Tree Pruning with a Purpose
Fall is a great time to be outside admiring the trees in our landscapes. We take stock of which trees are looking good and which seem to need a little help. If we discover trees that look like they’ve seen better days, we instantly want to solve the problem. It is natural to want to do something to help a plant – prune it, fertilize it, polish it – we can’t help wanting to touch it in some way.
One basic housekeeping chore that might help a struggling tree would be pruning. Pruning is an oft-needed maintenance treatment for good tree health and safety, but pruning without a good reason is not good tree care practice. Pruning just because your neighbor is doing it may not be beneficial for the tree, and could result in too much live tree tissue being removed. This can cause the tree to become stressed, and perhaps decline. In the fall, limit the amount of live tissue being removed and focus mainly on removing dead or broken branches.
In fact, industry tree pruning standards (ANSI A300) say no more than 25 percent of a tree’s foliage should be removed in a single growing season. If the tree is of a species that cannot tolerate a lot of pruning, even less should be removed.
When determining how much pruning your tree can tolerate, a qualified arborist may consider if the tree:
- is healthy
- is still growing rapidly or has matured and slowed its growth
- had its roots severed or damaged recently or in the past
- suffers from disease
- is a species tolerant of heavy pruning
“All that said, fall is a good time to evaluate a tree to plan future pruning that may be needed to meet certain tree health goals,” says Tchukki Andersen, BCMA, CTSP* and staff arborist with the Tree Care Industry Association.
A qualified arborist will work with you to set an objective for the pruning job (i.e., what you want accomplished when the work is done).
Pruning objectives usually include one or more of the following:
- reduce risk of damage to people or property
- manage tree health and direction of growth
- provide clearance for vehicles or roadways
- improve tree structure
- increase or improve aesthetics
- restore shape
“Once tree pruning objectives are established, the arborist can provide specific details on how your trees could be pruned to get the desired result,” says Andersen.
The pruning process can be overwhelming to those not familiar with the pruning of shade and ornamental trees. A qualified tree care expert trained in tree and woody plant health care can answer your questions, as well as help you with your tree-pruning goals. Make sure to ask for tree pruning to be done according to ANSI A300 standards, the generally accepted industry standards for tree care practices.
Find a professional
A professional arborist can assess your landscape and work with you to determine the best trees and shrubs to plant for your existing landscape. An easy way to find a tree care service provider in your area is to use the Find a Tree Care Company program.
Great post! Tree pruning can be quite complicated and tedious especially if you aren’t familiar with such work. Would definitely save you time (and perhaps money, in the long run) to hire a professional arborist to do the job.
Great post! Tree pruning can be quite complicated and tedious especially if you aren’t familiar with such work. Would definitely save you time (and perhaps money, in the long run) to hire a professional arborist to do the job.
Very succinct information regarding the practice of tree pruning. We try to educate our customers as much as we can through the process. We appreciate your informed posts. Thanks!
Great information provided in this post. Especially, “no more than 25 percent of a tree’s foliage should be removed in a single growing season”. If a tree hasn’t been properly maintained in the past, it can be easy to remove more than 25% of the canopy while pruning and result in causing stress to the tree.
That’s a very wise suggestion especially since I have no training and knowledge on how to do this. I only have an axe and was thinking of removing the old tree in our yard.
Consistent pruning is a standout amongst the most basic maintenance errands that tree owners can take part in. Even though many homeowners are familiar with the fact that pruning is important, few people take some time to understand that the real significance is in pruning with a purpose.
That’s a very wise suggestion especially since I have no training and knowledge on how to do this. I only have an axe and was thinking of removing the old tree in our yard. Thanks to Tree Trimming Johns Creek
Some truly interesting points you have written. It looks like you spend a lot of effort and time on your article. Savannah Tree Service Pros is one of the top rated tree removal companies to provide right services.
Seems like many of our clients think they know what to do with pruning and when. This article is a great reminder to hire a professional who truly knows what they are doing.
Awesome article of pruning and time of year to do it. We love to prune trees in the fall and winter. We give discounts to do it this time of year.
unbelievable. this is so strange that I find it amusing, thanks for sharing 🙂
This is very interesting and I find it really amusing. Great article! Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing this kind of tips with a purpose when it comes into pruning. Tree Care Services
I think this method helps a lot when it comes to stem repair and reproducing more trees.
Thanks for sharing tree care tips. Amazing!
After doing your first tree pruning, it will become your favorite hobby. Trust me. Been there!
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I think pruning is one of the easiest methods of planting it’s just that you really need to have a heart of doing it or else it will go in vain.
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When tree pruning you really do need to find an expert arborist to asses your landscape and trees. Make sure to hire a professional when it comes to tree pruning or removal.
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I do not know how to properly do tree pruning but after reading this I definitely would want to learn now! https://northernconcretepolishing.com/
Learning great things on your website. Thank you for sharing!
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“no more than 25 percent of a tree’s foliage should be removed in a single growing season” I honestly did not know this. I want to study that standard more thanks for the refeerence.
I have been wanting to try tree pruning! My uncle wants me to learn it too because we have trees that definitely need pruning to grow healthier! | https://www.virginiabusinessreview.com/
This was both highly informative and authoritative. But it was also nicely spiced with clever humour. I was about to go cut my tree like I do at the barber. treefellingcpt.co.za
The local power company hired a tree trimming outfit to clear branches on the power pole.
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This is some valuable stuff! I always try to prune my trees a few times a year. I’ve tried doing myself recently, but a professional is always the way to go. Since living in Utah, https://www.treeservicesslc.com/ has always been my go to service, and they’ve always done a great job handling my garden with care. Thanks again for the read!
This was a great article for learning more about tree care. Thank for for sharing this with us!
I had my lawn tree removed so that the best road pothole repair procedure can take place.
Definitely branches of my trees needs some pruning and I found this article that made me think to prune it while following this method.
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Now I see, pruning is keeping your plants or trees healthy.
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We are very thankful for all your ideas and for sharing them to all your readers. Keep it up and we will continue to support your web posts.
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Thank you for the article. I can remember when I first got started in the business and the guy I was working with trained me to prune trees. To many people just lop the tree limb without any technic used. It just ends up harming the tree.
It is really important to know the needs of your trees.
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such a great explanation on why we should check trees first before pruning them. decorative concrete conctractor
Great share. Thanks for your valuable ideas. I have never asked any tree service companies for pruning to be done according to ANSI A300 standards, I should keep in mind when it comes to tree pruning for my yard. My friend in revere ma said that it is better to prune or trim tat least twice a year, so i would consider of hiring new one this year. Goodluck!
Anyways, thanks for your valuable ideas. I have never asked any tree service companies for pruning to be done according to ANSI A300 standards, I should keep in mind when it comes to tree pruning for my yard. My friend in revere ma said that it is better to prune or trim tat least twice a year, so i would consider of hiring new one this year
I have read lots of information before and I find this the most informative of them. Keep up the good work and we will continue to support your page.
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Thanks for the advice to limit pruning to mainly dead or broken branches. I’ve got a few trees around my house that could use some care. I’ll be sure to contact an arborist to get their opinions and help.
This is one awesome article post. It makes sense that fall is a good time to evaluate a tree to plan future pruning that may be needed to meet certain tree health goals. My wife just has mentioned that we should consider tree pruning as typical maintenance next month, and she wanted to hire a tree service & tree removal ri to enhance our back yard and landscaping. I’m on a bussness trip in RI area now, so i would ask for some recommendations that my friends have experienced in this field
Nice blogs!
Thanks for sharing this informative blog.
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