Pruining and Shaping

Proper tree care is essential for the life, beauty, and overall health of your trees....

Pruning is the methodical removal of parts of a plant with the objective to improve its form, growth and cultivation. Pruining is also the selective removal of branches to increase light and air circulation throughout the top of the tree, or to lessen wind resistance and damage potential from storms. Don't be afraid to have your trees pruined, they will be much nicer because of it. The more you trim them, the fuller they become.

There are many reasons for pruning trees. Pruning can assure added safety for people entering the landscape, increase the overall health of your trees and will make them more beautiful.

 

Pruning for safety - Remove branches that could fall and cause injury or property damage, trim branches that interfere with lines of sight on streets or driveways, and remove branches that grow into utility lines. Safety pruning can be largely avoided by carefully choosing species that will not grow beyond the space available to them, and have strength and form characteristics that are suited to the site.

Pruning for health - This involves removing diseased or insect-infested wood, thinning the crown to increase airflow which will reduce some pest problems, and removing crossing and rubbing branches. Pruning can best be used to encourage trees to develop a strong structure and reduce the likelihood of damage during severe weather. Removing broken or damaged limbs encourage wound closure.

Pruning for aesthetics - Pruning can enhance the natural form and character of trees and stimulates flower production. Pruning for form can be especially important on open grown trees that do very little self-pruning.

Important Note: you are trying to improve a tree's structure, especially during the early years. As trees mature, pruning will shift to maintaining that tree's structure, form, health and appearance.

Proper pruning is knowing when (and when not) to prune.

• Don't prune trees or evergreen shrubs in the early part of fall. Pruning at this time would encourage tender growth, which you don't want. If you need to prune trees or evergreen shrubs, wait till the latter part of the season, late winter or early spring. Look to remove weak branches that might otherwise snap in winter.

 

• Early-blooming deciduous shrubs are often pruned after they've finished flowering. Later bloomers are often pruned in early spring. Again look to remove weak branches that might otherwise snap in winter.

 

• Do you have tall trees near your house? If any of their branches are hanging over the house (thereby posing a safety hazard), its a good idea to have a professional come over and trim these trees. This is for the house's sake, not the trees.

For the most part plants have two kinds of growth. Terminal branches and lateral branches. Each branch has one terminal bud at the very end, and many lateral branches along the sides. The terminal buds grow in an outward direction away from the plant. Left uncut they just keep growing in the same direction, and the plant grows tall and very thin. That's why the trees in the woods are so thin and not very attractive.

Any branch that is growing toward the center of the tree where it will get little sunlight should be cut out, for instance, when there are two branches that are crossing, one of them should be eliminated. Once we get the inside of the plant cleaned up, we can start shaping the outside. It is also important to cut the tips of branches that have not yet reached the outside form of the canopy in order to force the plant to fill out.

Correct pruning, is as important for the long life of a tree as disease and insect control. Take care of your trees, and they will take care of you.