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Improving Your Home Landscaping

Few things are more frustrating than a messy front yard. In addition to disrupting your curb appeal, overgrown, messy landscaping can also harbor pests and make it look like you don't care about your property. Fortunately, tidying up your yard doesn't have to be difficult. I have spent years learning more about landscaping, and this blog is all about how to become a landscaping enthusiast. Check out these articles about fun topics like planting flowers, perfecting pruned trees, and decorating your yard with whimsical additions. After you know more about landscaping, your yard might become the talk of the town.

Improving Your Home Landscaping

3 Mistakes To Avoid When Trimming Your Tree

by Bill Kuhn

When it comes to trimming your trees, chances are you are doing it because you want to keep the tree healthy and encourage attractive growth. Unfortunately, there are some common mistakes homeowners often make when tackling this chore themselves. The following are a few things to avoid if you are planning to trim your trees.

#1: Pruning in the wrong season

Although you can usually do very light pruning or removals of damaged branches at any time of year, heavy pruning is usually reserved for late winter. There are several good reasons for this. If you wait until spring, the sap is flowing and pest organisms are active, both recipes for infection. In summer, growth generally slows so that pruning wounds don't close quickly but pests are still active and waiting to infect the tree. Fall pruning is sometimes suitable, but generally late winter is best since pests aren't active and the tree will heal quickly since the growth cycle is about to begin.

#2: Topping the tree to control size

The best way to control the size of a tree is to plant one that only grows to the size you desire. Topping is when you cut off the entire top of the tree. The result is a flat-topped tree with an unnatural shape and a weakened branch structure, which makes it more prone to storm damage and overall weak growth. If you must minimize the size of a tree, do it over several years. Remove 1/4 to 1/3 of the length of every branch during your normal late winter pruning, but never cut back beyond the first bud closest to the trunk. Repeat the process each year until the tree is a more manageable size.

#3: Cutting without a plan

Going into a tree with a pruning saw and no plan can be reckless. If you are a pruning novice, it is well worth it to first survey the tree carefully and then mark which branches you want to remove. The goal is to keep the canopy balanced so that the weight and distribution of the branches is relatively equal on all sides. To achieve this goal, you will generally remove damaged and dead wood, any branches that are rubbing together, branches that are growing straight up or dropping down, and those growing on the trunk below the main canopy. Aim to cut out no more than about a quarter of the branches in a single pruning session.

For more help and guidance so you can avoid these mistakes, contact a professional tree trimmer such as Treetime Inc.

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