Are Your Trees Hurting Your Curb Appeal?

Written by Jack Shaw Posted On Thursday, 18 July 2024 11:39
Are Your Trees Hurting Your Curb Appeal? Photo by Curtis Adams: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-brown-wooden-house-near-bare-trees-under-white-sky-3935333/

Curb appeal is subjective. However, there’s one thing everybody agrees on — trees are desirable. Yards are better with them due to their practical and cosmetic value.

Although the merits of trees are universal, their attractiveness is conditional. The presence of these woody plants can backfire on you and be a price negotiation liability when selling your house. Discover how trees can hurt your curb appeal and what you can do about it.

Disease Rhymes With Deceased

Unhealthy trees are eyesores, not assets of landscape design. Diagnosing an ailing tree early can be challenging without proper training.

Ignoring reduced foliage, thin canopies, leaves or needles with dark spots, strange colors or irregular shapes, deep cracks in barks, and mushroom growth for too long can be detrimental. Your trees may succumb to a disease, and its lifeless trunk and branches can tarnish your home’s beauty.

Address tree damage before it becomes irreversible by using a professional to correctly prune compromised areas to save the rest. Adorning your front yard with native plants makes your greenery less susceptible to pathogens.

Weedy Is Ugly

Not all green is healthy. Even casual observers can tell grass and weeds apart — the latter compete with trees for water, soil nutrients and sunlight. Unchecked weed growth can kill desirable vegetation, reducing your home’s value.

Use mulch to suppress weeds. Organic materials, such as grass clippings and shredded leaves, are your safest bets because they enrich the soil as they biodegrade. Save on mulch by renting a brush chipper to turn discarded tree sections into wood chips and not worry about disposal.

You can apply up to 4 inches of coarse material. When using something finely textured, limit the layer to 2 inches high. The mulch should cover exposed roots and everything up to the drip line. It shouldn’t touch the trunk, so keep the root flare visible.

Symmetrical Arrangement Matters

Balance and unity are vital yard design principles. Having trees only on one side of the house results in a lopsided visual. The same logic applies to groundcovers and vines — an unequal distribution of greenery creates a disharmonious landscape when viewed from the street.

Fix the incoherence by filling in the gaps with annuals, perennials or biennials, adding more of the same plants or relocating existing ones. Moving trees and bushes from one place to another by hand can be laborious and damaging to the foliage and roots. Instead, use proper equipment, like a tree spade, to transport your plants more efficiently and keep them intact.

A Healthy Dose of Diversity Is Key

An envy-inducing yard looks arresting year-round. Mixing deciduous trees with evergreens can beautify your home exterior with autumn colors when fall rolls around while adding a punch of color to a snow-covered landscape in the winter.

Take your cue from your trees since they’re a pain to change compared to other yard elements. Study their characteristics to find plants with complementary hues and textures. Nailing the right combination of vegetation injects charming contrast into your landscape and lends interest to your home.

Shake Your Tree for Increased Curb Appeal

Trees in the front yard can make your house a head-turner. Mind their health and the interplay between them and the other vegetation in the landscape to impress passersby and magnetize interested homebuyers.

Jack Shaw is a writer and editor for the lifestyle magazine Modded, as well as a car enthusiast and lover of nature. His writings on home design and renovations have been published on sites like CADdetails, A House in the Hills, House 2 Home Organizing and more. Feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn.

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