Keep Your Landscape Looking and Feeling Cool With Shady Trees

When planting a shade tree, many do not put enough thought into just where and how a shade tree should be added. There are two major things to consider. The first is that you will want to consider planting it somewhere “inland”—streets representing water—and not on the very edge of your property. If you plant shade trees near a street or at a point where municipalities will likely one day implement imminent domain and put a highway through your property, you run the risk of your tree being violated by power lines and the like. Right of way of overhead wires wreaks havoc on a tree, often to the point of eliminating its shading value. Our landscape design team is fully aware of this issue and would seek a location within your property where risk  is minimal.

A second problem involves just how your plant your shade trees. It is often thought to be elegant and regal to implement something of a platform or raised bed—surround by brick or stone—for a noble shade tree.

Problems can quickly arise. This raised bed, especially if it is built high enough to cover any of the trunk, will make life difficult for your shade tree. Soils will remain moist and not drain or feed the as it otherwise would in a standard planting situation. The soil will not aerate properly because it is compacted to that which encases it as well as the weight and understructure of the tree. Bugs and rodents will also find the area more appealing than they otherwise would, which tends towards damaged bark. These factors combine to rob your shade tree of nutrients, drying out and eventually killing your shade tree. It will be a slow death for your beloved tree. Trees grow slow and die slow. The process will start below the soil, near the trunk, working its way through the interior of the tree outward.  

Many lawns and landscapes are fully exposed to constant sun. If you wish to be part of and directly enjoy your property, perhaps in a hammock, sometime you just want to lay in the shade. Why not implement some shade trees into your landscape design? Advanced Irrigation can help you with your shade tree needs with some landscape design for your Minneapolis home. At Advanced Irrigation, our landscape designers are fully aware of just how and where to implement proper yard shading through shade trees. Season veterans all, our designers can assemble a perfect landscape design to please any and all.

If you would like more information on our landscape design skills in Minneapolis, call Advanced Irrigation at 612-599-8675, or you can contact us and get a Free Estimate.