Trees have long been the favorite way to create shade in your yard because they naturally change with the times of the year. When you need more sunlight on your patio, trees have already shed their leaves. When you need the cooling properties of the shade.
Shade is an important part of your yard for a few different reasons, and it is easier to create shade naturally and permanently. Here are some of our tips and tricks about creating shade.
Why Do You Need Shade?
- Helps to create outdoor living space during the warmer months
- Helps to add depth to your yard
- Can increase the longevity of outside furniture
There are a few different reasons why you want to have shade in your yard. The primary reason is that shade helps to create livable outdoor space during the warmest months. There is nothing quite as nice as getting to enjoy the weather, but not sweating or baking in your yard. Shade can help to keep things cooler.
Additionally, you get more livable space that you can keep for a long time when you have shade. The furniture that you put in shade will last longer because the sun isn’t bleaching and ruining the fabric.
You will also help to lower your bills, save parts of your home, and more when you start to add shade to your landscaping plan. While trees aren’t the only way to create shade, they are one of your best options.
Of course, as Proven Winners suggests, not all shade is good shade, so you need to think about how you create that shade, where you create it, and how it will be maintained.
Plant Deciduous Trees
- There isn’t as much to clean up throughout the year (other than autumn)
- Often have the best fall colors to make your space more beautiful
- Create the most shade in general
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If you want to add some shade to your yard, you want to plant deciduous trees. There a few reasons for this, including the fact that these trees tend to grow faster and provide more shade for your yard. They are also some of the most beautiful trees, even if you do have some cleanup in the fall.
Additionally, these are some of the trees that have more success in yards of all kinds, even though there are some trees that are better fits for certain areas.
Fall cleanup is something to consider, but many people think that it is worth it because these trees are just so beautiful during the fall months. The Spruce suggests planting trees such as the catalpa, silk tree, silver maple, Lombardy poplar, katsura, and more for the most fall beauty and shade.
Keep Your Trees Pruned
- Helps to “train” your trees to go in the right direction
- Keeps your trees uniform and beautiful
- Can help to identify any problems
Another thing you need to know about planting shade trees and taking care of them is that pruning is going to be necessary. This may seem a little backwards because the bigger and fuller a tree is, the more shade you will have. However, you need to think of this like you think of haircuts: your trees will be healthier and thrive when you cut them.
To properly create shade on your property, it needs to be healthy shade. In order to create healthy shade that doesn’t have breaks or doesn’t pose a risk to your property, you need to use proper pruning techniques. The University of Florida suggests that you prune to have one central trunk and somewhat train the branches and foliage into the shapes that you’d like so that you can control the shade.
If you prune your trees in a way that hurts it, you may have less shade or shade that is mottled and doesn’t really work. Additionally, you could endanger your hardscaping, home, pools, and more because you will have weak overhanging branches.
This is best done by professionals who have the experience to do this kind of work.
Plant Them In The Correct Places
- Trees will thrive in certain places
- You need to think about the other trees and plants in your yard
- Sometimes, planting can help lower your bills
The first thing you need to think about when planting large shade trees in your yard is how they will grow and impact the other structures in the yard. Largely, this means your home, foundation, pools, patios, and more. Many large shade trees will have root systems that can destroy hardscaping and other features.
At the same time, you have to think about the other plants that you have that will, over time, have more shade. You will have some time, as trees don’t grow that quickly, but it is something to consider if you have a vegetable garden or a rose garden that you hoped to keep for a long time.
Finally, you want to think about the ways that shade trees will cool your home and help with your energy bills. The Arbor Day Foundation has a great article on ways this works.
Contact Menchhofer Tree Care for all of your tree care needs – we can help you at any stage of the tree process, from planting and taking care of your tree to pruning and cutting it down – and of course, any seasonal problems that you might have with your trees. If you are having trouble making decisions about how to best care for your tree, we are here to help. Remember that acting sooner rather than later will help you to get the most out of your trees and keep your home safe.
