Nature does not force a homeowner to work within a narrow span of time, when trees appear in need of trimming. Homeowners can perform that task safely, anytime between late fall and early spring. Environmental influences dictate the timing of the process known as trimming or pruning.

What are those environmental influences?

During that span of time, a tree has entered a dormant stage. In that stage, it does not exhibit any growth. In other words, no new growth will get pruned at that time of year. In late fall and early spring, the tree’s branches lack any leaves or blossoms. According to Tree Pruning service in San Jose, bare branches are easier to find and trim. Finally, insects and disease-carrying organisms, those that prey on flora, do not demonstrate any harmful activity during that particular time.

Approaches recommended:

• Concentrate on the problem areas in the tree that is being pruned.
• Put an end to any rubbing of branches.
• Eliminate any cracked or broken limbs.
• Use the pruning shears on competing leader branches and any limb with weak crotches.

Mistakes to avoid:

Delaying the time for pruning, so that the tree already has a few blossoms. Any attempt to remove that blossoming growth will reduce the chances that the cut bloom will keep on growing, throughout the remainder of the year.

Assuming that a big, older tree can sustain a pruning better than a young one. In fact, young trees tolerate pruning better than older ones. The younger trees have a higher percentage of live cells. The presence of the live cells ensures a regrowth of the cut sections.

Deciding to top the tree. A tree’s response to that approach does not encourage the amount of growth desired by the typical homeowner.

Choosing to prune in the late spring or early summer. Nature does provide a homeowner with plenty of daylight at that time of year. However, it also causes the disappearance of all the favorable environmental influences. For instance, the trimmer will cut away some of the growing cells. That reduces the tree’s ability to keep growing. In addition, the pruner usually struggles to find the problem areas. Imagine try to locate rubbing branches, when every branch has become covered with leaves.

Finally, trimming trees in the late spring or early summer has the same disastrous effect as cutting the grass too short. It exposes the cut regions to insects and disease-carrying organisms. Moreover, it permits such an exposure during a time of the year when insects and disease-carrying organisms demonstrate a high level of activity. Woodpeckers will love you. Your actions will permit the entrance of insects or diseases that cause the rotting of a tree’s trunk. Then the woodpecker makes a home in that trunk.