Trees are important not just to the ecosystem, but also to us personally. A healthy, attractive tree adds beauty and value to your home, so naturally you want to take care of them.

You might know that watering a tree regularly and trimming it when necessary can help it become established in your lawn. But there’s another important consideration that might surprise you: Have you aerated your soil lately?

Properly aerated soil is actually extremely important not just to your lawn, but also to any trees growing in your yard. Over time, soil can become impacted, which can leave it unhealthy and lacking proper nutrients that plants need to grow. Plus, impacted soil can prevent water from reaching deep into the ground where it can be absorbed by roots. When you water compacted soil, you essentially just splash water onto hardened earth. Not much water actually ends up where it needs to go. And when heavy rain falls on compacted ground, it actually washes away even more nutrients instead of carrying them to the roots of plants that need them.

Over time, trees growing in compacted soil can lack the water and nutrients they need to stay healthy. But luckily, this problem is simple to fix. Two methods of soil aeration are available: Plug aeration and spike aeration. With plug aeration, small plugs of compacted soil are removed to allow oxygen to penetrate into the ground. Spike aeration is what it sounds like; spikes essentially poke holes to create small channels that allow air and moisture into the earth.

Aeration seems like a fairly simple process, but we do suggest that you consult a professional lawn care company about getting the job done correctly. In the meantime, please contact us if you have any further questions about the health of your trees. We can help you assess any problems and recommend any tree trimming or other improvements that should be performed.