FAQ

When choosing a new tree for your property, there are many factors to take into consideration such as:

• Available space
• Light
• Water
• Shade on the east or west side of your home

Some trees such as sweet gum trees are very beautiful & grow well in our area. However, remember that these trees have those somewhat annoying gum balls that drop off every year & it can cause a foot hazard. Another example is the Bradford pear, which is considered an invasive species in Missouri. An arborist or nursery can be very helpful in helping you choose the right tree for you and your property. The main thing to remember is to do your research: Don’t be in a hurry to pick a tree. You will be living with it for many years.

The best time to prune your trees depends very much on the species of the tree. When in doubt over what time of year would be best for the tree species in your particular yard, a call to a certified arborist will clear everything up. When pruning, it is always important to remember that all pruning cuts should be made outside of the branch bark collar to ensure that the pruning wound will heal correctly. When choosing a tree service, ask if work is performed to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. This will ensure that all pruning cuts made are done according to the most widely accepted & accredited tree care guidelines.

Your tree’s leaves turning yellow could be due to a condition called iron chlorosis. This condition occurs when iron in the soil is either deficient or unavailable to trees. As observed, it can turn your tree’s leaves yellow, but it can also scorch the leaves and turn them brown as they die.

It’s important to remember that there are many other causes of leaf discoloration so it is best to call an arborist to determine the exact cause.

The lack of moisture from June through August causes burning bushes to become dry and brittle. This lack of moisture also causes them to defoliate early. To prevent your burning bushes from losing their leaves early, water your plants whenever the soil feels dry.

A likely cause is Cedar Apple Rust, a fungal disease that begins its life cycle on junipers before spreading to crab apple and other susceptibility trees. Symptoms include bright yellow or orange spots on leaves, swollen corky gall on twigs, and large yellow or orange spots on the fruit. Contacting your local arborist for plant health care and diagnosis will help you determine what is causing your trees to look ill and offer a treatment plan if needed.

Tree science has greatly improved over the years. Yes, years ago it was a common practice to top trees but today we know that topping a tree is bad for its health. Tree topping weakens the tree and leaves it susceptible to a host of problems like disease, pest infestations, and decay.

Tree topping is never an acceptable tree trimming technique! 

As long as they appear healthy and are thriving, then there is really no need to feed your trees. Feeding becomes important when a tree is planted in poor conditions and  is not doing well. If the tree is doing well then it is likely very happy with where it is planted & it’s living conditions.

If your Trumpet tree’s leaves are dropping and not blooming, it is important to determine if it suffering from a pest infestation. If not and the problem continues, it could be a soil pH problem, over-watering, or planted in the wrong location.

Contacting your local tree care professional will help you diagnose the problem and offer a solution.

An arborist is trained in tree care and has the proper training and equipment to work in and with trees. However, there is a big difference between your average arborist and an ISA certified arborist.

Arborists who have been ISA certified have a minimum of three years of field work in the tree industry, completed a course of study, and passed a comprehensive exam to attain certification. In order to stay ISA certified, the arborist must always be involved in continuing education as the certification requires a certain number of CEU’s (Continuing Education Credits) be obtained each year. This insures the homeowner that this person is trained on the latest science and technology with regard to tree care.

It should be fine to move this tree. It is doubtful that it has begun to root into its current home at this early stage. In general, you never want to move a tree when growth has started pushing out to the tips, so move it soon for best results. If you would like further assistance, please phone the office at 636-379-1830 & we will be glad to put you in touch with one of our professional arborists.

As soon as possible! If you suspect a tree is dead, call an arborist to evaluate its risk and then make arrangements to have it removed immediately if it poses the possibility of striking a home, car, or passers-by. If the tree is in no danger of striking anything if it falls then you would be safe to remove it within a reasonable time, approximately six months. It is important to remove dead trees because if the tree died from a spreadable disease, then you want to remove that diseased tree before the infection can find a new host in nearby trees.

First of all, make sure that you are willing to lose all of those trees. Then, the site will be planned before construction in order to keep the trees you want to keep safe. Trees don’t deal well with the stress brought on by construction, so if there are prized trees on the plot of land you want to clear, be sure to mark them and make it very clear to your builder that you do not want the root zone of those vital trees disturbed.

Each site also has factors such as location and accessibility to take into consideration when planning grinding and land clearing . It might be possible to take down these trees and then use one of our large mobile tub grinders to mulch up the debris; a relatively quick method. If the location won’t allow large equipment, then a tree crew will come and work for a few days in order to take down the trees and chip them up with a smaller machine called a chipper.

Phone our office at 636-379-1830 and request a consultation with an arborist before you begin this building process to ensure that you are going to be able to save the trees that you want to and that the rest of your clearing project can be managed in an efficient and professional manner.

The cause is likely root disturbance & damage along with soil compaction from heaving equipment being moved over the ground during construction. When soil gets compacted, the oxygen from the soil is lessened because it is literally being squeezed out. This lack of oxygen can cause stress to the tree & often time death.

Many times, the full effect of construction work can last anywhere from 5-7 years. Because of this, it is important when planning any construction near trees that the critical root zone of the tree is considered. If you are going to be operating very heavy equipment near a tree, it is best to determine ahead of time if you think the tree can be saved or if it will become a causality of construction. There are other factors to consider, but the critical root zone is basically the drip line of the tree. No construction activity should occur within that drip line of the tree canopy. If you remain unsure, please call Hansen’s for a certified arborist to take a look at the trees at your desired location.

Most trees that grow fast (Tulip Poplars, Silver Maples) are going to be softer and weaker trees than slower growing trees like large oaks. From a hardwood standpoint (long lasting tree and relatively quick to grow), your best option would be a Pin Oak. The Pin Oak is probably the fastest growing and lowest maintenance hardwood tree.

You should also perhaps consider a medium growth tree like an Ash variety or a Harder Maple like the Red Sunset or Autumn Blaze Maple. Go to a local nursery where the staff is qualified to help direct you on this tree selection as well. You will need to consider light, water, disease and pest hardiness (for example, an ash is susceptible to Emerald Ash Borer) and how close the tree will be to the house.

In many cases, woodpecker holes are only a cosmetic issue but it can be a precursor to insect & disease problems. The tree should compartmentalize on its own to protect itself, so no effort is needed to assist the tree at this point. But you should keep an eye on it to see if the woodpecker persists and the tree shows any signs of decline. If so, then contact your local arborist for a solution.

It is the homeowner’s responsibility. This is called Duty of Care and keeping your trees maintained and healthy will help protect you from being held liable if an accident occurs.

Yes! Well cared for, landscaped properties are 5-20% more valuable on average than non-landscaped home sites.

If those ants are actually carpenter ants, then they probably are making the tree their home and it could be causing structural integrity problems. Use an insecticide to abate the problem before it worsens or call your local tree service to diagnose and handle the problem for you. Call an arborist if the tree shows any signs of decline.

The condition sounds like scale. It would be best to have an arborist come look at it for sure because that is the only way to be certain the condition you are dealing with. If it is scale, then there are sprays that are an effective remedy.

These are steps to take before and after any casualty loss to your trees and landscape. Taking these steps can improve the value of your trees and help protect you from being held liable. Take pictures of trees and other landscape plants now while they are healthy and vigorous. This makes “before and after” comparisons easier and will expedite the processing of insurance and/or IRS claims.

Also, check your insurance. In most cases, the amount of an allowable claim for any one tree or shrub is a maximum of $500. Keep accurate records of your landscape and real estate appraisals on any losses for insurance, legal, and income tax purposes. Consult your local Arborist or Plant Health Care professional at every stage in the life cycle of your landscape (planning, planting, care) and to make sure you do not suffer needless financial loss when a casualty strikes. Remember: You are responsible for the care and maintenance of the trees on your property!

No! You should never “fill” a tree with concrete or anything else. This will only cause more injury to the tree, leading to more problems like dead wood spreading decay to other parts of the tree.

Call an arborist to evaluate the structural stability of the tree. It could be a dead or hazardous tree and if so, it should be removed as soon as possible due to the risk they could pose to your home or people in the area.

Sweet Gum trees are beautiful, but they do have the gum balls which can pose a walking hazard. There is a spray called Florel that can be used to combat the balls but it has been met with limited success at best. In order to achieve any amount of success, you must catch the tree in a very narrow window of opportunity and you cannot use the spray in windy conditions. This is why it is so important that you consider all aspects of a tree before planting.

Removing the tree would be a last resort and then only after all other solutions had been exhausted or if the location of the tree and the number of gum balls was so large that there was a human risk of someone falling and being seriously hurt.

Deadwooding is the pruning process of removing dead limbs from the tree that might be dangerous, diseased or targets of pest infestation. This is an important part of tree maintenance that helps preserve the health and integrity of your trees.

Stump grinding is removal of the tree stump through mechanical means. Stump grinders break up the stump by chipping it into mulch sized pieces with very sharp, rotating teeth. A pile of wood chips remains after the process is finished, which can be quite large.

Wood chips left on the ground after stump grinding can be pushed into the open hole created by the grind. Those chips get swept back into the hole and tapped down in order to help level off the newly stump ground area. This can help reduce serious injury should someone happen to be walking over the lawn and not notice a large hole where a tree once was.

Often, there are more wood chips than can fit in the hole. You will have the option in your proposal to have Hansen’s remove this excess if you desire. All usable debris is then recycled into organic mulch at our facility.

Over time, the wood chips in the stump hole will begin to disintegrate, so it may be necessary for the home owner to continue placing more of the remaining wood chips into the hole in order to fill it. We highly recommend to homeowners that it is a good idea to follow this settling process with some top soil & grass seed in order to completely cover the hole & make it safe for any lawn foot traffic.

If you have any mover questions on stump grinding, be sure to ask one of our arborists.

When winterizing your fig tree, the first thing to remember is that you don’t want the root system to freeze. Wrapping the tree in burlap is okay, but wrapping in white plastic is best (not dark or clear plastic) as it offers more protection from the cold. Before you wrap your tree,  make sure that the warm weather is gone. Wrapping your tree too early or in dark or clear plastic can cause heat and humidity to collect and lead to disease. Be sure to remove all leaf litter and old fruit: This will reduce disease activity.