When to trim? When to prune? Let’s dive in!

It can be overwhelming when you consider the potential damage you can inadvertently cause your leafy friends if not done correctly. Use this guide to empower you in knowing what time of year to call for tree care services.

To begin with, you need to understand that there is not always a single answer to these age-old questions. Here are a few pointers to help you decide what time of year to call a professional for your tree care and service needs.

Different Trees Require Different Care

No two trees are alike. The key to understanding when is the right time to call a tree service will depend on the types of trees you have in your yard. For example, are they deciduous or evergreen? Knowing this will make a difference in timing.

Also, the time of year can be a huge factor in what services have to be performed and when. The type of trees you have might also impact when the ideal time to call a tree service should be.

It also depends on the type of tree service you require. A professional tree care and service company will involve tree trimming, pruning, or removal. There are different types of tree care, and it will depend on the particular needs of your tree and the time of year.

Tree Trimming

The ideal time to use a tree trimming service is considered the winter. Trees are bare during the winter months, making problem areas easy to see. Trimming your trees during the winter also promotes healthier growth in the spring.

However, many people advise waiting until the end of the winter season, when the coldest weather has passed. This is because the tree is more susceptible to damage in brutally cold conditions.

Trimming your trees in the winter is usually a good idea. Insects and diseases have a harder time attacking trees during the winter months.

The surrounding landscape is less affected, and the tree specialist can see what they're doing better when the leaves are gone. Trees recover faster when trimmed in the winter. When spring arrives, your tree will be strong and healthy once more.

Early spring can also be acceptable to hire a professional for tree trimming services. Spring can be a time to identify which branches need trimming.

Also, spring rather than winter is usually the best time to trim trees that bloom during the late summer months. On the other hand, summer is the best time to trim maples, dogwoods, elms, birches, and walnut trees.

What about trimming trees during the fall? The autumn months are not ideal because cuts or damage to trees heal more slowly in the fall. Tree wounds are far more vulnerable to diseases and infestations during the fall months.

Tree Pruning

Pruning is an important element of tree and plant care. Pruning plants properly fosters growth, improves overall plant health, improves curb appeal of your yard, and can boost fruit and flower production.

The right time to contact a professional tree pruning service will vary depending on the season. This is due to the various types of trees and how their growth cycles are affected by pruning.

For most, the late winter or early spring season is the best time to prune the majority of trees. Some experts suggest that hiring a service for tree pruning in February is the best time of year to ensure that the trees can swiftly recover from the pruning cuts. Your trees will have more strength to heal during late winter.

There are, however, certain exceptions. If weather predictions forecast a sharp drop in temperature, a cold front, or an impending frost, wait until later in the season to do your pruning.

The later you prune in the winter, the better for your fruit trees. Pruning trees in the early winter will make them more susceptible to damage that can occur when pruned branches are vulnerable during the extreme cold. The beginning of the winter season is too harsh for fragile fruit-bearing trees.

The optimal time to prune deciduous trees, like oak, maple, and elm trees, is in the early spring between February and April. Larches are also an example of this species of tree that will benefit from spring pruning.

Certain trees will ooze sap when pruned in the late winter season. You might want to wait until later in the spring if you don't want to deal with your trees oozing much of their sap.

Tree Removal

Sometimes, allowing a damaged, sick, or decaying tree to be removed is the best and safest way to save the remaining trees on your property. It's easier to lose one tree than to lose them all.

Going ahead and removing a diseased tree will keep the remaining ones healthy. You don’t want the disease to spread among your trees, resulting in the gradual loss of each of them.

Many people assume that the best time to contact tree care and arborist services is in the winter or early spring, similar to when they hire a tree trimming service. In the winter, trees remain dormant and barren. This makes it easy to determine the true scope of any potential problems your trees may have.

It also makes things simpler for a tree removal service to remove sick or diseased trees. Without leaves, fruits, and blooms, trees are usually lighter. It's also easy for the specialists to clip the branches off.

Tree removal is often less expensive during the winter months. However, the cost of tree removal is dependent on a variety of circumstances.

Is there anything about the tree that will make it a difficult or time-consuming task to remove? The time of year will not affect the pricing of tree removal as much as the amount of work that will have to go into the removal, itself.

Don’t Get Stumped When Figuring Out When to Call for Tree Care Services

See what we did there?! Precision Tree St. Louis can handle your tree care services to help keep your trees strong and well-maintained.

While there’s a lot you can do on your own, an expert in tree care will alleviate the stress that can come with understanding the needs of your trees.

We can help! We take great pride in offering our commercial and residential customers the best tree service solutions available.