When was the last time your tree was pruned professionally? Are you actually aware of the importance of pruning your trees?
Well, Arboricultural Services Treework Ltd are here to tell you just why you need your trees pruning today! Working in the industry for many years, our team are specialists when it comes to carefully pruning a whole range of trees, including yours in Manchester and Stockport.
The Purpose of Trees
Before we look at how to properly prune your trees, it will make sense to look at how a tree actually works. By appreciating the sheer growth of a tree and understanding how it works from inside out, it will make the pruning process much easier and also give you a better understanding as to how important pruning is.
Your trees are living organisms with a dynamic self-supporting body or stem. Following the photosynthesis process, all trees and living plants convert the carbon into sugars and then use this sugar to build cellulose and lignin to contain within its support. If the sugars created are not used immediately, they are then stored in the roots and branches for later use so nothing goes to waste – quite clever actually!
So, Why Prune?
There are so many reasons why you should prune your trees and it isn’t just to make it look better. The top reasons we encourage tree pruning professionally is to contain the structure of the tree, to remove diseased branches, to reduce shading below and to also remove branches that could be touching surrounding structures like your home or business premises.
When it comes to pruning though, it pays to remember that you can’t just take off branches all over the tree without leaving behind some kind of damage or destroying the integrity of the tree. The team here in Manchester take great care in removing branches and twigs specifically to avoid disease entering the tree via an open wound and to avoid reducing the life of the tree by taking away too much foliage.
Careful Planning Before Pruning
Arboricultural Services Treework Ltd in Manchester and Stockport take great care in planning all tree pruning procedures and only ever remove branches for the health and benefit of the tree. We always ask ourselves three vital questions before removing any part of a tree which includes:
- Why are we removing this branch?
- What are the results of removing this branch?
- Will the tree be at high risk of catching a disease?
In most cases, the branches cannot be removed from ground level and it takes specialist equipment like we have here to safely remove each branch individually. We carry out full health and safety inspections before all services and remove any access near and around the tree from our clients and the general public.
We also take into account how well certain tree species react to pruning. In the case of a Walnut tree, they can sometimes take to pruning poorly so careful planning needs to go into the pruning process to avoid further damage.
The Pruning Process
No matter what size the tree is whether we are looking at a small garden shrub or a large oak, the process is the same from start to finish. Starting by protecting the stem, trunk and roots of the tree, we make sure that all cuts are taken from the stem at the base of the branch to avoid damage and unsightly finishes.
The best time to prune your trees, in our opinion and others, is at the start of Autumn and Winter. We follow this schedule of pruning because it will minimise sap loss from the trees and the winter time is also better for avoiding diseases. Being part of the environment we also like to wait until all the living organisms in the tree are well in hibernation before disrupting their homes for pruning. Some of the trees that need pruning in Winter include Apple trees, Mulberry trees, Poplar, Walnut, Holly and Spruce to name a few.
All dead branches can be removed throughout the whole year. We also wait until the leaves are hardened in the late Spring to avoid premature pruning.
When removing branches, our team will make various cuts in the branch in order to remove it safely. Starting with a shallow cut under the branch, then on the outside, on the top and so forth to avoid the branch tearing or splitting down the centre. By always taking the cut as close to the bark and trunk as possible without damaging the tree further, we take pruning very seriously for our clients.
Trees that need pruning in the summer and spring include Beech, Cherry, Magnolia, Sycamore, Oaks and Willows.
Get in Touch
To find out about tree pruning in your area, just give us a call on 0161 456 0989 or 01625 850 320. Please take into account the Tree Preservation Orders that could be protecting your trees before enquiring about tree pruning in your area.
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