Trees clean your air, provide shade for your home, improve the beauty of your landscape, and can even boost your property value. In return, they need regular care, including pruning. While proper pruning improves a tree’s shape, health, and stability, improper pruning can do more harm than good.
You may inadvertently damage your tree if you cut at the wrong time, choose the wrong equipment, or use incorrect techniques. In this post, a professional tree service in Santa Clarita discusses how bad pruning cuts and other mistakes may harm or even kill your trees.
Five Common Improper Pruning Cuts
The following common bad pruning cuts can threaten the health of your tree:
- Flush cuts: While cutting a branch flush with the trunk may look tidy, it exposes the tree to pest and disease infestations. Proper pruning leaves the branch collar (which contains specialized healing tissue) intact.
- Stub cuts: Unlike flush cuts, stub cuts leave so much of the remaining branch that the collar cannot seal off the wound.
- Heading cuts: Heading removes only a portion of the branch, often at an indiscriminate point. These cuts stimulate the growth of many small, weak branches.
- Lion tailing: This pruning mistake removes all interior growth, resulting in long branches with leaves only at the tip. Lion tailing compromises the tree’s structural integrity, making it more susceptible to wind damage.
- Tree topping: An outdated pruning method, tree topping prevents wound closure, inhibits future growth, and leaves trees vulnerable to diseases and storms.
Other Common Pruning Mistakes
Bad pruning cuts aren’t the only form of improper pruning. The following errors also endanger your trees:
- Cutting too much: Removing more than one-third of the branch makes it difficult for the tree to heal and photosynthesize nutrients.
- Trimming too often: Overly frequent pruning prevents trees from recovering and growing between sessions.
- Pruning at the wrong time: If you prune during droughts or in the wrong season, your tree may suffer.
- Focusing on the wrong aspect: Selective pruning removes dead, diseased, or unwanted branches for maximum health and growth. By contrast, shearing removes all outer edges of a plant for aesthetic reasons, producing heavy growth outside and weak growth inside.
- Using the wrong tools: Using shears instead of loppers (or loppers when chainsaws are in order) can mangle branches, leaving them open to insects and disease.
To avoid these and other pruning mistakes, consult a professional for assistance. Certified arborists have specialized knowledge of tree growth patterns, local pests and diseases, and tree work safety. Importantly, they also know how to avoid the common pitfalls of improper pruning.
In addition to avoiding these common mistakes, it’s essential to consider how you manage the aftermath of tree maintenance, such as handling wood chips after tree removal. These chips can be repurposed as mulch, compost material, or even as a ground cover to reduce soil erosion and retain moisture.
Experienced Tree Care Services in Southern California
Now that you know the dangers of bad pruning cuts, is it time to call in the pros? At Tip Top Arborists, we are a full-service tree company in Southern California with over 45 years of experience.
Whether you need help pruning fruit trees for maximum production or need urgent tree trimming after a storm, our certified experts are ready to assist you. Call our Santa Clarita team today at (661) 942-5501!