Pruning is vital to the health of a tree as well as the safety of its surroundings. It also makes a tree more aesthetically pleasing. Without pruning, dead branches can fall and endangering buildings, people, and power lines. It’s absolutely essential that you remove dangerous limbs to maintain the integrity of your tree. Besides this, pruning can also affect the way your tree will grow. Maintaining its structure by pruning ensures that it grows in such a way that is ideal for its structural integrity. Otherwise, an insufficiently pruned tree will have weak branch structures and improper weight distribution.
Here are the types of pruning you can expect to do and when you should do it:
Types of pruning cuts
Heading and thinning, the two basic types of pruning cuts, have their own specific uses as they affect the growth of trees in different ways. Heading removes the terminal portion of shoots or limbs, while thinning removes an entire limb or shoot from the main branch or lateral to its point of origin. These are the least exhilarating type of cut, which are best used to maintain woody plants in their natural form.
Types of pruning
Crown thinning
Crown thinning removes a portion of the smaller or tertiary branches, usually at the outer crown. This is so that it produces a uniform foliage density around an evenly spaced branch structure. The process doesn’t alter the size or shape of the tree. It’s mostly down to allow more light to pass through a tree and to reduce wind resistance and weight.
Deadwooding
Deadwooding removes dead, dying, and decaying branches. This is the most basic and practical type of pruning. It should be done regularly to ensure that your trees are safe and healthy.
Raise canopy
Raise canopy includes trimming a tree in such a way that it removes the bottom branches to raise the trees’ canopy. This is done t
o remove an obstruction and to raise a tree above a walkway or driveway. This can also allow sunlight to reach the grass and plants below the tree.
Canopy cleaning
Canopy cleaning is the most thorough type of pruning. A climber will remove not just the dead, dying, or decaying wood, but also the sucker and sprout growth in the canopy. Branches are also removed to maintain the trees natural form.
When to prune
Woody ornamental plants are pruned depending on the date of their flowering. Plants that flower in the spring are usually pruned after they bloom. Examples of such include hydrangea and forsythia. Meanwhile, pruning for summer-flowering plants like magnolia trees, California poppies, and petunias take place during the dormant winter season before they newly grow in the spring.
Some trees, such as willows, maples, beeches, and birches, can bleed massively after pruning. Pruning these trees (usually with their leaves on) should take place in the late spring or early summer. Growing leaves are able to reduce the amount of bleeding from pruning cuts, allowing them to heal quickly.
Don’t try to prune your tree yourself if you aren’t entirely sure how to. Improper pruning can damage or kill your trees and plants. If you want to maintain them properly, seek professional help. A good pruning can guarantee that you are keeping your tree healthy and your surroundings safe.