We at Bo's cannot stress enough how thankful and grateful we are to our customers for keeping us working in 2024, although it's had its challenges! With continued loyalty from our regular customers, and the addition of new, we were able to keep bills paid in these unusual times. We hope we provided superior service and made some new friends along the way. We are hoping all our customers and your families enjoyed your own personal as well as business successes in 2024 and are planning for good things in 2025. We also hope you are healthy and well.
At Bo's, we've noticed many new tree and landscape companies popping up all over the DMV area, severely undercutting price and service levels. Many are unlicensed, uninsured, and are out for the quick buck. They lack the decades of experience and tree knowledge which Bo's and other long term companies in the area bring to your project. They lack the care and concern for your property or finances that Bo's brings to the table. Please do your due diligence before hiring anyone to do work on your property. Safety and respect for your property and persons is tantamount. If anyone commits property damage, please report them to the Better Business Bureau as this is the only way to hold them accountable.
Trees and plants did not skip a beat in their life cycles this past winter, which kept us occupied despite the epic ups and downs of a contracting economy. Nature does not recognize or respect human created chaos, she just keeps doing what she does. Many people continue to work from home as that has become the new paradigm and have time on their hands to wander their yards inspecting their properties for ways to enhance the appearance or perform much neglected landscape and tree maintenance. We had a lot of fun helping you with the clean-ups and new plantings. Tree removals, trimmings and stump grindings continued and while we love our landscaping tasks, tree work is our favorite!
It is now time for removing potentially dangerous trees/branches to promote greater health during the warm months growing cycles. The warmer months and rising sap in trees allows for faster post trimming healing. Additionally, keeping a tree well trimmed provides much needed shade and nesting areas for wildlife as well as humans in the Summer season.
If you have unhealthy trees or broken limbs we are readily available to provide free estimates to provide guidance on re-establishing overall health by trimming limbs, cleaning out tree crown interiors, cabling limbs etc. Since everything has a natural lifespan from which trees are not immune, perhaps your tree is past its prime and is dyeing thereby creating storm damage danger. We gladly provide free estimates for their removal and/or stump grinding.
We are seeing a tremendous die-off of certain tree species like the ash and maples from insect invasions such as the Emerald Ash Bore, Lantern Fly, and Verticillium Wilt ( “verticillium dahlia” or “verticillium albo-atrum” this invades the soil and there is no cure) and other sources. Sometimes this is Nature's way of ridding us of older species to make way for new species better suited to the new temps and naturally occurring seasonal cycle shifts. Certainly all the chemicals being sprayed daily in our skies affects the tree crowns and eventually the ground water. Sometimes it is the direct result of mulching up against the trunk of the tree. Mulch retains moisture and a tree's most important feeder roots want to find the easiest source of water. Therefore, they go "right to the source" which is generally a pocket of moisture around the trunk under the mulch. These "girdling" roots over time wrap themselves around the trunk and constrict the trunk similar to human fingers constricting around the carotid artery in the neck. A tree's growth area is directly under the bark so you can see it would not take much to strangle and smother important water from traveling up the trunk of the tree. We are now advising clients to either use wood chips or small landscaping rocks for aesthetic enhancement or if mulching is still preferred, to leave a 6" space between the tree trunk and beginning of the mulch around the tree.
Are you seeking an alternative to highly toxic Round Up or other chemicals to address those pesky weeds? Bo's has a proven, natural, solution. Many weeds spring up in landscape beds, even after laying a barrier cloth, due to grass cutting. First, when cutting grass, many will have the exit chute pointed in the direction of landscape beds which causes clippings to be blown into those areas. This allows for any weed seeds to take root on top of the barrier rather than springing from underneath. Always mow away from the direction of your beds. Second, spray your beds at least bi-weekly or once a month with a 45% white vinegar solution which is now available at Big Box hardware stores and on Amazon. Bo's adds a bit of salt and Dawn dish detergent (1/4 C each) to 1.5 gallons of the vinegar. This solution is safe for pets and children and of course the person spraying.
Let's address a hot topic that greatly affects trees, bushes, and other plantings. Climate change. Yes, it is "a thing". But, it is a normal occurrence of regular earth cycles since our planet is not static but rather dynamic. It takes years for these cycles to commence, end, and a new one to begin. It is ludicrous for we humans to pridefully assert that we have any impact upon changing these patterns. Nature is nature and we're not in charge. With these cycles comes the end of familiar trees and plants to make room for new species better suited for the new climate paradigm. Nature does this through diseases, weather upheavals, rising and lowering of ocean levels etc. The motto, "Go with the flow" and not fighting it is the best way to approach the changes. Embrace change, be change agile and not resistant. LIfe is wonderful, beautiful, awe inspiring.