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Do you know the right way to trim trees? Are you wanting to ensure your trees are both healthy and beautiful?

Tree trimming is a necessary but sometimes tricky chore. If you’re not careful, you could end up damaging the tree or even harming yourself in the process.

That’s why we’ve put together the top tree trimming tips to help you achieve the best results possible. Keep reading to learn more!

Take Proper Safety Precautions

Trimming trees is often a dangerous endeavor. The tree trimming tools can be heavy and climbing a ladder always comes with a risk of falling.

The best defense against these hazards is to take all the necessary precautions before you begin trimming.

Wear supports for your back to help with lifting the tools. Use a sturdy and high-quality ladder with a friend to help hold it in place. Wearing a helmet is also a good idea, in case a branch falls from higher up.

By taking these precautions, you’ll trim trees without any problems!

Focus on Dead Branches

As you begin trimming your trees, you’ll want to start with the dead and damaged branches. Taking these branches away allows the tree to grow new ones in its place. It keeps the tree much healthier once it no longer has the excess pressure from dead or damaged branches.

Getting rid of these branches also makes your backyard safer for you and your family. Those dead branches could fall at any time or fly around when a strong storm comes through.

This is why you’ll need to focus on these kinds of branches before you put your attention on the aesthetics of the tree.

Clear Away Extra Weight

When a tree has too much weight in its crown, the tree may topple over and uproot itself during a bad storm. You’ll want to keep the tree’s crown trimmed so that all of its weight has a good balance.

You don’t want to trim away too many of the branches, however. The tree still needs its branches to stay healthy so it’s best to thin out a few branches rather than entire sections at once.

Leave Thicker Branches

Trees lose small twigs and branches all the time. It’s almost like clipping a fingernail. The big branches, however, are vital to a tree’s health.

When a tree loses a branch bigger than 5 inches in diameter, it causes a lot of damage to the tree’s system. It not only loses a large part of its inner structure but the open area also leaves it vulnerable to pests and excess moisture.

Whenever possible, you’ll want to keep those bigger branches in place. If removing a large branch is necessary, it’s best to leave it to a professional service. They’ll remove that branch with the least amount of damage possible.

Untangle Crisscrossed Areas

Tangled branches aren’t a common occurrence but it’s something you’ll want to look for while trimming your tree. As those branches rub against each other, they strip away the bark.

This creates a wound in the tree that allows bugs to find their way inside the soft center of the tree. If the damage becomes severe, you’ll eventually need to trim away even more branches to fix the problem.

Sometimes it’s enough to untangle the branches yourself without trimming. Other times, trimming is the only way to keep the branches away from one another.

Remove Sprouts

Seeing little sprouts at the base of your tree seems like a nice thing at first. They’re an interesting addition to the tree’s aesthetic, but they’re harmful to the tree itself.

Sprouts steal nutrients from the surrounding area, leaving fewer nutrients for the tree to absorb. If too many sprouts pop up around a tree, they might even sap away everything. The tree will start to wither and die if those sprouts remain.

When it’s time to trim your trees, take a look at the ground area as well. If you notice small sprouts of other plants collected at its base, it’s in your tree’s best interests to remove them!

Aesthetics Come Last

One of the most important parts of any tree trimming guide is the fact that the aesthetics of your tree should be the last concern. Although many people want to trim their trees to make their backyards look stunning, you’ll want to focus on the health and safety of the tree first.

Once you’ve cleared away any dangerous branches, then it’s time to trim away a little more to make the tree look its best. When you focus on aesthetics first, you’ll often do more damage to the tree without fixing any underlying problems.

By ignoring those problems, they’ll only become worse over the weeks until you’re forced to deal with them. At that point, the tree may need severe pruning to get back to a healthy state.

Call In the Professionals

Tree trimming isn’t an easy task. It takes expertise to recognize which branches need to go and which ones need to stay. It also requires a careful hand to ensure that the tree looks great afterward.

That’s why many people choose to call in a professional tree trimming service to take care of their trees.

It’s a much easier option than trying to do it yourself. Professionals have all the right tools and experience to trim any type of tree. They also know how to boost a tree’s health while also maintaining an aesthetic appearance.

With their help, you’ll feel confident that your trees will remain healthy and beautiful with no extra effort!

These Tree Trimming Tips Make Your Landscaping Easier

Whenever it’s time to prune your trees, make sure to come back to these tree trimming tips. They’re certain to make the entire process easier and safer for everyone involved.

Now that you how to tackle this chore in the right way, you’ll have beautiful trees again in no time!

Ready to get your trees back into tip-top shape? Contact us today to find out how we can help you every step of the way!

In 2020, President Trump signed the One Trillion Tree initiative to grow and conserve a trillion trees by 2030.

Apart from planting trees, the next best thing you can do is take care of the ones you already have. Pruning is one of the most important parts of tree maintenance, but it’s also a bit of a complicated process. There are many different reasons to prune trees and lots of ways to do it.

In this article, we’ll tell you what is tree pruning and the benefits of pruning your trees.

What Is Tree Pruning?

Tree pruning involves the removal of dead, loose, or diseased branches that would prevent the tree from flourishing. It protects the tree from pests and promotes healthy growth by removing branches that cross over each other.

Proper tree pruning also boosts flower and fruit production, hence it requires professionals who understand exactly where to prune.

Tree pruning is so vital that the tree pruning industry is worth a whopping $26 billion. The thing is, all the trees in the first have enough room to grow, stretch as far as they want, and spread their limbs in any direction. Any dry, old, and weak limbs fall to the forest floor without any risk of harming anything in their wake.

When it comes to the trees in your backyard, such freedom is not possible. Falling limbs and branches can be an inherent danger to your family. Still, you want to remain as healthy, as natural, and as beautiful as ever, which is where tree pruning comes in. Keep reading to learn why tree pruning is so vital to the overall health of your trees.

Pruning Enhances the Quality and Beauty of Your Trees

Trees are beautiful. It’s one of the most amazing things about them and one reason why we grow them in our homes.

Tree pruning enhances the beauty of the trees because you reduce the amount of wood by cutting down some branches, in turn creating more energy for the tree.

This energy promotes better tree health and more growth for the rest of the tree, developing healthier branches, leaves, and flowers.

Trees bloom during the spring season and pruning them at the right time will boost the quality and quantity of the buds and flowers. Trees that are well taken care of will also look more aesthetically appealing and neater, improving the overall look of your landscaping.

However, for this to happen, you need to prune your trees correctly. If you’re not sure of your pruning skills, then you may damage the tree further, so consider hiring a professional instead.

Pruning Reduces Pests and Insects

One of the most significant reasons why you should be pruning your trees is the prevention and reduction of pests and insects.

There’s a wide range of pests, insects, and worms that build homes in and around the tree. The problem is that these organisms suck the sap and eat the foliage, which weakens the tree in the process.

Even worse, they can also cause diseases, and if you leave them unchecked, they could kill your tree entirely. Moreover, some of these pests will also invade your home, which is something you should be worried about. Think in the lines of termites that leave millions of dollars in damages in their wake every year.

Tree pruning by a professional pruning company is one of the best eradication strategies that’ll help prevent and manage pests and insects on your property.

Improved Tree Health

Tree pruning is beneficial for improved tree health because it involves the removal of damaged, dead, or diseased branches and limbs. The problem with dead and diseased branches is that they serve as an entry point for pests, insects, and diseases.

Once the tree gets infected, the disease can easily spread to the rest of the tree, leading to more damaged branches, and it could kill the entire tree.

This would lead to an expensive tree removal process, and you would have to pay for pest and insect control. It’s of utmost importance for you to catch dead and damaged branches by pruning at the earliest point possible in order to keep the tree healthy at all times.

Enhance the Aesthetic Appeal of Your Home

Curb appeal is one of the most important things that increase the value of a property, and tree pruning just happens to be one of the best ways to improve your curb appeal. Maintaining your landscaping goes a long way, and trimming wayward and dense branches will keep your trees proportioned and evergreen.

Once you are done pruning your trees, go the extra mile and prune your shrubs and live fence if you have any around your property. It’ll improve the overall aesthetic appeal of your home. Pruning your trees also ensures that your home gets sufficient sunlight that overgrown branches would otherwise block out.

If your yard doesn’t get enough sunlight, then your grass would be deprived and would dry out. Pruning involves thinning the trees, letting in sunlight, and promoting a unified growth in your back or front yard.

Protects Your Property and Family

Regular pruning will protect your property and your family because you’ll be removing dead branches that would pose a danger. The problem with dead and damaged branches is that they fall unexpectedly, especially when it rains or during a storm.

If a damaged branch was to fall on your house, it will damage your roof and could possibly reach a family member in the process.

Depending on the tree’s location, a dead branch could also fall on children, a neighbor’s property, or your vehicles. The last thing you want is to have to contend with injuries and damages caused by falling branches.

Pruning is one of the best ways to minimize or eliminate these risks, which should be done when approaching fall or the rainy season. Hire a professional to tackle this issue as they are more experienced and skilled at removing dead branches.

Improves Fruit Yield

If you have trees that bear fruit, then proper training can improve fruit production. Pruning encourages flowering, and once you prune unwanted branches, the energy left goes towards the stimulation of fruit production.

The thing is, there are specific pruning methods used on various fruit-bearing trees. For this reason, hiring a professional tree removal service is important. They are well aware of the best time and the best method to use on fruit-bearing trees.

What Is Tree Pruning? Everything You Need to Know

So what is tree pruning? It’s one of the best things you can do for your trees to promote good tree health, aesthetic appeal, and overall quality. It’ll help you prevent diseases, insects, and unwanted pests.

Using the wrong pruning techniques can damage your trees as they may experience redundancy in growth. For this reason, consider hiring professionals who have the right knowledge and skillset to do the right job.

If you need a tree removal company, please give us a call, and we’ll do all the pruning for you.

Trees are a gift. They bring beauty and shade to a yard, protect a home from elements, and even lower energy bills. But like all things, they require maintenance.

Trees need regular trimming to stay healthy and to reach their maximum potential. Few people understand that you cannot just start hacking away at random limbs on trees. Tree trimming is a science and an art.

Not trimming the tree correctly could, at best, make it look horrible and, at worst, kill it.

Before you fire up the chainsaw and sharpen your hedge trimmer, read this basic guide on how to trim trees

How to Trim Trees

Treat your tree as a living being. Every time the tree sustains a cut or a knick from a wayward mower, for example, it sustains a wound. This wound takes time to heal if it heals at all. 

So when you set up to trim your tree, keep in mind that you will be causing multiple purposeful wounds on the tree. Thus you want to make your cuts as purposeful and minimal as possible. 

If at any point you’re hesitant about taking care of your trees, consult a certified tree trimming service. Expert tree trimmers understand tree maintenance and how to transform dying trees into healthy trees. 

If you have a small tree or shrub, you need to prune it regularly. Doing so will help the tree produce more flowers. Plus, it will keep the tree healthier and prevent any unwanted pests from taking up residence.

Here are a few basic tree trimming tips to keep in mind: 

• Look for branches that cross over or rub against each other. Remove one of those branches. 
• Work from the bottom up and prune the lowest limbs. This will expose more trunk. 
• If you’re working on a young tree, protect the main trunk from competing limbs. If you see a second limb that is lopsided, crooked, or in any way defective, remove it. 
• Use small pruning shears to clip off “suckers” or small little branches that shoot from the base of the tree. 
• Leave your chainsaw in the garage and opt for a tree saw or pruning shears. A chainsaw will ruin the form of your tree and cause long-term problems. 
• Regularly remove damaged, dead, or diseased wood. 

These simple decisions will help you maintain your tree. When it’s time to take the big plunge and cut off an entire limb, avoid cutting it too close to its trunk. Look for the natural collar where the branch forks away from the tree, and make your cut outside of this bulge. 

Start your cut approximately an inch from the collar. Cut upward a third of the way through your branch. Then move out another inch and cut down to finish the cut. 

After you remove the branch, trim the branch to the collars. 

When to Trim Trees

You can trim your trees in any season, but you should do so purposefully. Each season lends itself to particular types of pruning and trimming. Here’s the breakdown. 

• Spring: Trim back perennial plants to encourage new growth and deadhead your spent blooms. 
• Summer: Prune trees with edibles like fruit trees by thinning out the dense canopy. Keep your clipping to a minimum. Avoid trimming trees in the summer except when you need to clip back suckers at the base of the tree. 
• Fall: Once leaves fall from your trees, cut dead and diseased branches. Use a hand pruner as much as possible to create as small of wounds as possible. Do this work early in the season giving trees maximum time to heal.
• Winter: Prune trees when they’re dormant in the winter. Focus on if the tree is dead, diseased, or damaged, and then prune back these limbs. 

Technically you can trim your trees in any season. If you wait until fall or winter, though, you give your trees the best opportunity to heal in their dormant state. 

Why Trim Trees

Big, shady trees have long been proven to lower energy bills. They offer a respite from the heat over your home and in your yard. Yet you still want to keep them trimmed. 

Your tree will look better and perform better when you prune it. When you trim back branches that rub against each other, you give the tree room to grow. When you open the canopy and let light and air in, you reduce the possibility of disease and maximize the possibility of growth and foliage. 

When you trim back the suckers at the base of the tree, you allow the growth to go into the trunk. This ultimately creates a stronger tree that can withstand storms and strong winds. 

Trimming your trees also makes for a safer environment. Trimmed trees are stronger, healthier trees. Diseased, dying trees have weak branches, hanging precariously and waiting to fall on unsuspecting people, buildings, and vehicles. 

You also want to keep your trees trimmed if they’re growing too close to power lines. If you do not trim your tree, it could cause electrical grid issues not to mention a safety hazard for people walking by the tree. 

Avoid Danger, Minimize Risk

Professional tree trimmers cost money. Thus, you may be tempted to trim your own tree or hire a do-it-yourselfer that lives in your neighborhood. 

Remember that non-certified trimmers may save you money, but they often do not have proper insurance or training. They can actually cost more in the end when you have to pay to have a damaged tree removed.

Do not give in to the temptation to just wing it when you trim your tree. Call a professional arborist that is licensed, insured, and bonded. These tree pros know how to trim trees. 

If you need your trees trimmed or any other arbor services performed, contact us. We are your local tree expert and would love to help.

Having mature trees across your property is usually a huge plus for most people. They provide shade (even lowering energy bills), look beautiful, and can increase the overall value of the property. 

But, as with everything, there can be downsides to having mature trees as well. 

Luckily, most potential problems can be resolved by a simple tree pruning service. A professional arborist can come in and remove branches to help solve your problems, leaving you (and the tree) only the benefits. It’s an often forgotten task of a homeowner, so we’ve created a guide for seven of the reasons you may need to hire professional tree trimmers. 

1. Boost Curb Appeal

When you pull up to a home and see a huge, mature tree in the front you’ll likely have one of two reactions. First, you’ll think it’s beautiful and stately. Second, you’ll think the whole place looks rundown and even spooky. Chances are a little tree care can change you from the second reaction to the first. 

Dead branches, missing leaves, and bald spots can make a tree look unkempt and deteriorating. Simply trimming off those areas can change the entire look of a tree and bring up the curb appeal of the home. 

A professional tree pruning service will also be able to help you shape the tree to look the way you’d like and encourage it to continue to grow that way. 

2. Improve Health

Those dead branches or missing areas don’t just look bad, they can also be a sign of an unhealthy tree as well. 

Taking off the diseased and dead branches will help the tree focus its energy on better areas. This will allow it to replenish and fully recover. Without all of those damaged spots, the tree won’t be wasting resources making it more effective. 

These pruning jobs are best done by a professional who knows the signs and symptoms of tree disease. They’ll know exactly which branches to cut off and which should be left. Over-pruning or taking the wrong areas can have the opposite effect that you’re looking for. 

3. Enhance Production

Along a similar vein, if your tree is having a hard time producing new growth pruning can be a great way to jumpstart that process and get things moving again. 

This is especially true for fruit trees that have stopped producing new fruits. Trimming back the branches, even if not dead or diseased, will stimulate new growth which leads to more fruit. Professional orchards use this technique every year to help make sure they’re getting as much fruit as possible. 

But be sure to consult with professional tree trimmers to make sure the task is done the right way and you don’t cause harm to your tree. 

4. Clear a Path 

While there are ways to help encourage your tree to grow in a specific direction and pattern, there’s no way to guarantee it will follow your lead. If a tree grows over a path, it’s important to keep up with pruning and trimming so you can move through easily. 

The more you trim to avoid the paths, hopefully, the less it will continue to grow there and you can avoid any major problems. 

This is also important when your tree is growing over the road or sidewalk. Most cities or neighborhoods will have rules in place for how far a tree can overhang, trimming keeps you within those rules and helps avoid accidents. 

5. Expand Sunlight 

Many people enjoy their trees because of how much shade they provide for the yard. They cool down the space by blocking the sunlight and from any slight breeze that moves through. 

But sometimes they can block too much of the sunlight and you miss that natural light, either inside or out. 

A tree trimming service can help you find that happy medium for your home. They can cut enough off to allow for more light to shine through but not everything to take away all of your shade. It’s possible to have both things and professional tree pruning is the way to get it. 

6. Increase Safety 

Mature trees are really extraordinary but they can also be quite dangerous if not taken care of properly. They can easily grow to be a threat to people and structures in their surrounding area. 

Tree pruning services will help you locate the branches that pose the biggest threat of falling. They can also help try to correct a tree that is growing heavily on one side and beginning to lean. These are great ways to minimize the threat a big tree can be. 

It’s also a good idea to trim a tree for better visibility as a safety precaution as well. 

7. Prevent Damage 

The bigger a tree grows, the bigger its roots do as well. These are another way that a tree can pose a big threat to structures, especially foundations and sidewalks.

They grow underneath and can eventually break up the concrete. Once that happens it will have to be replaced, which can be a huge expense and problem for homeowners. But trimming a tree back can sometimes counteract that large growth and divert the energy to growing new branches instead of the roots. 

Avoiding this kind of problem will save you so much stress, money, and energy in the long run. Any effort is worth it in the long run. 

Time for Tree Pruning   

There is nothing like sitting under the Sade of a big tree in your yard enjoying the scenery. When you consistently handle tree pruning, you’ll be able to enjoy your mature trees for years and years to come. 

Tree trimming services are best done at least once every couple of years, if not annually. But it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the tree to spot any potential problems and handle them as quickly as possible before any huge damage can be done. 

If you’re interested in learning more about our tree pruning services, contact us today to schedule a consultation!