When do you prune your trees? While most gardeners believe that pruning is a winter maintenance activity, summer pruning is a game-changer. It’s a win-win: trimming away those dead branches shapes up your trees and encourages new growth. Summer is a great time to cut off those dead limbs that could harbor disease or insects, ensuring that your trees get the best start to the growing season. Here are a few benefits to summer tree pruning and why you should consider it this season.
The Importance of Summer Pruning for Healthy Trees
Remove the Dead Weight
The last thing you need is a branch falling on you as you’re enjoying the shade underneath a tree in your yard. Make the garden safer this summer by pruning any dead branches on trees that could be a hazard. With summer storm season coming up, fallen branches could cause damage to your property, or lead to serious injury.
Stop the Spread of Diseases
Deadwood is the perfect breeding ground for all kinds of nasty pathogens. Diseases can ruin your trees if you don’t spot the problem early enough in the season. Summer tree trimming ensures the diseases don’t spread to other trees in the yard.
Better Air Circulation
Reduce humidity in the canopy by pruning damaged limbs and dense branch structures before the summer growing season starts. Increasing air circulation throughout the canopy also reduces the risk of fungal infections.
Summer Tree Pruning Improves Aesthetics
Who doesn’t love a shapely tree in their yard? Shaping trees with summer pruning is a perfect approach to improving the aesthetics of your yard. It leaves you with an eye-pleasing effect that drives up the curb appeal of your property.
Regulate Growth
Maintain the size of your trees and ensure the growth doesn’t get out of hand. Prune branches away from windows where tree limbs or branches might scratch or break the glass. Pay special attention to trees planted around the house, near patios, walkways, or utility lines.
Create a Strong Structure
Proper pruning allows the tree to maintain its proper form and structure throughout its life. Prune young trees to prevent them from sprawling out and create a manicured look that’s fantastic.
Nurture New Growth
Summer pruning isn’t just about cutting back your trees. Pruning encourages new healthy growth. This can apply to fruiting and blooming trees, giving you better results during the growing season.
Better Fruiting and Fruit Quality
Pruning in the summer improves the trees’ ability to bear fruit. You’ll get better fruit yields and improved fruit quality. It’s the perfect time to prune fruit trees because the tree knows where to focus its energy during the growing season.
More Blooms
Pruning your flowering trees in the summer results in brighter blooms during the growing season. Summer pruning will leave your yard looking beautiful and smelling fragrant.
Growth Manipulation
Manage tree growth by using selective pruning strategies. Create a branch formation that fits your yard and looks good.
Other Summer Tree Pruning Perks
Here are a few more reasons to prune in the summer.
- Rapid Healing – Trees are in active growth mode during the summer. That means pruning wounds close quickly and don’t sap as much energy from the tree when healing, improving growth.
- Spot Problem Areas – When the trees bud and produce leaves it makes it easier to spot weak branches that present a fall risk. You’ll also find it easier to spot damaged trees in the canopy that need pruning to improve air circulation.
- Stop Suckers and Water Sprouts – Summer pruning of water sprouts and suckers removes this weak growth from the tree. Therefore, allowing it to concentrate its energy on strengthening the branches. It stops the suckers from draining the water resources for the tree, ensuring optimal growth.
How to Prune Like a Pro
Here are a few tips to ensure you get the best possible summer pruning experience for your trees.
- Use the Proper Tools: Ensure that your pruning tools are sharp and sterile to achieve accurate, clean cuts. Clean tools between pruning sessions to prevent the spread of disease.
- Don’t Overdo It: Never cut off more than 10-20% of the branches in a single growing season.
- Prune When It’s Cool: Prune at the cooler times of the day like the early morning or evening.
- Ask the Experts: If you’re hesitant about pruning your trees, hire a professional arborist or local tree service company to do the pruning for you.
Tree Services of Omaha – Tree Removal Services
Tree Services of Omaha, Nebraska is a full-service tree care provider that offers a wide range of arborist services including but not limited to: Tree Removal Services, Tree Trimming, Tree Pruning, Tree and shrubs Shaping, Stump Removal, Stump Grinding, Emerald Ash Borer Treatment, Arborist Consultations, Systemic Tree Injection (Tree Healthcare).
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