Tree Pruning Dos and Don'ts

​Healthy and well-maintained trees amplify the aesthetics of your home and surroundings and create a positive vibe. It is essential to keep your yard green and healthy. Therefore, we suggest you seek professional help, especially when pruning your trees. ​

Professional tree caretakers/arborists can help you maintain your trees in the best possible way. They will also provide you with valuable information, such as when and how to prune. A healthy pruning cycle has its benefits. However, under or over-pruning can cause irreversible damage to your trees.
​If you are an avid do-it-yourself person, you must stick to certain dos and don’ts. Here, we provide a comprehensive list that can help you keep your garden/yard flourishing all year round.

​Dos of pruning

1. Ensure availability of tools and gears: Before you start, get in place your safety gear—your gloves, glasses, and footwear. It will provide you cover in case of any untoward incident, such as a branch falling accidentally.
2. Prune during winter: Though it is a year-round process, pruning yields the best results when done in winter. Trees go dormant during winter; pruning them around this time of the year prepares them and promotes healthy growth during spring.
   
3. Check trees after storms: The first thing to do after a storm is to get your trees examined. Post-storm pruning is vital. It allows you to inspect and prune or remove any weak branches.
4. Learn the correct pruning techniques: You must learn different pruning techniques to avoid damaging your trees. A three-point cutting method promotes the healthy growth of your trees. A pruning cut should only remove the branch wood and not the supporting stem.
   
5. Consult a professional: It takes a professional to complete a task safely and correctly. Save your day and consult a professional or an arborist. Arborists are trained experts certified from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI A300)​​

​Don'ts of pruning

1. Don't over-prune: Over-pruning will cause irreversible damage.
   
2. Remove only 25% of foliage while pruning; anything more than that might harm the tree's health. Moreover, ensure that you don’t strip off the inner foliage branches. And don't trim trees planted less than a year ago or those that have not yet bloomed fully. If at all, prune such trees only to remove dead branches.
3. Don't prune during fall: Pruning during fall makes the tree more susceptible to damage and fungi infections. Trees take longer to heal during fall.       
4. Don't make improper cuts: A prevalent mistake during pruning, a wrong cut at the wrong place can damage the tree's growth pattern.

​About Seacoast Tree Care

​At Seacoast Tree Care, we have a qualified team of certified arborists trained to keep trees up and healthy. For more information on tree pruning services, you can reach out to us at 603-431-0101 or 978-225-6644. You can also write in your queries at info@seacoasttreecare.com or fill up our contact form, and we will get back to you.