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Dormant Season Structural Pruning: Why My Trees Need It

Categories: Blog | Tree & Shrub Pruning

Harsh Wisconsin winters aren’t typically ideal for several activities. However, in arboriculture, winter is the perfect time to perform maintenance that keeps your trees and shrubs strong and healthy year-round. Because trees become dormant during winter, it makes it easier for arborists to identify and handle the structure of a tree. Lighter limbs and branches without leaves mean accurate pruning can be done. Let’s dive into the benefits of structural pruning during the dormant pruning season.

Accuracy – Determining a branch structure that’s healthy or unhealthy is much easier to do when there aren’t colorful leaves blocking the view. It’s important to prune only the weakest branches as the overall strength of a tree can decrease drastically if stronger branches are not structurally pruned.

Disease Control – Dormant pruning during warmer seasons can attract insects that carry diseases. As a result, bacteria and fungi can be spread, putting a major toll on your trees. Fresh cuts during the dormant season increase the chances of avoiding attacks significantly.

Weather Preparation – The stronger your trees are, the harder they’ll be able to fight during fierce storm conditions. The removal of damaged or weak limbs increases the overall strength of a tree, enabling it to endure the winter dormant pruning season.

Spring Recovery and Growth – Because dormant pruning during the winter causes less stress on trees, the recovery time before spring is much faster. In addition, clearing weak branches opens up the amount of sunlight that can be exposed to both trees and nearby plants/grasses. This kick starts the growth of your trees as the season warms up.

Greater Milwaukee-area Structural Pruning Services

Get a head start on tree growth this spring by partnering up with Wachtel’s team of certified arborists. Our knowledgeable team can determine the degree of pruning needed to strengthen your trees before the first snowfall and enable optimal growth when the warm season returns. Visit our structural pruning service page for additional information or contact us today to get started!

2022-09-08T10:16:10-05:00 November 9th, 2018|