What Months are Best for Tree Trimming?

When Is The Best Time to Trim and Prune your Trees?

Our skilled team of Athens arborists often get asked the question: “What is the best time to trim trees?” Unfortunately, the answer is not as straightforward as most people would like. That said, we threw together a helpful guide that we believe to be the answer to this question. Every tree is a little different, and we must know which tree we are working with to accurately tell you the correct time to prune/trim your tree.

Generally speaking, the best time to trim your tree is typically during the winter months, usually from November until March. Most trees are dormant during winter, making them ideal for several reasons.

• Trees are less vulnerable to insects and disease.
• There is a minor impact on the surrounding land, and our tree arborists can have a clearer vision of the work required.
• Trees will heal faster during the dormant months, meaning that by the time spring comes, your trees will be healthy and ready to have healthy growth.
• Lastly, you save money! Getting this kind of work done during winter is often cheaper when the demand for this service is lower. Who doesn’t want to save money?

Reasons for Pruning:

Pruning is a regular and recommended part of tree care. Proper tree pruning and trimming will encourage healthy growth of your trees, improve the health of your trees, make your trees aesthetically pleasing, and increase flower and fruit production (Depending on the type of tree you have).

Here are eight reasons why someone might prune their tree:

• Increase the overall health of your tree.
• Remove branches that are rubbing together.

If you find that your tree is dead or decaying, then consider having your tree removed. Check out our Athens Tree Removal Service for any more questions!

• Remove dead or dying branches due to disease, insects, animals, storms, or other forms of damage.
• Remove branch stubs.
• Encourage flower and fruit growth.
• Improve the appearance of the tree.
• Control size and shape.
• Protect family and property.

When you get your trees pruned in the late winter months, it ensures that fresh wounds from cuts are only exposed for a short period before spring growth begins. Plus, when you prune your trees in dormant months, it is easier to decide where to cut your tree branches as there are no leaves to obstruct your view.

Certain diseases are avoidable by pruning in the late winter months.

Oak Wilt Disease is a lethal disease caused by the fungus Ceratocystis Fagacearum.

This fungus is especially dangerous because it invades and disables the water-conducting system in several oak species. Different species of oak trees will vary in susceptibility to the disease. However, this is a fatal disease to oak trees and will ultimately result in the demise of your tree. It would be best to never prune your oak trees between April and October to avoid this disease.

Apple tree pruning takes place between the months of February to late April.

By doing this, you help encourage vigorous growth within your fruit tree. Why? Because you are selecting the best branches to keep and removing the not-so-great branches. Thus, when apple season comes around, your best branches will receive all the healthy growth.

Pruning in the spring and summer months increases the risk of infection. Meanwhile, fall and early winter pruning can result in growth issues the following season. Thus, it is vital to prune your trees in the late winter months. This rule has few exceptions, but generally, late winter month pruning is optimal for tree growth and minimal tree damage.

Evergreens

Evergreens are fantastic in the sense that they rarely ever require pruning and trimming. However, suppose you notice that your evergreen tree is growing irregularly or posing a threat to you or your property. In that case, pruning should happen as soon as possible. According to individual growth habits, pruning will vary with different evergreens.

Call Today!

Are you interested in getting your trees pruned? Call us today to see how we can help. Our Athens tree experts are ready to help you any day of the year.