Pruning Winter Tree: Is It Good Or Bad?
Most people stop considering tree care when the weather becomes colder. However, the truth is that winter and the first few weeks of spring are ideal for tree work.
Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and go asleep for the winter before emerging in the spring as the temperatures rise. There are several advantages to trimming your trees during this dormant season, both for your trees and your budget.
- Increases Efficiency
The earth frequently freezes over in the winter due to the low temperatures. This enables us to work more productively and at a reduced cost because we can bring extensive equipment without harming your landscape. For significant tree-cutting and removal projects, this is particularly true.
- Reduces Stress On Trees
The typical response of a tree pruning is to promote new growth and to heal the wound caused by the pruning cut. Winter pruning results in new growth in spring when the tree has access to the water, sunlight, and nutrients required for healthy growth.
Additionally, pruning during dormancy provides trees time to recover from pruning wounds before warmer weather ushers in infections and harmful insects.
- Enhances Tree Safety Throughout The Winter
Damaged, dead, or dying trees can be hazardous in the winter, especially during storms that bring wind, ice, or snow.
- Improves The Visibility Of Tree Structure
In order to improve the shape, health, and safety of your trees by pruning, the proper cuts must be made in the right places.
It’s simpler to discern the structure of your trees without leaves hiding the branches. We can better recognise dead or hazardous branches that need to be cut down or pruned out of a tree.
- Prevents The Spread Of Diseases
Infestations by insects, parasites, fungus, and bacteria can cause or transmit disease in trees. Unless it’s really hot outside, these disease pathogens are usually dormant or dead during the winter. As a result, when dealing with trees in the winter, infections are less likely to spread.
In order to reduce the chance of Dutch elm disease and oak wilt spreading, it is recommended to prune some trees in the winter.
Do You Need To Keep Tree Pruning In The Spring And Summer?
Of course! Although it is commonly done for reasons other than winter pruning, spring and summer are also ideal periods to prune trees and shrubs. These common warm-weather pruning tasks are listed below:
- Removing any dead wood that is difficult to spot in the winter (for some tree species, it’s challenging to identify if a branch is quiet until the tree emerges from dormancy)
- Removing damaged or ill-fated branches
- Once the tree has leafed out, enhancing the appearance of the whole thing
- Increasing airflow or allowing more light to enter the inside by opening up the tree
- Improving your vision by raising the tree canopy
- Cutting back on the size of shrubs and trees that have become too big or are blocking the way
In the long run, effective tree trimming and pruning may support your trees’ health, safety, and beauty.
