Tree Pruning

Tree pruning is one of the best and worst things that can be done to a tree. The timing, appropriateness, and severity are critical. When done properly it can train a tree to develop a strong structure, improve safety, mitigate potential problems, and enhance appearance, and function. When done improperly such as in topping, it can create more problems than it solves. It can introduce disease and decay into the tree, create or enhance safety issues, ruin the natural beauty of the tree, shorten the lifespan of the tree, and in some cases kill the tree. Acer Trees is committed to providing the best quality pruning services. We are International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborists and have improved the lives, condition, and appearance of thousands of trees through proper pruning. Please contact us to discuss how we can take care of your tree pruning needs. ANSI A-300 elaborate.

Pruning types:

Crown Cleaning: The selective removal of dead, diseased, detached, and broken branches. Generally a minimum of live branches are removed but can include branches that are crossing or rubbing.

Crown Raising: The selective removal of branches to provide vertical clearance. This might be done for house clearance, utility line clearance, or vehicle and pedestrian clearance. It can also be done to improve or enhance a view or improve visibility.

Crown Thinning: The removal of selected branches to reduce density evenly through the crown without modifying crown size or shape.

Crown Reduction: Pruning to reduce the height or spread of a tree. Reasonable objectives could be reducing the risk of tree or branch failure, reducing the amount of shade beneath the tree, mitigating broken branches following storms, or preserving mature trees. Crown reduction is not synonymous with topping and should be done with proper cuts to lateral branches.

Structural Pruning: Pruning to maintain a dominant leader (one main trunk) by reducing the length of or removing competing leaders. This typically means shortening the longest branches with a reduction cut. Properly pruning young and middle-aged trees to form a strong structure decreases the need for pruning when trees are mature. Because smaller trees are less expensive to prune than large trees, pruning budgets go farther. It pays to solve structural problems while the tree is young and branches are small than when the tree is mature and branches are much larger.

Espalier: A specialized pruning practice requiring skill, patience, and frequent pruning. The premise of espalier pruning is making the tree two dimensional and training it along a fence or a wall. Branches are often tied to wires to direct growth. This is commonly done with apple and pear trees but other tree species will work. Espalier is a pruning alternative especially where space is limited or to create a special effect or define spaces.

Pollarding: This is a pruning practice that is less common along the Wasatch front. Pollarding is maintaining a tree at a specific height and provides a formal look to the landscape. Pollarding can be used to keep a large-maturing tree small if it was improperly located in a restricted soil space such as a planter, narrow soil strip, parking lot island, or sidewalk cutout. It is also useful to control size if planted too closely to structures such as a building, street light, or electric wire. Once begun it is essential that pollarding continue on a regular basis. Pollarding is less common along the Wasatch Front but is a viable pruning practice that could be used more.