Pruning types - May 4

Pruning while trees are dormant minimizes the risk of potential pest problems and allow trees to grow at their healthiest.

Pests are most likely to infest trees when wounds are present and they can enter branches after a cut. Open wounds can make a tree vulnerable to insects. Pruning during the winter, dormant months before buds swell minimizes the risk. It also sets trees up to start growing their leaves back at their healthiest, with dead branches trimmed away beforehand. Another great reason to consider using an affordable tree service to prune before Spring growth is, removing leaves once growth occurs may reduce the tree’s overall photosynthetic capacity and reduce overall growth. Removing branches can also remove stored resources and affect future growth. Branches that have not been pruned tend to grow more.

​There are a few types of pruning cuts an affordable tree service will do when a client asks for a tree trim. ​A branch removal cut, otherwise known as a thinning cut, prunes a branch back to its point of origin on a trunk, stem, or larger branch. Pruning at this location simulates where branches shed naturally. With a branch removal cut, the part that remains afterwards has a larger diameter than the part that is removed.

We do not recommend flush cuts, which remove the branch collar and branch bark ridge of the tree, leaving trunk tissue more vulnerable to decay.

EverGreen Outdoor will likely ask you what your goal or objective is for the tree trim.

Understand the objective for a prune is crucial for us to choose the appropriate type of cut.  

A cut that is done correctly will allow the tree to close the wound in a circular fashion, resembling a donut and forming a proper branch collar. 

Some of the pruning tools you may see on the job include hand saws, chain saws, loppers, pole pruners, and pruning shears.