In this article, I’ll discuss tree trimming and removal in winter, fall, summer, and spring.
For your tree to maintain a healthy and beautiful look, you must trim it regularly. If the case is that your tree is dead or decayed, then removing it may be the only choice you would have.
However, tree trimming and removal have to be done at the right time.
Pruning during the wrong season could lead to your tree failing in health or even death.
Overview
Trees function around a cycle of growth and dormancy every year. Tree trimming is mainly carried out during the winter or early spring, although some species are best pruned in the summer.
Tree trimming is done for different reasons, so you should plan your trip around the unique problem you’re trying to fix in the tree.
Winter Tree Trimming
During the winter season, trees are dormant. This means they are not in active growth.
Winter is the most popular season for tree caregivers to trim. Since the tree is in its dormant stage, it won’t be severely affected by cutting and can heal faster from it.
Another reason trimming in the winter is ideal is this – Most tree species shed their leaves at this time. This will give the person trimming a better view of the branches that need to be cut back or cut off. Most of which are dead or crossed branches that the leaves could’ve hidden.
New spring growth will also be promoted when trees are trimmed during the winter. However, be advised to cut after the coldest part of winter has passed.
Cold snaps could be the result of pruning a tree at freezing temperatures.
Pretty much all trees are tolerant of winter pruning.
If you are pruning to improve fruit production, then prune only when the tree is dormant (winter).
During autumn, a deciduous tree’s leaves will fall off and be reborn when the warmer spring arrives.
Pruning in the winter has many benefits, some of which I will list below.
Benefits Of Pruning In The Winter
The tree structure is more visible: To correctly prune a tree, you must make the right cuts at the right of any of the intended branches. For you to make such flawless cuts, you should be able to see the tree structure.
This is one of the significant advantages of pruning in the winter, as the tree’s leaves have fallen off, and most branches will be exposed.
There is a limit to disease spread: Most tree diseases are caused by insects, parasites, and bacteria. These diseases and pests are active during the warmer seasons but significantly inactive during the winter.
Due to this, there is almost zero chance of disease spread if trees are trimmed in the winter.
Remember, pruning involves opening cuts on the tree, and parasites and pests will maul these wounds if they have the chance. Winter doesn’t give them that chance.
Pruning in winter increases efficiency: Areas like Dayton can get cold to the point where the ground will freeze. This means heavy equipment can be rolled in without causing damage to your landscape.
When workers aren’t worried about messing up the ground, they can concentrate on the primary task of trimming your tree. Hence they will work more efficiently.
Causes less stress on the tree: When a tree is pruned, its natural response would be to have new growth and cover up the wound. Pruning the winter will not cause new growth until the spring season arrives.
During this season, the tree has better access to sunlight, moisture, and nutrients, vital to stimulating new growth.
As I have mentioned before, pruning when a tree is dormant will not cause harm to the tree. It will have time to recover throughout the season before it starts regrowth in the warmer seasons.
Tree safety is improved during winter: The safety of yourself and the people around is a responsibility everyone should carry. A tree with dead, decayed, or hanging branches is one thing that can cause damage or severe injuries if care is not taken.
It is common to have heavy winds or snow during the winter, which could knock off such hazardous branches. This is why winter pruning is excellent, as doing so will remove the threat of flying or falling branches.
Trimming Trees in the Spring and Summer
Trimming during the spring season can produce beautiful results for many species. The sap will be free-flowing during this time, but it is still an excellent time to identify hazardous branches before the tree loses most of its leaves.
Problematic branches will not produce flowers during the spring, so you can easily spot those with bare backs and cut them off. You can also determine if the tree is beyond saving at this point and can schedule tree removal accordingly.
As for trees that produce a flower in the summer (mid to late), trimming early in the spring is recommended if you’re hoping for more bud production on the other branches.
As delicate and complex as it may be, summer pruning is still possible.
Part of that difficulty lies in the number of leaves covering the tree at that time. The more leaves on the branches, the more difficult it would be to identify the components that need to be pruned out.
Nonetheless, if you want to find out which branches are the weakest on a tree, summer is the best time. A healthy addition will stand firm even when pressured by the weight of the leaves, but a weak branch will not be able to handle the weight of the leaves.
As for spring-flowering trees, the best time to prune them is in the summer. This is because after the trimming has been completed, the branches will produce more flowering buds. That is, if they are trimmed just after the spring flowers have faded.
Tree species that enjoy the benefits of summer pruning include the following –
- Maples
- Birches
- Dogwoods
- Walnuts
- Elms
The trees mentioned above have a low flow of sap during the summer, so if you want to avoid dealing with messy fluid, trimming in the summer is your best bet.
If you aren’t a fan of the flowers at this point, you can buy tree injections containing deflowering agents. This will stop the tree from growing fruits.
Benefits Of Pruning In The Summer
Pruning in the summer is not as practiced as pruning in the winter, yet it has many advantages.
Some of them are listed below.
Pruning in the summer prevents disease: Silverleaf disease can be contracted by trees belonging to the cherry family, and they are prone to this disease during the winter season.
Pruning in the summer is a great way to avoid the risk of your tree contracting the disease.
Decayed branches, as we know, can spread diseases to other healthy limbs. Such branches carry active pests, which can cause all sorts of damage. Cutting off such branches will ensure the other healthy units are not affected.
Summer pruning is also ideal for dealing with crossed and competing branches.
Pruning in the summer prevents old fruited wood: Fruits like Blackcurrants usually experience low productivity of fruit bushes after a few years. This will be a perfect time to cut back the thickest and oldest of the stems right at the base.
You can leave some of the younger ones behind.
Tree Trimming in Fall
Professionals and experts suggest that fall is the worst time to trim a tree.
Trees in the fall find it hard to recover from the pruning wounds. At this period, the tree is just about to enter dormancy and is at a higher risk of diseases.
Trimming in the fall cannot be avoided, especially when the tree has hazardous branches.
Removing Trees In The Winter: Is It Cheaper?
Tree removal might become necessary if it has become a hazard or threat to life and property.
So, what season is best for tree removal to save cost? From a money point of view, you would spend less if you wanted to remove your tree in the winter.
The main reason is that the demand for arborist work is deficient during winter. With such a labor scarcity, tree fellers will take what they can get for tree removal.
Why the drop in demand?
The winter cold itself causes a drop in demand. During this time, people were less concerned about the gardens. Instead, they are more interested in the fireplace or other cozy indoor section.
They would only think about their tree if it has a severe problem that could kill or damage property.
The case is not the same in warmer areas, as garden work continues throughout the season.
Conclusion
Trees can be pruned in most seasons, preferably in the winter when they are dormant. However, the summer is also an ideal pruning season.
I trust this article on tree trimming and removal in the winter, summer, spring, and fall has been helpful.