Winter Maintenance Tip: Pruning Trees and Shrubs

Pruning trees and shrubs in winter have multiple impacts on your home. Keeping those trees and shrubs close to the home trim can help with any potential damage that could occur from falling branches or winds driving tree branches into the home. Trimming these branches can also help to manage overgrowth where burglars could potentially hide.

Cutting and trimming certain trees and shrubs can also support a specific vision you have for you landscaping. Keeping your trees trim can also help the leaves look fuller when they come in the next year. By pruning trees, you  can also help clear away dead areas or branches of the shrub or tree which will result in a healthier tree in the spring.

Pruning

Pruning trees is not that difficult. It is a matter of understand the age, the size and the areas of the tree that you can actually trim. Also, it is a matter of understanding how to trim the minor branches. While, never touching the trunk as you could actually kill the tree. If you damage the main area where all the branches secure its nutrients.

Tools

Using the correct tools, some young trees or shrubs are soft enough and low enough that you can use hand shears. Hand shears will generally cut ½ inch branches easily. We recommend wearing gloves in case you develop any blisters of your own and eye wear to avoid any potential damage.

For much larger or taller trees, you may need larger tools like large hedge shears or pull saw pruners. Large hedge shears will help you with your shrubs or bush like trees. While pull saw pruners give you a two in one solution. Pull saw pruners give you a sawing mechanism to saw off branches and the pruning capabilities to cut the branches similar to using your hand shears. This tool does take some practice because generally is in used in high branches. And you will need to get familiar with the ropes and sawing action from a lowered position. Once again, gloves and eye wear are recommended for safety.

These same practices can be applied to your indoor house plants or trees. Using small hand shears, you can trim your indoor ficus or small plants to create a much fuller look.

To learn more about pruning trees and shrubs visit the maintenance library at HomeZada.