Written by Blaky and published on https://www.residencestyle.com/
Tree trimming is an important responsibility when you’re a property owner, but good and bad pruning practices don’t come naturally to most people. In fact, trimming a tree is just as much science as it is art, and it takes professional arborists years to learn all the dos and don’ts of tree trimming. To help you with your pruning, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of things you should and shouldn’t do to help you out when you’re trimming your trees.
It, therefore, stands to reason that there are dos and don’ts when it comes to taking care of trees. You wouldn’t chop down a tree and expect it to continue living, for instance. The same principle applies to pruning your trees. Take too much off and you are cutting into healthy material that doesn’t require pruning.
Tree Care Tips: The Do’s And Don’ts Of Tree Pruning
Pruning is standard maintenance work done on trees. It’s done by cutting off certain parts of the tree to fit the environment it’s in. Many people assume that there’s no need to follow any guidelines when cutting off some foliage since it won’t matter anyway. However, incorrectly trimming branches may cause a healthy tree to perish eventually.
If you’re new to pruning, here are some things you do’s and don’ts to keep in mind:
Do’s
- Contact An Expert
If there’s a tree within your property that’s starting to damage its surrounding objects due to its extensive branches, then you may want to prune it. Cutting down limbs or deadwood of oversized trees can help maintain the safety of the environment they’re in. It’s also a regular maintenance procedure that you need to do if you’re nurturing a tree outside your home.
However, chopping off parts of a tree, especially when it’s huge, can be too much work for you if you don’t have the right materials or expertise. You may get hurt if you hastily try to cut huge branches off a tree. It’s better to call in an expert to prune your tree so you can ensure that the task will be executed safely and correctly.
Tree removal and pruning services, like Al Miley arborist, can come to your aid if your tree needs to be trimmed. They have the necessary materials to cut down branches too high to reach and have heavy-duty tools for thicker stems.
- Cut Off Dead Branches
Pruning is essential to keeping your tree healthy and in a manageable size. There will be times when you may see areas that are slowly dying or drying up. Natural factors, such as strong winds, can also damage some branches and partially break them off. If you don’t address the stems hanging off the trunk, the whole tree may end up dying.
It’s vital that you cut off any parts that are no longer of use to the main trunk. For example, if there are dead stems that are no longer growing leaves, it’s best to just remove them. This way, you can allow the tree to grow new branches. Removing diseased leaves will also help prevent the damage from spreading further.
- Keep The Tree Balanced
If you’re planning on doing a major pruning job on a tree on your property, you should ensure that the canopy is balanced. Cutting too many branches on one side of a tree can cause it to lean too much. If the main trunk can’t handle the weight focused on one area, the tree will eventually fall.
You’d want to keep your tree healthy and equally pruned on both sides so it can continue to provide shade and grow steadily outside your house. Whenever you start cutting off branches, try to view the entirety of the tree to see which components you need to remove.
Don’t
- Use Blunt Tools To Cut Branches
Using a blunt knife or saw to cut down some branches from your tree can cause damages to the bark. If the branch collar of the tree is severely damaged, it may not have the ability to close the wound and receive food. If the tree fails to get nutrition, it’ll eventually decay.
If you’re cutting down parts of the tree, you should ensure that the tools you’re using are sharp and durable enough. Your shears or power saw should always be sharpened before use. This way, you rest assured that it can do the job with precision. You should also know which equipment will suit your needs.
For instance, a bolo knife may not be strong enough to cut down a branch thicker than the size of your arm. Doing so will take a lot of time and effort, and you’ll also risk unnecessarily scraping off barks. For bulky branches, it’s better to use a heavy-duty tool that’s meant to cut down thick trees, like a chainsaw.
- Remove The Top Of The Tree
Topping is considered a bad practice when pruning a tree since it gets rid of a considerable portion of its crown. If you do this, you’re disabling the foliage’s capacity to produce food, which can endanger its life.
Removing the entire upper part of a tree will also make it more prone to decay and pests. It’ll also take a lot of time before it grows back its crown. You won’t only risk harming your tree’s health but you’ll also take away the shade it provides to your property. Excessive topping can also make the tree look heavily distorted.
- Cut Too Close To The Tree’s Collar
The tree’s collar is the slightly curved area that connects a branch from the tree’s main body. When you’re trying to prune your foliage, you should ensure that you’re not cutting too close to the bark.
Try to cut in an angle and ensure that you’re not slicing off the outer bark of the main tree since it’ll leave hollow holes that are prone to disease infection or decay. When cutting off a branch directly connected to the main trunk, be sure not to cut off the collar. This’ll allow the tree to produce an outer bark around its bare areas.
Final Thoughts
Pruning is an essential task you need to do if you’re nurturing a tree. This will help prevent the foliage from growing too big and ensure that it’s in good health.
Original post here https://www.residencestyle.com/tree-care-tips-the-dos-and-donts-of-tree-pruning/.
