Pruning: The Advantages of Different Types of Tree Pruning

During Wisconsin winters, we love watching the snow attach to each individual branch on our trees. Taking a deeper look at these trees during these snowfalls, we may notice the trees have congested branches, low-hanging branches, or broken branches lodged in the crown of the tree. In the arborist community, these act as indicators that pruning is necessary for our safety and for the health of the tree. Read on to learn about the advantages of pruning trees. The ISA Certified Arborists at Wachtel Tree Science can determine the type of pruning your tree needs.

Advantages of Pruning Trees

Opens a Tree’s Crown: By removing dead, diseased, or broken branches, tree pruning assists with opening a tree’s crown to allow more air movement and additional light penetration. 

Manages the Risk of Branch Failure: Removing foliage and branches also manages the risk of branch failure by reducing the weight of extended branches and limbs of the tree. There are limits for arborists as to how much pruning can be done for a tree that correlates to a number of factors including the health and age of a tree. A general rule of thumb is to remove less than one-fourth of the live foliage of a tree.

Prevents Harm to the Tree and Property Damage: Storms often remind homeowners the ways in which trees can create potential threats to buildings, signs, electrical wires, and streetlights. These possible issues may not be fully realized until branches actually fail. Ideally, Certified Arborists can deal with poorly attached branches before they can cause harm to the tree and/or damage property. 

Improves the Tree’s Structural Integrity: Removing the right branches while a tree is young improves the structural integrity of the tree itself. By improving a young tree’s structure, it will help a tree thrive in the landscape for many years since storm damage is less likely to occur to a properly pruned tree.  

The Different Types of Tree Pruning

When discussing our pruning practices, we prefer to use descriptive and proper terminology as determined by the ANSI A300 pruning standards to describe the factors involved with pruning. So, let’s move into the question, what are the different types of pruning?

The most common type of pruning involves removing branches that are diseased, visibly broken, dying, or dead. ISA Certified Arborists have a keen eye for recognizing these types of branches, whether the leaves are on the tree or not. It becomes second nature for arborists to identify and remove these types of branches in their day-to-day routine.

Other Types of Pruning

Structural Pruning: One structural pruning method involves cutting branches back to lower, lateral branches which maintain the dominance of the tree’s central leader. This branch reduction pruning does not create the same problems as tree topping which uses large, indiscriminate cuts in the upper parts  of a tree. Rather, structural pruning improves the future growth of a tree by managing branch density and branch diameter ratios within the tree so it can provide shade and beauty for years to come!

Special Clearance Pruning: When trees are planted in tight spaces or too close to buildings, they may need special pruning to maintain appropriate clearance from buildings. Areas like courtyards, patios, overhead lights, or other landscape structures will need special clearance pruning to maintain the space needed to avoid maintenance problems.

Topiary Pruning: A less common pruning type is topiary pruning. This pruning involves certain types of trees or shrubs pruned to perfection and tend to be eye-catching. If you are considering a topiary plant in your landscape, regular maintenance will be required to keep its shape.

Specialized Pruning: Over time, growing branches may obstruct views or hang low over the yard. Specialized pruning regains the wanted vista that has become blocked by tree branches. The solution may include pruning out whole branches, reducing the live foliar density of a tree, or pruning off low branches to help you view the scenery you want.

The objective of what the pruning will accomplish helps guide which kind of pruning is warranted. At Wachtel Tree Science, our team of ISA Certified Arborists wants to improve the health of your trees. Because of this, we choose the proper pruning methods based on the type of tree, the season, and your objectives. 

Contact us today to get your tree pruning on the schedule.

Schedule a Tree Pruning Service

The crew was courteous/friendly and answered all questions confidently. When I had a concern about the balance and symmetry of the pruning halfway through the job, they listened and adjusted to my satisfaction. They were a great team.

Lynn H. – Milwaukee, WI

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