As the weather warms up and you start spending more time outside, it’s a perfect time to start thinking about your trees. Without the right care, a tough summer can weaken or even kill a healthy-looking tree – especially in a residential landscape. Learn more about how to provide summer tree care in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Key Takeaways
- Summer is peak season for insect and disease activity, so regularly inspect trees for signs like discolored leaves, early leaf drop, or bark damage.
- Light, targeted pruning in summer can remove dead branches and weak areas that could cause damage during storms; avoid heavy pruning that stresses trees.
- Following the severe 2024-2025 drought in the region, trees need supplemental watering using the “low and slow” method (10 gallons per inch of trunk diameter).
- Conduct professional soil testing to identify nutrient deficiencies and schedule appropriate fertilization for fall rather than summer.
- Maintain 2-4 inches of mulch around trees (keeping it away from the trunk) and remove any dead trees during dry summer periods when it’s safer and causes less yard damage.
6 Things to Do for Your Trees This Summer
Six things we recommend doing in the summer to help trees deal with stress include:
1. Check for Signs of Insect and Disease Damage
Summer is when insects and diseases are most active and can cause the most damage to your trees. While every insect and disease will produce unique symptoms in your trees, there are some common signs to look for, including:
- Discolored or yellowed leaves
- Early leaf drop
- Damaged leaves
- Increased insect activity around your trees
- Damage or holes in the bark
- Dead branches or patches in the canopy
If you notice these signs in your trees, don’t panic. A few discolored leaves may not indicate your tree is sick. Before jumping to conclusions, have an arborist inspect your trees and diagnose if anything is wrong. Some of the common diseases and pests that trees in Montgomery and Bucks County may face include:
- Cedar-apple rust
- Verticillium wilt
- Anthracnose
- Fire blight
- Powdery mildew
- Apple scab
- Bacterial leaf scorch
- Hemlock woolly adelgid
- Leaf-eating insects
- Spotted lanternfly
- Emerald ash borer
The damage these can cause will range from minor aesthetic harm to your trees to outright killing them. Early detection and prevention are the best ways to ensure your trees survive for years to come.
2. Prune for Safety Before the Next Storm
While major pruning is best when trees are dormant in the winter, there are still practical reasons to trim your trees in the summer. One of the primary benefits is removing dead branches that are more likely to break and cause damage during a storm. Additionally, an arborist can determine the weaker parts of the tree to remove to increase its storm resistance.
Storm damage prevention isn’t the only reason to prune in the summer. When the tree is fully leafed out, you can better see how dense the canopy is and if branches are competing with each other. Decreasing canopy density will allow more light and air to penetrate and lower the risk of humid conditions in the canopy that cause mold and mildew.
If you do prune this summer, keep it targeted and light. One of the biggest pruning mistakes homeowners make is over-pruning in the summer. Too much pruning opens a tree to attacks from insects and disease and can increase your tree’s stress.
3. Provide Supplemental Water to Drought-Stressed Trees
Through much of late 2024 and early 2025, Montgomery and Bucks County faced some of the worst drought conditions in decades. Though the situation began improving in the spring of 2025, trees across the area are still dealing with drought stress and its wide-spreading effects.
Water is essential to almost every function that keeps a tree alive – from moving nutrients through the trunk to supporting new growth. Without it, trees can quickly wilt, decline, and eventually die.
You can’t control the weather, but you can help your trees through a drought by giving them the water they need to stay healthy. If you have the space and know-how, you can set up an irrigation system for your trees. Alternatively, you can use a soaker hose to hydrate them. Aim for 10 gallons of water per 1 inch of trunk diameter.
Whatever method you use, always keep watering low and slow. You want the ground to soak up as much of the water as possible and for it to get deep into the ground. Deep watering gets hydration to more roots and encourages better root growth. Additionally, we recommend watering in the morning as early as possible to allow water to soak into the ground and avoid evaporation in the late morning and through the afternoon.
While you may want to hold off on fertilization during the summer, it is a perfect time to conduct a soil test and schedule fall fertilization for later in the year.
4. Conduct a Soil Test and Schedule Fall Fertilization
Trees in residential yards often struggle to thrive because they pull nutrients from the soil without anything to replenish them. In natural environments, fallen leaves and branches break down and return vital nutrients to the ground. But in our yards, we usually rake all that organic matter away, leaving trees without the natural support system they rely on.
Fertilization is an effective way to give your trees a nutrient boost. However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, and the process should always target a deficiency rather than using a generic fertilizer. We recommend a soil test to ensure you’re getting your trees what they need.
While you may have seen soil testing kits at your local hardware store, they are often cheap and unreliable. To ensure you’re getting accurate results, send a soil sample to the Penn State Extension Service for testing. If the test shows you have a deficiency, contact a tree service to schedule fall fertilization, as spots can fill up fast.
Avoid fertilizing in the summer in most instances, as it can encourage too much new growth that won’t survive the winter.
5. Refresh the Mulch Around Your Tree
Mulch has numerous benefits for your trees, including adding nutrients to the soil and helping to retain moisture during a drought. Summer is the perfect time to check the mulch around your tree and add new wood chips.
When checking your mulch, pay attention to both its depth and placement. Ideally, mulch should be 2 to 4 inches deep – too little won’t insulate or retain moisture effectively, and too much can suffocate the soil and block water from reaching the roots.
When inspecting or adding mulch, check that it isn’t piled up against or burying the root flare (the part of the tree where the roots meet the trunk). Letting mulch stay there can lead to the development of fungi and decay that can potentially kill a tree.
6. Remove Any Dead or Unwanted Trees
It’s much easier to tell if a tree is dead or not in the summer when it doesn’t produce new leaves. When you have a dead tree, removal is often the best choice, especially if structures are nearby.
Dead tree removal is dangerous and best left to the professionals. A dry part of the summer is the perfect time to remove a tree, as there will be less damage to your yard from foot and vehicle traffic, and dead trees are more at risk of falling during a summer storm.
Frequently Asked Questions About Summer Tree Care
Summer is a busy time for tree care, and many homeowners ask us how to ensure their trees are healthy in the summer. We’ve answered some of the common questions about summer tree care, but if you don’t see your answer here, we’d be glad to help when we meet with you during an initial consultation.
Is summer the most stressful season for trees?
Yes, summer is often the most stressful time for trees. Some of the things that stress trees the most this time of year include:
- High temperatures (especially in more urban areas)
- Lack of rainfall
- Peak insect and disease activity
- High winds and storms
Can I prune trees myself in the summer?
If you have the right tools and experience, you might be able to handle some light summer pruning yourself. But in most cases, it’s best to leave it to the professionals. A Certified Arborist knows exactly where to make cuts to support the tree’s health and how to do it safely without risking property damage or personal injury.
What should I do for my tree after a summer storm?
After a storm has passed, we recommend inspecting your trees from a distance to try to determine if there is any damage. Look for broken branches or ones that seem to be hanging by a thread. If you notice storm damage, call a professional tree service to inspect your trees and provide assistance to help them recover from the damage. Alternatively, they may suggest removal if the damage is too significant for the tree to recover.
Don’t Sweat Your Summer Tree Care – Clauser Has You Covered
Summer tree care can feel daunting with so many things to do. If you need help with the more difficult parts of tree care, like pruning or tree removal, the team at Clauser Tree Care can help.
We’ll handle the problems with your trees professionally and provide you with future care recommendations to keep them looking beautiful year-round. Call us at 215-542-8291 or request a quote online for help with your summer tree care.
About Clauser Tree Care
From who you talk to on the phone in our office, to our courteous and experienced work crews who provide your service, all of the hard-working team members at Clauser Tree Care strive for complete client satisfaction. Our job is simply not done until you are pleased with the experience that you have had working with our company. Founded more than 25 years ago on the principles of honest work and arboricultural best practices, we strive for a higher standard of care for a greener future.
