Pruning & Crown Reduction

Tree Pruning & Crown Reduction

During busy day to day life, tree pruning is often not something one would think about. But to keep your trees happy their health must be well taken care of. If not addressed, trees can become overgrown very quickly and it can also badly affect their health long-term. Fortunately, at Bronzeleaf Tree Surgery we can help you get your trees back to their full potential. Our experienced team of professional tree surgeons are based in Horsham and cater to surrounding areas, so we can be there at a time ideal for you. We also take all the cuttings away with us, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. In this article we discuss our tree pruning and crown reduction services.

Why is it important to take care of your trees?

Maintaining the health of your trees can benefit you and your garden in many ways. Healthy trees will attract native fauna, encouraging natural biodiversity to spread across your whole garden. They can also help reduce air pollution and improve air quality because they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, reducing the greenhouse effect. This helps to keep your body healthy as you are less likely to be inhaling harmful pollution in the air. Mature trees help to enrich the nearby soil with nutrients, which helps to benefit other plants in your garden. When in the right position trees can give your house heat reduction and shading of the windows and walls, which keeps your house cooler in hot weather.

If that’s not a good enough reason, there have even been studies showing that proximity to trees can improve your mental health. Spending time around trees have been shown to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and improve you mood. Furthermore, established and mature trees have been shown to add between 10 and 20% to the value of your property. This because it makes your property seem more unique, making it stand out to buyers. Furthermore, the help to improve the landscape of a property. It can also increase privacy, another positive factor for many buyers. However, if a tree is not well maintained it can do the opposite an actually decrease the value of your property. Considering all these reasons, it is vital to maintain the health of your trees.

Crown reduction

Another factor when considering, tree pruning and crown reduction is the point of the crown reduction is to reduce the height and spread of the crown. It may be used to reduce mechanical stress on individual branches or the whole tree. It also makes the tree more suited to its environment and reduces light loss. It can help to reduce the height of an overgrown tree and reshape the crown to look more pleasing while keeping its natural shape. Crown reduction can also help increase the structural integrity of a tree, meaning it is safe to be near your property during times of extreme weather.

Crown thinning

Crown thinning is when we remove a portion of the smaller branches. One reason for doing this would be to remove any insects or diseases which may be harming the tree over time. It also allows more light and nutrients to get to the leaves, meaning the remaining branches can grow healthily. This helps to maintain the health of the tree overall. When a tree is healthy it can also benefit the plants and grass growing underneath. It can also help a tree that is getting out of control to have a more attractive shape.

At Bronzeleaf all of our tree surgeons conform to British standards BS3998 (2010).

Dead wood removal

As trees mature it is completely normal for them to produce dead and dying wood. By ‘dead wooding’ the tree it helps to further improve the health of your tree and prevent problems in the future. When dying branches rot, they can infect the tree trunk and cause it to die a lot quicker. It could attract pests which could impact the health of other nearby plants. It also makes your tree look much nicer, making the entire landscape and your property improve in appearance too. The main reason for dead wooding, however, is safety- trees with dead branches can be a threat to people and property, especially in extreme weather. By dead wooding your tree you are protecting your family, your home and anything else near the tree.

Formative pruning

Formative pruning is a measure taken to allow younger trees to grow with a healthy shape and good structure. We carry this out as soon as the trees are well established, between the second and fourth seasons after planting. It helps to develop well-spaced branches which allow good air circulation and more light to reach the leaves.

Crown lifting

Depending on the tree, crown lifting may be a more appropriate service. This is the removal of the lowest branches and the preparation of lower branches to be removed in the future. It helps to create more space in the tree at eye level and if needed can create a more open passage for people or vehicles trying to get by. Another benefit of crown lifting is to prevent damage to any nearby structures that could be damaged by the lower branches. It also helps to let more light reach the ground, improving the health of any grass or plants directly below.

What time of year is best to prune a tree?

According to experts, the best time of year to prune your trees is in winter. This is because they enter a state of dormancy, meaning that they’re taking a break from growing leaves until warmer weather in the spring brings a new flush of growth. This is why we see leaves falling off the trees in autumn! If it is done incorrectly or at the wrong time of year it could affect its fruitfulness, how it grows and whether it will survive potential extreme weather during the long winter months.

When trees shed their leaves in the winter, it is easier to see any diseased or weak parts that may be hidden during the summer months. It means that we can prevent any diseases from spreading when the weather gets warmer since they are dormant during cold weather. If the tree grows flowers or fruit, it can promote a fuller yield come springtime.

Winter pruning also causes less stress for the trees. Tree pruning at this time of year doesn’t stimulate new growth, meaning that they can heal with plenty of time to spare before destructive insects and pathogens come with spring. The sap is also far less active during the winter, meaning that if any cuts need to be made, they are less likely to ‘bleed’. This means that the tree has less stress on it than if the sap is in full flow when it is chopped.

Trees that are damaged or dying can be dangerous during the winter. When we have cases of extreme weather such as ice or snow, parts of the tree could potentially fall off if not attended to and cause damage to you or your property. If a tree has a particularly dense canopy it may act as a kind of sail, meaning that strong winds are more likely to pull it over. This puts a lot of strain on a trees structure, possibly making them unsafe.

Checking the health of your trees during the winter

Even when fighting off pests or diseases, trees tend to be able to withstand a lot, especially if well established. However, all trees do die eventually and due to the lack of leaves during the winter it can be hard to tell if a tree is dying or just dormant. There are several ways you can check the health of your trees during the winter. The easiest way is just by looking at it- does it have any fungus growing? Are there any large cracks in the bark or open wounds?

You can also check the health of your tree by looking at the bark. Unhealthy trees struggle to regrow their bark, whereas healthy ones will shed and regrow their bark regularly. You could also try snapping off a small branch- if the branch is flexible and does not want to snap, it indicates a healthy tree. The insides of the branch being a fleshy green or white is also an indicator of good tree health.

Another way of checking if the tree is still healthy is by checking the buds- yes, your tree will still have small buds even during winter! A healthy tree will have  buds ready to bloom in spring. If a tree is dying it will lack buds, or the buds will look dry and shrivelled.

Our team of professional tree surgeons are on hand  week in week out to assist with all your tree care needs. If you are interested in any of our tree pruning and crown reduction services call us on 07854 369097 to discuss your specific needs, or you can further browse our website here.