Once all of the leaves have fallen off the trees around us and the cold winter weather begins to settle, most people tend to forget about tree care.
That however, is often a mistake – winter is a great time to care for your trees. This is especially the case for tree pruning, which can be much better in the winter months.
For the duration of winter, it is often much easier for arborists to identify any structural issue with a tree and make rational pruning decisions. With no leaves in sight, we get to see a direct view of a tree’s structure.
With that in mind, there are many precautionary measures that you need to consider when pruning a tree in winter.
The Benefits of Tree Pruning in Winter
When it comes to pruning trees, you’ve got plenty of opportunities. In fact, it’s been said that most people aren’t even aware that trees can be pruned in winter.
For that reason, we’ll be covering the topic with hopes to give you helpful insight on the do’s and don’ts of winter tree pruning. Let’s start with the benefits of winter tree pruning, and how it compares to spring and summer pruning.
1. Easy to Identify Structural Damage
Starting with the obvious – no leaves. This means that when looking for damage to a tree, or tree branch, it’s much easier and much quicker to identify.
And with pruning being both a proactive and reactive tree care method, a better view of the entire tree allows arborists to accurately care for your tree. When making cuts in your tree, it’s important to be as accurate and stable as possible to improve its shape, health and safety.
2. Less Strain and Stress for Your Trees
When you prune a tree, it naturally reacts to the cuts by stimulating new growth and closing the open wound from pruning.
When you do this in winter, you’re putting much less stress on a tree as it’s in its dormant state, which means it will only react with new growth when spring comes around, and it will do so much more gradually.
3. Stops the Spread of Diseases
Even when they appear quite strong and healthy, trees are vulnerable to a number of diseases, illnesses and threats such as invasive species.
In the harsh Ottawa winter months, these diseases and invasive species are either dead or dormant, giving your tree some time to recover before the warm summer weather arrives.
4. Decreases Likelihood of Property Damage
There comes a point in the life of many trees where they either grow too large or in the wrong direction.
When this tree is near your home, garage or fence, this can result in damages that are not only dangerous, but extremely expensive. With the piercing winter winds and fluctuating weather, it might be a good idea to prune your large tree this winter.
5. Improves the Appearance of Your Tree
Last but not least, the appearance of your tree. Yes, having a tree on your property can be very beneficial in ways that don’t relate to appearance, but looks definitely do matter here. By pruning your tree(s), you can rest assured that arborists will remove deadwood and enhance the tree’s appearance for the coming seasons.
What You Should & Shouldn’t Do
Tree pruning, whether it be in the spring, summer or winter, should always be done at the right time. And for something that can increase tree growth and improve health, it’s very important that you hire a tree expert, also known as an arborist.
When it comes to hiring arborists for tree pruning, you’ll get the peace of mind in knowing that your tree was pruned properly, and that no surprises will arise once time passes by and the seasons change.
Professional Winter Tree Pruning in Ottawa
Tree care isn’t a guessing game, it takes expertise, patience and precision – tree pruning procedures are a prime example. If you cut too far, too much or in the wrong place, you might be doing more harm than good to your tree.
If your tree has dead branches, or if it’s growing too close to your home, get in touch with Croft Tree Experts.
As Ottawa’s best arborist service, we take tree care very seriously and provide nothing but the best for your tree’s health and appearance.
Contact us to get started.