Pruning Your Trees

Trees should be pruned to maintain their health. It is one of the most important maintenance services you can schedule for your trees. Unfortunately, it is a common thought that trees do not require much work for upkeep and while our trees do not require as much attention as your grass does during the growing season, that does not mean your trees should be neglected or ignored for vital services.

What causes our trees to not receive the services needed to prolong their life and better their health? It comes down to lack of knowledge about proper tree maintenance. This month’s blog we are going to focus on pruning and the benefits your trees will receive from having a good prune.

First and foremost, you should hire an ISA Certified Arborist to guide you when it comes to your trees. Just like you hire someone to maintain your grass, you also need to do the same for your trees. An ISA Certified Arborist adheres to strict guidelines that protect the integrity of the tree’s health and longevity. They are ethically inclined to save a tree before hurting a tree, so they are the people to hire to better your trees. They will be able to guide you on the best practices for each tree on your lot.

According to the ANSI A300 – standard Pruning Practices, several consequences can occur when pruning is not performed at all, including:

1.     An accumulation of broken branches

2.     Dead branches

3.     Branches that interfere with site function

4.     Weak, codominant stems

5.     Defects such as included bark, and

6.     Development of sucker in some species.

What pruning practices are good for your trees? It depends on your tree’s situation, but here are some of the most commonly practiced services that can promote healthy growth:

1.     Structural improvement pruning

2.     Risk mitigation pruning

3.     Clearance pruning

4.     Health maintenance pruning

5.     Density reduction pruning

6.     Restoration pruning

At Donegan’s we use the natural pruning system which is an informal style used to retain and promote the characteristic form of the species in its current location. This is the best method to protect each and every different species of trees.

This video, presented by Jim Donegan, talks about reducing weight, elevating the tree, and light crown cleaning.