One thing that many homeowners fail to consider when they move into a new property is how they will maintain the trees that are scattered throughout the property. To many people, trees are the ultimate in low-maintenance garden accessories. While it’s true that trees don’t need regular care in the same way that a lawn, pond or small bush might, they do need to be pruned periodically, otherwise their growth may suffer and they could become a danger to your home.
Why Trees Need Trimming
When trees grow taller, their roots grow outwards. If a tree is allowed to grow too tall, its roots could become a danger to your home’s foundations. In addition, tall trees can become a safety concern if they loom over your property. Many neighborhoods also have rules regarding the acceptable height of trees and bushes, because while tall trees are nice from a privacy point of view, they could become an irritation if they block out a lot of sunlight.
Why Tree Pruning Benefits Your Trees
In addition to protecting your own safety and the safety of your property, tree pruning is good for the trees themselves. When you prune a tree, you remove dead wood and foliage. This protects the tree from disease, and is one of the reasons for the importance of proper tree pruning. It also helps to guide the growth of the tree so that it remains healthy and looks as good as possible. Cutting off weak or diseased areas prevents the spread of rot and disease.
When to Prune Your Trees
You should make sure that any tree trimming is done at the right time of year. Each variety of tree responds to pruning in a different way. Some trees are best pruned in the spring, while others should be pruned later in the year. Pruning a tree at the wrong time could leave it open to disease, or could discourage the tree from growing. Cutting into a tree just after its annual growth spurt can be particularly damaging as the tree is at its weakest during that period of the year. For this reason, you should not attempt to prune a tree unless you know what you are doing, how much to cut, and how to make the cut properly. For these reasons it is typically best to leave any significant tree pruning to a tree service specialist who knows how and when to prune a tree in a way that will protect it (and your property).
DIY vs Professional Services
In most cases, it is best to call in a professional tree service company to handle tree pruning. A qualified tree expert will be able to identify your trees and any potential issues accurately, and will understand how much needs to be cut from the tree, and where best to make the cuts. They will also have a better understanding of which cuts will need dressing, and which can be left open.
It is particularly important to call an expert tree company if you have a very tall tree, or one that needs heavy branches cut off. Working with heavy pieces of wood, at great heights, can be dangerous and is definitely not something that should be attempted without proper training and safety equipment.
It can be tempting to attempt to do DIY tree trimming and pruning, but if you care about your garden and want to see your trees flourish, then you should not start cutting into them yourself if you are untrained. A damaged tree can take years to grow back, and if you make a mistake then you may end up needing to call in a tree removal company to correct your efforts.
It makes sense to pay a relatively modest one-time fee to get the cuts done right the first time around than to end up paying money for corrective work on a tree that you have damaged. In this case, the old adage “a stitch in time” really does apply. You cannot underestimate the importance of proper tree pruning to the overall health, beauty and safety of your home’s landscape environment.