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Fall Tree Care And Maintenance

Evergreen and shade trees in the late fall will benefit from watering thoroughly. The lack of moisture this fall in the Twin Cities Metro area has left many trees needing additional moisture so they will have sufficient moisture for the winter.

The best way to water your trees is a slow trickle, so the water will stay by the root ball and thoroughly saturate the entire root structure. How long you water is dependent on the size of the tree and the type of soil you have at your site.

Trunks of shade trees should also also be wrapped with a tree wrap to prevent sun scalding. Start at the base of the tree and continue up the trunk till the tree starts to branch. Fruit trees are also susceptible to rodent girdling so use a wire mesh up about two feet to prevent that. Continue reading →

Annual Cottage Grove Halloween Parade

Arbor Hill Tree Farm participated in the Halloween parade in Cottage Grove. The floats that are in the parade are judged by a group of individuals. We won a trophy for most creative.

The truck had a giant pumpkin made of rebar and old rusted tree baskets on it. The trailer had a Christmas Tree and several landscape trees on it. The Halloween parade is one of the biggest events in Cottage Grove. It is fun to get out and show some Community Spirit and showcase some of the trees we sell at Arbor Hill Tree Farm.

Shown on the picture is myself as The Jolly Green Giant, Jackson as Mickey Mouse, Adam as Tall Paul Bunyan and Matt as Elmer Fudd. Not shown are Mike as the float driver, Blake who assisted in making the Giant Pumpkin and putting the float together, Jay from Shafer Sign who helped with signage and Lisa, my bride, helping with my costume.

We distributed thousands of pieces of candy to the spectators along the parade route.

Thanks to everyone who participated and made it all possible.

Seasonal Evergreen Shedding

In the fall season, evergreen trees will shed inner needles. This is a very normal thing that happens. The longer needled evergreen trees such as the White Pine, Austrian Pine, and Norway Pine drop or shed about one-third of their needles each fall.

Because these trees tend to be a more open or less dense tree, it is more obvious on those evergreens. The Spruce also shed needles to a lesser degree, but is less noticeable.

The best way to keep your evergreen trees healthy & looking good is to make sure they are watered enough the entire Spring & Summer. Fertilizing with a soil acidifier up until mid July.

Do I Remove Burlap, Basket When Planting Tree?

One of the most frequently asked questions when we are doing tree planting is do you leave the basket and burlap on? Yes, we leave both on. The basket and burlap is what holds the root structure for the tree together. In a very short time, roots start to grow through the burlap. Eventually, both will rot away, not affecting the tree’s root growth.

I have taken a picture of a burlapped tree that was burlapped only two weeks, and the new roots are already penetrating the burlap.

FAMILY DOG
When you come out to Arbor Hill Tree Farm, you will probably meet our family dog. Lucy is about 6 months old and is a very social Golden Retriever.

As puppies go, we have some work to do to train her. She does not know how strong she is and she can almost knock me down at times with all her energy. We lost our other golden retriever Jesse, to a tragic accident this early spring. We were all crushed by her passing. If you are a dog person, you realize how dogs become a member of the family.

The photos are of Lucy resting in the grass. Also shown is another use of our bubbling rocks, they also work great for doggy drinking fountains.

Thank You For Visiting The Blog Of Arbor Hill Tree Farm

Arbor Hill Tree Farm is a small family-owned and -operated tree farm in Cottage Grove, Mn. which is in the southeast suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
Our tree farm has 37 acres of trees in production. We grow several varieties of evergreens and shade trees that are native or hearty in the Upper Midwest. Many of our most popular trees can be viewed on our tree photo gallery page on our web site.

Check out our deal on 6 ft. spruce trees for only $149!

The trees we sell are potted, burlapped or larger trees that we use a truck-mounted tree spade to move and transplant. Many of the methods we use to plant our trees in customer’s landscapes can be viewed and described on our installation methods page of our web site.

Our goal of this blog is to inform our customers and prospective customers about current topics and promotions at Arbor Hill Tree Farm. We will discuss seasonal issues relating to tree care, watering, fertilization, pruning, and pest control. We will also address many frequently asked questions. This time of year we get many inquiries about planting trees in the fall. Is it a good time? How late can we plant trees? Continue reading →