Planting

The planting of a tree is an exciting time for any homeowner. In addition to the emotional involvement and attachment, the tree can provide a landscape with years of beauty and property value. Therefore the tree planting process should be considered as an investment and should be planned carefully. "The right tree in the right place." That adage rings true.

Three primary factors are critical to the planting process. Site selection and preparation, tree requirements and characteristics, and post planting maintenance and costs. These parameters are closely linked and failure to make an informed decision in any one of these will incur costs and problems later. Consider the tree planting process carefully and utilize Shady Lane’s expertise to help you choose that perfect tree to save you time and money in the future.

Start by creating a list of the roles of the tree. Some factors to consider; is its primary function to provide privacy, create shade, display flowers, accent a landscape focal point or produce fruit for consumption? Will it be planted to commemorate a special occasion, such as the birth of a child or an anniversary? There are as many reasons to plant trees as there are people. Your personal message will be created through your tree.

Then consider the site according to your needs. Will your property have enough space for the roots, crown and canopy of the tree? Did you consider the tree’s canopy size at 5, 10, 20, 30 years from the time it is planted? As the tree matures, it will create more shade. Is your landscape design flexible enough to accommodate a shade garden? Are there overhead power, telephone and cable lines that may interfere with the growth of the tree? After just a few questions you can see how important the right location can be. Ask one of our Certified Arborist to assist you at this stage.

Then there is the tree itself and how to pick that perfect specimen. Tree selection should be based on flower, fruit, leaf, bark, and structure characteristics. Also account for growth rate, initial/juvenile/mature shape, eventual size and life span expectancy. Before purchasing any nursery stock take into account future maintenance costs and the time needed to perform pruning, watering, fertilizing or soil amendments. Use our knowledge in this area to your advantage.

With the addition of the tree bylaws, replanting for replacement value of our green space within the GTA is now mandatory. Our staff can competently remove the necessary tree, grind out the stump and plant the outlined tree to the specifications required by the city in which you live. Please see the links provided in the Removal Permits and Pesticides Bylaws section of our website for the tree bylaw details in your area.

Shady Lane can handle all sizes of plant material; from small, hand dug specimens to larger trees that require the use of a tree spade. And using our vast industry contacts, we can discover that perfect specimen for your property.

Plant Health Care

Plant Health Care is a preventive management philosophy that states a healthy tree is more resistant to insect infestations and disease infections due to natural defense mechanisms.

This involves all aspects of the arboriculture industry. Proper planting, pruning, fertilizing and monitoring are critical to maintain the vigour and vitality of trees and shrubs. Cultural and maintenance practices are used first to eliminate and reduce the factors that stress or predispose a tree to further insect and disease attacks.

Our policy of using low toxicity products at the correct timing of vulnerable insect stages is the basis of our spray treatment programs. Practicing within the pesticide bylaws in each area proved lesser of a challenge for us at Shady Lane by using the most environmentally friendly product and method for each particular insect or disease.

While we recognize results are paramount, the method of treatment also has a role in the decision process. Therefore we have at our disposal other methods such as Maujet injections, pheromone traps, biological products and beneficial insects.

Plant Monitor Program

The Plant Monitor (PM) program is Shady Lane’s unique interpretation of Plant Health Care philosophy. It is a program that incorporates the needs of the site, client expectations and management techniques to maintain a healthy and vigorous landscape. A trained, specialized Certified Arborist will perform site visits and implement and recommend effective strategies to promote the long-term health of your landscape.

The PM program is available as a tool for all aspects of property sizes and needs. Homeowners will find their gardens healthier and more beautiful, commercial property managers will see increased value in their sites and golf course superintendents will find it useful for maintaining high profile areas such as the club house, signature holes and greens. Contact our office and schedule an appointment to discover how it may benefit your property.

Fertilizing

Trees and shrubs are subjected to a myriad of factors that effect their growth. However the four basic elements that limit a plant or tree from reaching its growth potential in any given season are sunlight, water, temperature and nutrients. The growth of a tree is limited to the factor that is least available and any addition to the other factors will not help unless this shortage is alleviated. For example a tree can have unlimited water, sunlight and nutrients but without sufficient temperature it cannot grow. This is known as the Law of Limiting Factor. On a typical residential garden the limiting factors are usually water and nutrients. Nutrient deficiency can be managed actively through the process of fertilizing or our Organic Soil Solutions programs. Shady Lane can fertilize your tree or shrub, returning and replenishing these nutrients that over time have been depleted from the soil system. Depleted soil systems are due to a lack of organic matter or leaf matter decomposing (like your compost bin) and feeding the soil in turn feeding the tree. In short your trees put all this energy leafing out in the spring, growing all year and in the fall drop their leaves. These leaves in a natural environment break down and feed the trees, this is called a nutrient cycle. We can also recommend and create a watering program to best manage your trees.

Gro-Gun

The effects of a compacted soil system can be harmful to a tree. It prevents air and gaseous exchange, stunts the development of fine absorbing root hairs and retards the penetration of water through the soil horizon. These factors create a shallow, weak soil system and subsequently and weak root systems. Soil compaction can be alleviated through the use of our Gro-Gun. This process uses pressurized air to fracture and loosen the soil to create new pockets of air space. A liquid soluble fertilizer is then injected into these pockets. This two step process also adds moisture to the soil and allows the root system of a tree or shrub to access a greater soil volume. Newly constructed residential neighborhoods, trees next to new paved driveways and trees near high traffic areas may suffer the harmful effects of compacted soils.

Air Spade

Air spade is a unique system that allows us to remove the soil at the base of any tree or shrub for various reasons with very minimal damage to the root system. Investigation of roots is an asset to assess the potential of failure, or lack of health within a tree. Not only does the air spade technology allow us to investigate but also backfill the root system of a tree in poor growing conditions with a high quality compost or mulch blends. This allows the longevity of life for mature trees with poor growing conditions where fertilizers are not appropriate.

Soil

Mulching your trees shrubs and flower beds is one of the most beneficial things a home owner can do for there soil life, water management, as well as an all natural weed management process. Mulch can feed your soil by recreating what arborists call a forest floor, or litter layer, healthy soil creates healthy trees. Call for our suggestions on where mulching can play a key role on your property.

Our new Organic Soil Solutions programs are completely organic and very beneficial for soil life and tree health related to many pest and insect problems that can occur. We use the highest blends of Compost Tea to help amend your soil as well as for foliar feeding where needed, for more information please see our dedicated site to this fantastic new product. organicsoilsolutions.ca

Tree Removal & Stump Grinding

There is always an end to any journey, and unfortunately this is the same for trees resulting in removal. Perhaps due to old age, a freak storm or human intervention, a tree may become unsafe, a hazard to person, property or damaged to a point where other preservations methods are ineffective and costly. Perhaps you should remove the tree, but only after a detailed tree assessment and analysis by an Arborist. Our staff can aid you in this decision making process and determine the best course of action for your tree. We specialize in dangerous removals. Tree removals are hazardous and should be undertaken by professionals only. The objective is to remove the tree safely, effectively and minimize risk to person and property. Techniques in tree removal such as speed lining, the use of cranes and the latest in arboricultural advances are used by Shady Lane to complete this task. After the brush, branches, wood and debris are removed and taken away the result is the stump. And while most people are satisfied at this stage, why not remove the stump also so that a new tree can be planted or a new garden developed. The stumping procedure turns the stump into a mixture of soil and wood chips. It is beneficial at this time to analyze the site to discover any factors that may have lead to the decline of the tree. It could have been insufficient water, too much moisture, root compaction, or poor soil conditions, to name a few. As Certified Arborists we can ascertain and alleviate these problems so they do not subject future trees to the same conditions and provide better site conditions. Bylaws Within the GTA tree bylaws have become a common practice by our municipalities in effort to keep our cities green. These bylaw limit the removal of trees within a private property with a particular diameter of trunk. For all trees over the determined size an arborist report with an application to the city and a replanting plan is needed. Please refer to the links on the resource page for the municipality in your area for more details. Removals, ByLaws and Permits - Find the Information you Need Right Here!

Our Services

Tree Maintenance: The beginning of tree's life is a lot like a child, a little love, the proper guidance and a healthy growing environment will result in a long happy life. Ensuring that the structure is set on a tree, it has the appropriate soil and nutrients and the proper water and light will save long term costs. Let one of our Certified arborist give you free no obligation site visit to ensure your trees and landscape are happy and healthy.

Tree Pruning

To maintain the vigor and vitality of your specimen and historic trees the removal of dead and diseased wood should be performed. Setting the overall structure is vital in young trees and should be taken into consideration. When pruning the crowns of large and small trees no more than 25% of the live crown should be removed in one season. The use of spurs in tree pruning provides major tree problems which may include insect/disease infestation, damage to the outer and inner tree vascular systems and poor aesthetic value as the spur marks are visible on the trunk.

Lightning Protection

(signature or historic trees)

Protect a specimen or historic tree on your property from deadly summer thunderstorms by having a lightning protection system installed. Much in the same way that buildings are protected, the system diverts the charge from the strike and reduces the level of damage sustained by a tree.

Tree Pruning

If your mature tree specimen has cracks in the branches or limbs broken off in a storm then consider cabling and bracing to prevent the tree from further damage. As part of series of tree preservation processes employed by Shady Lane, cabling and bracing is a technique used to secure and manage typical larger trees with structural flaws. Examples of flaws include poorly formed branch unions (included bark) or extremely long branches with heavy loads. The cables reduce movement that occurs in the different sections of the tree crown when it is subjected to forces such as wind throws or the weight of snow/ice. These cables must be properly installed according to current industry guide lines. Meet with one of our Arborists to determine if your mature tree requires this process.

The aesthetic appearance of large and small shrubs are enhanced by proper structural pruning that exposes yet individualizes key features of branch shape, trunk characteristic and leaf colour. Pruning techniques that include removal of weak branch unions and crossing limbs, the consideration of the "flow" of individual branches and species specific details such as time of flowering is used by our highly trained arborists.

Golf Course Services

Trees are an important factor - for the overall condition of your course: the variety and challenge of your design; its overall aesthetics and natural beauty. Trees also represent a significant investment in terms of dollars and the degree of commitment required to sustain their health and longevity. Shady Lane Expert Tree Care offers a larger variety of services to your course than any other tree care company can all year round. We would love the opportunity to walk your course and give our expert advise, saving you time and money in future years. Bellow is a list of services that can be provided by our staff to ensure your course is the very best it can be.   Creating a Vegetation Study with our newest hand held GPS devise to provide an inventory of trees for the entire course or target areas. Trees are tagged (with an I.D. number), sized, and their general health assessed with recommendations for future treatments. Our new Organic Soil Solutions Program uses the highest quality of Compost Tea with a specific blend of food sources like molasses, kelp and soy. Our tea will add micro organisms and with our food sources to help feed and cycle your soil biology helping you cut down on your applications of fungicides, and fertilizers. Resulting in a greener, healthier course for you and your patrons. Pruning to increase light and air penetration onto the greens and to maintain tree health and overall aesthetics. Pruning is also important for reasons of safety and liability. Removing hazardous trees or trees in confined areas and stumping the remaining root system so that the site is ready for future use. Cabling and Bracing to preserve and extend the life of trees at risk from structural weakness or damage from winds and storms. Implementing our Plant Monitor Program to monitor insect and disease problems and recommend treatments to improve plant health. This program can include high focus areas such as the clubhouse, signature holes, specific tree species or the entire golf course. Or it can be a one-time spray application to treat such problems as gypsy moth or tent caterpillars. Our staff are trained and licensed according to government regulations to treat any insect and disease. But our expertise goes beyond that to treat these problems at their most vulnerable stage using the most environmentally aware products and methods. Installing Lightning Protection Systems for trees that dictate the play of a hole or where historic or specimen tree are at risk from thunderstorms and lightning strikes. Utilizing our GroGun technology to combat the harmful effects of soil compaction, for instance severe traffic areas such as heavily used cart paths. This process uses compressed air to fracture the soil and simultaneously add water and fertilizer to stimulate root growth. Applying Mauget injections to control insect populations, or for nutrient deficiencies such as iron chlorosis. This is extremely effective for high traffic areas where other application methods are unsuitable. We can also work on improving the amount of light onto those problem greens and tee boxes by using the latest technology. The SunSeeker™ software technology is based on a series of measurements of the green itself and the surrounding trees (trunks and major limbs), data is then programmed into the computer. This process calculates tree canopy density, blocking horizon and the exact location of the sun on that green on any day of the year. Fast, convenient and accurate to within a fraction of a centimeter, SunSeeker™ removes the guesswork from tree pruning and ensures the right amount of sunlight and airflow that are critical to healthy trees and turf.