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if you have trees you know how important
is to keep them healthy and looking
great the proper pruning techniques are
gonna help remove unwanted growth while
encouraging new growth for proper tree
structure today I'm going to show you
how to prune your trees and do it right
the best time of year to prune your
trees really depends on the type of tree
and the results you're looking for
in general pruning during the dormant
season is typically best particularly at
the end of fall and early spring it
allows time to heal and commonly results
in new growth during spring pruning and
summer after growing season will result
in slowing the growth of the tree by
reducing the leaf surface if you'd like
to enhance flowering prune in the spring
after the flowers have faded and the
leaves are fully formed for the summer
blooming trees prune in the winter or
early spring
however dead broken or diseased limbs
should be cut immediately now that you
know when to prune let's get into the
best way to do the job right starting
with the tools you'll need scissor cut
shears are good for light pruning
loppers a pruning saw and a pole saw get
the job done on larger branches electric
and gas-powered pole saws are available
to make cutting even easier you're going
to want to make sure all your saw blades
are sharp for the best results
sharpening tools like this file are
available you'll need a ladder gloves
and of course safety glasses and if
you're working under large limbs you're
gonna want to wear a hard hat safety is
critical in working with trees before
you get started look for hanging limbs
and power lines call a professional if
your tree is near power lines never
operate a chainsaw while standing on a
ladder and don't stand on or above the
wrong noted on the safety label as for
hanging limbs they can cause damage or
injury if they fall so remove those
first look closely for damaged or
diseased branches and remove them the
tree needs to allocate energy towards
new growth and healthy branches
thoroughly check your tree for the
following problems that will require the
help of an arborist look for decayed or
hollowed-out wood and check around the
tree trunk for peeling bark all
so inspect the roots if you see raised
soil or bare roots it can indicate an
unstable root system and tree as you can
see the mulch here is mounted too high
this can cause decay around the root
flare as well as promote girdling roots
girdling is when roots wrap around and
squeeze the main trunk step back and get
a big picture view of your tree then
decide how you want it to grow find the
strong leader branches those giving the
tree its structure and determine the
branches the cut the size of the tree
determines how many limbs you can remove
you shouldn't remove more than 25% of a
small young tree and no more than 10% of
a large older tree now let's get into
the interior pruning find any branches
that are downward pointing and branches
crossing one another
these will often cause damage as they
rub together wearing or rubbing a weak
spot and overtime breaking another
common issue is when two branches form a
V crotch you'll want to remove one side
to prevent the branches from becoming
weak when these branches grow they're
essentially competing or growing against
each other
weakening the tree when pruning cut a
slight angle about a quarter inch beyond
the bud or limb if you have a large limb
use a handsaw or pole saw it's helpful
to start your cuts away from the trunk
removing small sections at a time now if
you get a branch that's over an inch in
diameter you're gonna want to make a
three-point cut to avoid tearing the
bark first cut a quarter way through the
underside of the limb a few inches away
from the trunk then about an inch past
the first cut they'll cut through the
limb on the top side the limbs weight
will cause it to break between the two
cuts finally the third cut will be just
outside the branch bark Ridge the top
section the bottom is called the branch
collar this is the flared base of the
branch cut downward and outward close to
perpendicular to the limb the final cut
will be made as close to the tree as
possible without damaging the collar air
on the side of caution and leave it a
little bit longer then check with an
arborist to see if a sealer is necessary
as the tree ages it will close over the
cut another aspect of tree maintenance
is to remove water sprouts and suckers
water sprouts are small vertical limbs
growing from dominant branches some
sprouts are okay because you don't want
to have a bear limb with leaves only at
the end suckers are small tree is
growing from the base of the trunk both
take nutrients from the tree simply use
scissor cut shears to remove them focus
on pruning that encourages new growth in
the directions you desire and for more
flowers or fruit it's important to
understand how the tree grows a terminal
bud at the end of the branch produces
hormones that slow the growth of lateral
buds along the side of the chute these
lateral buds at bulk or bushiness to the
tree waiting until the chute is long
enough or clipping the terminal bud will
encourage growth of lateral buds and add
bulk to the tree pruning your trees
regularly will ensure their health for
years to come
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