Why Regular Tree Maintenance is Essential: A Guide to Pruning & Trimming

Trees are an important and beautiful part of our urban environments and lives. As a homeowner it is important to remember to maintain your trees and shrubs with regular tree pruning and tree trimming. Ongoing tree pruning and tree trimming not only help maintain a tree’s health and safety, but they can also improve the tree’s overall aesthetic appearance. Keeping a tree healthy with regular tree pruning can be a lot cheaper than removing it, thus potentially saving you money over the long run. Let’s look at some of the reasons as to why tree pruning a tree and trimming is essential for a homeowner.

Without proper tree pruning, tree trimming and on-going tree maintenance, unkempt trees in a homeowner’s yard can become hazardous quickly. Dead and dying wood in a tree can become brittle and break easily, often falling on houses, structures, utility service lines, fences, decks, patios, landscape features, vehicles and even people. Repairs to property because of a lack of proper pruning can be very costly and time consuming. The pruning out of dead and dying wood in a tree’s canopy can help to reduce the risk of damage to property.

Deadwood in a tree is often unsightly and with regular tree pruning the aesthetic appearance of a tree can be vastly improved. Not to mention that the overall curb appeal and appearance of a homeowner’s yard is improved, thus adding value to the property. Past studies have shown that regularly maintained landscapes and properly pruned trees can add up to 10-15% to a properties value. It is important that a homeowner look to hire a professional tree service, with qualified arborists, for regular tree pruning and tree trimming to look after their valuable investment.

Proper tree pruning and tree trimming can be helpful to the environment as well. Pruning not only targets dead and dying branches, but it also involves the removal of diseased wood. The removal of diseased wood can help to stop the spread of tree disease infections to other trees in a homeowner’s yard as well as neighboring yards. If diseased tissue is allowed to remain in a tree’s canopy it can spread like wildfire, which may result in the tree having to be removed. Regular tree pruning by an experienced arborist, who is trained in the identification of these tree diseases can help to prevent these diseases from getting a stronghold.

Selective thinning is also an important part of tree pruning. Selective thinning can be helpful in alleviating the “sail effect” of a tree. This method of tree pruning involves the removal of specific limbs and branches to allow for more air and wind to penetrate and flow through a tree’s canopy. This method of tree pruning can help lessen the risk of branch, limb, and tree failure during higher wind events. With more wind and air able to penetrate the tree’s canopy, major insect infestations are lessened as well.

Proper tree pruning and tree trimming should be a regular consideration and high priority for homeowners. Not only does it ensure safety, improve aesthetics, help to mitigate the risk of insects and disease, save money and help the environment but it also cares for something that is unable to care for itself. By investing in regular tree pruning and tree trimming, homeowners can help maintain one of our most beautiful and underrated assets, TREES!

Please remember that tree pruning, and tree trimming can be a very dangerous task. Often it requires the use of very specialized equipment and professional training. It is recommended that tree pruning only be done by reputable tree services which employ experienced and professionally trained arborists.