Renters Can Help Our Trees Too!

Live in an apartment and want to know how you can protect the trees on the property you are renting from? Even if you don’t own the property where you live or work, you can still help out our city’s trees. There are some telltale signs that usually mean a tree isn’t feeling very well: part of a tree appears dead or dying, it’s summertime and a tree still doesn’t have any green leaves or needles, or you see some big mushrooms growing out of the trunk of the tree or near its base. All of these are indicators that a tree might be dead or in decline. If you see any of these signs, inform your landlord and encourage them to call an ISA Certified Arborist. There are plenty of people willing to cut down a tree for money, but an ISA Certified Arborist will use their knowledge and training to do what’s best for the tree.

Did you know that parking on or near a tree’s roots is very bad for the tree? When heavy equipment (or even a lot of foot traffic) presses down the soil, it’s called soil compaction and it’s a leading cause of tree decline in urban areas. Soil compaction inhibits proper drainage, it closes off the air spaces in soil so there’s little underground air exchange, and it impedes root growth. Once soil gets compacted, it’s hard to fix. The best way to manage it is to prevent it. If you are renting and the only place to park is on top of tree’s roots, please talk to your landlord about finding you a different parking spot. Our urban trees need all the help they can get!