Winter Tree Services in Oakland County

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You’re, in bed on a cold winter night.  The winter wind is blowing strong outside.  You can feel it, hitting your house. 

You snuggle into your pillow and pull the comforter up tight around your neck.  Warm and peacefully, you fall asleep.

Sometime around 2 a.m., you hear a “SNAP”, then a “Thud”. 

Unaware of what is going on.  You get out of bed and turn on outside lights.  As you look out the window you see a tree branch that wasn’t there before. 

It’s confirmed.

What you heard was a large branch snap from the tree 30 feet from your home.  The howling wind blew it to its final resting place.

Right against your home. 

You were lucky. 

Several times a winter, storms blow branches into homes, cars and other property.  Often taking out power in the process. 

Power that runs heating systems.

Winter Tree Service

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Many of our customers associate tree services with landscaping chores that are done in spring, summer or fall.  But, in reality, the best time to have trees inspected and pruned is usually in the winter.  

Generally, in January and February because of the following:

• No leaves on the trees. That makes it easier to see the tree’s structure.
• Trees are dormant. In this sleeplike state, trees suffer less shock from pruning.
• Frozen soil. Pruning can be done without compacting the soil around the tree’s roots. There also will be less damage to nearby landscaping from trampling and heavy equipment.
• Economics:  We here at Quinlan Tree Service, offer winter tree service rates, to keep the family working through winter.

A winter inspection of your trees is a good thing to consider. 

Shane Quinlan

If you have, large, dead branches or branches that are just hanging around they can pose a danger. The best time to check for these potential threats is late fall or winter when there is little or no foliage to obstruct your view.

If you have, open cavities, rotten wood, or cracks and splits along the trunk or major branches. This may provide an entrance for cankers, wood-rotting organisms and in the winter rain, ice and snow which could expand.  Thus, doing more damage to your tree.

If you have, wires/cables in contact with or near tree branches.  Remember, in the winter wires sag from ice and snow build up.  The same goes for branches and limbs.  The last thing any homeowner wants in the middle of a cold winter night, is to lose power to your heater and hot water.

If you have, a pronounced lean or a tree with several major branches arising from one point in the trunk may ultimately pose a threat.  With heavy snow and ice, plus a little wind, your perfectly healthy trees can collapse and topple over.  At best in the open yard, at worst on your home, car or other valuable property.

If you have had, any major or minor construction or remodeling such as installing pavement, repairing sidewalks, or digging trenches can weaken a tree or damage the roots.  Heaving soil at the base of a tree is a potential indicator of an unsound root system

If you noticed, any premature dead leaves on your tree.  This could be the results of environmental or mechanical stress.  This is a sure sign, that the limbs and branches that those leaves are attached to could be damaged as well.

Trees that are regularly inspected and pruned by trained professionals will be not only safer but healthier. At Quinlan Tree Service we will inspect the tree’s trunk, branches and joints for splits and cracks, as well as signs of rot and disease.

Problem branches should be pruned out before they become unstable.

In nature, damaged or decaying branches will drop harmlessly to the floor of the forest. Near homes and streets, however, they need to be removed before they fall so they don’t cause property damage or injury.

You can remove branches on small trees that are within easy reach of the ground. But any pruning job that would require climbing is best left to a professional who has special safety training and the equipment to handle the tools, the height, and the weight of falling branches.

Pruning without the proper knowledge and training can not only lead to accidents, but do long-term damage to a tree, causing it to decline or die.  Making a tree removal necessary. 

Certified arborists are trained not only in safety but in tree care. They know that different kinds of trees need different kinds of pruning. Quinlan Tree Service knows how to prune a branch so the tree can seal the wound, and how to balance the pruning so the tree’s weight remains well distributed.

Although winter is prime time for routine inspections and pruning, it’s not the only time. Whenever you notice signs of a possible tree concern, such as cracks, splits, moisture oozing from the bark, or clusters of sprouts from the base or trunk of a tree, call a licensed, certified tree expert to diagnose and treat the problem.

The harsh winters here Oakland County, Michigan are trying times for trees. Cold weather can, damage bark, injure or kill branches and roots. Humans and animals contribute to winter tree care issues as well; salting roads and sidewalks damages soil health, and animals tend to feed on tree bark and twigs due to winter food shortages.

These threats, especially when combined, can severely damage your trees if you aren’t prepared.

Call Quinlan Tree Service, today to schedule your winter tree inspection.