Winter Tree Pruning
Timing is everything when it comes to caring for your lawn and landscaping. When pruning your trees, this is especially the case! With few exceptions, pruning yields the best results when carried out during the tree’s dormant period in the winter. Pruning should be a regular part of maintenance for both your trees and shrubs. There are many reasons that pruning is important, including:
Improved plant structure and appearance
Train young plants
Revitalize older plants
Control plant size
Manage flower or fruit production
Reduce the risk of property damage
Practically speaking, pruning is easier when the tree is dormant. Without leaves obstructing the view, it is easy to identify which limbs are diseased or damaged and should be removed. Any branches cut back during the winter will be able to recover quickly in spring with new growth. This will also minimize the amount of time you’ll spend looking at a plant that looks thinned out.
When dormant, a tree or shrub does not need to spend energy producing blooms or leaves. It can, therefore, focus all of its resources towards repairing the cuts that result from pruning. For some trees, elm in particular, pruning during the growing season can welcome harmful insects that carry fungus or disease – so it is especially important to prune in the winter. The bacteria, fungi, parasites, and insects that cause and/or spread disease are either dead or dormant during the winter months, and as a result, are less likely to infect the tree.
Pruning in the winter also prevents small problems from becoming large ones. The condition of damaged or diseased limbs can worsen over the winter, or they can fall victim to storm damage. Inspecting during the dormant season (and pruning as needed) can be the stitch in time that saves nine.
Your trees and shrubs are some of your yard’s biggest investments. Detailed, professional pruning in the dormant months goes a long way towards ensuring their long-term health! If you are not sure about pruning or have trees on your property bigger than you can handle, call in the experts at Nurney Landscape & Design, 215-794-8599. Our Maintenance packages start at $550 a month!
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