Pruning – The Do’s and Don’ts

forest-silhouette
Crown Thinning - Before
Before
Crown Thinning - After
After

When it comes to pruning, there are many techniques and tips that can help keep your trees healthy and happy.

We are going to share with you some tips on pruning effectively and some of the tools you will need.

What are the benefits of pruning?

Pruning helps maintain the size of trees. Trees that grow too large for their location can cause over-shading, possible damage to the surrounding objects and can end up with limbs getting overloaded and snapping.

When you prune, you are able to remove any hazardous limbs, deadwood or any crossing branches that could cause trouble.

Pruning will also allow light and air trough the tree which assists in keeping your tree healthy and strong.

Differences in pruning juvenile and mature trees

When pruning a young tree you are essentially creating a blueprint for how you want them to form. Whereas when you prune a mature tree you are generally doing remedial works to their canopy or to reduce their size. Mature trees will already have their shape.

What tools do we use?

On many of our sites, the basic equipment we would use to maintain a tree would be a hand saw (We like Silky) and throw linesto which allows us to reach any difficult areas.  For larger diameter cuts we would use a top handle chainsaw, and for those hard to reach places we would use a pole saw.

Top Handle Chainsaw

What tools do you need?

If you are looking to prune your own trees, to allow more light into your garden for the summer, it is essential for your own health and safety that you only ever climb into a tree if you have the necessary qualifications.

If you want to gain access to the tree without climbing then use an A-Frame ladder for stability and a long reach pole saw. These two tools will help you reduce the tips of the tree.

The Do’s and Don’ts

DO reduce the surface area of any cut: Any cut you make to the tree you want there to me as little surface area as possible so that it’s as difficult as possible for any pathogens or diseases to get into the trees system.

DO keep the canopy balanced: If you reduce one side of the tree it is important to make sure the other side is reduced equally in order to keep an even load on the trunk.

DON’T damage the main stem. Avoid cutting or putting any objects around the stem that will hinder its growth.

So get that A-Frame ladder out and sharpen up that long reach pole saw. But if you decide you’d rather leave the work to someone else, then get a free quote from us.

When you speak to a tree surgeon about pruning your trees you may come across words such as:

  • Crown Reduction
  • Crown Raising
  • Crown Thinning
  • Pollarding

We’re going to explain this terminology to you now. It may also help you decide on the type of work you need if you are yet to speak to a tree surgeon.

 

Crown Reduction - An illustration showing the crown reduction process

A crown reduction is a method where you reduce the height and/or the foliage of the tree. This can treatment allows more light to pass through the branches, which can bring light into your garden as well as helping to keep the tree healthy and strong. This can be done to the full tree or to specific branches that may help reduce any stress on the tree.

Crown Raising - An illustration showing the crown raising process

Crown raising (also known as crown lifting) is the removal of the lowest branches. This allows light to pass through the bottom of the crown and can promote healthy growth. It’s something that can be performed at any stage of a trees life but for the best results, it is best to get a crown lift done when the tree is in its youth. This will allow the tree to grow in a healthy state and may prevent the tree from needing future crown lifting.

Crown Thinning: Before
Crown Thinning: Before
Crown Thinning: After
Crown Thinning: After

Crown Thinning

Crown thinning is a technique by which you remove all smaller branches, typically on the outer parts of the crown. This usually doesn’t change the shape or size of the tree, but it allows more sunlight and air to move through the tree. This means the tree can stay healthy and the risk of disease is reduced.

Pollarding - An illustration showing the pollarding process

Pollarding is a method of pruning where the crown of the tree is reduced to encourage new growth. This is best done at the end of the winter season or at the beginning of Spring.

Where can I find other useful terms associated with tree work?

The Arboricultural Association website has an extensive list of other tree surgeon terminology.

If you’d like to find out more about our pruning services then you’ll like clicking here.

As the season of Summer approaches, it is wise to think about ways to bring light into your garden.

Increasing the amount of light into your garden can help keep your plants, trees and hedges healthy for the coming months. Sunlight and air can help with disease prevention and growth.

Trees are a big culprit of blocking out light but you don’t need have them removed to let light in to your garden. The best way to bring some light through your trees is by thinning the crown.

Crown thinning is a general pruning, usually around the edges of the tree’s canopy, to reduce its shade density and the weight of foliage. A general thinning will improve air circulation, too, which helps to prevent fungal and pest problems.

Crown lifting is another way to let more light through a tree. A lift concentrates on the underside of the tree’s canopy, removing lower branches to allow for better light or access underneath, for example, to mow a lawn.

Crown Lifting: Before

Crown Lifting: After

These types of works will allow the tree to keep strong and will allow appropriate light into your garden.

It’s also worth checking with your local authority to make sure that there are no Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) in force, particularly if you are planning drastic action.

If you would to read about some other light enhancing techniques then you might like our blog post 7 Ways to Get More Light Into Your Garden.

Looking over a Climbers Way site clearanceAt Climbers Way we pride ourselves in having the right equipment and expertise to clear any amount of vegetation and shrubbery.

This is true for even mature trees and logging that needs to be done.

The Six Steps of a Site Clearance

  1. Look at the arboriculture impact report which tells us which trees are coming out and which trees are staying.
  2. Install tree protection fencing around any trees that are remaining.
  3. Fell all trees due for removal and remove any brash & vegetation
  4. Chip all felled trees and extract timber for processing and recycling
  5. Grind stumps down to allow for ground works.

In the following video you can see some of these steps going on.

We typically work in commercial spaces, where we clear areas for development purposes and for land that is needing to be maintained.

With the equipment and training we have, we are able to work both at a domestic and a commercial level.

We are also a Trustmark registered company. This means we’ve had our technical skills, trading record and financial position checked by this Government licensed organisation.

Crane Fed Chipping at a Site Clearance

 

For any of your clearing needs, get in touch for a free no obligation quote.

In March 2018, Martin Wyss, Landscape Services Manager for the University of Southampton, received an independent arboricultural survey and report which deemed two trees to be highly dangerous to members of the public.

Unfortunately a Corsican pine and an oak would need to be removed.

Having worked together since 2014, he contacted Climbers Way Tree Care to do the job.

When we arrived to quote the job we knew that due to the size and location of the trees we couldn’t fell them. We would have to dismantle them, but we noticed there was something that would complicate the tree removal

There was a BT phone line running through both trees!

After some problem solving and discussion with Martin we came to the conclusion that we would need a crane to assist with the dismantle to avoid damaging the surrounding infrastructure.

The crane that helped with the tree dismantle.

Crane assisted dismantle by Climbers Way Tree Care

DNB Tree Surgery Limited agreed to work with us and the crane which allowed us to carry out the work efficiently.

Take a look at how the job went on the day.

Footage produced by Ambient Light Productions

If your trees need some surgery then we can help.
Contact Climbers Way Tree Care for a free quote.

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