Pruning
Pruning is an important part of maintaining trees in an urban setting. When done correctly, pruning enhances the beauty of trees while making them stronger and more resistant to decay and disease problems. Proper pruning will maintain the health, beauty, and value of your trees; it also reduces the risks associated with trees, such as injuries to those who live among them and of damage to their property.
Improper pruning techniques can promote the spread of decay, reduce transpiration and the trees' ability to manufacture and store food, and can lead to trees that are more susceptible to disease and/or insect infestation. In the worst cases, bad pruning can create potentially hazardous situations and significantly decrease the lifespan of the tree.
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Reasons to Prune:
- To maintain health
- To train new growth
- To restrict size and/or growth (subordination pruning)
- To improve quality of foliage, stems, fruit, or flowers
- To allow the tree to minimize spread of decay into the branch structure
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Some things to consider:
- Proper tree and location selection will reduce or eliminate the need for pruning.
- Work will be more successful if you have a plan prior to beginning the project.
- All types of pruning should be done at the appropriate time. Generally, if large amounts if live tissue need to be removed for clearances above structures or traffic areas, it should be scheduled for late winter when most plants are dormant. Dead wood removal to the branch collar and moderate pruning of green material is acceptable year-round.
- Regular maintenance of pruning equipment will help ensure that work goes smoother and all cuts will be made correctly.
- The tree will have a greatly increased chance to compartmentalize the wound when pruning cuts are made correctly just beyond the branch collar.
- When pruning large trees or branches, contracting a Certified Arborist will increase your chances for success and safety.
- When pruning, it is always better to avoid removing more than one-third of the tree's live branches--this often results in vigorous, unnatural re-growth. By extending the pruning over a few months to years, we allow the tree time to compartmentalize wounds and maintain healthy energy reserves.
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Proper pruning extends the useful life of trees!