wall privacy fences to screen you from the prying eyes of nosy neighbors. If you are looking for something of intermediate size, try the North Pole arborvitae cultivar.
Arborvitae trees
Nellie R. Stevens Holly
Another tree or shrub that offers winter interest and is planted to form privacy screens is the holly (Ilex spp.), including the Nellie R. Stevens holly. This one is evergreen, too, but with a twist: It is considered a broadleaf evergreen.
Nellie Stevens Holly
Birch Trees
Not all landscape trees planted for winter interest bear evergreen foliage. Some just have interesting branching patterns or an unusually pleasing bark. Birches (Betula spp.) are examples of landscape trees with the latter quality—bark that peels into leathery, paper-like plates.
Some landscaping ideas
1. Well-Maintained Garden Landscape
Pine garden with mix of evergreen shrubs, annuals and perennial flowers in a beautiful national park.
Well-groomed vibrant green grass, seasonal plants, and variegated trees come together to create a stunning landscape. Well thought out landscape designs are appreciated for their creative beauty and the way the plants just seem to tell a story. The pine trees are a great ornamental accent to the space.
2. River Companions
Ornamental japanese-style garden featuring bonsai japanese maples, silver birch surrounded by tall leylandi cypress conifer hedge forming a dense evergreen barrier
Winding rivers and streams carve intriguing patterns through the land. One of the best ways to accentuate the natural flowing pattern is through the use of pine trees and other vegetation. With how many different species of pine trees there are, you’re sure to find the perfect ones for your landscape.
3. Line A Walkway
Oleander bushes and pine trees in mediterranean garden
Lining a walkway with pine trees and other evergreens ensures that the area is constantly full of new life and an abundance of lush color. Pine trees can have needles that range in color from vibrant greens to soothing blues. All these color options prevent any sense of boredom in the landscape!
4. Poolside Treasures
Large rectangular swimming pool with pine trees on the side against the background of the ocean
A palm tree is probably the typical tree you think of when it comes to poolside plants. However, pine trees shouldn’t be overlooked! They’ll add a nice pop and accentuate the pool well. With their evergreen leaves, you’ll never go a day without shade and a gorgeous tree to look at.
In a setting like this, the pine trees also serve as a partial wind-blocking wall.
5. Pine Tree Assortment
Landscape with decorative bushes and pines on a lawn
For a texture-rich landscape, use an assortment of pine trees all around the area. Dwarf pine trees, shrub-like pine trees, sky-reaching pine trees and more. Their various green tones are eye-catching in the landscape.
6. Dwarf Evergreens
Alpine garden
If you love the texture and color that pine trees provide but don’t necessarily want super tall trees in your landscape, then dwarf varieties are for you. There is still a large assortment of dwarf varieties, so you won’t be limited in your planting options whatsoever.
7. Front Yard Accent
View of a pine tree on backyard in a sunny day
One easy way to landscape your front yard is by planting a large pine tree. It serves as a show-stopping centerpiece in the yard since it can’t be missed. Surround your yard with other pine trees to increase the overall aesthetic.
