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The Importance of Pruning: Protect Your Trees and Home

Annie Bruchez
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Pruning is an excellent method of preventative maintenance for both young and established plants and trees. A regular pruning schedule protects your trees, family, and property from injury, pests and damage. It’s an important part of a long-term maintenance strategy.

What is pruning, anyway? Pruning is the practice of removing specific portions of a tree or shrub (such as roots, buds, or branches) that are dead and dying due to pests, disease, and lack of sunlight or trimming for healthy plant development and aesthetic purposes.

The Benefits of Pruning

Princeton Tree Care Worker Pruning for Safety of Home and Health of Tree

Promote plant health

Pruning removes dead and dying branches and stubs, allowing room for new growth and protecting your property and passerby from damage. It also deters pest and animal infestation and promotes the plant’s natural shape and healthy growth.

Maintain Plants and Landscapes

Pruning encourages healthy fruit and flower production for trees and shrubs. Regular trimming develops hedge aesthetics and keeps evergreens proportioned and dense. Such maintenance supports your property’s planned layout and appearance by controlling plant size and shape.

Protect Your Family and Property

Regular pruning reduces the risk of storm damage to structures from broken branches. Protect your family and friends from falling branches over walkways, driveways, and children’s play areas. This practice also helps control pests, vermin, and snakes by reducing their habitat options.

Types of Pruning

Pruning, especially for large trees and shrubs, is best left to professionals. It can be dangerous! You could injure the plant or yourself in the process.

There are several different types of pruning.

• Thinning – This procedure removes branches at the base, right alongside the trunk.

• Topping – This is a drastic process that removes most of the branches down to the trunk. Topping is commonly used when training young trees to grow certain ways.

• Raising – This involves the trimming of low-hanging branches to create headroom for pedestrians, parked cars or entryways.

• Reduction – This means trimming back a tree’s volume, typically for safety reasons, such as creating space for power lines.

Credit: groundsguys.com