Maintenance or Hazard-Reduction Pruning Can Both Protect Your Trees and Property
If you’ve recently purchased a property and the trees are showing signs of limb breakage or overcrowding, it’s a good idea to get them checked out and pruned. Trees left unpruned can become hazardous and may increase your fire risk.
What Is Hazard-Reduction Pruning?
An overcrowded tree can justify hazard-reduction pruning, especially if branches are broken by wind or disease. A broken branch, high up, can be extremely hazardous to people and property.
These broken branches leave snags or stubs high in the tree that can let in pests or diseases that will lead to further damage to the tree. Left unaddressed, a broken branch can turn your tree into a haven for pests that could kill that tree and risk the health of others on your property.
Broken, untrimmed branches can also turn the tree into a home for pests. Stinging insects may make a home, and many of these insects can be quite territorial. Mammalian pests, from mice to raccoons, may also make a home in a broken tree. Because these pests may then move to other areas of your property, up to and including your home, you want to get damaged trees pruned quickly.
How Does Maintenance Pruning Protect Trees?
Proper maintenance pruning by a skilled arborist can guide the growth of the tree. An open canopy that lets air move through will reduce the risk of storm damage. This shaping process can also lower the risk that moisture will linger on the tree and reduce the risk of bacterial growth or mold.
Regular maintenance pruning can also provide information about the long-term health of your trees. If your tree is a fruiting tree that hasn’t been producing, pruning may stimulate new growth. A careful review by an ISO-certified arborist can also tell you if the tree is diseased or if you need to consider removing and replacing it.
If there’s a blight or disease impacting trees in your area, a maintenance pruning and thorough check by a knowledgeable arborist can help you protect your trees early. Should you find that your trees can’t be salvaged, you can get help choosing the right tree to plant for future health and safety.
Your property deserves a healthy, hearty landscape. Whether you need to book an initial pruning or to set up a maintenance pruning schedule for all the trees on your Santa Rosa, CA property, TreePro Professional Tree Care can help you protect your landscape, so call us today. Enjoy healthy, well-maintained and properly pruned trees for years to come!
