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Proper Tree Trimming: Young Trees, Old Trees, Oh My!

Resources: Environmental Services

While there are no exact statistics on the number of Americans hurt (or worse) by falling trees, we know it’s a frightening number. Just a quick search online will show you many case studies and personal stories of falling trees and their branches. 

Whether it’s through a storm or just a freak accident, dead branches or weak root systems can pose a real danger.

But how do you tell the difference between a young tree that just needs a trim and a more serious issue? Trees require occasional maintenance, and not just for safety reasons. Let’s dive into why exactly your trees may need a trim, when you should do it, and the steps you should take to get the job done.

Why Do Your Trees Need a Trim?

When trees grow too large, block sunlight, obstruct outdoor recreational activities, or intrude on your neighbor’s property, trimming and pruning become increasingly necessary.

Regardless of the season, if your tree is threatening your property or proving to be a safety hazard, prune it.

It’s About More Than Tree Care

You can prevent dead, damaged, or broken branches and limbs from falling and injuring someone or causing damage to the tree or surrounding property by removing them.

Proper pruning will improve the tree’s overall health by eliminating insect-infested or diseased limbs or tree branches. More nutrients will be accessible for the rest of the tree because of eliminating these small branches, resulting in better leaves, blooms, and fruit trees.

Finally, if your land is highly wooded, cutting lower limbs or branches can allow more sunlight to enter, stimulating wildflower development and improving the tree’s overall environment.

It’s All About Timing

Many people believe that fall is the best time to trim their trees, but this could not be further from the truth. Cuts take longer to heal as trees go dormant, fungal illnesses become more widespread, and the danger of infection rises dramatically.

Trimming is best done between early winter and early spring, after a tree’s leaves have dropped and before its blooms appear. It’s advisable to put off cutting your tree if you spot any birds nesting in it during the nesting season.

Let’s look at some of the dominant tree types and when the ideal time to trim them actually is.

Young Trees

Trimming young trees is necessary to ensure that they continue to grow into a healthy, sturdy shape and size. Because they are about to begin their development cycle, the optimal time to trim young trees is late winter or early spring. Trimming young trees throughout their formative years means you won’t have to perform as much trimming later on.

Hedges

Some people don’t count hedges as trees, but they’re an important part of many gardens, especially as pseudo privacy screens. They can also get unruly, so it’s best to keep them looking sharp and under control. 

Spring and summer are the best times to prune hedges, but it’s important to determine which hedge exactly you have growing on your property. Trimming some varieties too soon or too late could be detrimental to the plant’s health. Talk to an arborist to get help with this.

Evergreens

Evergreens, such as pine, fir, and hollies, have distinct shapes and sizes that require little to no maintenance. Trimming an evergreen tree is mostly done to promote denser and bushier growth.

Most evergreens are dormant until fresh growth begins in early spring, so this is also the best time to trim them. Evergreens also become dormant in the middle of the summer, but it’s not the best time to prune them.

Deciduous Trees

As the cold season approaches, deciduous trees such as oak, ash, willow, and aspen shed their leaves. You’ll want to trim these trees when they are completely dormant, so late winter or very early spring, just before they flower. 

It’s also important to avoid cutting or trimming deciduous trees in the early winter. Because the outer bark offers necessary protection, exposure at such a delicate time of the year could lead to a pest infection.

How to Trim a Tree

First, you’ll want to think about why the tree needs a prune. Do you want your landscape trees to provide shade or grow to a certain height? Take a few moments to assess the tree before trimming and learn some new pruning techniques.

When you’re ready to prune your trees, identify the “skeleton” of the tree. These are its principal branches (usually the biggest ones in the middle). Leave these alone unless you’re a certified arborist. 

Let’s take a quick look at some tree trimming tips before we start actually cutting: 

  • Check the tree’s dormancy period
  • Only cut branches that are less than 5cm in diameter
  • Only trim branches with weak, V-shaped angles
  • Try to prune junior branches only
  • Don’t trim too close or too long

With that in mind, we should be ready to make the first cut; use your pruning tools and make a cut on the underside of the branch. This cut shouldn’t go all the way through the branch; it simply acts works to prevent the branch from cracking too close to the trunk. Don’t cut flush with the trunk; make sure you’re cutting above the branch collar.

Make a precise cut when ready to remove the branch, a little further from your initial cut. After this, you should be left with a stub. You can then trim it down further, so it’s almost against the stem collar. This will give your tree the best chance of healing.

Finally, as much as it can be tempting, don’t over prune. In fact, you want to prune as little as possible. Every cut you make potentially compromises the entire system and opens the tree up to infection and infestation. As a rule of thumb, you never want to remove over 25% of a tree’s branches in one go.

Safety

When working with anything outdoors, it’s important to take safety measures. When there is the potential for falling branches, and you’re working on a ladder? Those precautions become even more important. You should always:

  • Wear the right clothing
  • Check your hardware
  • Protect your ears and eyes
  • Check the environment
  • Confirm the health of the tree
  • Position your ladder in a sturdy spot

Note: We mention confirming the health of the tree; if it’s rotten or seems diseased all throughout, it’s always best to leave it to the professionals, as the process can quickly become unpredictable and dangerous.

How About Working With a Professional?

Working with trees can be dangerous, but the danger of leaving your tree grows bigger each passing season.

While you can certainly maintain the growth and pruning of your young trees and older ones alike, some jobs are better left to the professionals. A tree service or trimming service can remove dead or bigger branches for you, and a certified professional should assess your plants. 

Get in touch with us today, and we’ll give you just that.

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Google Reviews

Grey Burkhart
Grey Burkhart
March 29, 2022.
Verified
Very professional review of our requirements and an accurate estimate. Showed up on time and were finished quickly. Cleaned up all of the debris and sawdust. Great job all around.
Dennis Bruns
Dennis Bruns
March 8, 2022.
Verified
We have used RTEC Treecare for several years. They do excellent work. Their staff is extremely knowledgeable and take great care in explaining the various options available for your particular situation. I highly recommend them.
Annette Iannucci
Annette Iannucci
February 23, 2022.
Verified
We have been using RTEC for years and were very pleased with the recent tree maintenance work they did for us. As always, we got good advice from their arborist Ben,. The crew that did the work is highly skilled, and they did a great job trimming our trees. They worked safely and efficiently, in addition to leaving the yard clean after they finished the work.
Susan Crawford
Susan Crawford
January 26, 2022.
Verified
RTEC was at my house today to removed a large Magnolia that was badly damaged by the recent snow. They did a fantastic job at a very reasonable price. They arrived right on time, worked efficiently and quickly and cleaned up so well it was hard to tell anything have been disturbed. Over the past several years, I have used RTEC for all the services I checked above, and have always been very pleased with their service and professionalism. I also appreciate that they are not eager to take down trees that don't need to come down. In this case, the damage was too extensive for the tree to recover.
Kenton Morgan
Kenton Morgan
January 20, 2022.
Verified
Once again, RTEC has done a great job. The team showed up right on time and performed all the work that we agreed to. They kept us informed as to progress, coordinated with us concerning our maple, and made recommendations concerning ongoing support for our trees. At the end of the day, they thoroughly cleaned up the debris and left our yard in pristine condition. WELL DONE.
Jean Kluttz
Jean Kluttz
January 3, 2022.
Verified
Not our first time but this time was tricky removal of a large dead tree leaning on a healthy tree. Quick response for estimate, good timing to removal, all clear and healthy tree still fine.
Jerry Haggin
Jerry Haggin
December 16, 2021.
Verified
Very good work while ensuring that I was aware of status of my work order and planned completion.
Mike Iger
Mike Iger
December 16, 2021.
Verified
David Roberts
David Roberts
December 15, 2021.
Verified
We’ve used RTEC for many years for tree maintenance and can’t say enough good things about their service. We use them for tree trimming and for regular treatments to maintain our trees’ health and deal with pests and prevent disease. Their arborist Ben has been especially helpful with advice. RTEC also been especially helpful in emergency situations, once coming to cable a massive, heritage oak in our yard right before a hurricane was about to hit. Highly recommend.
Travis Larson
Travis Larson
December 10, 2021.
Verified
RTEC did an excellent job onsite of removing dead branches from our 80+ year old trees, and trimming other growth too close to our home.
Google rating score: 4.8 of 5, based on 185 reviews.

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