Taking care of the trees in your yard does not have to feel like a huge project. Instead, maintain them by working with an arborist who has years of training and experience with tree care. Although you’ll likely not be the one doing the cutting, it is good to know the habits that arborists will practice. Learn the trimming techniques that they implement when you work with them regularly and develop some habits you can implement yourself as a homeowner.
Look Closely
One of the most valuable trimming habits to learn is to walk around your trees every few weeks to look for problems. Look for dead branches that have no leaves or diseased branches that show odd discoloration or bumps. Because a dead branch can fall without warning and a diseased branch can infect the rest of the tree, removing them quickly is a smart move for tree health and yard safety.
Furthermore, pay attention to branches that are growing too close to your house or are touching power lines. Spotting them early gives you time to call a professional arborist to remove them before they cause damage.
Make Smart and Surgical Cuts
Arborists make sure to use the correct trimming technique, and they make sure that the tools they use are sharp and clean. A clean cut seals faster and prevents the transfer of sickness from one plant to another. The most important area to focus the cut is just outside the branch collar. This is the slightly swollen area where the branch meets the main trunk.
Since the branch collar holds the tree’s healing tissue, cutting too close to the trunk injures this area and leaves a big wound that the tree will struggle to close. Therefore, keeping this area intact ensures that the tree can quickly form a protective layer over the cut.
Time Cuts Correctly
Timing the maintenance cuts correctly is another critical habit that will help your trees to remain healthy. The best time to trim or prune most deciduous trees is during late winter or very early spring when they are dormant. Because the tree is resting during this period, it has stored energy. It is not busy using energy to grow leaves, so it can handle the pruning stress better and heal quickly when the weather warms up. Knowing this, you must schedule trimming and pruning during the winter months.
Now that you know about healthy tree care habits, you must do everything possible to protect the health of your trees. Call American Arborists for trimming and pruning in Carson City, NV.