Decreasing the Cotton from Cottonwood Trees in the Spring

Spring is just around the corner, and soon the cotton will be flying from area Cottonwood Trees. The Cottonwood is a big, beautiful, fast growing tree in Wyoming, and it is also the state tree.

But the downside to cottonwoods is the cotton that they produce each spring to carry the tiny seeds as they look for a place to take root. These tiny, white, fluffy seed parachutes often present problems in cities and for homeowners, accumulating as they do on lawns, getting into homes, and blocking drains and gutters.

Garrett Dotson, founder and CEO of Tree Mechanics LLC, in Buffalo, talked about what his company can do to help to eliminate or at least decrease the cotton from the trees.

He said it acts as a deflowering agent for the tree. “We drill into the tree and inject the agent into the tree.” But the timing has to be right.

He added that he has had to turn customers away because they call him too late in the season.

The product can be used on any flowering tree, crab-apple, plum, sweet gum, and olive as well as cottonwood. He said they have been doing the procedure for about 5 years. “We have about a 95% success rate on the trees.”

Tree Mechanics LLC, started in 2015, first as just a tree trimming company, but they branched out into plant and tree health care.

“We use live culture humates, seaweed cream, and other natural sources as a base for our products. these natural properties are then backed with a broad liquid fertilizer, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. With all of our deep root feeding plans we are adding micro and macro nutrients to help create a better soil profile. Deep root feeding with humates improves vigor and strengthens the tree’s response to environmental stressors such as insects, diseases, and drought. feeding assists the tree with nutrient storage in and out of the growing season.”

He said that much of the soil in Sheridan and Johnson counties has a lot of sodium, so the feeding helps to counteract that. They also offer spraying for insects and lawn care.

Dotson also added that the customers see their trees, lawns and plants every day, and he wants to help educate them to make his job easier.