Regularly scheduled pruning and trimming is a necessary part of keeping trees healthy. Pruning can also help prevent a major safety risk posed by trees that are overgrown, misshapen, or weighed down by dead branches. A thorough tree pruning should be performed every couple years. This can be a dangerous task to execute without proper training. There are three main reasons to trim trees.
Aesthetics – Pruning a tree effectively helps to maintain its shape and appearance. A well-timed trim can improve the flowering and beauty of a tree. However, abstain from going Edward Scissorhands on your landscape and imposing an unnatural shape or size on your tree. The amount of trimming and pruning that will be needed could seriously damage it.
Safety – Dead or broken branches and limbs can fall off at any time, creating a serious safety hazard. If the branches of a tree obstruct the line of sight for drivers or pedestrians, they should be trimmed away. Tree limbs and branches that are growing too close to utility lines should be cut back as well.
Health – Pruning can be a way to maintain the health of the tree and that of the surrounding landscape. Broken branches can be an entry point for disease, so prune them promptly, even if the tree is otherwise healthy. You can sometimes save a sick tree by strategically pruning away affected branches and limbs. Thinning the crown of a tree improves airflow, which can benefit the tree. And if branches are crossing or rubbing together, they should be trimmed so that they don’t fall unexpectedly.
There are industry best practices to performing tree trimming. ANSI standard Z133 is what Wilschek Tree Service follows when trimming.
