It is best to schedule a time during the winter months, when trees have entered their dormant phase. A dormant tree is not actively growing. Its branches do not exhibit signs of exposure to a harmful act, such as the removal of one of more limbs. In other words, the pruning does not stunt its growth.
Once autumn has ended, cross branches and weak limbs have become more visible.
There is no or minimal leaf cover. Tree Pruning service in San Jose can achieve a greater level of accuracy; a pruner has limited the chances for removal of a healthy limb or a well-positioned branch. That would be a branch that has not crossed any other branches, or one that does not seem ready to fall on an unprotected spot.
During winter there is more sunlight hitting the lower vegetation.
Why should a pruner make note of that fact? Because the items that fall from the pruned tree fall on the lower vegetation. The presence of those fallen items could cut off valuable sunlight, if only a few rays were able to travel through a dense covering of leaves.
Chances for an infestation from any pest become lower in winter.
Most insects enter a period of dormancy about the same time as leaf-bearing trees. That reduces the number of pests that might welcome the appearance of a weakened branch or tree trunk.
During the winter months, a tree suffers only a minimal amount of sap loss.
A tree that has suffered only a minimal amount of sap loss tends to heal faster, after having its limbs pruned.
When a tree’s healing takes place at a faster rate, some of the tree’s energy gets held as a reserve supply. That reserved supply can be used to foster growth in the spring.
Pruners that work during the winter months do not allow large, leafy objects to fall on the ground.
If the results of a pruner’s work were to fall on a neighbor’s property, the neighbor would be less apt to complain about a few bare limbs. A neighbor might have more complaints about leaf-filled limbs.
Someone that owns a tree that forms blossoms in the spring should never think about scheduling a period of pruning in the springtime. After all, no neighbor would want to clean up the mess that would be created by falling blossoms.
Pruners usually work for a nursery or an arborist.
Both a nursery and arborist are less apt to be busy during the coldest months of the year. Hence, it is easier to schedule a pruning at that time. By the same token, it is easier to arrange for assistance with other gardening or landscaping tasks.