Ever heard the phrase “dormant season” or “dormancy”?

Dormancy refers to the period that is set aside for trees to have some much-needed rest and relaxation after all the hard work they do throughout the year. Dormancy is a hibernation period, which means that everything inside the plant, metabolism, energy consumption, growth and so on, slows down like your trees are taking a nap. The first phase of dormancy is when your trees start to lose their leaves. When your trees are looking more sparse by the day, the last thing you’d think to do is to have them thinned out even more, but there are a few things to understand about dormancy before you forgo a visit from our Dallas tree pruning team. Our Dallas arborist service experts can guide you through what you need to know about winter tree maintenance.

How exactly do trees prep themselves for the dormant season?

Before the leaves from deciduous trees make their way to the ground, the trees pull valuable resources from the leaves to store away and conserve their energy throughout their dormancy period. Removing resources from the leaves also allows these resources to be recirculated and used in the spring for a big push for growth.

Do trees know when it’s time to begin their dormant season?

Ever heard the phrase, “When you know, you know?” Like humans, trees can be very intuitive and are sensitive to change. Trees enter the dormant or ‘resting’ season as a result of a decrease in temperature and the decrease of amounts of daylight received. These are the two of nature’s great indicators for trees to enter into the state of dormancy. When weather fluctuates rapidly from warm to cold, it is believed that trees can become vulnerable to damage and limb loss as the rapid changes accidentally signal trees into tapping into their energy reserves prematurely. Research suggests that early signals to come out of dormancy use up valuable resources that trees need to stay healthy and active throughout the entirety of the dormancy season.

If most tree processes slow down during dormancy, how inactive is a tree during this time?

Root development can continue to occur in the depths of the soil long after the leaves have fallen from a tree and just before the ground freezes; in fact, it is believed that root development may take place further into the winter months than many assume. Disbursing fresh blankets of mulch properly around the base of your trees before cooler temperatures settle in helps to insulate the soil around the roots and to provide a more hospitable environment for roots to form. Don’t skip out on the tree maintenance, because a fresh mulch layer could help your tree to make necessary developments as it is partially active during this time. Another consideration to take during this time in a tree’s life is adding root barriers. These are used to prevent evasive root systems from potentially damaging our homes’ foundations. Root barriers by the Texas Trees’ tree root barrier services in Dallas are safely installed between a tree’s trunk and the drip line–which results in redirecting the development efforts of the root system away from the foundation of property structures.

Why is the dormant season an excellent time to perform tree maintenance?

Not only can our Dallas arborist servicers better access your trees, as limbs full of branches and leaves are no longer in the way this time of year, but when trees are clear of leaves, our arborilogical experts also have better visibility when inspecting the trunk and limbs. This means that adequately assessing the overall health of your trees is much easier and perhaps even more accurately done which potentially saves money. Accessing trees in winter also means a lot less disruption for home or business owners. Another perk to utilizing our Dallas tree pruning services in winter is that pruning during the winter months also decreases the likelihood for some common tree diseases to spread and leaves fewer opportunities for large low hanging branches to accumulate ice or snow which can significantly harm the overall integrity of a tree’s structure and cause considerable property damage. The Texas Trees team is highly skilled in Dallas Tree Cabling, Dallas Tree Bracing, and Dallas Tree Removal as well if more tree maintenance is required.

If your trees are in need dormant pruning or any other routine winter tree maintenance, contact your local Dallas tree trimming professionals at North Texas Trees for a free consultation.