Tall and Beautiful: A Blog About Tree Services

Posted on: 11 December 2020

Your landscape trees could use an annual pruning, and for many trees, winter can be a great time to perform this service. Here are some of the reasons why winter works well for tree pruning.

Pests Are Less Active

During winter, insect pests tend to be much less active and much less present on and around your trees. Since some insect pests, if present, could target a tree with pruning cuts (which provide an easy way to access the tree's interior), this is one reason why the tree may have better outcomes if you prune during wintertime.

Cold Weather Doesn't Encourage Fungus

Anytime a tree receives a wound (including a pruning cut), it has a small chance of getting an infection from a disease such as a fungus. Fungal diseases are often much more active in warm, wet weather such as spring, however.

A tree that's pruned in winter may be more likely to dodge infection by fungal issues. In some cases, your tree pruning expert may also apply a dressing to the fresh pruning cuts, although this can vary based on the situation.

Trees Are Dormant

If you cut a tree back significantly during the growing season, it may respond by putting out suckers or water sprouts. These types of growth are considered undesirable because they tend to be structurally unstable. If you perform tree pruning while your tree is dormant rather than actively growing, you can avoid this problem.

Structure Is Easy to See

If you're pruning deciduous trees, winter can make their structure easier to see and assess. Without leaves blocking the view, you (or your tree pruning professionals) can quickly and easily identify which branches are rubbing together, which ones are structurally stable or unstable, and more. This can make the pruning process easier.

Trees Aren't Blooming Yet

In some cases, pruning your trees at the right time of year can help with bloom. If your landscape trees are late spring or summer bloomers, then winter is an ideal time to prune them before they start to bud or bloom (pruning hard after budding starts could cut down on the number of blooms).

If the tree blooms in late winter, which is less common, or in early spring, you may want to prune them slightly before they bloom and again after the bloom. Another option would be to wait on these spring bloomers and prune them later in the year.

As you can see, for most landscape trees, pruning in the wintertime can be an ideal way to keep the tree structurally sound and keep it trimmed down to the size you need. For more information on tree pruning or to schedule tree pruning services, get in touch with your local tree pruning professionals today.