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RTEC Treecare

RTEC Treecare

Expert Tree Care in the DC Metro Area | Call 703-573-3029 to talk to a Tree Care Expert.

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Proper Tree Trimming

Resources: Environmental Services

Trees require regular trimming for many reasons, including health, safety, and aesthetics. Read on to find out how often you should have your trees pruned, when the best time to trim is, and more.

Why Do Your Trees Need to be Trimmed?

One of the most important reasons to trim trees regularly is safety. Dead, diseased, or broken branches can cause injury and property damage if not addressed proactively. Regular, proper tree pruning eliminates dead or damaged limbs to protect the people and structures underneath.

Another important reason to have your trees pruned regularly is for health reasons. Proper pruning will improve a tree’s overall health by allowing more nutrients to be accessible for the rest of the tree once unnecessary branches are removed, resulting in better leaves, blooms, and fruit if you have fruit trees.

Finally, dense canopies can block sunlight to shrubs and turf underneath. To improve the overall aesthetic of your landscape, strategically thinning out the canopy to allow more sunlight to penetrate is a good idea.

When Should Trees Be Trimmed?

Many people don’t know that timing is crucial when it comes to trimming trees. While we take a number of factors into consideration, generally, it is best to schedule your tree trimming between early winter and early spring, after a tree’s leaves have dropped and before its blooms appear. Trees should be trimmed on a regular basis, at least once every 2-3 years.

Trimming 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.

Hedge Trimming and Shrub Trimming

Some people don’t count hedges as trees, but they’re an important part of many landscapes, especially as privacy screens.

Spring and summer are generally the best times to prune hedges, but we take a number of factors into consideration, including environment, species, and climate. Trimming some species at the wrong time can be detrimental to the plant’s health, which is why it’s a good idea to rely on a certified arborist for your hedge or shrub trimming needs.

Deciduous Trees

In late fall and early winter, deciduous tree species such as oak, maple, ash, and willow shed their leaves. These trees should be pruned when they are completely dormant, meaning late winter or very early spring, just before they flower, is the best time to prune. 

How to Trim your Tree

Step 1: Hire a professional. RTEC always recommends allowing tree service professionals (supervised by a certified arborist) to trim your trees, rather than trying to do it yourself.

Step 2: If you think your tree is in need of pruning, consider your goals. Do you want to:

  • Increase sunlight penetration?
  • Prune branches away from your house or other structure?
  • Clean out deadwood?
  • Remove hazardous branches?
  • Restore the crown after a trauma (like a storm)?
  • Reduce weight?
  • Improve aesthetics?
  • Or something else?

Convey these goals to your certified arborist so we can create a customized plan for your tree pruning project.

If you are thinking about trimming your trees yourself, below are some of the risks of trying to DIY your tree pruning (or hiring the wrong company):

Damaging the tree beyond repair

The skillset required to execute proper tree pruning techniques takes years of schooling, training, and on-the-job experience to master. The average homeowner (or tree service, for that matter) does not have the skillset needed to prune your trees properly. Just because a company has the right equipment doesn’t mean they are able to do the work correctly.

Many tree services will engage in harmful pruning practices such as topping or lions-tailing. As a rule of thumb, if a tree service offers to top your trees, we recommend not calling them back!

Some tree services irreversibly damage your trees while trimming them by climbing your trees using spikes. This practice is obsolete for pruning projects completed by reputable companies now, as it has been proven to damage trees and pave the way for secondary invaders to take over and kill the tree.

Safety

Tree trimming is extremely dangerous when undertaken by people who are not trained to work with trees. Each year, many unsuspecting homeowners are killed or gravely injured while trying to prune or remove their trees themselves. Many are struck by falling branches, electrocuted by nearby power lines, hurt or killed after mishandling equipment such as chainsaws or wood chippers, or fall from a great height. Our team of professionals is trained to work safely and efficiently with consideration to hazards such as power lines, pedestrians, wildlife, unstable trees and branches, and the like.

Who Should You Choose?

If you are looking to have your trees pruned, we recommend hiring a company that is accredited by the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA). The standard set forth by the TCIA ensures that your pruning will follow industry standards and therefore be done properly.

RTEC Treecare is the best choice for your tree pruning needs if you are looking for a long-term relationship with tree professionals who care about you, your trees, and your landscape as a whole. We use a holistic approach to diagnose and make recommendations for your property, and we aim to be proactive with our recommendations so you can retain the trees that are most important to you for years to come. RTEC Treecare is TCIA-accredited (the very first in Virginia!) and has decades of experience with proper tree pruning techniques. Our team of certified arborists, safety professionals, and crew members remains at the cutting-edge of the industry – literally!

Get in touch with us today to discuss your tree pruning or trimming needs!


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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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Falls Church, VA 22042

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