Are your trees and shrubs starting to look overgrown? You don’t have to be a professional gardener to know when it’s time to trim back your foliage, but all trimming is not the same. There are several different techniques, each of which will create a different look and feel. Your ISA-certified arborists in Kingsport at Promier Tree want to make sure you understand the distinction between two of these techniques: shearing and pruning.
Shearing
Shearing is about the form of your trees and shrubs—not the function. You’re making cuts and trims to achieve a particular look, usually one that’s especially showy or elegant. A sheared tree or shrub would look out of place in a natural landscape. Shearing also must be repeated on several occasions to maintain the look, which typically is different from the natural appearance of the plant.
Shearing also can compromise the health of your trees and shrubs. Regular shearing encourages heavy growth on the outside of a plant, shading the interior and depriving it of sunlight. Moreover, shearing deprives a tree or shrub of new growth, which is a key component of continued long-term health. Shearing the outside on a regular basis continually cuts away the new sprouts, leaving behind parts that are less healthy, older, and may already be dying.
Pruning
When you prune a tree or shrub, you trim it by removing selective branches to maintain its size and structure and improve its overall health. The cuts involved with pruning encourage new growth and caters to the natural shape of the tree or shrub you’re trimming. Pruning trees encourages good tree health and longer life. Pruning removes any branches that are broken, dead, or afflicted with a disease, preventing that disease from spreading to other healthy parts of the tree. When performed on young trees, pruning encourages the development of a sound structure as well as a desirable architecture of the branch system.
The benefits don’t end there. By removing potentially troublesome branches, pruning minimizes your risk of storm damage—and the chance of limbs falling on people, property, or buildings in the event of bad weather. Low-hanging branches can be of particular threat during a storm.
So, which is best: pruning or shearing?
In conclusion, unless you’re going for some daring look for your outdoor landscape, pruning is the best choice when it comes to maintaining the health and wellness of your trees and shrubs. That said, pruning is not something you should attempt yourself. The risk of injury is significant for a novice, and incorrect pruning can shorten the life of your tree and even warrant the eventual removal of the tree.
At Promier Tree, our staff includes ISA-certified arborists who are knowledgable about pruning and maintaining all the different species of trees that are common in the areas of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol in Tennessee. You can trust us to care for all your trees and shrubs with proper pruning, performed safely with high-quality equipment. Want to find out more? Schedule your estimate by calling us at (423) 765-2626.