The tree in your living room isn’t the only one that matters during the holiday season. Winter is also the perfect time to trim your outdoor trees. From promoting healthy new growth to preventing disease, there are many good reasons to get a jump start on tree maintenance over the winter. Discover why you should consider trimming your trees while you’re decking the halls.
Branches are More Visible
Unless your yard is filled with evergreens, most of your trees should be missing their leaves in the winter. Bare branches present the perfect opportunity to view a tree’s structure without a lush canopy in the way. This means you can see exactly which branches need pruning and which ones to leave alone. Removing dead, broken, diseased, and overgrown branches sets your trees up for success when their leaves return in the spring.
Reduced Stress on Trees
Many types of trees, such as deciduous trees, fruit trees, shrubs, and hedges, go dormant during the colder months. This dormant state makes trimming less stressful on the tree and allows for more effective healing. Trimming these trees during winter means they are less likely to experience unwanted effects like stunted growth or tree death.
Here are a few of the tree species that do best when trimmed over the winter:
- Oak
- Maple
- Birch
- Apple
- Cherry
- Hydrangeas
The only trees that you should avoid trimming in the winter are those that flower in early spring, which include magnolia, rhododendron, and lilac trees. Trimming these trees late in winter can prevent some of their flowers from blooming.
Less Risk of Disease Spread
Trimming can sometimes infect a tree with a disease or cause pests to swarm to newly trimmed areas. However, pests and other disease-causing organisms hibernate to survive the cold. This means there is a much lower risk of spreading these diseases when you trim your trees during the winter. If you know there are tree diseases or pests in your area, wait until after the first freeze to trim and prune.
Easier Holiday Decorating
Are you famous for your dazzling holiday displays? Consider trimming your trees before you put up your lights to make decorating easier and set the perfect stage for your display. When your trees are freshly trimmed, you can enjoy fewer tangles in your strings of lights and less risk of sharp branches popping your inflatable reindeer.
Whether you want to take advantage of bare branches for more precise trimming or improve your holiday light display, winter tree trimming has many benefits. Are you ready to get your trees in top shape before their leaves grow back in the spring? Call American Arborist for all your tree trimming needs in Carson City, NV.