News & Blogs Tree Services in Rochester

What Are Softwood Trees?

1/31/2019

Cyprus Cedar

Softwood refers to wood that comes from evergreen or coniferous tree. Softwoods are usually used as building materials.

Softwood lumber is used for many woodworking tasks since it’s durable and easy to handle. Softwood is used by numerous professionals such as cabinetmakers, woodcarvers, furniture makers, and carpenters. You can get softwood at your local tree care company.

The other class of wood is hardwood which comes from trees like maple, walnut, or hickory.

Softwood Characteristics

Some trees are softwood; some are hardwood. Is the wood of softwood trees tough and less dense than hardwood trees? Not really. Truthfully, some hardwood trees have softer wood than softwood trees. So, what are softwood trees? Read on to find out more regarding softwood characteristics and other pertinent information.

Softwood tree lumber is typically used to build decks, boats, stairwells, and houses. This signifies that a characteristic of softwood trees doesn’t include weakness. Instead, the classification of trees into softwood and hardwood is based on a genetic distinction.

Softwood tree information tells us that softwoods, referred to as gymnosperms, are conifers or needle-bearing trees. Softwood trees like cedars, cypresses, and pines, are typically evergreens. They don’t lose their needles in the autumn and go dormant in the wintertime.

Softwood Tree Info

The distinction between softwood and hardwood is revealed to some degree in the structure of the wood. Softwood trees usually have softer wood (hence the name) than hardwood tree types. Conifer wood possesses only a couple of various cell types. The wood of hardwood trees maintains fewer air spaces and more cell types.

Hardness can be identified as being a purpose of the wood’s density. Softwoods are denser than hardwood trees. The truth be told, there are several exceptions to this rule. Categorizing is to give you some idea about a tree’s density. Nothing is written in stone.

For instance, southern pines are categorized as softwoods and have softwood characteristics. Though, yellow poplar, a hardwood, is less dense. For a vivid example of a soft hardwood, consider balsa wood. It is so light and thin that it is used to construct model airplanes. The thing is, it comes from a hardwood tree.

If you need help determining the types of trees you have in your yard, contact Rochester Tree today.

What Is The Best Way To Store Firewood During Winter?

1/24/2019

Nothing is more beautiful on a cold winter night than a glowing, warm, and rustling fire in the stove or fireplace. Also, wood heat is more affordable than most electric or gas furnaces. It can be more useful for cooking and home heating. The question then becomes: what is the best way to store firewood during winter?

Wrong Storage Leads to Bad Results

Regardless the amount of firewood you have on hand, it’s useless if it is stored wrong. Incorrectly stored wood is wet and damp, leading to smoldering and smoking instead of burning. This reduces the effectiveness of your wood stove, necessitating more fuel to do the same work.

Wood stored inaccurately becomes the home for snakes, insects, rodents, and termites that can create severe damage to your house if you bring firewood in to burn. Rot and decay of improperly stored wood lead to mold, decomposition, and bad smells, making the wood worthless for burning.

Truthfully, if your firewood is stored wrongly, you’ve wasted it. The wood not only can’t be used, but the money, effort, and time you used to collect, prep, and store the wood in the first place have been wasted.

Accurately Storing Firewood

Luckily, it is easy to store firewood accurately, so it is well seasoned and ready to use each winter. Regardless if you’re starting to build a woodpile in the spring or don't begin until late fall, the values of rightly storing wood are the same.

Split Wood Effectively

Before stacking and storing wood, it must be correctly split. Remember the built of your stove, furnace, or fireplace. Cut wood to the correct lengths and width for easy use. Triangular wedges are simplest to stack and will have more surface area so the wood can dry faster.

Dry Wood Completely

Drier wood lasts longer and burns better. Store wood in an open space with accurate ventilation on every side. If possible, store newly cut wood in a sunny, windy location where it will dry faster, but is shielded from the snow and rain.

Stack and store your wood near your home, easily accessible even in bad weather. If you have questions about which trees would work best for firewood, contact a Rochester arborist.

How Do You Know When Firewood Is Properly Seasoned?

1/17/2019

If you heat your residence with wood, you most likely spend lots of time planning for winter. It’s a year-long job since firewood necessitates anywhere from six to twenty-four months to dry out.

Late winter and early spring are perfect times to cut and store firewood for the upcoming year. It lets the wood dry over the summertime, making it well-seasoned for the wintertime.

If you’re new to burning firewood as a heat source for your house, you might not have thought so far in advance. Regardless if you have to buy wood from a business that specializes in tree services or you plan to cut your own, it’s vital to properly season wood before using it.

Burning green wood can be lethal. It makes lots of smoke and may create a harmful creosote buildup over time. You have to know when wood is correctly seasoned. It will help you accurately and safely heat your home.

How do you know when firewood is properly seasoned?

Color. Over time color fades. Seasoned wood is less vivid than green wood.
Shape. Splitting wood hurries up the drying process. If you want the wood to burn shortly, you want to buy wood that’s been cut: logs and unsplit firewood that are touching the dirt or near the center of the woodpile don’t dry out too much.
Weight. As firewood dries, it loses its moistness and gets lighter. Softwoods possess great moisture content when they are green so that the weight difference will be more noticeable than hardwood varieties.
Hardness. Drying wood becomes stiffer, making it harder to dent or split. Dry wood is more compacted and sturdier than green wood.
Sound. When wood is wet, it makes a dull thud when hitting another piece. Dry wood makes a hollow sound when pieces bump together.
Smell. Green wood has a robust aroma. The scent will be contingent on the tree type. As the wood dries, the sappy scent fades to a woody smell.
Split test. Aside from being difficult to split, dry pieces of wood will be dry on the inside. You can test the moisture level of a piece of firewood by cutting it open to see

A local tree arborist can help you identify the trees in your yard and which trees might work best as firewood, contact us today.

Using Burlap To Protect Your Shrubs During The Winter

1/10/2019

Wrapping shrubs with burlap is a straightforward way to protect the plants from ice, snow, and winter frost. Read below to find out more.

Burlap Plant Protection

Using burlap to protect your shrubs during the winter protects them from winter burn, an adverse condition brought on by depleted soil moisture and winter sunshine.

Burlap is more helpful than plastic since it lets the shrub breathe, so air circulates, and heat doesn’t get trapped. Burlap for shielding your plants can be comfortable with an old burlap bag. If you don’t have any burlap bags lying around, you can buy them at most tree care businesses.

Covering Shrubs with Burlap

To cover a shrub with burlap, start by putting some stakes around the shrub, leaving a few inches of space between the plant and stakes. Put two layers of burlap over the stakes and fastened the material to the stakes using staples. Most tree specialists suggest that you don’t let the burlap touch the shrub. Not as bothersome as plastic, if burlap gets wet and freezes, it can harm the plant.

In a pinch, though, it shouldn’t damage the plant to wrap it in burlap or drape burlap over the plant if cold weather is forthcoming. Take the burlap off as soon as the cold weather eases up. However, leave the stakes so you can cover the plant swiftly in case of another cold snap. Detach the stakes in spring when it’s obvious the cold weather is over.

Which shrubs need burlap?

Not all shrubs need protecting in the wintertime. If your temps are mild or if winter weather is just a sporadic light frost, your shrubs might not require any protection besides a layer of mulch. Though, burlap is useful to have around in case of a sudden drop in temperatures.

The need for protection also is contingent on the type of shrub. For example, perennials are sturdy plants, but even sturdy plants can be destroyed if they aren’t healthy or if they are planted in poorly drained and soggy soil.

Usually, freshly planted shrubs profit from protection for a couple of winters but are winter-adaptable when they become established. One of our arborists can help you with your trees and shrubs if you have any questions.

Keeping Shrubs & Trees Safe From Winter Damage

1/3/2019

If last winter's harsh weather put a beatdown on your landscape plants, you didn’t suffer alone. Property owners all over Rochester found out what an extreme winter can do to shrubs and trees. When keeping shrubs & trees safe from winter damage, you must take action in the fall.

Winter Challenges

Harsh cold isn't the only challenge faced by trees & shrubs. Trees and shrubs well-known to professional tree care companies in Rochester should handle normal winter temperatures just fine. Sadly, winter can be destructive in other ways.

Early cold spells can destroy trees and shrubs that haven't had an opportunity to harden off for the wintertime. Winter sun and dry winds can burn or dry out needles and broad leaf evergreen foliage, which remain giving off water vapor during the winter months.

Frozen earth means trees and shrubs can't intake water to replenish the moisture lost from through transpiration and evaporation.

Midwinter thaws can trick plants into coming out of dormancy too soon, and the subsequent cold snap may kill the new growth. Varying thaw/freeze cycles can toss new plants out of the dirt, having roots bare to the sun and drying wind. The intense winter sun warms up dark tree bark which can crack and freeze when temps fall rapidly at sunset.

Preparing for The Big Chill

Healthy shrubs and trees are prone to get through winter unharmed. Foliage that has toiled during the growing season due to lack of nutrients and water or serious damage from disease or insects will go into winter in a weak state. Begin your winter-protection plan with vigilant care during the growing season and into fall.

Never prune after midsummer. Pruning incites new growth, delaying dormancy. Stop fertilizing plants 1 1/2 months before the first fall frost to aid plants to harden off properly. Water plants completely throughout fall until the dirt freezes. Be sure the water goes down deep to reach the roots.

The shrubs and trees that lose their leaves in the fall (deciduous shrubs and trees) have adjusted to life in cold-winter areas by going dormant. Several of these methods are crafted to ensure that trees and shrubs go into dormancy before the coldest weather hits and stay dormant until spring.

ROCHESTER TREE SERVICE NEWS & BLOGS

What Are Softwood Trees?

What Is The Best Way To Store Firewood During Winter?

How Do You Know When Firewood Is Properly Seasoned?

Using Burlap To Protect Your Shrubs During The Winter

Keeping Shrubs & Trees Safe From Winter Damage

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