A Homeowner’s Guide to Trees for Texas Lawns

Planting trees in your yard is one way to increase curb appeal and raise the value of your home. They’re a beautiful addition to the landscape, and if all goes well, they’ll be an investment that grows and thrives for years to come. How well a new tree does in your lawn depends on several factors, including what type of tree you plant and how you take care of it, especially in the first year after planting.

Once you’ve decided to plant one or more trees, the next step is figuring out what type of tree to plant and where. Certain types of trees are bad choices because they are susceptible to disease. Other trees can have shallow and invasive root systems, which make it hard to mow and can become a problem if they grow into pipes or sidewalks. Researching the type of tree you are planning to plant will help you ensure the new tree will enhance your yard rather than cause problems.

Why Plant Trees

We often think of environmental reasons for planting trees, or of how the tree will increase the value of a home. These are both good reasons to plant trees, but there are other benefits as well. Trees capture carbon from the air and release oxygen. Their root systems also help filter pollutants out of water. In addition, tree roots help stabilize the soil and prevent or minimize flooding damage.

In addition to helping the environment and looking good, planting trees can also provide energy-saving benefits. It will take a few years for a young tree to grow large enough to cast shade on your home, but once it is grown the shade provides a cooling effect. This lowers energy bills because the air conditioning system won’t have to work so hard to keep the house cool. The temperature under a tree can be 25°F cooler than the surrounding air.

Trees are also good for our health. Many studies indicate that spending time around trees helps lower people’s stress levels, improve mental health, encourage increased physical activity levels, and even support strong immune systems. Planting trees in your yard, or living in a community that plants trees along the streets and in parks, can make you feel better.

Good Trees for the Lawn

The best trees for your lawn will grow well in your specific climate, resist disease, and not have aggressive root systems or messy fruit that drops on the lawn. The Texas Tree Planting Guide is a good website to start your search. With the “Express Tree Selector,” you simply enter the county you live in and the size of tree you want (small, medium, or large) and the website will give you a list of recommendations. For even more specific tree recommendations, you can use the “Custom Tree Selector” and input your county, soil conditions, available space, and desired size of tree. Here are a few good trees to get your search started.

• Cedar elm—these elms are tough, adaptable trees. Their mature height is 40 to 60 feet tall and 30 to 40 feet wide. These trees grow well in poor and heavy soil, can tolerate wet conditions, and are drought-resistant. Unlike many elm varieties, cedar elm resists Dutch elm disease.
• Redbuds—these are a great choice if you’re looking for an ornamental tree. Texas redbuds (mature size 30 to 40 feet high and 15 to 20 wide) and Mexican redbuds (mature size 11 to 15 feet high and wide) bloom in the spring and have few disease problems.
• Ginkgo trees—these trees are slow growing, so they are not a good choice if you want a quick shade tree, but their unique fan-shaped leaves make them a good ornamental choice. The mature size varies by cultivar from small ornamental trees to large shade trees. When purchasing a ginkgo tree, make sure to buy a male so it won’t produce smelly, messy fruit.
• Live oaks—these are a good shade tree with a mature size of 40 to 80 feet tall and 60 to 100 feet wide. They’ll tolerate a variety of soil conditions, are resistant to wind damage, and have few pest problems. However, live oaks will produce large amounts of acorns that need to be cleaned off the lawn in the fall.

How To Plant a New Tree

Once you’ve purchased your tree, it’s time to plant it. Start by digging a hole that is twice as wide as the size of the tree’s root ball or pot. Make it the same depth as the root ball so the base of the trunk is level with the ground, not buried.

Next, remove the tree from the pot or the burlap covering the root ball. Examine the roots to see if any are growing in a circular pattern around the rest of the root ball. If you find any, gently tug them free. If you can’t get a circling root to come free, you’ll have to cut it to prevent it from strangling the trunk or other roots.

Then, settle the tree into the hole and gently fill in around it with the same soil that you dug out of the hole. Don’t pack the soil in tightly; just water the ground to settle the soil around the tree roots. If the soil level sinks after watering, you can add more soil. Just make sure you don’t bury the spot where the roots meet the trunk of the tree.

Finally, mulch the tree. Leave a few inches of bare soil right around the base of the tree, then place a layer of mulch 2-3 inches deep. The mulch should extend at least out to the drip line of the tree—the spot right under the tips of the branches.

Tree Care Tips

Trees are relatively low maintenance, but a little extra care—especially right after you first plant them—helps them thrive. If you live in an area with high winds, you can stake the tree to keep it upright. In areas with extremely high or low temperatures or scorching sunlight, wrap the tree for the first couple of seasons to prevent sunscald (click here to learn more about planting, staking, and wrapping trees).

For the first month after planting a tree, water it three times a week if there is no rain. Make sure you are watering deeply to soak the soil each time. In the second month, water twice a week. In the third month, water once a week. After that, you’ll only need to water once or twice a month for the first year. Once they’re a year old, most trees won’t need extra water except during extremely dry seasons.

For mature trees, occasional watering and fertilizing, monitoring for pests and diseases, and regular pruning should be all the maintenance they need. You should prune out dead, damaged, or diseased limbs whenever you notice them. Pruning to shape the trees can happen about once a year. You’ll usually do tree pruning in the winter while deciduous trees are dormant. Flowering trees can be pruned during the growing season, right after the flowers have finished blooming. Proper pruning helps maintain the health of your tree and can prevent dead or dying branches from causing damage when they fall.

Tree Care Tools

Richardson Saw & Lawnmower stocks a variety of tree care tools for professional arborists and homeowners. For trees, especially larger, mature trees, you’ll need a chainsaw and/or powered pole pruner to take out any branches that need to be removed. If the branch is low to the ground, a standard chainsaw is the right tool. For higher branches, a pole pruner will give you the reach you need to cut tree branches while staying safely on the ground. If you can’t reach a branch from the ground or aren’t sure you can cut a branch safely, contact a professional arborist.

For smaller trees and branches, hand tools like pruners and loppers will get the job done. You can also get a manual pole saw, like the Jameson saw that we carry, for cutting smaller branches that are out of reach. With all cutting tools, keep the cutting blades sharp and clean to help keep the trees healthy.

Trees are an energy-saving, environmentally friendly addition to your yard that can also increase the value of your home. Choosing a disease-resistant tree that will grow well in your location, planting carefully to give the tree a good start, and caring for the tree with proper watering and pruning techniques will provide a nice addition to your home for many years to come. And if you need a chainsaw or pole pruner to tackle pruning jobs in the trees around your home, come visit us at Richardson Saw & Lawnmower. We carry chainsaws and pole pruners from top brands, and we can help you find just the right one for your yard.