Tree Pruning Tips: From How To Stay Safe To The Best Techniques

These tips will help you to safely and efficiently cut the branches of your tree and increase its beauty and lifespan.

When you pick up a pruner and trim trees, many questions will run through your head. What if I cut this branch? What about this one? When is the best time to prune? What happens if I prune too many branches at once? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you to feel confident in your ability to increase the longevity of your trees and the beauty of your landscape by pruning them thoughtfully.

Art and science combine to trim trees correctly and prune them properly. After you have a basic understanding of the science, you will be able to trust your eye and recognize the artistic aspects of pruning. Take a deep breathe and begin making your cuts.

Tree Pruning Safety

Assess the need for an arborist in every situation. Leave these jobs to professionals who have the necessary equipment and training for difficult pruning tasks:

• Trimming trees near power lines
• Remove large branches that are dead or hanging.
• Large branches close to homes or buildings

When To Prune Trees

The best time to prune a deciduous tree is in the late fall or early winter (most trees that are evergreen should be pruned lightly in late winter). You can see the structure of your tree better with bare branches. Avoid major tree trimming during the “maple-sugar time” (January to early March for most areas).

Oak tree beetles are active in late spring and mid-summer. Oak wilt can be present in your area, so don’t trim your oak trees during this time.

When is the best time to prune magnolias so they look beautiful all year round

When you see dead or diseased branches, prune them immediately. If you wait until the fall or winter, it could lead to further damage or infection of your tree. When pruning diseased branches, dip the blade into a bleach solution of 10 percent between each cut in order to prevent spreading of disease.

How To Cut Large Branches

The best way to remove larger branches is in three stages:

• Cut the branch about 4 to 5 inches below the trunk.
• The branch should be cut off at a distance of about 2 to 3 inches from the original cut. The initial cut prevents the bark from peeling down the trunk when the branch falls due to its weight.
• Remove the stub. This cut should be made just outside of the branch collar, the slightly swollen region where the trunk and branch are joined.

Tips To Help You With Tree Pruning Challenges

Tree trimming is a unique challenge due to natural growth patterns, storm damage, and landscape needs. These are some of the most common situations that you might encounter.

V-Shape Branching

Some trees form V-shaped junctions naturally. These narrow branch arrangements can sometimes weaken a tree’s structure. However, they don’t all need to be pruned.

Native Elms Hornbeams, Service berries, and Osage Orange trees are usually strong enough, or small enough, that structural tree pruning in auckland is not necessary, other than to remove any crossing branches.

It is important to train and monitor other trees as they grow, especially maples and flowering pears. Ashes and Willows. Narrow V-shaped joints are weak by nature and can break off during wind or ice storms. Remove one of the stems when the tree is still young to prevent V-shapes.

Here is a list that includes trees with V-shaped junctures.

• Basswoods
• Elm (Ulmus spp)
• Flowering pear (Pyrus calleryana)
• Hackberry (Celtis spp)
• Hornbeam (Ostrya spp. Carpinus spp)
• Locust (Gleditsia spp. And Robinia species)
• Mulberry (Morus species)
• Osage orange, Maclura pomifera
• Redbud
• Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp)
• Some ashes
• Some hickories, e.g., Carya cordiformis
• Some maples (e.g., Acer saccharum, A. saccharinum)
• Willow (Salix spp)
• Zelkova (Zelkova spp)

Suckering

As a form of survival, some trees sprout new stems. These fast-growing stems weaken the main branch over time. Cut off suckers at the ground level before they reach 6 to 12 inches in height.

Avoid planting trees that are known to produce suckers. You can get great advice from a reputable nursery and landscaper.

Forked Trunks

Forked trunks tend to be less stable than single trunks and can grow together. This leaves a hollow space where insects or rot may further weaken a tree. The tree will split, or one of its trunks will break.

Remove one of the two forked trunks when the tree is young to prevent this. As close as possible to the ground, cut at an angle so that rainwater will drain off the stump. Be careful not to damage any of the remaining bark.

Clustered Branches

A tree can be quickly weakened by too many branches bundled together. Small, weaker branches can limit the growth of larger ones. Removing excess branches that are often growing laterally will allow the remaining branches to receive more sunlight and air. It is important to do this with trees that form multiple branches on a single trunk point, creating a weak area.

Stubs

When a branch is too far removed from the point where it connects to the tree or breaks in the wind, a stub will remain. Stubs should be removed as soon as possible. The stub is a barrier to the callus that would normally close the wound and allows insects access. Moisture and rot may take hold once insects have made inroads. Be careful when cutting an old stub to avoid damaging the callus tissue that is forming at the trunk. This is needed to seal the cut.

Tree Wounds

It’s not necessary to seal pruning cuts or broken branches. A wound will heal faster if it is allowed to breathe. Dressings can sometimes stop the callus tissue from growing (the swelling area) or trap moisture, which encourages rot.

Arborists use tar like wound dressings for only a few special cases. Some insecticidal dressings may be applied to wounds in order to prevent beetles and other insects from spreading the oak wilt.