News And Advice From The Leading Thousand Oaks Tree Trimming Company

With springtime on the horizon, it’s time to think about giving your trees a last little pruning before they begin to regain their lush summer foliage.

Before you begin, keep in mind the ABCs of pruning:

A stands for Assess the Tree

To assess the tree’s health in general, ask yourself some questions. Has it been growing quickly or more slowly? Where is your tree situated in terms of human traffic — does it need to be pruned back to allow access to walkways, or is it out of the way and right for a natural growth pattern?

B stands for Bad Branches

Bad branches include those that are damaged in some way. Check out your trees to see if any branches are broken or split, if there is any missing bark or if any branches are showing signs of disease.

C stands for Competing Branches

Most trees have a main branch that grows straight up. After you identify the main branch, you’ll see the competing branches — these are candidates for removal or reduction. These often appear on lateral branches that have offshoots that try to also grow straight up.

If you’re not quite sure about how this explanation applies in real life, I invite you to check out this video from the Arbor Day Foundation. It produces videos with certified arborists who have the expertise to demonstrate proper pruning techniques.

Of course, if you’d like to leave the pruning up to an expert, give me a call today at (805) 499-9107. As a certified arborist, I am happy to explain the rationale behind our work.