Your trees require less care in colder weather than they do during the warm seasons. However, many property owners and even tree professionals prune trees in the winter, when they are dormant. We explore this topic today on the blog, as your Johnson City arborists provide winter pruning tips.
What’s the difference between tree trimming and pruning?
Both trimming and pruning remove areas of growth from a living tree, but they have different purposes and entail different techniques.
Tree trimming is meant more for aesthetic purposes or the shape of the canopy. For example, if you want to thin the interior of your tree so that more light filters through the canopy, this is a type of trimming.
Tree pruning is a selective method of targeting the branches and limbs that are dead, damaged or removed. It may entail just cutting back these areas or completely removing entire branches and limbs.
Why is it important to prune your trees?
The benefits to tree pruning include:
- Improves the health and condition of your trees
- Increases the curb appeal of your property
- Reduces the risk of fire, infestation by insects, disease or total tree failure
3 Winter pruning tips
Tip 1: Know what time of year to prune
For most species of deciduous tree, pruning during the dormant season is recommended. This is because the leaves have fallen, allowing full view of and easier access to the tree’s limb structure. Pruning your tree at the wrong time of year could do as much harm as good. If you’re not sure when is the best time to prune your trees, we recommend you seek the advice of an experienced and certified arborist.
Tip 2: Know how often to prune
Generally speaking, trees should be pruned once every three to five years. However, each specific tree is going to have its own unique set of needs. The specific pruning schedule depends on the species of the tree and its age. Once again, we advise soliciting the consultation of an experienced arborist, who can help compose a pruning schedule for your trees.
Tip 3: It’s all about the technique
You start out just seeking to remove dead branches from a tree and improve its shape. Once you start making cuts, though, it can be easy to prune more of the tree than you intended. Sometimes it might have been many years or even decades since a tree was last pruned. In these cases, addressing all the areas of concern could over-stress the tree, potentially jeopardizing its long-term health. Pruning is also a potentially dangerous job that involves working with sharp tools, sometimes high above the ground. Depending on the size of the branches and limbs you’re cutting, you also run the risk of falling limbs damaging property or injuring people. For these reasons, we recommend you leave tree pruning to professionals, like the team at Promier Tree.
Tree pruning in Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol in Tennessee
We believe there is no substitute from professional tree pruning performed by a certified arborist. Promier Tree is proud to offer this service to homes and businesses in the Tri-Cities and the surrounding area. To learn more about our tree pruning services, schedule a consultation with one of our arborists by contacting us online or calling (423) 765-2626.