Every tree must be cared for, whether privately owned or owned by the residents’ community. However, while the former is the property owner’s responsibility, the latter is the responsibility of the homeowners association (HOA) to take care of it.
What Are the Responsibilities of an HOA?
Let’s list the main activities of a homeowners’ association (HOA) tree services:
- Care about appearance.
- Safety.
To get a clearer picture of the work of HOAs, let’s consider each area in detail.
Beautiful Appearance
Well-maintained trees not only beautify a residential neighborhood but also significantly increase the value of a property.
For trees to keep their neat appearance and develop appropriately for many years, they need constant expert care. Therefore, one of the tasks of maintaining trees on HOA property is to take care of their appearance.
The main procedure aimed at giving beauty to trees is trimming. It consists of the removal of unnecessary branches and helps to maintain a beautiful optimal shape of the crown.
Trimming, for example, is used to create hedges and is widely used in landscaping parks and gardens. In addition to decorative purposes, trimming also serves other purposes – it gets rid of old or diseased branches, improves light penetration through the crown, and helps stimulate the growth of new shoots.
Keeping Safe
As beautiful as trees are and as helpful as they are to people, there are situations in which they can be dangerous. Therefore, a homeowners’ association has a task just as crucial as the previous one – to prevent accidents, but if they do occur, to deal with the consequences quickly.
How Dangerous Can Trees Be?
Emergency Trees
These are trees that can fall and cause severe damage. It can happen for various reasons – weather conditions, bad soil, and diseases. A falling tree can cause a traffic accident, crash on someone’s property, or even cause harm to people’s health and lives.
To prevent this from happening, HOAs should carefully monitor the condition of trees – cut off dry branches, identify diseases that can affect the trunk, and detect trees that may pose a danger to remove before it is too late.
Overgrown Roots
Large tree roots planted close to buildings or sidewalks can cause significant damage to both the foundation and the road. It doesn’t often happen because trees recognize them as an obstacle to growth and try to get around them. But sometimes, they can still penetrate existing cracks and enlarge them.
You should not plant trees near roads and buildings because root systems can sprout quickly.
Digging barriers into the ground after planting the tree can also help – this will drive the roots deeper into the ground and prevent them from moving toward foundations, sidewalks, water pipes, etc.
Trees sometimes grow so quickly and vigorously that it is impossible to control their growth. If the situation has gone too far, it is essential to take radical measures. It is best to cut down the entire tree and remove as much of the root system as possible to save property.
In this case, it is the HOA’s responsibility to identify the overgrown roots in a timely manner and eliminate the consequences they can bring.
Pests
This is another annoying problem that can not only cause a lot of unpleasant moments but also lead to sad consequences.
Moles, which among all pests look the least repulsive, can cause much damage. They move through underground caves, digging, which causes damage to the roots, which can subsequently lead to the tree’s fall.
In addition to moles, there are other pests. For example, various insects harm the leaves and trunks of trees – they can destroy a plant in a short time or cause them to become irreparable. They can also be the reason for tree diseases, which in the worst case will lead to death.
The most dangerous of all insect pests are termites. These white ants feed on rotten wood, turning it into dust. The main danger is that they can feed on any kind of wood, eventually leading to the collapse of wooden structures.
As you can see, the HOA tree services have a lot of work and responsibility on their shoulders to take care of the trees on their property. It is for this reason that you should entrust tree care to professionals.
Healthy trees in your neighborhood make it a quieter and more attractive place to live.
