How to manage trees, leaves & climbers

Posted on November 15, 2016 in Gardening

Here are our tips to manage trees, leaves and climbers.

Autumn and winter bring challenges with trees, leaves and climbers. Some management now can save time and effort later, when you may have to repair unnecessary damage.

Leaves – clear them

Clear leaves as soon as you can; waiting until the end of autumn is too late. If you leave them on your lawn for long periods, they’ll reduce the amount of light that reaches the grass and make it turn yellow.

A lawn rake is fine for large, flat areas of lawn but impractical for borders, so consider investing in a garden vacuum. If you use it on shredder mode, the leaves will rot down much more quickly when composted. Add them to your compost bin in thin layers along with other organic matter.

Pro tip: Avoid yellowing grass by clearing leaves frequently, a little at a time.

Support your trees

Autumn brings strong winds, so newly-planted trees will need to be staked. This prevents rocking damage, which can uplift and destroy their root anchorage, or cause them to snap. Instead of using a single, vertical stake, use an angled one which will allow the tree to move in the breeze instead of staying totally rigid – swaying is proven to promote trunk growth.

Pro tip: Manage trees in very windy, or exposed areas, use a double stake. Two stakes are hammered into the ground, side by side, and one or two horizontal braces are then screwed to them. Then tie the tree to the braces.

Strengthen your climbers:

Climbers, clematis and climbing roses will all need some kind of frame to grow up when they start to put on new growth in the spring. Frames comes in different shapes, which define the direction that your plants grow in:

• Trellises can be attached to fencing or the sides of structures so that your climbers can spread outwards and upwards.
• A series of climbing wires can be a more flexible option than trellis – it can be added to, and expanded, as your plant grows.
• Obelisks are freestanding, tapered pillars that encourage your plants to grow upwards.
• Arches allow your plants to grow up and over a pathway, or entrance to another area of your garden.

Pro tip: Putting these structures in place now, as they’ve reached the end of their growing season, will save a struggle come spring.