Taking away branches that are diseased, dead, rubbing against other branches, or simply too dense helps to maintain the health of your tree. It also helps it to reach its full lifespan. In many trees, this can be a century or longer. Here are some other ways that trimming can be beneficial for your trees.
Trimming Lets the Sun In
Trees need sun to stay healthy, and removing branches that are too dense allows more sun to reach your tree. This lets the tree use photosynthesis more efficiently, which leads to stronger and healthier leaves, branches, and roots. If your tree is a fruit tree, better fruit also results from good exposure to sunlight.
Trimming Your Trees Makes Them More Beautiful
As anyone who has apple trees knows, a gnarly-looking tree can be perfectly healthy. However, proper trimming makes a tree aesthetically pleasing. Trimming not only makes your trees lovely to behold but also beautifies your property in general. This is important if you plan on selling your home in the future. Even if you have no plans to sell, beautiful and healthy trees in a pleasing landscape are desirable.
Trimming Lets You See Problems Early
Trimming your trees allows you to see problems such as pests and diseases before they become expensive or impossible to treat. Trimming also takes away disease-stricken leaves or limbs. This can stop the disease from spreading all over the tree and may help the tree to heal by letting in air and sunlight.
Trimming Mitigates Damage to People and Property
One very good reason to keep your trees trimmed is to prevent potentially costly damage. Diseased or weak branches are more prone to breaking off and falling during severe weather. If they’re heavy enough, branches can damage people, pets, or property. Even smaller branches can make your property unsightly, and a pile of them may become a fire hazard or a haven for vermin.
Trimming Trees Saves Money
The aforementioned benefits of tree trimming will also save you money. It’s surprisingly expensive to remove an old, large tree that’s succumbed to disease or infestation or to treat a tree where a disease or infestation threatens its life. It’s also costly to pay for damage caused by a diseased tree limb that’s fallen on property, utility wires, or, worse, a living being.
Contact Us for Questions About Trimming Your Tree
We’ve seen that trimming trees is part of keeping them healthy and supporting their longevity. However, a lot of homeowners are nervous about trimming and pruning their own trees, as they fear they’ll do more harm than good. If you need professional assistance when it comes to tree trimming and pruning, don’t hesitate to call our professional and experienced arborists at Family Tree Care of Guilford, CT.