If you own a commercial property, you know that trees in your parking lot break up the monotonous look of blacktop. If you’ve visited a parking lot with trees, you know the joy of nabbing a shady parking spot on a hot day. Besides keeping drivers and pedestrians cool, trees also scrub pollutants out of the air. They help control the flow of traffic, help people find entrances and exits, and conserve rainwater. What are some of the ways parking lot trees receive special care?

Choosing the Right Tree

Not every type of tree is appropriate for a parking lot. Parking lot trees need to be tough. They not only need to deal with adverse weather, but they also need to tolerate pollutants, the heat that can rise from an asphalt surface, and the salt used to melt winter ice.

Parking lot trees need to be disease and pest-resistant, and they should not have the type of fruit or flowers that fall in great numbers, which can damage cars. They also need to be aesthetically pleasing but not so dense that they impede visibility or interfere with security.

Plant Trees Where the Cars Won’t Bump Them

Ideally, a tree should be planted about three and a half feet behind a curb or a berm. They can also be planted safely in traffic or end islands and at parking lot turnarounds.

Make Sure Trees Get Water

Parking lots should invest in the type of porous pavement that allows rain to seep through it into the ground. This allows rainwater to replenish the tree roots. It also prevents areas of standing water in the parking lot and filters out contaminants. Porous pavement removes at least some need for detention basins, too, which hold runoff but are costly to install.

Make Sure Trees Don’t Get Too Much Water

Interestingly, in some places, more parking lot trees are drowned than die from drought. One way to prevent this is to install drain pipes in and beneath the pavement around the tree.

Help the Roots Grow

The root system of a tree can be as wide as its crown. Special types of soil allow the tree’s roots to spread out and avoid being dangerously compacted. An arborist should calculate how much soil is needed for the tree’s roots when it’s mature.

Call to Learn How to Care for Your Parking Lot Trees

You want the trees in your parking lot to welcome visitors, and you also want them to live long and healthy lives. For commercial tree service in Bellingham, WA, don’t hesitate to call our professional arborists at John The Arborist.