Have you ever seen a homeowner or tree trimmer prune a tree that looked nice but slowly wasted away? Pruning is much more than simply removing branches at will.
Empire Tree Experts provides professional tree services in Windsor, CA, including pruning. With our professional arborist expertise, we can make a pruned tree pleasant to the eye while keeping it safe and healthy. Here are common issues with bad tree pruning and how to avoid repeating those mistakes.
#1. Forgetting The Tree is Alive
The tree’s branches extend to gather more sunlight to sustain it. We cannot hack them off without consequences. Over-pruning effects can appear in as little as a day, revealing withering leaves and damaged bark.
Instead, pruning the tree based on its development stage leads to much better results. Your tree trimmer should never go over the maximum allowed amount of foliage removal in one pruning session:
- Young, New Trees: 50% foliage removal
- Medium-Aged Trees: 25% foliage removal
- Mature Trees: 10% foliage removal
#2. Poor Cutting Habits
Inexperienced tree cutters frequently don’t know how to cut a tree properly. Improper cutting techniques, like flush cuts, often cause slow healing, long-term damage similar to scars and sometimes make them vulnerable to illness.
You should cut close to the branch collar instead of the branch bark ridge, though not so far away that you leave too much flesh. If your tree trimmer doesn’t know these terms, you may want to schedule an appointment with a trained arborist instead.
#3. Poor Tool Maintenance
An arborist’s tools should be in the best condition for every job. Knowing technical terms and the best tree pruning tips isn’t enough to overlook not maintaining their tools, the cardinal sin of bad tree pruning.
Everyone should clean, disinfect and store their tools after each use. Otherwise, you or your tree trimmer could transfer bacteria and fungi from previous jobs, making the trees sick.
#4. Bad Haircuts
It should be bad foliage cuts since a bad haircut generally won’t physically kill you. On the other hand, following bad tree pruning trends can put your tree over the edge and into the deep end. Many of these bad habits even have fancy names:
- Topping: Cutting a tree’s branch leaders or main trunk at random points to reduce the tree’s height
- Lion-tailing: Removing several or all of its bottom branches only leaving large branches and tufts of foliage at the top
- Hat-racking: Removing large branches, leaving only lateral branches and stumps on the tree
While an expert arborist may be able to help the tree recover, it would be best not to put the trees at risk in the first place.
Call Our Licensed and Insured Arborists for Help
Empire Tree Experts combines expertise with convenience. Our team understands California’s soil conditions, common tree health risks, and the importance of trees in urban greening. We also add an extra layer of protection for our clients by always maintaining our licenses and insurance.
To avoid bad tree pruning and keep your yard beautiful in and around Windsor, call Empire Tree Experts at 707-625-7444 today.
