Why Arborists Trim and Prune Trees

All the trees in the forest don’t have anybody tending them, and they seem fine. So why, you ask, do you need to trim and prune the trees in your yard? Well, for starters, your manicured yard is not a wild forest. And if those forest trees could talk, they just might ask for the services of a tree surgeon, or arborist, to give them some care and tend to their health.
Pruning a tree is good for the tree and can help to improve its overall health.

What Is Pruning?

The terms trimming and pruning are often used interchangeably, but there are some differences between the two actions.

Pruning is the act of removing crowded, dead, or dying branches. This improves their health by giving healthy branches room to grow. In addition to promoting and improving the tree’s health, pruning can also help improve flowering and fruiting.

Tree pruning is a task best left to professionals or highly knowledgeable enthusiasts, as pruning at the wrong time of the year or pruning too much can damage the tree rather than help it.
An arborist will know which branches need pruning to prevent heavy, dead branches from falling on your house or garage and potentially damaging it.

How Often Should You Prune?

For younger trees, pruning should happen every two to three years. In this early stage of growth, proper pruning will give the tree its best chance at becoming a strong, healthy tree. Once the tree matures, pruning can happen every three to five years.

Pruning trees often happen when the tree is dormant in the winter or once active growth has begun in the spring. You shouldn’t prune in the fall, as you can damage the tree while it prepares nutrients for the winter season.

What Is Trimming?

Trimming a tree is done for decorative, and sometimes practical, purposes. If you want your tree to have a certain shape, trimming is the appropriate task.

Trimming is an effective way to control the growth of a tree near a structure or under power and phone lines.

More often, shrubs and hedges are trimmed, in part because they grow faster but also because the decorative shaping of large trees is somewhat uncommon.

How Often Should You Trim?

Generally, once a year is sufficient for most shrubs and hedges. Generally, trimming is done in the spring before seasonal growth begins. For highly manicured decorative shrubs, light maintenance trimming can be done through the summer.

Like pruning, trimming is a task best left to those with strong background knowledge, as you can accidentally kill or damage your greenery by pruning too much or at the wrong time of year. For flowering shrubs, aggressive trimming could inadvertently prevent flowering for a season or two.

Legacy Tree Company is a tree service company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that is raising the standard for innovative, ethical tree care. Its mission is to sustain the Albuquerque urban forest for generations with services like tree trimming & pruning, tree & stump removal, tree bracing & cabling, tree planting, consultations, and tree irrigation. Click here to contact us via our online form, or give us a call at (505) 312-8865.

Contact:
Legacy Tree Company
100 El Pueblo Rd NW Unit A
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 312-8865