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Tree Care

From tree selection and planting to pruning guidelines, this section covers everything you need to know to take care of your backyard trees.

Tree Planting

Video provides tips on planting a tree
Video provides tips on planting a tree

Summer Tree Care

Learn how to keep your trees healthy, especially in Missouri's drier summer months.
Learn how to keep your trees healthy, especially in Missouri's drier summer months.

Tree Pruning

This video provides tips on pruning trees
This video provides tips on pruning trees

In This Section

Missouri Urban Trees Booklet (pdf, 3 MB)

This full-color, 60-page booklet in helps you choose the best trees for your growing situations, plant them in the right places and care for them over time. It includes lists of species for Missouri, including alternatives to ash trees, which are vulnerable to the emerald ash borer.

Right Tree in the Right Place (pdf, 536 KB)

This publication helps you determine where and how to plant trees on your Missouri property.

How to Hire an Arborist

You spent a lot of time and money on your home landscape. Find and hire a trained arborist to protect your investment and your trees' health.

Purchasing Trees

Browse tips for purchasing and transporting high-quality Missouri trees from reputable sources.

How to Plant a Tree (pdf, 145 KB)

Learn how to plant a tree and care for it.

Mulch — Your Tree's Best Friend (pdf, 389 KB)

Mulch helps provide the tree nutrients and keeps soil temperatures low, protecting its root system.

Care of Newly Planted Trees

Practice these simple maintenance tips to ensure well-established, healthy Missouri trees.

Watering Shade Trees

Proper watering keeps your Missouri shade trees healthy for life. Text, illustrations and video show you how.

Basic Pruning Guidelines (pdf, 217 KB)

Learn when and how to prune your landscape trees.

The Kindest Cut: Don't Top Your Tree (pdf, 161 KB)

When a tree is in the wrong place, removing it completely is the best option. This brief, illustrated brochure shows how topped trees and lead to danger and property damage.

Tree-Maintenance Timetable (pdf, 135 KB)

This illustrated guide shows you when to water, mulch, pest-monitor, fertilize, stake and prune your Missouri trees.

Tree Care After Storms (pdf, 456 KB)

When storms damage trees, cleanup and recovery can be overwhelming. Download some tips to will help you make the right decisions for your trees.

Ice-Melter Damage

Learn how to treat salt-damaged trees and soil, and protect your plants where ice melters are used.

Tree-Branch Flagging

Brown leaves appear on individual branches scattered throughout the tree crown. This condition of “branch flagging” can be caused by insects, diseases or weather-related injury.

Christmas Tree Care

Picking the right holiday tree and caring for it properly can ensure a safer, longer-lasting tree. These simple steps show you how.

Live Christmas Trees

After serving as a Christmas tree, a live Missouri evergreen can be planted outside to landscape your yard. All it takes is a little planning.

Tree Growth Information

Browse info about the needs and cultural requirements for Missouri deciduous trees, evergreens, and shrubs.

 

Constructing With Care (pdf, 379 KB)

Save the beauty and investment in your Missouri property by managing your building area to protect trees. Color diagrams and a checklist show you how.

Related Content: 

Tree Seedlings

Use native trees and shrubs to improve wildlife habitat and soil and water conservation on your land. Order seedlings from Missouri's state forest nursery and browse planting tips.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Browse the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location.

Timber Management Assistance

Want to improve your woodlot management or timber yields? Get our help! Call your regional forester.

Trees & Plants

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