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Discover The Best Techniques To Prune Tree Branches
It’s that time of the year! You want to be the best owner and prune your tree branches as best as possible. However, pruning a tree has a lot of impact on the plant. Because of that, it’s important to know the best techniques to prune them.
As a warning, remember to plan before trimming your trees. In many cases, people cut branches randomly which stresses plants and limits their carbohydrate sources.
Good Techniques To Prune Tree Branches
Although every tree is different, as they grow older, focus on these techniques to prune their branches and keep them healthy:
- Cleaning
- Thinning
- Raising
- Reduction
When done properly, you can adjust the plant’s shape, growth, and it survives during harsh times. Here’s more on each technique.
What Is Crown Cleaning?
In essence, cleaning, or crown cleaning, is when you get rid of dead, dying, or competing branches, and water sprouts. For the most part, crown cleaning is a great technique to prune branches of stressed or sick trees. However, it’s not done regularly and you prune healthy branches in the tree’s interior.
To start, prioritize thick dead, or broken branches. First, because they could severely hurt people or cause property damage as they fall. Then, because those branches could attract insects or diseases to the tree.
Pruning tree branches for cleaning.
Remember to make the cuts without removing bark from the trunk or leaving a stub. To do that, it’s advisable to make 3 cuts:
- Cut under the branch, about 6 inches away from the bark collar.
- Start on the underside and begin cutting up.
- Stop around 1/4 or 1/3 into the branch.
- Now, cut from the top down until the branch comes off.
- Finally, remove the remaining stub. Never leave a stub.
Again, focus only on removing only dead or decaying branches without flush cutting them.
Prune By Thinning The Tree Branches
Crown thinning is when you remove smaller branches from the outer canopy of the tree. For the most part, it’s done on the upper part of the three, and it has to be strategic. In other words, you should carefully select the branches to remove. You need to consider the tree’s growth direction, structure, and thickness of the foliage. Crown thinning is better left for an arborist or an expert.
Benefits of crown thinning:
- Reduce the damage done by snow.
- Allows for easier wind flow.
- Provides more light into the tree.
- Reduce weight on heavy limbs.
- Helps retain the tree’s natural shape.
Crown Raising To Trim Tree Branches
With this technique, you remove lower branches to open space for people, traffic, buildings or just to enjoy the view. It’s always better to start doing this when the tree is young.
To prune tree branches by this technique, you’ll have to make close cuts to the trunk. If done incorrectly, these cuts can severely stress the tree and promote decay.
Depending on the tree, lower branches could be greater than 25% of its foliage. If that’s your case, then you should prune the tree branches over a period of years.
As a general rule, never remove more than 20% of a tree’s foliage per year and avoid crown raising on older stressed or declined trees.
Prune Tree Branches By Reduction
A little self-explanatory. Reduction is when you reduce the size of a tree. It’s commonly used to make space for utilities.
Although useful, when you prune with this technique, you can predispose the tree branches, or trunk, to internal decay.
Usually, crown reduction can’t permanently reduce a tree’s size without decline. So, if you’re planning on getting new trees, plan beforehand according to their size and the space.
Conclusion
Identifying the right way to prune the branches of your tree can save you a lot of time, money and problems.
For many of us, it’s very tempting to try to do it on your own. If you choose to trim or prune your tree by yourself, keep the following in mind:
- Prioritize safety for everyone involved or around.
- Get the proper tools before starting.
- Learn how to properly prune your tree so you won’t stress it.
- Use the right techniques according to the tree and time of the year.
On the other hand, especially when dealing with big or older trees, it will always be better to get an expert. An experienced landscaper or arborist can save you tons of time and protect your trees. A professional has all the experience and knowledge to make your trees look sharp while keeping them healthy.
Click here to find an expert in your area today!
