Smart tree grooming starts with great pruning
Your trees don’t ask for much. They’re content with a well-fertilized lawn and regular watering during our hot San Antonio summers. They also enjoy annual pruning, but they hope you don’t confuse that with a trim. While both should always be on your landscaping to-do list, it’s important to understand the difference. A trim lightly shapes your trees, but pruning keeps them strong and beautiful.
Why Your Trees Care
Shape counts, but pruning is an important part of healthy tree maintenance. Making the right cut frees your shady friends from dead branches, and it helps control disease. That backyard crop of apples and pears depends on your lopper to encourage blooms for an abundant harvest. Most area trees appreciate their pruning from February through early spring. However, midwinter is the best time to work on live oaks because the cold weather discourages the spread of wilt fungus. Pruning is an important part of managing Oak Wilt, but must be performed during the coldest times of the year in order to prevent its spread. Some municipalities and HOA’s have restrictions about when pruning can occur based on Oak Wilt seasonality.
How to Make the Cut
Always work with sharp tools that remove branches with minimum damage to the bark. Make your cut just above the area where the limb grows from the tree, and keep the stub as short as possible. This fresh wound can be an entryway for insects and disease, but most trees heal quickly. While pruning sealers have fallen out of favor over the years, they’re still recommended for live oaks. Don’t get carried away with your work. Limit the cutting to no more than 25% of a tree’s canopy.
When It’s Over Your Head
Some pruning jobs are tall orders even for professionals. Large shade trees often need thinning because their abundant foliage stands between the sun and your lawn. However, clearing out those heavy branches requires more than a hand saw and a steady ladder. Storm-damaged branches dangling from tall trees pose an unstable hazard, and pruning too close to the roofline can be hard on your house. Always call in a tree specialist for anything more than a routine job, and never work around utility poles or overhead lines.
Before you haul out the heavy shears, call our friendly teams at ABC Home & Commercial Services for more information. From towering live oaks to graceful crepe myrtles, our experienced staff enjoys sharing pruning tips and lawn care tricks. We’re always here to help keep your San Antonio landscape healthy and beautiful.