Tree Trimming & Pruning
Tree Trimming and Pruning Services
Trimming trees is essential to the beauty of your landscape, health and safety of your trees, property, human and/or animal life. Storms, diseases, insects, and extreme weather conditions damage trees. By removing damaged, dead, and diseased branches, reduces the impact on the remaining branches and promotes growth. While trees are essential in our communities, if not maintained properly, they will sometimes create problems for all of us.
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Do not put off trimming your tree until branches get large. When a large branch is removed, it leaves large wounds. It is much more difficult for a tree to seal and leave the tree open to disease, insects, and rot. Do not trim trees on a crisis-only basis. Do not attempt to reduce the tree size as a substitute for proper tree selection and placement. This is known as “Topping”. Topping is very damaging and the worse thing to do to your trees.
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Trimming is the removal of damage, dead, and diseased branches, raise the canopy and thin the crown, to allow light and air to pass freely through the tree, without removing anymore than 25% of the live canopy.
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Pruning is removing selected parts of a fruit tree through three types of cuts; known as, heading, thinning, and stub or renewal cuts. The majority of the time, pruning is done while the fruit tree is dormant, during the winter or early spring. Depending on the balanced between roots and branches or fruit production, a summer prune may be necessary. Removing diseased branches and infected wood is another part of pruning. This technique is generally accomplished with hand shears or lopping shears.
Why Hire Professional Tree Trimming Service?
It is not recommended for any inexperienced party to trim or remove trees. There is a significant
safety risk caused by falling branches and equipment misuse.
The price to pay to perform your own tree care is extremely high. Loss of human life, serious
bodily injury, hospital bills, property damage, and emotional and mental anxiety that one mishap
can cause is unimaginable. Many injuries/deaths happen by: fall, electrical shock, and struck-by
branches. Most people do not have the knowledge, experience, or tools to perform the job safely.
"It is critical that professionals and non-professionals alike never attempt to cut down a tree without the proper equipment and experience. Between 2009 and 2015 there were 580 tree trimming related fatalities. That’s an alarming rate that is 3-times more than any other industry, and many of these fatalities are due to inexperienced individuals using improper equipment."
--"Tree Trimming Deaths Alarm Federal Officials and Industry Insiders" by Jennifer Gollan
January 27, 2016
To safely perform tree work requires a great amount of knowledge of physics and biology, which
can take years of experience and study to acquire. Felling a tree in a safe and controlled manner
is not as simple as it looks. It requires establishing a drop zone, making precise cuts, and
sometimes guiding the tree safely to the ground with ropes as leverage.
Hazards may also be invisible to the untrained eye; such as, rotten trunks and weakened
branches, pest and fungal infestations, and other diseases that jeopardize the integrity of the tree.
Many people do not understand that trees located near overhead wires can become energized and
cause injury or death if contact is made. Contact can be made either directly or indirectly through
tools or tree limbs.
It is not recommended to operate tools without the proper training. Those who do may hurt
themselves and others while attempting tree work. Chain saws, are extremely dangerous and
many times they are used inappropriately.
Ladders are commonly used in “Do-it Yourself” projects. Using a ladder is never recommended
while working on larger trees. Ladders are very unstable. They are generally supported on a
faulty limb. Ladders are often knocked out from under the homeowner by the same limb that was
just cut. Many “Do-it Yourself” tree projects, require equipment that the vast majority of people do not
have. Such as, the proper personal protective equipment, rigging lines, pulleys, wood chippers,
aerial lifts, and dump-truck/chipper truck, just to name a few. Some of these items can be rented
but the proper training and use is paramount.
If you do any of the work yourself, always make sure there is at least one other person working
with you. Even trained professionals work in teams!
Benefits of Annual Trimming and Pruning
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Improves traffic and pedestrian flow: Trees that are located near roadways, sidewalks, foot paths, driveways, and bike trails require trimming of trees that may hinder the flow of traffic by blocking views, signs and intersections.
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Reduces Safety Hazards: Falling limbs and branches are serious hazards, especially when the tree is located near structures, fences/property lines, parking lots, paths, roadways, and overhead utility lines.
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Reduces Excess Shade and Leaf Disease: Proper trimming removes branches that are blocking the sunlight, and precipitation from snow and rain fall. It also helps make sure that the lower branches of the tree get enough sunlight and moisture.
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Promotes Growth: Removing the damaged, dead, and/or diseased branches allow the tree to develop stronger and healthier branches.