A year of tree care, and two city notices
Two notes from the City of Sandusky are worth reading before you plan a year of yard tasks: one concerns trees near the street, the other concerns digging. With those in hand, the seasonal jobs come down to looking closely, writing down what changes and asking for help early.
Trees in the right-of-way
Trees and shrubs in public areas are the responsibility of Sandusky's Forestry Division. A property owner may hire a private contractor to plant, trim or remove a tree in the right-of-way, but only after completing a Tree Application for authorization.
When a task on the lists below involves a tree that may stand in the right-of-way, ask the city about that tree before you schedule the work.
Before a shovel or grinder goes into the ground
The City of Sandusky notes that Ohio law requires contacting the Ohio Utilities Protection Service at least 48 hours, but no more than 10 working days (excluding weekends and legal holidays), before any digging project.
Before stump grinding or planting, ask the tree company whether that contact applies to the job, and if it does, agree on who makes it: you, the tree company or whoever is doing the planting. Then ask the company how its crew handles any marked lines near the work.
While the branches are bare
- Look up for hangers. A broken branch caught in the crown can drop later without warning. Point out any you see when you ask for estimates.
- Check last year's cuts. A healthy pruning wound may show a rim of new wood closing in from the edges. Ask an arborist about a cut that shows no sign of closing.
- Ask about dormant work. Some species are pruned while dormant to limit pests or disease. Ask which of your trees an arborist would rather prune now and which can wait.
- Read the shape. Without leaves, it is easier to see a fork with bark pinched inside it or a limb that has grown far out past the rest of the crown.
As buds open
- Notice which branches stay bare after the rest of the tree has leafed out; that wood may be dead.
- Choose a planting spot by its mature size. Ask how tall and wide the tree will grow, and leave room from the house, the overhead service line and the drive. For a spot near the street, ask the city first; before digging, read the note above.
- Top up mulch only where it has thinned, and rake it flat, leaving the trunk itself bare at the base.
- Take photos of new leaves that look spotted, pale or curled, and send them to an arborist with your question.
In full leaf
- Compare the sides of each crown. One side thinner, or leaves smaller and paler than elsewhere on the same tree, can be worth a look.
- Note clearance. Limbs brushing the roof or siding, or hanging low over the driveway, can go on the list for the next pruning visit.
- Check the bark for small holes, fine sawdust at the base or new oozing, and photograph what you find.
- Ask about watering a young tree. Whoever sold or planted it can tell you what it needs while its roots establish; write the answer down.
As leaves come down
- Rake leaves back from the trunk so the root flare stays visible and dry.
- Gather estimates for bigger jobs such as removal, reduction or cabling, so the work can be planned rather than rushed.
- Compare each tree's outline with its summer view. A branch that dropped its leaves early, or held dead ones, is worth pointing out.
- Plan any autumn planting with the digging note in mind, and with the right-of-way question settled for spots near the street.
Calls that should not wait for a season
Some problems are worth a call the day you notice them:
- a fork that has started to separate, or a crack that has opened in the trunk;
- a broken limb hanging in the crown over a walk, the drive or the house;
- soil lifting or cracking on one side of the base, or a tree that has begun to lean;
- any branch resting on or near a wire, which is a call to the utility first, not a tree company.
Hiring for any season's work
Before a crew starts, ask:
- "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?"
- for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation for everyone on site;
- whether the Tree Application has been completed and authorization given, if a tree is in the right-of-way;
- whether the Ohio Utilities Protection Service needs to be contacted before any stump grinding or planting, and if so, by whom;
- for a written scope that names each tree and the work on it, the cleanup and what happens to the wood.
Carrying work into next year
Not every item gets done in its season. At the end of each stretch, move what was left undone onto the list for the same stretch next year, and ask an arborist which items can safely wait and which should not. Keep estimates and invoices together with that list, so the next company can see what was done to each tree and when.