Plant Management Services in Calgary, Edmonton and Kelowna

Are you facing difficulty in taking care of and preservation of your trees and shrubs due to the tough climate of Alberta? If yes, then you can leave all your plant management worries behind and rely on ArborCare. While some of you are up for the challenge, it’s often more effective when you trust the professional arborist services from us. Whether it is a hot, dry summer, or cold winter, we’re here to help you. No matter what season it is, our skilled personnel can improve the health of your plants with our plant management services in Calgary and Edmonton.

A Closer Look

If you’re looking for comprehensive tree care services, you’ve come to the right place. We can help keep your trees and shrubs in great shape beyond your expectations. During the spring and fall seasons, we provide root zone fertilizing, foliage sprays, and washes. While in winter, we offer anti-desiccant to protect your plants from damage and dehydration.

We look forward to serving you and extending the life of your shrubs and trees. If you’d like an estimate of our services, fill out our request an estimate form.

Which Project Is Right for You?

Our environmentally friendly products are used in our AMP programs. Our 4 main products include:

•  Insecticidal soap:
  This is a non-toxic insecticide that is formulated to kill aphids, mites, and mealybugs. It is readily biodegradable and non-residual.
•  Trounce:
  This is a non-toxic insecticide that controls a broad range of bugs, such as caterpillars and beetles.
•  Horticultural oil spray:
  It is an effective and friendly way to stop pests and prevent certain diseases. It suffocates insect eggs, repels insects, and deters feeding without damaging the plant.
•  Anti-desiccant:
  This is a safe way to protect against dehydration and drying on evergreens. Our anti-desiccant is ideal for protecting against cold winds that would otherwise damage the plant.

Common Plant Treatments

• Systematic Injection
• Protect Your Trees From Dutch Elm Disease
• Elm Scale Disease And Treatment
• Fertilizing Your Trees And Shrubs In Both The Spring And Fall

Systematic Injection

To control insect populations and protect your plants throughout the growing season, we use a variety of earth-friendly systemic insecticide products. Some insects, including elm scale and birch leaf miner, are protected from spray applications, whereas other insects such as caterpillars and spruce sawflies are more resistant to sprays. To control those insect populations, we require a systemic injection. These controls are injected directly into the tree that is absorbed through the xylem and carried into the leaf where it is eaten by the insect. The feeding insect will consume the product and eventually die.

Our plant technicians are trained and certified in the application of some of our products, including Orthene® and TreeAzin® that are no longer available to the general public over the counter. Get started.

Protect Your Trees from Dutch Elm Disease

Popular for their ability to strive in a variety of climatic conditions and adding a gloss of beauty to the streets, dutch elm trees are the real attraction in Calgary. But everything goes for a toss if the trees get infected by the contagious Dutch Elm Disease (DED). It directly attacks the roots of the tree which will not only infect one tree but all the trees in the vicinity through the root grafts.

The infection is caused by two interrelated species of fungi-Ophiostoma ulmi and the more aggressive of the two, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, which is responsible for most of the destruction. The fungus penetrates the tree’s vascular system, preventing the flow of nutrients and water, thereby leading to the withering of the leaves.

Signs and Symptoms
Most of the early signs arise in late spring as the symptoms spread first to individual branches and then transport to the entire tree and eventually killing it. Even as an arborist, we cannot guarantee you whether the process will happen in one season or take a couple of years but what you can notice with our experience is:

• Leaves start wilting, change their colour to yellow, and eventually turn brown.
• Premature leaves dropping
• Flagging or branch death.
• Brown or red streaks in the wood.

Managing the Disease
With over decades of experience in the field, our trained arborists extend their help and offer various solutions for the treatment:

• Prune flagging branches immediately
• Inspect the sapwood for streaking
• Disinfect all tools and properly disposing of the infected wood.
• Trenching between infected and non-infected trees to slow down the spread.

Elm Scale Disease and Treatment

In the last decade, Calgary has faced a large problem from Elm Scale diseases and it has become difficult to prevent the spread. Symptoms are not obvious until the infestation level is quite high. Elm scale feeds by piercing leaves and bark and sucking juices from the tree. The eggs begin to hatch in late June and start feeding on leaves in mid-July. By autumn, the pest moves onto branches and twigs where they prepare to overwinter. The easiest defense mechanism which ArborCare suggests against infestation by this pest is to keep your trees healthy as with most insects and diseases, a healthy tree is less likely to be affected.

Symptoms

• Leaf discoloration and premature leaf drop.
• Twig and branch dieback.
• Sticky honeydew material falling as fine droplets from the tree canopy

Treatment
The first and foremost thing you should practice is to keep your trees healthy by continually watering them during the season. If you suspect Elm scaling, we recommend you contact a professional arborist to discuss various treatment options. Usually, a combination of dormant season pruning and chemical controls applied by a qualified professional is the best option.

Fertilizing Your Trees and Shrubs in Both the Spring and Fall

At ArborCare, we also offer a deep root tree fertilization program and make sure that your plants are well cared for all year long. Alkaline soil conditions make it difficult for planted trees and shrubs to thrive naturally. From the analysis, it can be determined that most local soil conditions don’t carry enough basic minerals required for the healthy growth of the plant. So, to help neutralize alkalinity and promote leaf growth, we use an acidic fertilizer with micronutrients and humic acid.

Spring is an important time for all trees. The water carrying the nutrients is redirected from the roots upward to the branches and emerging leaves. In this case, applications are made by injecting the water-diluted fertilizer into the root zone around the drip line. The fertilizer is applied on the surface in bedding areas or hedgerows rather than injecting it into the soil to protect any existing irrigation lines or landscape fabric.

Fall Root Zone Fertilizing

As summer turns to autumn and autumn progresses, the water within the tree travels downward where it is used to aid in the growth and development of the roots. Our fall fertilizers can be used to supply specific nutrients and minerals to help roots grow. This is vital for newly planted trees and shrubs that may have been harmed from insect infestation or other stresses throughout the summer.

Keeping Your Plants Safe During the Winter Months

At ArborCare, we offer winter plant protection to our clients in Calgary, Kelowna, Edmonton, and Kelowna. Our winter protection sprays can be applied to your plants whenever possible. They coat leaves and needles with a waxy substance that prevents loss of vital moisture. It also protects from temporary snow fences, burlap, or any other physical barrier to guard against the force of drying winds.

Our goal is to help you protect your valuable investment with our earth-friendly products. Call us today to learn more about our complimentary tree and shrub inspection or schedule an appointment.