Comprehensive Fall & Dormant Season Tree Care: Plant Health, Pruning & Stress Reduction
The fall and dormant season present arborists with key opportunities to maintain, restore, and prepare trees for longevity, safety, and resilience. This comprehensive course combines holistic plant health care (PHC) practices with advanced pruning and structural maintenance to create a full-spectrum approach to seasonal tree care. Participants will explore soil and water management, nutrition, transplanting, and the use of anti-transpirants alongside dormant-season pruning, cabling, bracing, and other structural support practices.
Strategies for stress reductionā€”including canopy load management, wound care, and proactive preparation for snow and iceā€”will also be addressed. Emphasis will be placed on ANSI A300 standards and integrated maintenance strategies that balance client goals, safety, and long-term tree health.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain the biological and structural benefits of fall and dormant-season tree maintenance.
- Apply holistic PHC practices, including soil remediation, irrigation adjustment, fertilization, and anti-transpirant use.
- Integrate pruning techniques, including structural pruning and retrenchment, with canopy load reduction to improve safety, longevity, and health.
- Evaluate the use of cabling, bracing, wound care, and other stress-reduction measures as part of a comprehensive fall and winter maintenance program.
