Pruning Your Trees

Trees are most certainly taken for granted by the average person.  If you live in an area heavily populated with wooded areas, you probably don’t even notice them.  If you live in a more built-up city like environment you may not even think about them.

With a healthy tree come many benefits to humans, animals and the environment:

Trees clean the air by absorbing pollutants, they absorb CO2, removing the carbon whilst releasing the oxygen back into the air.  They also help to prevent soil erosion, by holding the soil in place.  They are a fantastic source of food, supplying humans with an array of fruits, in addition to food for birds and wildlife.  They cleverly provide us with indications of the change in seasons, from the gorgeous blooming summers, to the radiant reds and gold’s of autumn.  They can offer privacy to homes, buildings, in addition to masking otherwise unsightly walls, unkempt areas.

If you are responsible for trees on your property, it is important that your tree surgeon chepstow understands the necessity of looking after them, to ensure longevity and healthy growth.

If you are wondering why you need to prune your trees, here are a few reasons:

Keep a tree healthy.  Regular pruning will see the removal of dead, damaged or diseased branches.  This prevents any disease/decay from entering the tree and causing further damage.  Thinning the trees will also help with disease prevention, and from a disease spreading from one tree to the next.  Whilst pruning, untangle branches, this will prevent them rubbing on each other and causing weaknesses.  If there are any other plants growing from the tree, these can be removed too to ensure the tree isn’t missing out on nutrients and water.

By enlisting the help from a professional tree surgeon, trees will be pruned in the correct manner, thus ensuring the overall structure of the tree is not compromised.  This is important not only from the trees health point of view, but also one of safety.  It is not wise to have a tree which isn’t structurally sound, especially if it is close to your property, or where people may be close by.  A tree surgeon will also make sure that any low growing branches are removed, or trimmed back to avoid any unnecessary accidents.  As well as retaining the trees natural form, pruning will also stimulate growth in the tree.

Find a professional!

A professional tree surgeon will be able to advise on the best time of year to prune your trees.  Usually this is towards the end of the year, when the tree has already had its growing period.  This minimises stress to the tree, the amount of sap that can be lost when pruning, and gives the tree the best possible start for when it comes into bloom again.  The tree surgeon will now how much to remove from the tree, and will endeavour to remove as little as possible, yet achieve the maximum results.  Removing too much can damage a tree, and this is often irreversible and the tree will never recover.

Evolution Trees are happy to take on small pruning jobs, to large more complex tree removal.  With expertise in thinning, dead wooding, felling and much more, you can rest assured that your trees will receive the best possible treatment.

The team are fully insured and qualified, which gives you the peace of mind that your trees will stay happy and healthy!

What Does A Tree Surgeon Do?

We’ve all heard of tree surgeons (or arborists, to use the technical term), but what do they actually do? Well, they undertake a number of tasks and services but, essentially, tree surgery involves maintaining, managing and caring for trees.

Trees make a wonderful addition to your garden or land and have many uses such as providing fuel, shade and a habitat for wildlife. Each tree is a living organism that is a mini ecosystem in its own right. However, problems can arise when a tree is damaged by storms and floods or has become diseased. Sometimes natural growth gets out of hand, meaning that trees and hedges need to be maintained. However, in extreme cases, trees can present a hazard to people and property. A tree surgeon gloucestershire will be able to resolve these issues, whilst ensuring the safety of people and property and, hopefully, the health of the tree.

More than just “lopping and chopping”

Tree surgery is more than “lopping and chopping”; it’s a highly skilled job that requires an extensive knowledge of trees and safety procedures. So, let’s take a look at some common tree surgery techniques and what the tree surgeon does.

Felling – This is deceptively simple, because it takes a lot of knowledge and experience and it should only be undertaken by professionals with the relevant NPTC qualifications. A tree surgeon will have a range of methods for felling a tree safely and effectively to ensure that the whole tree, along with its canopy, falls safely to the ground.

Sectional Dismantling - sometimes trees need to be felled, but they can’t be felled in one go because of obstacles such as buildings, fences and roads. This means that the tree needs to be taken down in sections and a tree surgeon will need to climb the tree using a harness and rope to lower the pieces down. As each tree and situation is unique, a tree surgeon will have a number of techniques at the ready and they will be able to work out the best strategy for completing the task at hand. This is a very complex and dangerous tree surgery technique that should only be carried out by qualified professionals!

Crown lifting – this involves removing the lower branches of a tree so the canopy starts higher up. This is often carried out by roadsides and public footpaths, where there are regulations on the height at which the canopy should start.

Crown thinning – This is carried out to allow more light and wind to pass through and to improve the distribution of weight. The tree surgeon will remove certain branches (including dead wood and crossing branches) evenly throughout the canopy.

Dead wooding – This is where a tree surgeon will remove as much dead wood as possible from a tree canopy. Some tree surgeons will leave a little dead wood so there is still a remaining habitat for fungi and invertebrates. This is a more environmentally method which doesn’t compromise on safety.

Reducing – This tree surgery technique reduces the spread and height of a tree, as the name suggests. It’s best practice to reshape the whole of the tree depending upon how much has been removed from it.

Maintaining large hedges – Clipping, dealing with problem hedges and maintaining hedges is all part of tree surgery. A good tree surgeon will have all the right equipment and know how to give the results you’re looking for. They will also be able to advise you on nesting birds.

Don’t try this at home!

Because of the highly skilled and potentially dangerous nature of the work, it’s important to use a qualified and insured arborist or tree surgeon to undertake the tasks outlined above. A reputable one will be happy to verify that they are fully insured and qualified to do the job safely and competently. Don’t try it yourself!