Unless you like to do things at the last moment, the early weeks of autumn serve as an ideal time for making any plans, with respect to the pruning of trees. It is best to prune a tree’s branches at a time when it has entered a period of dormancy.
What is dormancy?
That is the time of year when a tree remains alive, but has ceased to display any evidence of growth. Its branches are bare, and no buds have formed on those same branches.
Why should a homeowner plan for any pruning project to take place during dormancy?
An experience tree pruning service in San Jose would search for things like crossed branches. Those should be pruned. It is easier to find crossed branches when there are no leaves hiding them.
By the same token, an experienced pruner would test each limb, searching for any that might be weak or brittle. Those should be the targets of the pruner’s tools. Like crossed branches, weak limbs are easier to find when no leaves have covered them.
Homeowners that want to maintain a tree’s health, make a point of scheduling any pruning projects for the time of year when the trees are in their period of dormancy. As mentioned, that is a time when there is no visible evidence of growth. The tree can direct its energy towards dealing with the changes to the pruned portion of its branching structure.
Sap loss is minimal, if a tree has been pruned while it is dormant. For that reason, it can heal faster, after experiencing the effects of the pruner’s tools.
Pests, like larger animals, hibernate during the winter. There are no pests to trouble any pruner during the time when each tree is dormant. That fact helps to underscore the significance of one other reason for pruning trees in the winter season.
A pruner that must deal with pests, such as insects, could struggle to remain balanced on a ladder. As a result, that same pruner might fall. In other words, homeowners that care about the safety of any tree workers prefer to have their pruners doing their assigned task during the winter months.
Is there any part of the winter when It is better to plan for trees to be pruned?
The answer to that question really depends on the location of the tree-filled property. In some regions of the United States, a tree’s blossoms start to appear in late February. In those areas, it would be best to prune early in the winter season.
In other areas, winter seems to hang on well into late March. So, in those areas, homeowners enjoy a wider window, and more time for planning pruning-focused projects.