Evergreen trees remain lush and resilient throughout the year, providing beauty, strength, and value to many Virginia properties. They also are a steadfast and smart investment in every season, despite drastic shifts in weather and a tumultuous housing market.
The question is, can any property owner reap these benefits? Evergreen trees may require proactive landscaping, including consistent tree trimming service, but this strategic planning is worth the effort. To demonstrate the value in this beautiful investment, this article outlines six useful benefits that evergreen trees provide to Northern Virginia properties in particular.
1. Higher Property Value
The first and most obvious benefit of evergreen trees is their lush beauty. And, since they look great all year-round, they communicate a level of consistent quality that is more difficult to achieve with deciduous trees, which shed their leaves in the winter. As a bonus, well-tended, mature evergreens can easily raise the curb appeal of the property and increase its value.
Most evergreen varieties are strong, straight, and vertical. This visual creates a great contrast with stone, brick, or siding, and gives the landscape a classical appeal throughout the year. This means that if you’re entertaining, selling, or just trying to make the property look grand, evergreens will do the job.
2. Versatile Privacy Screening
Privacy screening is a major advantage of well-tended hardwood trees like evergreens. They can form dense natural barriers around direct sunlight, neighbors, unwanted structures, and neighboring businesses. When strategically planted, evergreens can create a feeling of seclusion that raises the appeal of the property in terms of its financial value, how well it shows, and how enjoyable it is for the residents.
This buffer is possible with many hardwood trees that grow in Northern VA. However, unlike deciduous trees like Maples, Dogwoods, and Redbuds, evergreen trees retain their foliage all year-round. This means that homeowners can keep the advantages of their natural tree barrier even as the seasons change.
3. Energy Efficiency Upgrade
In addition to providing a visual barrier, evergreen trees also create an energy barrier in the form of a windbreak, which can save homeowners ion Northern Virginia hundreds of dollars on their energy bills. How does this work?
By acting as a windbreak, particularly on the north or northwest side of the home, evergreen trees can block icy northerly wind chills from directly hitting the house during the cold Virginia winters. Lower wind exposure leads to lower energy costs since the heating system won’t have to work as hard to keep the home warm. Eastern red cedar, a native of Virginia, is one of the best evergreen trees to use as a windbreak.
Additionally, this windbreak benefits other plants on the property. Delicate garden plants will be more likely to survive the harsh winters, and the soil temperature around the foundation of the home will remain more stable throughout the season. Especially for rural property owners, this can be a huge benefit.
4. Environmental Enhancement
Apart from looking beautiful and protecting the home, evergreen trees provide enticing shelter for many types of beneficial wildlife. Many songbirds, especially in Northern Virginia, nest in evergreens, including chickadees and cardinals, and small animals like rabbits enjoy the shelter they provide.
The shaded microclimate provided by evergreens leads to beneficial biodiversity on any landscape. The presence of these animals leads to better pollination, better control of destructive insects, and a reduction in unwanted vegetation. Environmentally and aesthetically conscious homeowners alike can enjoy this enhanced biodiversity.
5. Higher Air Quality
Evergreens improve air quality around a property in several ways. By absorbing pollutants like sulfur dioxide and trapping dust and pollen, areas dense with evergreens tend to smell “fresh.”
With their thickness, they also reduce noise by scattering sound pollution before it reaches the home. This can be particularly useful for suburban and urban properties where road and neighborhood noise can be a nuisance. Evergreen trees provide a natural barrier against distractions that never needs to be updated.
6. Enhanced Soil Condition
Northern Virginia, despite its urban and suburban populations, can be prone to soil erosion amongst new builds, rebuilds, and other landscape changes, particularly during snow melts.
Evergreens stabilize soil with their fibrous roots, reducing water movement and soil loss to protect nearby foundations and driveways. Studies have shown that, even compared to similarly sized deciduous trees, evergreen root systems reroute more water.
Less soil compaction, particularly in hilly properties or those near streams, can make evergreen trees extremely useful in maintaining the integrity of the landscape and the value of the property. Without this stability, the hardening of soil during the cold winter can hurt the landscape in the long run, especially if homeowners hope to maintain the health of non-native plant species.
Partner with Experienced Arborists to Improve Your Landscape
Evergreen trees are not a simple seasonal enhancement. For homeowners in Northern Virginia, they add better air and soil quality, enhanced property appeal and value, and even lower energy bills. Though evergreen trees are hardy and practical, and many of them are native to Virginia, many homeowners lack the expertise to properly place, plant, and maintain these valuable trees.
At RTEC Treecare, our experienced arborists help homeowners in Northern Virginia enhance their properties with these beautiful trees. Contact our team today to learn more about the best tree service schedule to maintain your evergreen trees in an assorted, beautiful, and sustainable landscape.
