Trees can help add shade, color, and definition to your landscape design, and mature trees can also add between $1,000 to $10,000 to your home’s value. Of course, all trees are different, so you may be overwhelmed by which are best to plant in your landscape.

To reap the many benefits of planting trees, consider the bur oak for your yard. This tree does add color in small amounts, offering a yellow floral display in the spring, lush green foliage through the summer, and a rustic yellowish-brown color in the fall season.

To ensure your bur oak grows and thrives for many years to come, proper planting and care are essential. Thankfully, professional assistance is available to plant and maintain your trees. Learn more about some planting and care tips.

Planting Tips

Before planting, make sure you have a good location in mind for your tree. The bur oak grows tall, reaching heights of up to 80 feet tall with spreads of around 80 feet, according to the Arbor Day Foundation.

Because of its potential size once it reaches maturity, avoid planting the tree too close to your home’s exterior or any other outdoor structures, such as sheds, playgrounds, or power lines.

The right location should also be sunny, allowing your bur oak to receive at least several hours of sunlight.

After planting the tree, surround the base with pine straw or mulch and water generously.

Maintenance Tips

As with any other tree, the bur oak will need to be watered thoroughly during its first year. Keeping the soil moist will help the tree’s roots establish themselves. Once the tree has established itself, it will only require a moderate amount of moisture to continue growing. And keep these other tips in mind.

Fertilizing

Oak trees are pretty durable, so they can grow and thrive in most soil conditions. However, fertilizing your bur oak tree can be beneficial for strengthening the root system, enhancing the foliage color, and increasing the speed of growth.

Fertilizer should be applied in the early part of spring before any new growth appears on the tree. Fertilizers with nutrient ratios of 12-6-6 or 12-4-8 are best for oak trees because they provide the tree and underlying soil with a sufficient amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Pruning

Pruning is also a part of proper maintenance, especially if your tree is growing haphazardly or showing signs of distress.

The end of winter or early part of spring after the lost frost is a good time to prune since the any wounds made while pruning will heal before new growth occurs in the spring.

Use sharp and clean shears to prune off any dead branches/limbs first. If the wood feels hollow, the limb is dead and should be removed. Branches that are scared, wounded, or broken should also be cut from the tree.

Airing

Bur oak trees are susceptible to fungal disease, which is caused by excess moisture. Therefore, ensuring air circulates through the tree properly is smart for preventing fungal growth. To improve air flow, trim off any limbs that are growing on top of one another in the tree’s center.

Signs of fungal growth include the following:

  • Spotty or discolored leaves
  • White, powdery residue on leaves/bark
  • Mushrooms on tree base/trunk
  • Canker sores or wounds in wood
  • Decaying wood
  • Early defoliation

If you are noticing the above signs, pruning infected areas and applying fungicide will be imperative for saving the tree’s life.

Finally, remove bottom branches that are hanging too low to the ground. Because these trees grow not only high but also wide, the long branches can weigh down the tree, affecting the structural integrity of the trunk.

If you want to add appeal and value to your landscape and ensure your bur oak trees stand the test of time, contact Schulhoff Tree & Lawn Care, Inc., today.