In this Yahoo!News article, William Johnston from Davey's South Austin office talks about the dangers of frostbite in trees and how homeowners can prevent it.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — With sub-freezing temperatures in the forecast here in Central Texas, many residents will be bundling up and hunkering down indoors to avoid going outside in the frigid air. But how do you protect your trees from the wintry chill?
One of the possible threats toward trees during the winter is frostbite. Frost damage in trees is similar to a water pipe bursting in someone’s home, said William Johnston, an assistant district manager at Davey Tree Services’ north Austin office.
“When freezing temperatures hit trees, their vascular system — or that outer ring, that living portion of the tree — will freeze,” he said. “And as water freezes, it expands and breaks those cell walls. So at a microscopic level, it’s going to look just like your water pipes bursting.”
A danger of frostbite in trees is that it’s hard to physically see damages during the initial aftermath, Johnston said. That’s because the bark is going to cover a lot of that extensive damage.
Instead, trees can start showing their wear and tear a year or even two years post-frostbite, as the bark begins to fall off and trees start to grow over wounded areas.
To see how William prevents frostbite in trees, click here.
For more information, contact the South Austin Davey office.
The Davey Tree Expert Company provides research-driven tree services, grounds maintenance and environmental consulting for residential, utility, commercial and environmental partners in the U.S. and Canada. Established in 1880 and headquartered in Kent, Ohio, Davey has over 12,000 employees and is the ninth largest employee-owned company in the U.S. This year, Davey celebrates 45 years of employee ownership – Join us and apply today!
