Tree and garden care in Logan, Utah

Park strip trees and the city forester's permit

Logan's street tree chapter, 12.12 in the city code, covers the strip between sidewalk and curb. It is unlawful to plant, remove or cut down a tree on that strip without a permit from the city forester. Applications go to the city offices at least 48 hours before the work. A permit runs 30 days unless it says otherwise, and the forester wants word within five days of finishing.

The owner next door keeps strip plants off the gutter, street and sidewalk. The code also bars stone, brick, sand, concrete or similar material on city ground that stops water, air and nutrients reaching roots, except decorative rock gardens and other planned landscaping. Ask the forester before you pile rock around a strip tree.

The forester can act on private lots too. With six working days of written notice, the city can prune or remove a tree on your own property if it touches power lines, blocks a sidewalk or sight line, damages the curb or sidewalk, or is a hazard. The forester is appointed from the city's electrical department.

Frost dates from the bench to the valley floor

USU Extension gives Logan an average last spring frost of May 14 and a first fall frost of September 25, a season of 135 days. Frost-free days across Cache Valley run from 113 in Lewiston to 158 on the USU campus. USU's own table lists the last frost as May 7 on campus and May 23 at its farm station southwest of town.

Yards on a bench or in built-up areas stay warmer. Low ground, where cold air drains and settles, frosts later in spring and earlier in fall. USU says squash, melons, tomatoes and peppers should wait at least a week after the last frost date, which points to around May 21 for most of town.

For a new tree, the city forester's 2025 planting demonstration used a wide, shallow hole three times the width of the pot, native soil for the backfill and no amendments. Water one or two times a week in April and May, then three or four times a week from June through August, for two years. Mulch 3 to 4 inches deep, shaped like a donut with a gap at the trunk.

Lake-bed soil, lime and yellow leaves

The USDA describes two valley soils that matter here. The Logan series is deep, poorly drained and very slow to pass water, found on flood plains and lake terraces between 4,200 and 6,100 feet. Roots can drown in it after a wet spring. The Wheelon series is a silt loam on lake terraces, with a lime layer starting 10 to 16 inches down and a pH of 7.8 to 8.3. Which one lies under your lot varies, so how water drains after rain tells you more than a map.

USU Extension says iron chlorosis, a leaf yellow between dark green veins, appears in soil above pH 7.0 that holds lime. The iron is in the soil. The high pH locks it into a solid roots cannot use. Compaction, soggy soil, plastic sheet mulch and cool soil make it worse. Rusty nails and iron shavings do not fix it. Better drainage, open soil and plants that tolerate lime do.

Older trees, wet snow and fall cleanup

With 45 percent of homes built before 1980, many Logan yards hold trees planted decades ago. USU Extension says to prune in winter or early spring, before the buds swell, while the tree is dormant. Fall pruning wounds catch decay more easily. Wet snow in May or October can still tear limbs. After a break, stay clear of the tree, photograph it from a few sides, and call the power company about any limb on a line.

Fall cleanup needs a place for the debris. After the 2017 storm the city ran free green waste dumpsters and took branches at its Green Waste Facility. Check the city's current page for hours and fees. Open burning in Cache County needs a permit, runs only March 30 to May 31 and September 15 to October 31, and needs the day's clearing index above 500. City rules can add limits.