As a property owner, you want to take the appropriate steps to ensure the trees in your yard are in good health. Pruning branches is a standard tree care service. It can keep your yard healthy, but when is the best time to prune trees?
The experts at Southern Tree Pros provide these essential tree services in Milton, GA. Consult our guide below to learn more about the best times to schedule pruning services.
The Importance of Tree Pruning
When is the best time to prune trees? Answering that requires an understanding of why this pruning service is necessary at all.
People sometimes confuse tree trimming with tree pruning. The first service involves removing branches and twigs to improve the shape or look of the tree. The latter requires removing dead, diseased, and decayed branches to promote healthy tree growth.
Aesthetics are essential in your yard, but they’re a secondary consideration during pruning services. For example, even if branches are alive and healthy, they may need pruning due to overcrowding. Strategic branch removal can open the canopy, allowing more sunlight and air to circulate around lower limbs, which makes for a healthier tree.
When is the best time to prune trees? When timing the service, consider that pruning services also eliminate hazards. Damaged and diseased branches are susceptible to sudden breaks, and a heavy limb could fall onto a home, person, vehicle, or another structure, causing injuries and extensive property damage.
How To Prune Trees Correctly
Using the correct pruning techniques on your tree promotes greater wound healing efficiency. Your arborist will use the following steps to provide clean cuts, ensuring minimal stress for your tree:
- Cut halfway through a branch on its underside, about 18 inches from where the limb meets the trunk.
- Make a second cut on the top of the branch, about an inch away from the first cut, to remove the limb.
- Make a final cut outside the branch collar at a 45-degree angle to remove the stub.
Now, let’s answer the question, “When is the best time to prune trees?”
When To Schedule Professional Pruning Services
Technically, you can book the tree-pruning service anytime. However, a local tree care services provider like Southern Tree Pros will remove dead, diseased, or dying branches, so why not schedule seasonal pruning that complements tree growth cycles?
Fall and Winter Pruning
Suppose you wait until mid to late fall to start pruning your trees when your plants are likely entering their dormant stage. The late fall to early spring time frame creates a prime opportunity to remove branches because they’re more visible and accessible. Most have already lost their leaves.
The cuts also won’t put excessive stress on dormant trees. Less stressful pruning allows for better healing and more vibrant springtime blooms.
Spring Pruning Timing
Waiting until trees enter dormancy to prune them is usually necessary because warmth can encourage new growth. Those new growths can die from cold winter temperatures.
Of course, late-blooming trees like dogwood and hawthorn will benefit from springtime cuts. These trees bloom from growths occurring within the same year. Spring pruning promotes healthy development in these types of species.
Turn To Southern Tree Pros for Reliable Tree Care Services
When is the best time to prune trees? Southern Tree Pros’ ISA-certified tree care experts recommend scheduling the service whenever you need deadwood removal. Dormant season pruning is best from late fall to early spring, but the right pruning cycle also depends on your specific tree species.
Call (770) 841-1684 to request an estimate from Southern Tree Pros or learn more about the role of an arborist today. We’re a fully licensed and insured tree care company.