Take care of your trees, but don't buy the hype

From Pine Wilt  to the drought and now Emerald Ash Borer, our trees have taken quite a beating over the past several years.

Since Kansas and Missouri fall right in the middle of the USDA's Plant Heartiness zones, a lot of trees that were introduced to our area have survived over the years: but in times of extreme weather shifts or the introduction of pests and disease, many species have had a tough time surviving.

The recent rains were heavy enough that most of our trees are going to bounce back. Continuing to keep your trees watered in times of prolonged dryness is still essential. If your trees are showing signs of stress, fertilizing now is a bad idea. It will just encourage growth that won't survive the winter.

As far as the Emerald Ash Borer, don't fall for all the hype yet. Treatment should not even begin until next spring so don't waste your money now.

You can safely fertilize your trees this winter with simple winterizer fertilizer once the ground is frozen; we'll help you with that later this year.

Fall is the absolute best time of the year to be planting trees. Coming up next week we have a great list of trees that you should be planting. Have a great week!