Pruning is an essential part of taking care of trees. It helps them stay healthier, improve their appearance, and increase the tree’s lifespan. Done improperly, it can be a real poison to a tree, inviting stress, disease, or even death. Here, you have a guide to point you in the right direction regarding some common tree-pruning mistakes.
1. Pruning at the Wrong Time
The Mistake:
When done at the wrong time of year, pruning has the potential effect of stressing the trees and making them more susceptible to diseases and insect invasions. For example, pruning in late summer or early fall may stimulate new growth that won’t harden before winter, meaning this foliage will be vulnerable to frost damage.
How to Avoid It:
Know when each type of tree needs to be pruned. For the most part, pruning is most effective during late winter to early spring, when trees are dormant. Less stress is put on them at that time, and they can healthily regrow in spring. Flowering trees can be pruned right after their blossoms fall to the ground, and dead or unsafe branches can be pruned at any time.
2. Over-pruning or Topping
The Mistake:
Excessive thinning—that is, the removal of too much foliage—can weaken a tree by reducing its ability to manufacture food through photosynthesis. One of the worst practices is topping, the cutting back of large branches away from the tree center. This usually causes weak regrowth, and bark sunburn, and makes the developing branches highly susceptible to insect and disease attacks.
How to Avoid It:
Stick to the “one-third rule”: never cut more than one-third of a tree’s crown in a single pruning session. If trees must be reduced in height and/or along the length of limbs or their overall size, proper thinning should be practiced rather than topping. So. Thinning = selectively cutting out branches, lowering tree density without reducing tree integrity.
3. Improper Cutting Techniques
The Mistake:
Wrong-cutting techniques, such as flush cuts or leaving long stubs, could hurt the tree’s ability to heal. Flush cuts remove a lot of the branch collar, which forms an important area for wound healing, and stubs can lead to decay and disease.
How to Avoid It:
Use the three-cut method for making large branch cuts:
- Cut through the branch on the undersurface, a few inches out from the trunk to avoid tearing the bark.
- A second cut should be from the top further out from the first cut to remove the branch.
- Make a third cutting just outside the branch collar to leave just the right amount of tissue to facilitate the proper healing process.
4. Preferring to Ignore Dead or Diseased Branches
The Mistake:
Failure to remove dead, diseased, or damaged branches allows decay and disease to set into the tree, diminishing its health and safety.
How to Avoid It:
Most trees should be thoroughly inspected regularly for dead or diseased branches, which should be pruned out promptly. This way, disease is less likely to spread, and danger from dead wood during storms is reduced.
5. Pruning without consideration of the tree’s natural form
The Mistake:
Pruning without consideration of the tree’s natural form may result in a lopsided, unattractive, structurally unsound tree. Over-pruning one side or cutting back random branches can alter the shape of the tree.
How to Avoid It:
Before you prune a tree, step back and look at its overall shape and structure. As much as possible, try to preserve the tree’s natural form by removing only those branches that upset its symmetry or that are growing in undesirable directions.
6. Dull or Dirty Tools
The Mistake:
Dull pruning tools can cause jagged cuts that take longer to heal, while dirty tools can introduce diseases into healthy trees.
How to Prevent It:
Always use sharp, clean tools for pruning. Make sure your pruning shears, saws, and loppers are well-sharpened. Disinfect them with rubbing alcohol or bleach solution after each cut, especially when moving between trees or branches that may be diseased.
7. Pruning Too Close to Power Lines
The Mistake:
Pruning trees by the power lines with the wrong precaution is indeed very risky, for it can lead to injuries or power outages.
How to Avoid it:
If trees are growing near power lines, then don’t ever think of pruning them a bit. Call an arborist or local utility companies, they can better resolve this issue with proper skill and equipment.
8. Forgetting to Prune Young Trees
The Mistake:
Some homeowners avoid pruning young trees, thinking it’s unnecessary until they’re fully grown. However, neglect to prune young trees can lead to poor structure and an increased risk of breakage as they mature.
How to Avoid It:
Prune young trees to establish a strong, balanced structure early in their life, thinning out crossing branches and weak crotches. Anything that is competing with the central leader and weak or drooping should be removed. That way, you’ll have stronger, better-adapted trees with relatively small sums invested in pruning early in their life.
Conclusion
Tree pruning is truly an art and science, entailing careful timing, technique, and the consideration of the tree’s natural tendencies. By not doing simple things wrong—pruning when appropriate, not over-pruning, or using tools incorrectly—you might save your trees from severe problems and allow them to stay healthy, beautiful, and alive for many years. If in doubt about the best way to go about pruning your trees, you can always seek advice and help from a professional arborist. Proper pruning is like an investment in the future of your trees, costing health, appearance, and life span.