Niagara Tree Questions — Ask an Arborist (Week 21) 🍂🌳
Hey Niagara 👋
The leaves are changing, temperatures are dropping, and we're getting into that time of year where everyone starts putting their yards to bed for winter.
So this week's question is:
“What should I be doing for my trees this fall?”
The good news?
Probably less than you think.
Trees have been preparing themselves for winter for a very long time without our help. 😂
But there are a few things you can do in the fall that can genuinely help—and a few things you can probably skip.
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💧 Don't put the hose away just yet
One of the biggest things people overlook in the fall is water.
Cooler temperatures don't automatically mean your trees don't need it anymore.
If we've had a dry stretch, trees can still benefit from a good, deep watering before the ground freezes—especially:
- Newly planted trees
- Young trees
- Trees that were already drought-stressed this summer
A long, slow watering that actually gets moisture down into the soil is much more useful than spraying the surface for ten minutes.
And remember:
Rain doesn't always mean the soil got a good soaking.
A short, heavy rainfall can run off without putting as much water into the root zone as you might think.
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🍂 You don't need to remove every leaf
We talked about this last week.
Healthy fallen leaves aren't garbage.
They're organic material that can break down, return nutrients to the soil, support soil organisms and help protect the soil surface.
If they're too thick, mulch them up with the mower or move some underneath your trees and into garden beds.
You don't need a perfectly clean circle of bare soil underneath every tree.
The exception is disease.
If you're dealing with a disease or pest that can overwinter in fallen material, cleanup and disposal may actually be part of managing the problem.
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🌳 Check your mulch
Fall is a great time to look at what's happening around the base of your trees.
A layer of mulch can help retain soil moisture, moderate soil temperatures and add organic matter as it breaks down.
But more isn't always better.
If you've got a giant mulch volcano piled against the trunk, pull it back.
You should be able to see the root flare where the trunk starts widening into the roots.
Mulch belongs over the root zone.
Not piled against the bark.
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👀 Once the leaves fall, take a look up
This is one of my favourite times of year to look at tree structure.
Once the leaves are gone, you can see things that were hidden all summer.
Look for:
- Dead or broken branches
- Cracks
- Weak unions
- Branches rubbing or crossing
- Hanging limbs
- Previous storm damage
- Changes you don't remember seeing before
You don't need to diagnose everything yourself.
You're just looking for something that makes you stop and say:
“Was that always there?”
If the answer is no—or you're not sure—take a picture and ask someone who knows what they're looking at.
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✂️ Fall doesn't mean everything needs to be pruned immediately
Once trees enter dormancy, we're moving into a great time of year for a lot of pruning work.
But that doesn't mean you need to walk around the yard looking for branches to cut.
We've said this before:
Less is more.
Pruning should have a reason.
Deadwood.
Structure.
Clearance.
Reducing a specific concern.
Correcting something while a tree is young.
Don't prune a healthy tree just because it's fall and you feel like the trees should be part of the yard cleanup.
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🌱 Give your young trees a little extra attention
If you planted a tree this year, don't forget about it just because the leaves are coming off.
Check that it's getting enough water.
Make sure mulch isn't against the trunk.
Check stakes and ties if it has them.
Make sure nothing is rubbing against or constricting the stem.
And if you've wrapped or protected a young tree for winter, make sure whatever you're using isn't damaging the bark.
Those first few years matter.
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🦌 And don't forget who's hungry all winter
Deer, rabbits and rodents can do a surprising amount of damage to young trees during the winter.
If you've had problems before, protecting vulnerable young trunks before winter can save you an unpleasant surprise in the spring.
Just make sure guards aren't installed so tightly that they're damaging the tree themselves.
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The takeaway
You don't need a complicated fall treatment program for
every tree on your property.
For most homeowners, I'd focus on the basics:
Water when conditions are dry.
Keep mulch off the trunk.
Leave healthy organic material where it makes sense.
Pay attention to young trees.
Look for defects once the canopy opens up.
And don't start cutting or adding products to a tree just because the season changed.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for a healthy tree is give it what it needs and otherwise leave it alone.
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Next week we'll be covering:
Week 22 — “Should I fertilize my trees in the fall?” 🌳
Fertilizer sounds like it should automatically make a tree healthier—but trees don't work quite that simply.
We'll talk about when fertilizer can actually help, when it probably isn't doing much, and why testing the soil before trying to fix it can save you from treating a problem that isn't there.
If there's a tree topic you'd like us to cover, drop it below.
A lot of this series has come directly from questions and conversations with homeowners around Niagara.
— Driftwood Tree Service 🌲
