All things beautiful come at a cost. Luckily, you don’t have to go out of your way to meet the cost of a breathtaking landscape. Much of what you need to do lies in tree pruning.

Pruning a tree not only enhances its beauty but also its health. However, you should not do it if you are not sure of the proper way of handling it. Many people make the mistake of assuming that they can prune a tree in any way using any equipment. On the contrary, there are certain principles that should be followed in proper tree pruning. According to New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, some pruning equipment help in the achievement of much better results than others.

Establishing the Need for Tree Pruning

Among the main reasons for pruning any tree should be maintaining its health, stimulating or restricting growth and enhancing its natural form as well as improving the quality of its fruits, flowers, stems or even foliage. Nevertheless, you can narrow down the pruning needs by considering the suitability of a certain tree for a certain location. For instance, some plants may grow too large for a certain site. Others lose their attractiveness with age.

Your Pruning Plan

Like most successful endeavours, proper tree pruning should start with a plan. Apart from establishing the reasons for pruning, you should make sure that you follow a certain order in making the cuts. This ensures that you make only the necessary cuts.

The first cuts should be aimed at removal of broken, dead or diseased branches. It should be done at the origin or back to the point where there is a shoot or strong branch. In most cases, you don’t need any further pruning after removal of this material since there is enough opening up of the canopy.

After removal of unwanted material, go on to training cuts. There are several reasons for training the trees to grow in a certain direction, including filling a certain area left open as a result of damaging occurrences such as storms or strong wind. In addition, you may need to limit the tree’s existence to a particular area as well as achieve a better shape. However, the growth habits of the tree should never be far from your mind and you should, therefore, do all you can to ensure that its natural shape is not destroyed unless you will be watching it closely.

When there are two central leaders, it is necessary to conduct corrective pruning in order to get rid of the less likeable of the pair. Additionally, you can always remove narrow or weak crotches. If there is no need for water sprouts, eliminate them too.

How to Make Pruning Cuts

After cutting, there is need for quick healing. Therefore, make sure that your equipment is sharp enough to achieve clean and smooth cuts. Stubs usually lead to die back and they, therefore, should never be left. In addition, they should be cut at an angle in order to enable water shedding.

If you are removing large branches, do not tear the bark. Remember that any branch whose diameter is 3 inches or more is likely to fall before the pruning saw blades gets through it. The result is tearing of the wood or bark. Cutting it from below doesn’t help anything since the saw is likely to be trapped.

The best way to cut a large branch is sawing it off in three cuts. First, make an undercut from the bottom, around 6 inches from the trunk. The cut through the branch should not be more than one third of the way. The second cut should be from the top but three inches away from the undercut. Saw through until the branch falls away but make sure that it is properly roped and lowered carefully if it poses a risk to other tree limbs or any other objects located on the ground below it. Finally, cut back the stub to the collar of the branch.

Bottom Line

There is so much more to tree pruning than can be possibly explained on writing. With basic knowledge and skills as well the right equipment, you can easily and cheaply create a more appealing landscape and achieve the good health of your plants. However, you will do more harm than good to your trees if you attempt more complex pruning tasks. It is advisable to a hire professional tree services company which not only has the necessary skills and experience but also the right equipment for the job, which in the end will help save a lot of your time and resources.