I was giving an estimate the other day and the gentleman that I was speaking to asked me if I could trim
his tree to look like the tree in his neighbors yard and he pointed across the street and his neighbors tree had
been trimmed almost to the point of what we call in the tree business as " Lion Tailing " this refers to removing all of the inner laterals and foliage. This type of pruning displaces foliar weight to the ends of the branches and may result in sunburned bark tissue , watersprouts or sucker growth , weakened branch structure and breakage. After telling him that there was no benefit to the tree at all , he still wanted it trimmed like that and he came up with some nonsense about how everybody say its good for the tree , REALLY ? The moral of the story is don't be fooled by some of these slick talking salesmen that tell you that you tree needs to be thinned out to let the breeze through it in case of a storm . That is completely false.
Another tree pruning practice that is still being used today despite its well known and well documented
affect on trees is " Topping " . Severe topping causes decay and sprout production from the cut ends resulting in a potentially hazardous situation once the sprouts become large and heavy . Topping or heading back is not a recommended pruning method. I have come across trees that have been trimmed in this manner and I can tell you that it is very difficult and very expensive to fix these trees so that they are safe again after they have been Topped. Another reason not to top your tree is that it will remove all of the foliage or at least 75% which is not only are you injuring the tree with these big wounds but now you have taken away all of its food producers and that starts a slow but certain death for the tree if it is repeated over and over to the tree.
For you folks in the south and west where palm trees grow then you are going to want to listen up . There is a pruning practice here in Florida and California that is called " Hurricane Pruning " this is an extremely bad pruning practice and should be avoided at all costs . It's where trees are pruned leaving very few fronds on the palm at all and this is not only bad for the tree but it will cause the tree to put on a very large growth spurts to try to replace the fronds it has lost . it is a vicious cycle that can and does kill palm trees over a period of time . The University of Florida recommends leaving approximately 17 green fronds on the palm at all times . So the next time someone comes to your door and says that your palms need trimmed make sure to tell them that you only want the fruits, seeds, and the dead fronds removed and see what he says .
I know at Beechnut tree service we give reduced rates for palms that we trim in this manner compared to having to remove all those perfectly good fronds for no reason at all. A Palm tree pruned in the hurricane trim style can run up to 50% more compared to a regular trimming.
There are many reasons to prune your tree's but you should have a reason for pruning every limb . It could be to make the limb safer or to prune out any dead wood that is in the tree and could possibly injure someone if it breaks off and falls, also it is good to trim trees to just remove any safety hazards , Crown cleaning can remove the dead , diseased , crowded, weakly attached, low-vigor branches and sucker branches from the tree. Crown reduction is used to reduce the size of the tree . This type of pruning helps to maintain the structural integrity of the tree. Beechnut tree Service will always chose the type of pruning that your tree needs and deserves. I have seen very old trees just mutilated because the person who trimmed it did not care enough about the tree to inform the homeowner that it was not in the trees best interest to trim it like that. Or he just didn't know anything about trees and was just up there hacking away . Either way once the tree has been trimmed like that it usually doesn't end up good for the tree.
So if your tree is in need of attention feel free to contact the professionals at Beechnut tree service for your free estimate and get your trees looking and feeling great again. For more info visit us at our website at www.beechnutree.com/index.html
his tree to look like the tree in his neighbors yard and he pointed across the street and his neighbors tree had
been trimmed almost to the point of what we call in the tree business as " Lion Tailing " this refers to removing all of the inner laterals and foliage. This type of pruning displaces foliar weight to the ends of the branches and may result in sunburned bark tissue , watersprouts or sucker growth , weakened branch structure and breakage. After telling him that there was no benefit to the tree at all , he still wanted it trimmed like that and he came up with some nonsense about how everybody say its good for the tree , REALLY ? The moral of the story is don't be fooled by some of these slick talking salesmen that tell you that you tree needs to be thinned out to let the breeze through it in case of a storm . That is completely false.
Another tree pruning practice that is still being used today despite its well known and well documented
affect on trees is " Topping " . Severe topping causes decay and sprout production from the cut ends resulting in a potentially hazardous situation once the sprouts become large and heavy . Topping or heading back is not a recommended pruning method. I have come across trees that have been trimmed in this manner and I can tell you that it is very difficult and very expensive to fix these trees so that they are safe again after they have been Topped. Another reason not to top your tree is that it will remove all of the foliage or at least 75% which is not only are you injuring the tree with these big wounds but now you have taken away all of its food producers and that starts a slow but certain death for the tree if it is repeated over and over to the tree.
For you folks in the south and west where palm trees grow then you are going to want to listen up . There is a pruning practice here in Florida and California that is called " Hurricane Pruning " this is an extremely bad pruning practice and should be avoided at all costs . It's where trees are pruned leaving very few fronds on the palm at all and this is not only bad for the tree but it will cause the tree to put on a very large growth spurts to try to replace the fronds it has lost . it is a vicious cycle that can and does kill palm trees over a period of time . The University of Florida recommends leaving approximately 17 green fronds on the palm at all times . So the next time someone comes to your door and says that your palms need trimmed make sure to tell them that you only want the fruits, seeds, and the dead fronds removed and see what he says .
I know at Beechnut tree service we give reduced rates for palms that we trim in this manner compared to having to remove all those perfectly good fronds for no reason at all. A Palm tree pruned in the hurricane trim style can run up to 50% more compared to a regular trimming.
There are many reasons to prune your tree's but you should have a reason for pruning every limb . It could be to make the limb safer or to prune out any dead wood that is in the tree and could possibly injure someone if it breaks off and falls, also it is good to trim trees to just remove any safety hazards , Crown cleaning can remove the dead , diseased , crowded, weakly attached, low-vigor branches and sucker branches from the tree. Crown reduction is used to reduce the size of the tree . This type of pruning helps to maintain the structural integrity of the tree. Beechnut tree Service will always chose the type of pruning that your tree needs and deserves. I have seen very old trees just mutilated because the person who trimmed it did not care enough about the tree to inform the homeowner that it was not in the trees best interest to trim it like that. Or he just didn't know anything about trees and was just up there hacking away . Either way once the tree has been trimmed like that it usually doesn't end up good for the tree.
So if your tree is in need of attention feel free to contact the professionals at Beechnut tree service for your free estimate and get your trees looking and feeling great again. For more info visit us at our website at www.beechnutree.com/index.html
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