Pruning Your Trees and Shrubs

When done properly, pruning enhances the beauty and value of your property. It removes diseased or damaged branches, and it opens up the canopy of trees to allow for more sunlight penetration to reduce leaf-burning on the ground and improve air flow through your yard. It also keeps plants from over-growing their environment, reducing the risk of damage to your home or power lines. In addition, pruning promotes the growth of new and healthy tissue to replace old or damaged branches.

Pruning should be a regular part of your landscape maintenance program. In fact, studies have shown that regularly pruning your young trees during the first three years of life will increase their chances for rapid growth. This is because the pruning removes dead or dying branches, allowing more sunlight to penetrate into the canopy of your tree and enable the plant to make more photosynthetic energy.

Plants that have been sheared or trained into an unnatural shape will need more pruning than those that grow naturally. Similarly, over-grown shrubs and trees that have not been pruned for several years may be in need of more extensive renovation pruning to redirect growth and restore vigor.

In general, it is best to prune a plant during its dormant season (winter). This will not only make pruning easier, but it is the best time for the plant to heal from the cuts that you will be making. The exception to this is certain plants that bloom on wood produced during the previous growing season such as azalea, rhododendron, lilac and magnolia. These should be pruned immediately after they bloom.

When pruning, it is important to have a definite plan before you begin. During the pruning process, you should remove broken branches, branches that are growing in an undesirable direction, diseased or insect-damaged limbs, and limbs that are dead or dying. During the course of a pruning job, you should also shorten the length of branches and limbs by cutting them back to a lateral branch or shoot. This will prevent the limbs from becoming brittle or breaking off.

In order to get the best results from your pruning, you should always use sharp, clean tools and be sure to follow the proper cutting techniques. It is also a good idea to periodically clean and oil your tools, including wiping the cutting surfaces with an oily cloth.

The final step in the pruning process is to sand or paint your tools to help protect them from further damage. Keeping your pruning tools in good working condition will reduce the amount of work that is required to keep your plants and trees looking their best.

Pruning is a labor intensive and potentially dangerous job. Every year, many homeowners end up in the ER due to pruning-related injuries. It is very important to have a professional company such as Zodega TIS perform these tasks for you. Contact us today for more information about our residential landscaping services in Houston.

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