Most people go to a barber or a hair salon, if their hair needs cutting. By the same token, if a tree’s limbs get too long, a tree-cutting operation should be planned or scheduled. Rest-assured, a tree-trimming can be part of a successful DIY effort at yard-maintenance, if it has been done properly.
Reasons for pruning a tree:
• In order to enhance the tree’s shape;
• In order to keep dead limbs from falling on the ground;
• In order to make an effort at saving an infected area of that towering plant.
When is the best time to trim a tree?
A trimming or pruning operation should be carried out during the time of year when the tree remains in a dormant stage. Do not cut-off any areas of new growth. Although trees lack any new growth during both the fall and winter seasons of the year, the job of eliminating unwanted branches becomes much easier in the winter. During that season, the limbs are bare, so it is much easier to locate the branch that ought to be cut-off.
Best strategy to adopt, when trimming trees:
• Focus on branches that are less than 5 inches in diameter.
• Use your tools on the weakest branches. Look for those that have a V shape or a narrow angle, where some limb sticks out of the weakened branch.
• Refrain from using your cutting tools on lateral branches. Those should be spared.
• Pay attention to the angle of your cut. Aim down and away-from the tree’s stem.
Situations in which it pays to hire a team of professionals, if you plan to trim or prune your trees.
Anytime that the targeted branches form an area near the top of the tree.
Anytime that the targeted branches extend outward, in the direction of some electrical wires. Professionals have learned how to work on an area where the tree cutter is just a few feet from power lines.
Anytime that an especially large branch has been damaged, possibly by lightening.
Anytime that removal of a branch is sure to affect the tree’s trunk. Only a Tree Service professional in Palo Alto can identify and consider the options, regarding exactly how to deal with an area where removal of a limb has necessitated the removal of some part of the tree’s trunk.
Anytime that the planned trimming has been triggered by a neighbor’s complaint. You do not want to make the neighbor even more unhappy, by eliminating a patch of shade, or some other benefit that was ensured by the trees’ presence. If you have hired professionals, then you have the right to sue them, in the event that the unhappy neighbor would decide to take legal action, and would sue you.