Tree Pruning

Tree pruning is the most common treatment arborists perform on trees. You may be mowing a lawn and find yourself having to duck under some low hanging branches. The wind may be causing branches of a tree to rub against your window. You may be unable to see past a shrub planted just outside of your living room window. All of these are reasons for pruning trees and shrubs.

Professional tree pruning begins with an understanding of tree biology. Questions such as, how much to prune, when is the best time to prune, and why you should prune a tree, should all be considered before hiring an arborist prune your tree.

 

Crown Cleaning

Crown cleaning is the pruning or thinning of dead, damaged, and diseased branches from the living canopy of a tree. It is the most common tree pruning type arborists perform. An arborist must be careful to correctly define the scope of work prior to pruning a tree to ensure that the tree remains healthy.

Crown Raising

Crown raising is pruning the lowest branches off a tree to create more space for people and vehicles, to improve views under a tree, and to enhance light penetration. Arborists perform this work frequently. This type of pruning helps us to make a big tree fit in a smaller yard.

Crown Thinning

Crown thinning involves an arborist pruning live branches from the canopy of a tree. This type of tree pruning might be done to improve airflow to the interior of a tree, to increase the amount of light penetrating the outer branches, or as part of a restoration project on a malpruned tree. An arborist must be careful to leave enough interior branches to support long term health and structure of a thinned tree.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction is the process of reducing the overall dimensions of a tree. It is most often prescribed by a Consulting Arborist to reduce risk of trunk failure as part of a long term tree pruning maintenance program. An skilled arborist will be able to retain a natural appearnce to the tree while creating a smaller canopy. This pruning method is different from tree topping. A well informed arborist will refuse to top trees.

View Pruning

Arborists will use a combination of any or all of the different methods of tree pruning in order to enhance or create a view through a tree, or to incorporate a tree in to a vista in an unobtrusive way.

Restoration Pruning

Restoration pruning is the process, carried out over a prescribed period of time, by an ISA Certified Arborist, of restoring a damaged tree to a natural and strong structure. Arborists will prune trees that have been previously topped in this manner. This type of tree pruning takes both skill and art to know how much at any one time to prune.

Structural Pruning

An arborist will train a tree to grow with a strong, desirable structure. Newly planted trees often have defects that began in the nursery and may need the care that arborists are trained to give them. Undertaken early and judiciously, a young tree can be helped to develop into a mature tree that requires little if no maintenance.